Acer unveils Predator lineup, includes new Acer Predator 17X gaming laptop, Z1 curved monitors and Predator 8 tablet

Acer has unveiled some of the new additions to its Predator line for gaming. Uses can now look forward to a new gaming laptop, curved monitors for PC gaming and a gaming tablet from Acer.

Acer Predator 17X for VR

Lifting the veil off its newest gaming laptop, the allure of the Acer Predator 17X is its Nvidia VR Ready program, which allows it to be compatible with either the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive VR headsets.

According to Geeky-Gadgets, it comes with a 17.3-inch screen that can be upgraded to a 4K Ultra HD 3840x2160 G-Synch display over the standard specs. The Acer Predator 17X has the Intel Core i7-6820HK, 64GB of RAM, the Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 8GB GDDR5 graphics card and a 256GB Samsung SSD support.

This gaming laptop will first see retail stores in China come May. Everywhere else will have to wait until June to get it at a starting price point of US$2,799 (approx. AU$3,688).

Predator Z1 is the more affordable gaming monitor

Acer seems to have learned from its previously released Acer Predator X34 curved screen. While keeping some good specs on the monitor, the company has introduced the Predator Z1 series, which also feature G-Sync monitors that are a lot cheaper at US$600 (approx. AU$790) for the smallest screen, according to Ars Technica.

The Predator Z1 series has three models. There are two with 16:9 and one with 21:9. Since the price tag is a lot cheaper than the massive X34, the Z1 series models are quite smaller in comparison, but specs-wise, they can keep up in terms of gaming enjoyment.

The Predator Z1 series of monitors are pretty high-end. They follow the styling of Acer’s Predator line of laptops in terms of design. As for the display, it features better colour quality than a TN screen, though it is still a little behind the X34 in terms of the number of colours that can be displayed.

Acer Predator 8 for gaming on-the-go

The Acer Predator 8 tablet has all the looks of a gaming tablet—it even follows the red and black-themed look of its fellow Predator gaming devices. However, it appears that its insides are not the best for gaming.

In a review from Kotaku, apart from the overall look on the outside, the Acer Predator 8 is not the best value tablet, considering how it can only accommodate low settings and low performance for gaming. It also does not help that it costs US$300 (approx. AU$395), which is much higher than the price tag of the Nvidia Shield, which is also meant as a gaming tablet.