Acer's Predator Thronos gaming chair is insane and I want it so badly
If you're building a totally over-the-top gaming den and you still haven't decided on a chair, Acer has got you covered.
At its press conference in Berlin on Wednesday, ahead of the IFA trade show, the company brought a crazy amount of gaming-related gadgets. The most impressive among them is Predator Thronos, a gaming chair that almost lets you become one with your computer.
The Predator Thronos has a steel structure that's 1.5 meters tall, hosting a cabin that reclines up to 140 degrees, an ergonomic seat and foot rest. It also has an overhead brace that lets you place three 27-inch monitors In front of your face, and it can also host an entire Predator gaming PC. Fully outfitted, this thing is less a chair and more a giant computer that also allows you to crawl inside of it.
Acer describes the Thronos' design as "menacing," and it definitely looks like a prop from a science fiction movie. It will not blend in with your grandad's library, but if you like blue neon, and aggressive, sharp lines, it will be right up your alley.
The chair is fully adjustable via a set of buttons on your right; you don't have to do anything manually. I briefly sat in it and it's pretty comfy, though I'm not sure how long I'd enjoy gaming with my feet dangling over the foot rest, as soft as it is. Once you find a good position, the Thronos really is very immersive; you'll easily forget about the outside world with those three curvy screens taking up most of your field of view. To add to the experience, the chair also vibrates, responding to the action on-screen.
There's no word on pricing and availability for the Thronos yet. It's safe to expect a steep price -- it's the sort of thing that many dream of but few can actually afford -- but your inner kid (or your actual kid) will be very, very thankful if you get it.
At the conference, Acer also launched a bunch of 27-inch gaming monitors that will work perfectly with the Thronos chair. The Predator XB273K has a 144Hz refresh rate, and a 3840x2160 pixel resolution, which should be enough for some really beautiful visuals (if your computer can power it).
It has an IPS panel with a wide color gamut (90% of the DCI-P3 color space) and it's VESA DisplayHDR 400 certified. It also comes with Nvidia's G-Sync tech that eliminates screen tearing, as well as Acer's VisionCare software suite which makes long gaming sessions easier on the eyes.
The Predator XB273K will arrive in North America in Q4 2018 for the price of $1,299.
If that's a bit too steep for you, Acer also launched the Acer Nitro XV273K, also with an IPS panel, 4K resolution and a 144Hz refresh rate. It also uses Acer's Integrated Visual-Response Boost (VBR) tech to achieve a 1ms MPRT (Moving Picture Response Time), meaning reduced blur in fast-moving images. Instead of Nvidia's G-Sync, though, it comes with AMD's cheaper-to-implement Radeon FreeSync tech. The monitor also comes in two cheaper configurations: The XV272U has an IPS panel and lower resolution, and the XF272U has a TN panel.
The Acer Nitro XV273K also arrives in North America in the last quarter of 2018 and starts at $899. The XV272U and the XF272U arrive at the same time and cost $499 and $449, respectively.
Stan is a Senior Editor at Mashable, where he has worked since 2007. He's got more battery-powered gadgets and band t-shirts than you. He writes about the next groundbreaking thing. Typically, this is a phone, a coin, or a car. His ultimate goal is to know something about everything.
