Acer's new Predator gaming laptop trades power for portability
The Triton 700 is just 0.75 inches thick.
What's the point of getting a powerful laptop if you can't drag it to a gaming party? Acer's latest back-to-school update for its Predator series of laptops, the Triton 700, may actually be portable enough for those trips. It packs the latest NVIDIA graphics chips and an advanced dual-fan cooling system into a chassis that's just 18.9mm (or 0.75 inches) tall. Acer hasn't shared many other details about the notebook yet, except to say that it will be ready for the back-to-school season this summer. In addition to size, the overall weight impacts portability, so we'll have to withhold any final assessment until we learn that crucial detail.
Even with all that oomph, the latest Razer Blade is still a smidge thinner and more powerful that the Triton 700 Acer is showing off. A closer comparison spec-wise to the machine we're seeing today is Origin's EON15-S that runs NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti graphics and an Intel i7-7700HQ CPU, but there are a number of PC makers cramming capable components into slimmer form factors for gamers these days.
Gamers who don't need all that power can consider the new Nitro 5 laptop, which offers NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 1050 or 1050 Ti graphics and the company's CoolBoost cooling system. Again, at its New York presentation, the company didn't dwell very long on each product, so other details about the laptop are scant. We'll update this post if and when we learn more.
For those who prefer to invest in their at-home battle stations, Acer also unveiled a 27-inch 4K gaming monitor called the Predator X27. It boasts a 144Hz refresh rate, 4ms response time and uses Quantom Dot technology for better image quality while saving energy. The X27, like many of its rivals, supports NVIDIA's G-Sync technology, as well as the less-common HDR feature, for smoother streams with higher definition and contrast.
Update: We got to spend some time with the Predator Triton 700 and it's definitely one of the thinnest gaming laptops out there. Unfortunately, it's hard to judge what this thing can do without putting it through its paces by, you know, actually playing games on it. That said, in terms of ergonomics, Acer made an interesting choice by placing the trackpad right below the screen and above the keyboard, although chances are people who want this laptop will be using a mouse.
If you're intrigued by it, the Triton 700 will be available in August for $3,000.
Edgar Alvarez contributed to this report.
