The folks at Eurocom tout the Leopard 2.0 ($3,606 direct) as a mobile "workstation and/or gaming class" laptop. We can't speak to workstation users, but gamers will appreciate its sleek lines, subtle lighting effects, and exceptional graphics performance. This massive laptop is not only one of the fastest desktop replacements to hit our labs, it is also packed with impressive components, including a sweet 18.4-inch HD display, dual AMD Radeon GPUs, and an Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition CPU. And while its $3,600 price tag may seem steep, it's nearly $1,000 below our Editors' Choice Alienware M18x . Sadly, it's a good deal that may be hard to get.

Design
The Leopard 2.0 is huge; it measures 2.8 by 17.3 by 12 inches (HWD) and weighs in at 12 pounds, which is a bit lighter than the Alienware M18x but still burdensome, especially if you take along the bulky 3.2-pound power brick. Based on the Clevo P180HM chassis, the Leopard isn't quite as edgy as the M18x, but it is a smart-looking laptop nonetheless. The lid is done up in a high-gloss black mirror finish with a backlit tribal design in the center and chrome trim around the edges. Keep a polishing cloth handy because the shiny finish is a showcase for fingerprint smudges. Unfortunately, Eurocom will no longer be using the P180HM chassis, according to a company spokesperson. Instead, it will move to a 17.3-inch form factor, which means the Leopard 2.0 will be phased out in the very near future.

The Leopard's 18.4-inch display is a full HD (1,920 by 1,080) panel with glossy edge-to-edge glass. Color quality is outstanding and blacks are dark and solid, but the panel's reflective surface can be distracting. That said, the big screen is ideal for gaming, movies, and viewing multipage documents.

The spacious keyboard deck holds a chiclet-style keyboard with a dedicated number pad on the right and a set of eight programmable gaming keys on the left that come in handy for things like quick weapon changes and power-ups. The main keyboard isn't backlit like those of the M18x and MSI GT783-625US , but the gaming keys are, as are the eight touch-sensitive buttons and volume control at the top of the deck. The combination of white and green backlighting against the shiny black finish may not be as menacing as the M18x, but it is a nice look. The keyboard is comfortable and responsive with just a touch of flex. The touchpad sits flush with the deck and is also responsive, but at 3.2 inches wide is a bit too small considering the size of the screen. There's a fingerprint reader sandwiched between the two glossy black mouse buttons.

Features
The Leopard is well-stocked. Scattered along both sides are DVI and HDMI video inputs, a mini-1394 (FireWire) jack, a gigabit LAN connector, two USB 3.0 and three USB 2.0 ports, an eSATA/USB combo port, and four audio jacks (headphone, microphone, S/PDIF out, line out). Missing is a DisplayPort connector such as the one found on the M18x. The chassis also holds an ExpressCard slot, a multiformat card reader, and a tray-loading Blu-ray writer.

The top-shelf audio system consists of five built-in speakers and a subwoofer, all driven by Creative's THX TruStudio audio technology. Despite its diminutive size, the subwoofer delivers a generous dose of bass response, and the speakers are loud and distortion-free. A webcam and microphone array are embedded in the display's upper bezel.

Storage is provided by a 120GB solid-state drive and a 750GB hybrid hard drive. As is the case with most gaming vendors, Eurocom doesn't bog the system down with unnecessary bloatware and instead preloads Windows 7 Home Premium, Upek's fingerprint-reader utility, the Creative THX TruStudio software, and Bison's BisonCap webcam program. The Leopard 2.0 comes with a one-year parts and labor warranty which includes toll-free technical support.

Performance
Powered by a 2.7GHz Intel Core i7-2960XM Extreme Edition processor, dual AMD Radeon HD 6990M graphics adapters, and 12GB of DDR3-1600 system memory, the Leopard 2.0 took top honors on most of our performance benchmark tests. Its score of 4,937 on PCMark 7 surpassed our previous leader for this test, the Asus G74SX-A2 (3,941) by almost 1,000 points.

On our Handbrake video encoding test, the Leopard's score of 1 minute 18 seconds was faster than the MSI GT783-625US (1:30), the Asus G74SX-A2 (1:38), and the AVADirect Clevo X7200 (1:39) but it fell 3 seconds shy of the Alienware M18x (1:15). Its Cinebench R11.5 score of 5.96 took second place to the M18x (6.52), but it finished our Adobe Photoshop CS5 test ahead of them all with a time of 3 minutes 20 seconds.

The Leopard aced the 3DMark11 Entry and Extreme tests (9,135 and 2,199 points respectively) and churned out a speedy 108.9 fps (medium quality) and 75.8 fps (high quality) on our Crysis DX10 gaming tests, knocking the Alienware M18x out of first place. It also turned in the fastest frame rates on our Lost Planet 2 DX9 high-quality (100.3 fps) and DX11 medium-quality tests (154.5 fps). However, it couldn't top the M18x's score of 64.4 fps on the Lost Planet 2 DX11 high-quality test.

The Leopard lasted 1 hour 48 minutes on the MobileMark 2007 battery test, outlasting the M18x by 10 minutes but coming up more than an hour short of the Asus G74SX-A2 (2:59). The AVADirect Clevo X7200 is firmly anchored at the bottom with a pitiful time of 38 minutes while the MSI GT783-625US holds the top spot with an impressive 3 hours 29 minutes.

With its awesome array of high-end components, the Eurocom Leopard 2.0 is a mighty gaming machine. Sure, it's big and heavy, but not to the point where you can't haul it along to your next LAN party—and expensive, but not to the point of the Alienware M18x. Moreover, the stunning18.4-inch display, robust sound system, and speedy storage make this an ideal alternative to a desktop gaming rig. It's too bad that Eurocom has decided to discontinue this model, as it would have trumped the M18x as our Editors' Choice for $3,000-plus laptops. That said, the Alienware M18x retains its title as the best all-around (and available) high-priced gaming laptop.

COMPARISON TABLE
Compare the Eurocom Leopard 2.0 with several other laptops side by side.

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