Acer’s Predator brand of gaming hardware saw a few new entries three months back in New York. The Predator G1 is a small little beast that could fit a Titan X (1st gen) while the Predator 17X has a full-on graphics card that can support VR. Today we saw the official release of these two products into the Malaysian market.
The Predator 17X is almost similar in look to the previous Predator 17, which we have reviewed, and Predator 15 laptops. The big change with the refresh is the use of a desktop-spec graphics card- the highest configuration comes with the Nvidia GTX 980. Besides that, there’s a triple fan setup instead of the dual fan + 1 optional, removal fan, updates to the processor (Intel i7-6820HK), 32GB RAM, 256GB of SSD (PCIe Gen3x4) +1TB SATA HDD 97200rpm) for storage and includes Xsplit, a paid software used to record and streaming games bundled in. The price? RM12,999.
Don’t be alarmed, as Acer intends this product to be for more hardcore enthusiasts- where budget is not a constraint.
Likewise goes for the Predator G1. Ever since we last saw its reveal, a new generation of graphics cards by Nvidia has cropped up that has eclipsed the Titan X, the 1000 series. As such, the G1 desktop now sports a GTX 1080 at ts highest-end variant. Specs wise it sports an Intel i7-6700 CPU, 16GB RAM, 128GB of M.2 SSD + 2TB SATA HDD for storage. The desktop is really small, but it uses an external power supply unit. The G1 will include Predator-branded mouse and mechanical keyboards and retails at RM10,999.
Also shown were the Predator backpack and suitcase. The G1 Desktop Transport Suitcase is deemed to fit all the package included in the G1 desktop (that is sans monitor) into it, though it is really limited, only 10 of them are available in Malaysia.
The launch event was held at Mineski e-Sports Arena in Kajang. Acer’s Predator brand is now gearing up seriously into e-sports, as evident by them sponsoring Team Mineski X (which also debuted their new roster today), one of the top Dota 2 teams in the region, and them collaborating for the Selangor Cyber Games. In fact, all the Acer personnel wore Predator-branded jerseys, and the the way the press gets to test the Predator desktop and laptop was through an exhibition match against Team Mineski X where each team played in two soundproof rooms like in most e-sports main stage. We did not participate in the exhibition match, but we did however get to test the HTC Vive running on the Predator 17X.
Both products should now be available all around Malaysia.