Traditionally, gaming laptops haven't been able to get near the performance of their desktop counterparts, but that gap has been closing in recent years. We're now seeing a handful of laptops with desktop-grade components and capabilities, and Acer's new Predator 17X takes it to the next level.
Acer revealed the new laptop alongside a slew of other PC announcements today at an event in New York City, and we were able to spend some time with the system.
It's virtual reality-ready, so as you can imagine, the internal hardware is extremely powerful for a mobile system. Building off the Predator 17 from last year, this laptop also boasts a 17.3-inch display, which is available in Full HD or 4K UHD and comes with G-Sync technology. The system is definitely on the bigger side, and pretty heavy, but it justifies the heft with blazing fast hardware.
The 17X is equipped with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 graphics card—the desktop card, not a 980M—an unlocked Intel Core i7-6820HK processor, and advanced cooling that allows for such powerful components to run in a relatively small body. It can also hold up to 64GB of memory and has room for three storage options, even including an SSD RAID 0 array. It will retail starting at $2,799, and is due out some time in June.
A major aspect of the new cooling system is a third fan located on the front edge of the system. This design pulls cool air in from the front and runs it over the hottest parts—the CPU and graphics cards—then pushes it out the back, similar to a desktop. The system has four speakers and two subwoofers, which should make for great sound quality. There are plenty of USB ports for VR headset compatibility, a USB-C with Thunderbolt 3 port, HDMI and DisplayPort, and high-speed Killer DoubleShot Ethernet. The keyboard also features customizable lighting.
Acer also revealed a new gaming desktop, the Predator G1, which is a slim, small version of the previous Predator G6 desktop. It features Nvidia Titan X graphics and as such, like the 17X, is certified for VR.