Skip to main content

Live Fast with the Falcon FragBook DRX

Live Fast with the Falcon FragBook DRX

We’re sure readers are familiar with the image of a balding man getting past middle age, driving around town in an very expensive, very red sports car—usually a convertible—and the thing for which that car is compensating.

So, for folks who know a gamer who just, um, can’t compete without the latest, greatest, fastest, and flashiest system available, we bring news of the FragBook DRX from Falcon Northwest. The DRX—stands for Desktop Replacement Extreme, get it?—pushes the limits of what might be considered a laptop system—or even a desktop system!—while delivering the storage, processing, and graphics oomph to make anyone feel like a youngster again.

The FragBook DRX offers Intel Core 2 Duo processors running at up to 2.93 GHz, support for up to 4 GB of 800 MHz DDR2 RAM, and 17-inch 1,900 by 1,200 pixel LCD display. But that’s just the start of the massively overloaded DRX: for video power, the system sports wo Nvidia GeForce 7950 GTX Go grphics controllers (which, for XP users, features SLI), each with 512 MB of DDR3 video RAM. The DRX supports up to three internal SATA II hard drives with RAID 0, 1, and 5 capability, so you can either have (hopefully) enough storage for your entire media collection or über-reliable data backup—or, for some people, maybe both. The system also sports a 1.3 megapixel Webcam, 802.11n Wi-Fi wireless networking, an 8× dual-layer DVD burner, gigabit Ethernet, and four internal speakers. Also on board: DVI, VGA, and S-Video output; four USB 2.0 ports; 1 mini FireWire port; headphone, mic, audio in, and S/PDIF; an ExpressCard/34/54 slot, a 7-in-1 media card reader, and a CATV television tuner.

If you think all this hardware consumes power, you’d be right: the DRX’s twelve-cell lithium-ion batery promises only 1 hour of use. And if you think all this hardware would be heavy, you’d be right, although the unit’s 12.1 pounds isn’t as bad as some other desktop replacement rigs.

The FragBook DRX is completely customizable, from chassis to drive capacities to peripherals to operating system to custom paint jobs, with a base price of $5,433.79; of course, with 4 GB of RAM and three hard drives (on 7200 rpm 100 GB, two 5400 RPM 160 GB) the price tag jumps to $7,763.56.

And we’re sure buyers won’t be compensating for anything missing in their lives.

Editors' Recommendations

Geoff Duncan
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…
The biggest threat to the MacBook this year might come from Apple itself
The MacBook Air on a white table.

MacBooks have held a dominant position in the laptop world for the past few years. Though there have been meaningful rivals from the Windows side of the aisle, the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro still feel like they hold an unshakeable lead at the moment.

But according to the latest reports, the most serious challenger to the MacBook's reign won't come from Windows -- it'll come from within Apple in the form of some very advanced new iPads.
What's a computer?

Read more
How to keep your MacBook from sleeping
The M3 MacBook Air in front of a window.

Your MacBook is your go-to powerhouse for all things computing. Web browsing, graphic design, video editing, music production, you name it, the MacBook can do it. But like any good laptop, your MacBook has a number of battery-saving features built in and enabled by default. One of these functions is the computer’s sleep mode, which optimizes battery life by decreasing power usage.

Read more
Best laptop deals: Save on the Dell XPS 14, MacBook Pro 16 and more
The Dell XPS 14 on a white table with the screen open.

There's no shortage of laptop deals online, so narrowing down your choices will be an overwhelming task. Fortunately, we're here to help you out as we've gathered our favorite bargains on some of the best laptops below. These include offers on hardware from the best laptop brands like HP, Lenovo, Microsoft, Apple, and Dell, with discounts that will let you pocket hundreds of dollars in savings. Read on to figure out what your next laptop should be, and to learn other important things that you need to know before making your decision.

Today's best laptop deals
HP Chromebook 14a -- $200, was $310

Read more