Acer's new ConceptD PCs are for creatives on a budget

Acer is expanding its ConceptD creative PCs once again, and this time it’s focusing on artists and other producers who don’t have lavish budgets. The centerpieces are the ConceptD 3 Ezel and its more conventional Notebook counterpart. Both come with 14- or 15.6-inch displays, 10th-generation Intel Core H-series processors and dedicated graphics, but they pack lower 1080p screen resolutions than higher-end models (if still Pantone-validated) and use more modest GPUs, including the GeForce GTX 1650 Ti in standard versions and the Quadro T1000 in Pro variants.

As before, the split comes down to the form factor. The Ezel includes the ConceptD line’s signature hinge that ‘floats’ the display for easier use while you’re drawing or sharing, while the Notebook has a far more ordinary laptop design. You’ll also get more claimed battery life out of the Notebook (20 hours) versus the Ezel (18 hours), although we suspect real-world longevity will be lower for both. They should be light and quiet — Acer boasts that you can put in a full workload of 3D modelling or drawing while the system runs at 40dBa or quieter.

The ConceptD 3 Ezel should reach North America in August starting at $1,500, or just over half the price of its ConceptD 7 equivalent. You’ll have to wait longer for the ConceptD 3 Notebook, which ships in October for $1,000.

There’s also a more affordable, small form factor ConceptD 100 desktop with 9th-gen Intel Core chips, GeForce or Quadro graphics with up to 256GB of SSD storage and 32GB of RAM. It’s not headed to the US at this stage, but should reach Europe later in June for €799. Creators might also appreciate a trio of monitors with high color accuracy and HDR, including the 170Hz, 1440p CP5 ($750), the 4K, 165Hz CP3 ($620) and the higher-accuracy 4K, 60Hz CM3 ($710). All three monitors are due in August.

And while you probably won’t be buying them yourself, Acer is making inroads into rugged computing with its Enduro family of laptops and tablets. This includes the 14-inch Enduro N7 laptop (shown below) with MIL-810G-spec resistances and swappable batteries, the more portable if more fragile Enduro N3 and two 10-inch Windows tablets, the extra-rugged Enduro T5 and the milder Enduro T1. You can get an 8-inch Android version of the T1, too. Acer has only priced the N3, which hits North America in August for $899, but it’s safe to say that you or your company will likely be willing to pay what it takes if you need one of these machines for work.