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Acer Aspire Predator G7700

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Acer Aspire Predator G7700
 
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By David Hollingworth
Nov 13, 2008 | 11 Comments
Tags: Acer | Aspire | Predator | G7700

Striking looks, but can this brand name performance PC perform where it counts?

Look at that thing. Just take a moment. Even if you don’t like the Predator’s design (and we can understand that), you’ve got to admit that Acer has created a case that is truly unique and striking, a real cut above the square box mentality of most case designs.

What’s more, it’s thoughtfully designed from a technical point of view, as well.

The sliding front panel, which we hate on other cases, is actually quite solid on the Predator. It’s well anchored and never ever feels like it’s going to snap or foul its mechanism, and it looks as good raised as it does lowered (and neither position obscures the front IO ports).

With the panel raised, the real working fascia of the Predator is exposed. Here you have two bays for optical drives, and quite a fancy opening mechanism, and another panel door that reveals four hot-swappable HDD bays. The OS disk is clearly labelled, and in this model there’s only a second drive, but the room for expansion is ideal. The slide-in slide-out mechanism housing the drives is well designed, too, making this a feature that’s easy to use.

The interior is very neat, and all the major components feature airflow guides to make sure intake and exhaust goes where it should. Combined with the water-cooling system keeping the CPU chilled, this means getting to stuff like RAM is a little more convoluted than we like, but certainly not a chore. The cabling is neat, though perhaps not as anal as we’ve come to expect from smaller builders like Scorptech and NRG.

The watercooling is an excellent addition. With a QX9650 under the hood, the Predator is actually an excellent ‘first overclocker’s’ machine. It’s supplied at stock (presumably, Acer is planning to build a lot of these, and doesn’t want to mess about with a stock OC), but there’s ample room for getting your hands dirty. Like a lot of higher end builders, there’s a range of graphics options for the Predator, but this one comes with dual 9800 GTXs, with a total of 1GB of RAM between them. The system also boasts an alarming 8GB of DDR2-800 RAM, which is also the same burnt orange as the case. Thankfully, a 64-bit OS allows all the memory to be addressed, but we still think it’s a touch of overkill.

click to view full size image

But how does all this tech gel together when it comes to actually delivering the goods? Only our benchmarks know the answer. And, now, you.

Frankly, we were impressed. In 3DMark Vantage the Predator pulled down a score of p10,002 marks, which is pretty impressive for what is now, effectively, ‘old’ technology. It laughed at Crysis – though it glitched before the benchmark could complete, the average fps was sitting around 35-plus, while the max frames pumped out per second was above 45.

You’re always going to get more bang for your buck if you build yourself, but by the same token, you’re not going to get a system – with matching monitor! – that looks quite like this one. It is expensive, yes, but a lot of care has gone into the build and specs. If you’ve got the cash, it’s an easy machine to recommend.

 
Product Info
Specs:
Intel C2Q Extreme QX9650 (3GHz); 4x 2GB DDR2-800 RAM; 2x 750GB 7200rpm HDDs; BluRay Uni Optical Drive (Reads BD, HD-DVD); 2x 9800GTX 512MB (in SLI); Logitech G15 (Only available on first 50 buyers); Logitech gaming mouse G5; Vista Home Premium Edition (64-bit), 22in Acer LCD.
Supplier:
Price when reviewed:
AUD$6724
price check*
$4944.77 Aspire Predator G7700 $6900 Extreme Gaming + Acer G24 24 inch LCD Mon(Org)
Digitan Technology (NSW)
$6448.99 Aspire Predator G7700 $8999 Extreme Gaming + Acer G24 24 inch LCD Mon(Org)
Digitan Technology (NSW)
$9315.53 Aspire Predator G7700 $12999 Extreme Gaming+Acer G24 24 inch LCD Mon(Org)
Digitan Technology (NSW)
*Products and prices sourced from staticICE and are in no way associated with Atomic MPC Powered by
 
This article appeared in the November, 2008 issue of Atomic.

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11 Comments
Thoughts on this article? Add a comment below.
nesquick
Nov 13, 2008 6:25 PM
$6724 for that, What the f**k :/
CAP
Nov 13, 2008 10:11 PM
If you can build a better spec machine that is a clone, why buy a brand name?
SceptreCore
Nov 13, 2008 10:34 PM
Fair enough you can build a better spec, but Acer have provided a sound computer for those who get a boner paying large amounts of money for stuff. The use it for the same old stuff like, gaming, browsing, typing, and such.
greycat
Nov 13, 2008 11:04 PM
You're paying for looks even more than the name.
kweek1
Nov 14, 2008 8:24 PM
hate the design
nuttercake
Jan 4, 2009 9:23 PM
Alienware vs Predator (alien vs predator) geddit!
looks nice
bigd519
Jan 12, 2009 5:25 PM
I do like the case. BUT for the price why wouldnt you build your own super computer that would dump all over this thing...

A) there is nothing special about this besides its design
B) i would never by an ACER, i sell them for a living and they are absolute junk!

I spent $2200 and built a PC that it 5 x better then what you get with the Acer. ITS OVER PRICED!
nuttercake
Jan 12, 2009 9:10 PM
is there any way to get the case? that's the only thing i like about this
deVol1974
Jan 16, 2009 2:38 PM
I have purchased the Predator.

bigd519 - I also sell Acer for a living - they use to have problems 6 years ago, but they are in the top 3 now. I personally prefer Acer to any other brand.

Why by a brand name (instead of build it yourself ?)
a) its manufactured on the Server production line
b) it has the manufacturer warranty
c) not all of us have time to research and time to buy all the little seperate bits n pieces
d) it might be a little pricey - but hey - you get what you pay for - its a damn good rig !

and nuttercake - no you cant get the case on its own, buy the Predator and re-use the case in 3 years time when you want to spec it up !
nuttercake
Jan 18, 2009 6:53 PM
does the motherboard only support sli? can there be crossfire?
nuttercake
Jan 18, 2009 7:05 PM
maybe i could buy it and spec it up, but wouldn't you have to remove pretty much everything to replace the mobo?
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Atomic Magazine

Issue: 107 | December, 2009

Atomic is a magazine aimed squarely at computer enthusiasts, gamers, and serious PC upgraders.

Every month we bring you the latest reviews of new technology and PC components, in depth features on everything from overclocking to console hacking, and gaming previews and interviews.
 
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