Hard-core gamers searching for a rig to match their prowess on the virtual battlefield will look forward to the new Acer Predator gaming PCs.
The specification of the Predator:
- Intel Extreme QX 9650 3GHz processor
- Twin Nvidia 9800 GTX graphics cards
- 4GB high-speed DDR2 RAM
- 24-inch high-contrast 1,920 x 1,080 LCD monitor
- hot-swoppable hard drive bays
- everything-in-one card reader
- Blu-ray drive with DVD burner combo
- Logitech G11 gaming keyboard
- G5 gaming mouse and more
The best feature for me is the four hot-swoppable drive bays, located at the bottom of the front cover. It lets users to switch hard disk drives by simply pulling out a disk bay and slipping in the hard disc drive. Users don't even need to plug in any power down to switch drives.
Users can also run multiple Raid configurations which lets users improve hard disk access speeds as well as do 'mirroring'. (That is to automatically back up the data in one's primary drive to the other drives.)
Amazingly, despite the loads of power computing components, the Predator remains silent. Two Gigabit LAN ports which gives you a back-up line in case one LAN port fails. This is essential if one wants to turn the PC into a home server.
Another good news is that one can easily overclock from the Bios. Acer will still recognise user's one-year on-site warranty, unless user busted the machine when overclocking.
The bad thing about this PCs is that obvious handles with which to carry the machines are absence. One will also have a rather arduous task of reaching the innards - one have to unscrew the giant screws to remove the front-panel cover before one can remove the side panel of the PC. One more thing is that this is quite an expensive PC though the specs make it worth it.
In conclusion, this is definitely the PC for hard-core gamers. There is a cheaper version of the PC but it come at a price - Intel Core 2 Quad 9400, only one 9800 GTX graphics card and it offers DVD burner instead of Blu-ray combo drive.
Oo Gin Lee
