Acer’s new gaming laptop stretches the definition of portability
The fact that gaming laptops are over the top shouldn’t surprise anyone. Gaming laptops, like luxury sport cars, are built to perform, and provide a high degree of eye-candy, no matter the cost.
The fastest CPUs and GPUs you can find, the highest amount of memory that can be crammed into a portable device, and the most advanced data transfer technology available, don’t even begin to define what “over-the-top” means to Acer, and its 21-inch, 17 pound, screaming mad, Predator 21X gaming laptop.
The Predator 21X is the world’s first Windows 10 gaming laptop with a 21 inch curved display. As unusual as it may seem, a flat 21 inch display, when viewed at close a range as a laptop, isn’t the most ideal form factor when gaming, as the viewing angle from top to bottom and from side to side causes distortion and visibility issues that intensify as the distance from the display, and the size of the display scale in an inversely proportional fashion. A curved display solves the problem, by offering a more consistent viewing angle, and less eye strain. Even better, the display supports NVIDIA G-Sync, which minimizes screen tearing when playing games at higher frame rates.
The Predator’s humongous curved display is only the tip of the iceberg. The graphic capabilities of this laptop are driven by two NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080, and the internals support up to five storage drives, 64GB of RAM, and a 7th generation Intel Core CPU.
Needless to say, this machine generates a lot of heat, and requires five system fans, and eight heatpipes, to keep the temperature down, especially as it requires two power supplies to operate.
The Predator 21X features some interesting touches that gamers will appreciate, such as the detachable numeric pad that can be flipped over to reveal a trackpad, and an array of function keys. The top part of the laptop’s base also features a glass window overlooking one of the illuminated internal cooling fans, which adds a dramatic effect to the final picture.
With a price tag in the range of $5000-$8000, a few more perks are to be expected, including a 4.2 sound system (four speakers, two subwoofers), which is as close as it gets to your own private 21-inch movie theater.
When asked by CNET why Acer would make such an over-the-top device, the response was perhaps as obvious and boring as “because we can”, but with more “pushing the boundaries of technology” into it. In Acer’s defense, when building a laptop like the Predator 21X, it’s hard to come up with a better answer, other than “Yeah... that just happened.”
With that said, don’t run down the street screaming “Take my money!” yet, as the laptop will not be available until the first quarter of next year.
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