Acer’s New Predator Laptops And Desktop PCs Are Ready For VR

A ‘Nvidia GeForce VR Ready’ sticker is the crowning feature of Acer’s new Predator gaming laptop and desktop range, announced overnight with certified support for VR headsets including the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. The two new machines are the most powerful that Acer has ever built, but are surprisingly compact for their high-end specs.

Acer Predator 17 X

The Predator 17 X, like the name suggests, is a 17-inch gaming laptop. And, like a good gaming laptop, its large screen can be specced out with either a 1920x1080pixel Full HD panel — a relatively low res that’s easier to push faster frame rates through during 3D gaming — or a more detailed 3840x2160pixel Ultra HD panel that has plenty of desktop detail but that will be harder to push during extended gaming sessions.

The desktop-grade Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 runs the graphical show on the Predator 17 X — with Intel’s overclockable i7-6820HK CPU, and Acer claiming turbo speeds of up to 4GHz, this is a laptop that will produce genuinely desktop-grade graphics during gaming, albeit at the cost of a lot of heat.

Like Acer’s other Taiwanese competitors in Asus, Aorus and Gigabyte, the Predator 17 X will use three NVMe solid-state drives in RAID 0 for ridiculously fast read and write transfer speeds and boot times, and up to 32GB of DDR4 2133MHz RAM is supported. Networking using Killer’s DoubleShot Pro NIC for both Wi-Fi and Ethernet, and input/output over Thunderbolt 3 rounds out the laptop’s ridiculously overpowered spec sheet.

Acer Predator G1

Continuing the trend of small but mighty, the Predator G1 is a 16-litre desktop PC that nonetheless supports Intel’s newest and most powerful sixth-gen Core i7 processors and full size Nvidia graphics — up to the massive Titan X — as well as up to 64GB of DDR4. This is the machine that Acer is really saying you can just “plug in a VR headset” and dive into virtual reality with.

A single 3.5-inch hard drive and solid state drive will be offered, with up to 4TB and 512GB respectively out of the box. Matching mechanical keyboards, a wheeled carry case and other accessories round out the pack of Predator-branded gaming gear that Acer will sell with the G1.

Acer Predator Z1

Acer’s gaming displays are actually quite popular, and span a wide range of sizes and prices. The Z1 combines a curved display with Nvidia G-SYNC support, and are apparently especially curvy this time around — with a tight 1800R curve that suits close-in viewing. The Z1 range will be offered in 31.5-, 30- and 27-inch screen sizes. The 31.5- and 27-inch screens will be 16:9 ratio 1080p Full HD displays, while the 31.5-inch is a 21:9 ratio 2560x1080pixel panel.

No Aussie prices for any of this gear has been announced just yet, but we’ll keep you in the loop. Stay tuned for a full review of the G1 desktop, too — it looks like a monster. [Acer]


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