Acer Predator 17 Gaming Laptop-Review

[Venustus]

Content source

http://www.kotaku.com.au/2016/01/acer-predator-17-gaming-laptop-the-kotaku-review/

Acer Predator 17 G9-791-79Y3 System Specs
Operating System Windows 10 Home
Processor Intel Quad-Core i7-6700HQ 2.6GHz/3.5GHz Turbo
Memory 32 GB DDR4 SDRAM upgradeable to 64 GB
Memory Card Reader Secure Digital (SD) card reader
Storage 1 TB 7200 RPM SATA/512 GB SSD
Optical Drive Removable Blu-ray Writer
Display 17.3″ 1920 x 1080 IPS Active Matrix TFT Colour LCD
Graphics Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M with 4 GB GDDR5
Audio Predator Dolby SoundPound 4.2 — 4 speakers, 2 subwoofers
Wireless LAN Killer Wireless AC 1535 802.11ac WiFi featuring 2×2 MU-MIMO technology (Dual-Band 2.4GHz and 5GHz)
Wired Networking Gigabit Ethernet
Webcam 1280 x 720
Ports HDMI and DisplayPort Out (supports 4K output), 4 USB 3.0 (one with power off charging), 1 USB 2.0, 1 Thunderbolt port, RJ45 Network port
Touchpad Precision Touchpad (supporting Windows Modern Touchpad gestures)
Keyboard Mechanical keyboard with Predator ProZone programmable keys and lighting
Battery 8-cell 6000 mAh Lithium Ion (Li-ion) with a run time of 5.5 hours during normal use
Height 1.56 inches
Width 16.65 inches
Depth 12.66 inches
Weight 8.71 pounds
Warranty 2 year Limited Warranty
Price $US2,599 ($3,711) OUCH

Would be great to have SLI capabilities but I think the specs are awesome!!!

 

[illumination]

I looked into these right before i decided to get a Asus ROG instead..

 

[Venustus]

I looked into these right before i decided to get a Asus ROG instead..

The ROG is still good enough for most"next gen" games,plus you saved some money,depending on which model you purchased!!
Cheers!!

 

[DracusNarcrym]

Great gaming laptop... Specs are amazing.
Especially the two storage units. Slightly rare to see in laptops.
Also, where did they dig up Thunderbolt? Odd to see on a Windows system, but a good feature.

Problem is, its cost is equal to that of my initial GTX 980 Ti 2-way SLI build...

Overall a great product, but I think I'd pass, based on that last remark.

 

[illumination]

The ROG is still good enough for most"next gen" games,plus you saved some money,depending on which model you purchased!!
Cheers!!

The g751jt with the 970M, it holds its own in gaming

I seriously debated on the Acer, as i owned one, a cheap one at that, and it lasted several years. What concerned me was Acer's use of cheap laptop base body designs generally deployed with their systems.

 

[Venustus]

The g751jt with the 970M, it holds its own in gaming

I seriously debated on the Acer, as i owned one, a cheap one at that, and it lasted several years. What concerned me was Acer's use of cheap laptop base body designs generally deployed with their systems.

Indeed!!
I do believe build quality in Asus to be superior to Acer!

Especially the two storage units. Slightly rare to see in laptops.

Agreed!!

 

[frogboy]

Nice, i think i want one.

 

[Exterminator]

ASUS ROG or any Laptops with these specs are very big a not very mobile in my opinion.I have had an ROG for a long time.
I think I would prefer a Desktop build with specs similar to or better than these probably for less money.Of course that would entail building it on your own.
They are very nice for gaming though and this Acer has some awesome specs.Acer has some gaming Laptops similar to the ROG with excellent specs at about half the price of this one.

 

[SloppyMcFloppy]

GTX 980 > GTX 980M.

i7-6700k > i7-6700HQ.

No thanks.

 

[Exterminator]

GTX 980 > GTX 980M.

i7-6700k > i7-6700HQ.

No thanks.

