Acer Predator 21 X: What Is It Capable of Doing?

Insanity with a price tag.

By Prajith

| Published: Wednesday, January 4, 2017, 19:42 [IST]

Technology soiree has already begun at the CES in Las Vegas and several tech honchos are making their fans incredibly joyous by announcing their futuristic devices and innovations. Although, some of the launches are unsolicited, some definitely are making bold headlines and instigating fans to raise questions like "market release date" and "pricing."

Acer Predator 21 X: What Is It Capable of Doing?

One such device which has caught the eyes of many, esp. avid gamers, is none but Acer's Predator 21 X. The massive 21-inch curved display featuring device has much more to offer apart from the already mentioned "curved" display. Obviously, the over-sized and over-weight (about 8 kg) Predator is nothing but a predator, quite literally.

Predator in every way, the 21 X comes backed by ace-class army of hardware, which actually is the point of interest. Before going ahead with the nitti-gritties of the device, lets rundown the specs first.

21-inch screen (21:9 aspect ratio) 2,560x1,080-pixel resolution
120GHz refresh rate
2000R curved screen
Nvidia G-Sync
Tobii Eye Tracking
Two Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 GPUs
Seventh-Gen Intel Core i7-7820HK (overclockable) CPU
Can store up to five storage drives at a time
Two power supplies to run
Five system fans
Nine heat pipes to stay cool
HDMI port and two DisplayPorts
Four speakers and two subwoofers
Mechanical keyboard uses Cherry MX switches and has an RGB LED under every key
SD card reader
19.4 pounds (8.8 kilograms)

Brevity is one element that might fog the actual specs of the device in cases like this, however, let's take chances here and focus on the key hardware of the Predator 21 X. So, what exactly makes the Predator different and what are its capabilities? Let's find out without any delay.

Curved display, Tobii eye tracking

To begin with, Acer Predator 21 X, as mentioned earlier, features an unprecedented colossal (21-inch) curved display which makes it "the world's first notebook with a curved screen."

The display, as seen in the images, has a noticeable curvature on either sides. It is based on Vertical Alignment technology. Meaning, it not only provides wide viewing angles but also reproduces colors well, both of which are a happy welcome to the hardcore gamers.

The Predator 21 X comes with support for Tobii eye tracking. For those who are unaware, eye tracking is a technology which complements other input methods such as the keyboards, mice, and gamepads among others. The basic idea behind this tech is to help computers understand what you are looking at while gaming (with the help of an eye tracker) to offer an intuitive experience.

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Two Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 GPUs

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 GPU is based on Pascal architecture in comparison to the previous Nvidia chipsets which are based on Maxwell architecture. The highlight of the new architecture is that it uses smaller manufacturing process, 16nm to be precise. What this essentially means is that more number of transistors can be placed on any given circuit.

For all those who are wondering what this is all about, it's just a complex way of saying that this architecture results in significant improvements in performance with a little effect on power consumption.

Now, if a single GeForce GTX 1080 GPU can result in such improvements in performance without effecting power consumption then you can imagine what two GPUs can do.

7th-gen Intel Core i7-7820HK (overclockable) CPU

The 7th-gen Core CPU, otherwise know as the Kaby Lake is based on 14nm architecture. It is the first desktop chip made by Intel post Tick-Tock - which usually sees upgrades in architecture, process, and instruction per clock (IPC). However, the inclusion of Kaby Lake CPUs means improved power efficiency and higher clock speeds.

Four speakers and two subwoofers

A proper gaming laptop means no compromises on any aspect, even on sound. And the Acer Predator 21 X is no exception. It has four speakers along with two subwoofers to offer an immersive experience.