Acer has unleashed some menacing new products under its Predator range at IFA 2017, and things are looking hot. The expansive Predator family now includes the sizzling Predator Orion 9000 gaming desktop; delicious-looking Predator X35 with G-Sync; and new Predator headset and mouse.
One glance and you’ll be instantly convinced that the Predator Orion 9000 means business. Its absolutely no-holds-barred looks–with black-and-silver spacecraft-like design, simply screams hardcore. There’s even customisable RGB lighting on the sides of the front bezel.
The massive side window panel is made to show off its powerful innards. The rig is outfitted with two handles, and even has wheels, in case you need to move it around. They’re wrapped in carbon fibre pattern, by the way.
Because it has tool-less side panels, it’s a peace of cake to do any upgrades. The push-open top also gives you easy access to swap fans.
Like other Predator desktops, it also comes with a front access headset cradle to store your gaming headset.
If it looks powerful standing still, then you’ll love what’s inside. The cutting-edge Intel Core i9 Extreme Edition, yes with 18 cores, gets mated to up to 128GB quad-channel DDR4 memory. Please know that I’m salivating on my keyboard just typing this.
There’s one-punch overclocking (as if you’ll need it, but just in case) to enable turbo performance.
In terms of expansion, you’ll get a total of three m.2 slots, and four PCIe x16 slots. There’s also two USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports (1x Type-C, 1x Type-A), eight USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports (1x Type-C, 7x Type-A), and two USB 2.0 ports (Type-A).
Acer has chosen the AMD Radeon RX Vega graphics card to take care of ultra high-resolution gaming and VR applications on the Orion 9000. You can of course also opt for two NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti cards in SLI, if you so wish.
Keeping things cool is Acer’s IceTunnel 2.0 and liquid cooling. IceTunnel 2.0 is Acer’s advanced airflow management solution that separates the system into different thermal zones. Each zone has an individual airflow tunnel to expel heat.
Huge metal mesh panels on the front and top let cold air in, while rising hot air from the liquid-cooled CPU out. The five 120mm fans in the front, top and back channel cool air through the chassis.
Predator Galea 500 gaming headset and Cestus 500 gaming mouse
What’s a better complement to the towering gaming powerhouse, than a headset and mouse combo? Predator debuts the Galea 500 gaming headset that boasts Acer TrueHarmony 3D Soundscape technology. It’s a mouthful, I know, but all you need to know is that it recreates the acoustic space around you based on the orientation of your head. Pretty cool eh?
It features a driver diaphragm made from bio-cellulose with rubber surround, delivering clear highs and resounding lows. It responds quickly to reproduce vocals and mid-high range notes. Its unique acoustic cavity also helps deliver some punchy bass.
For those who may want to use an all-in-one headset, the Galea 500 can be used for music and movies too. It comes with three selectable modes: EQ Music, Movie and Sport.
The new Predator Cestus 500 gaming mouse has a unique dual switch design that allows you to adjust click resistance according to the type of game you’re playing. For instance, you may want lighter resistance for FPS, or perhaps heavier for finer maneuvers in RTS-type games.
It comes with 16.8 million RGB colour lights, eight lighting patterns, five on-board profile settings, eight programmable buttons, and a gold-plated USB connector.
Pricing and availability
The Predator Orion 9000 Series gaming desktop will be available in North America in December, with prices starting at USD1,999/MYR8,537. In EMEA, availability is in November, with prices starting at EUR1,999/MYR10,156.
The Predator Galea 500 gaming headset will be available in North America in November, at USD299.99/MYR1,281; and in EMEA in November at EUR299.99/MYR1,523.
The Predator Cestus 500 gaming mouse will be available in North America in November at USD79.99/MYR342; and in EMEA in November at EUR89.99/MYR406.
