Acer's huge, 10-pound gaming laptop is VR-ready
Powerful VR headsets like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive require equally beefy gaming PCs with powerful graphics processors to run them. But now you can have at those VR headsets on the go thanks to Acer's gigantic Predator 17x gaming laptop.
Looking like it was chiseled from pure angst, the 17-inch Predator 17x screams "hardcore gamer." Like old Alienwares, the Predator 17x is a monstrosity.
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It won't tick off any boxes for being an ultraportable, but it will crush every laptop out there -- technically and physically.
The Predator 17x's sharp, aggressive black and red chassis is big, chunky and proud. Along with that huge 17.3-inch full HD screen (you can also get it with a 4K display for extra), it's got a full-sized keyboard with a programmable backlit buttons, a number pad, and an optical drive. (Yes, even in the age of Steam and digital game downloads.)
It weighs 10 friggin' pounds.
By the way, it weighs 10 friggin' pounds. You'd have to be crazy to carry this thing in your backpack. Better to use a rolly bag if you don't want to become a hunchback anytime soon.
Sadly, battery life looks like it's terrible. It's rated at up 3 hours on a single charge, worse than the 5.5 hours on its predecessor, the Predator 17.
Powering this badass beast: Intel Core i7 (Skylake) processors (overclockable up to 4.0GHz), up to 64GB of DDR4 RAM and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 graphics card -- powerful enough to run the Rift and Vive. The gaming laptop also works with OSVR and StarVR headsets.
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Instead of a liquid-cooling system, Acer has included a triple-fan cooling system. The vents on the front of the laptop suck in air and distribute it across the processor and GPU cooling them, and then shoots the air out through the rear vents.
This VR-ready gaming laptop won't come cheap. It starts at $2,799, which is a crazy amount -- much more than comparable VR-ready desktops that you'll be able to build for around $1,000 to $1,500, when the Predator launches in June. But if you absolutely must take your Rift with you or the Gear VR just won't do, the Predator 17x looks like a solid option... so long as you're okay with the heft and design.
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Topics Gaming Oculus Virtual Reality Windows
Raymond Wong is Mashable's Senior Tech Correspondent. He reviews gadgets and tech toys and analyzes the tech industry. Raymond's also a bit of a camera geek, gamer, and fine chocolate lover. Before arriving at Mashable, he was the Deputy Editor of NBC Universal's tech publication DVICE. His writing has appeared on G4TV, BGR, Yahoo and Ubergizmo, to name a few. You can follow Raymond on Twitter @raywongy or Instagram @sourlemons.