GTX 980M is a Laptop GPU and the i7-6700HQ is a notebook processor
GTX980 is a Desktop GPU and the i7-6700K is an unlocked Desktop processor
The next step up from the i7-6700HQ would be the 6820HK/6820HQ/6920HQ
"K" stands for unlocked meaning it can be overclocked "HQ" is a locked Laptop processor and "HK" an unlocked Laptop processor

These are excellent specs in a Laptop and could easily rival many a Desktop

 

[SloppyMcFloppy]

GTX 980M is a Laptop GPU and the i7-6700HQ is a notebook processor
GTX980 is a Desktop GPU and the i7-6700K is an unlocked Desktop processor
The next step up from the i7-6700HQ would be the 6820HK/6820HQ/6920HQ
"K" stands for unlocked meaning it can be overclocked "HQ" is a locked Laptop processor and "HK" an unlocked Laptop processor

These are excellent specs in a Laptop and could easily rival many a Desktop

I knows the difference between laptop and desktop. But you shouldn't spend more money on laptop than desktop because the price will be $3k and above to includes desktop GPU and CPU. Plus the battery will probably not going to last long as well when it unplug.

 

[Alkajak]

GTX 980M is a Laptop GPU and the i7-6700HQ is a notebook processor
GTX980 is a Desktop GPU and the i7-6700K is an unlocked Desktop processor
The next step up from the i7-6700HQ would be the 6820HK/6820HQ/6920HQ
"K" stands for unlocked meaning it can be overclocked "HQ" is a locked Laptop processor and "HK" an unlocked Laptop processor

These are excellent specs in a Laptop and could easily rival many a Desktop

Agreed. Very good laptop specs. But justifying $3500? ASUS's newest ROG model is $2800 for better build quality and the same specs, minus the 512GB SSD being swapped out for a 256GB SSD. Acer is doing a good job at keeping up to speed, but the price is surprisingly wrong compared to their entry-level laptops which are actually some of the cheapest on the market right now.

Edit: If only I could fit a GTX 980 inside my laptop..

 

[SloppyMcFloppy]

Edit: If only I could fit a GTX 980 inside my laptop..

That will save a lot of pain in the butt of buying a new laptop and install everything.

 

[Exterminator]

But you shouldn't spend more money on laptop than desktop because the price will be $3k and above to includes desktop GPU and CPU. Plus the battery will probably not going to last long as well when it unplug.

Well that depends on what you are looking for.You cannot take a Desktop with you.I am assuming that someone would purchase this Laptop for the advantage of having high performance for gaming or other tasks and portability. In fact I used my ROG in place of a desktop for a couple years.

Agreed. Very good laptop specs. But justifying $3500? ASUS's newest ROG model is $2800 for better build quality and the same specs, minus the 512GB SSD being swapped out for a 256GB SSD. Acer is doing a good job at keeping up to speed, but the price is surprisingly wrong compared to their entry-level laptops which are actually some of the cheapest on the market right now.

I agree it is a hefty price and you can get pretty much the same specs at a cheaper price.I have always been an ASUS fan until Windows 10 and the mind numbing task of trying to get it to stick on my ROG.ASUS customer support leaves little to be desired ask @illumination about that.
I personally would need to know a little more about ACER to drop that kind of cash on a Laptop.I have seen this Laptop in person and it is quite nice to say the least.A little bit different in terms of drives but it is impressive.
If you really don't have a need for the portability then you could build one amazing Desktop for that money.

 

[DracusNarcrym]

@exterminator20 Regarding Acer, I have had one of their mainline, gamer-oriented laptops for around 6 years, constantly using it as a local server. Proven extremely reliable.

 

[jamescv7]

In such overall outlook, even those promising specification will never have an edge compare to the powerful desktop builds but if pertaining the optimization for sure its very slight to observe the slowdowns.

If we are talking on the practicality as a gamer then go for desktop build, Acer Predator and other related high-end laptops are just example that a user may purchase in such 'desperate' move.

 

[DracusNarcrym]

In such overall outlook, even those promising specification will never have an edge compare to the powerful desktop builds but if pertaining the optimization for sure its very slight to observe the slowdowns.

If we are talking on the practicality as a gamer then go for desktop build, Acer Predator and other related high-end laptops are just example that a user may purchase in such 'desperate' move.

Very well said. No matter the price paid, a desktop, compared to a laptop of the same specifications, will always prevail, even by a little.

However, if a user also takes the "portability" factor into consideration, then laptop counterparts naturally have the edge.

 

[Exterminator]

Obviously a Desktop will always be ahead of a Laptop as the options available in Hardware and customization far exceed a Laptop.
However I think the topic here is the Acer Predator posted by the OP and you really cannot compare the two as they are two different animals.
I would like to think if someone is considering this machine that they are doing so because it is a Laptop.