Acer’s new Predator range is coming to SA, and here’s what you’ll pay
CraigWilson
So, to paraphrase Cypress Hill, you wanna be a VR superstar? Aside from getting your mitts on a VR headset like the Oculus Rift or HTC’s Vive, you’re going to need a serious gaming rig. The sort of gaming rig that requires a trolley with wheels and the core strength of a Sea Point yogi. At least, that’s what we though. Acer begs to differ.
The company behind the Predator range of gaming gear took the wraps off its latest, greatest, shiniest, most nerdgasm-inducing gaming gear in New York today. Sure, it also unveiled some good-looking consumer tech like its ultraportable Aspire S 13, but it’s tough to pay to much attention to that when presented with the Predator 17 X, VR-ready gaming notebook.
Say what now? A notebook that can handle VR? Yip, we’re not making that up. The 4.5kg, overclockable, triple-fan-cooled Predator 17 X lets you choose between one of two Core i7 processors, pack in up to 64GB of RAM and offers a choice of two 17.3-inch displays (HD or 4K, depending on the girth of your wallet). There’s also an Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 GPU and a ton of storage configurations.
Needless to say, we want one. That’s not entirely true, we want at least two, because how else are we going to pit members of team Stuff against one another? With pricing starting at R46,000, we’re beginning to wander just how much we really need our cars. I mean, bicycles keep you fitter, right?
For those who can afford both a bicycle and a gaming rig there’s also the new Predator G1 desktop. A surprisingly compact case with the heart of a gaming lion. Expect sixth gen Intel Core processors, up to 64GB of RAM, a full-sized Nvidia GeForce GTX GPU (up to the Titan X model), five USB 3.1 ports, Gigabit Ethernet and a pair of USB 3.1 Type-C ports.
Naturally the G1 will support 4K displays, and it’s “VR-ready” like the 17 X. There’s also the usual Predator styling, and what Acer calls “growl lights” just to make sure no one at your LAN party has any doubt about your rigs gaming chops.
Pricing on the G1 starts at R19,000, so you might be able to keep the car after all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLnO0Z9BJ8U
So, what does VR-ready really mean? It means both devices support the four major VR standards currently vying for dominance — Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, OSVR and StarVR. It also means both devices can handle the 450MP/s demands of VR (that’s a calculation based on 3,024×1,680 resolution at 90fps). Lastly, it means we might be going into serious debt later this year if we can convince a jet-setting relative to bring us some VR gear in their luggage. All right, full disclosure, we’re going to need to find that jet-setting relative first, too.
