It’s hard to pin down but there’s something special to the experience of building your own gaming computer. Researching, comparing and sourcing the individual parts. Bolting it all together and then hearing it hum to life for the first time makes for a memorable moment. However, assuredly, it’s not an experience for everyone. It can expensive and time consuming and does place unintended demands on what’s still fundamentally a leisure activity.
Some people would rather keep it simple. They desire a machine that requests very little setup time and delivers very high performance in return. For them, the hands used to connect the motherboard to the power supply are inconsequential. For these sorts of people, Acer’s Predator G1 gaming PC will likely prove a winning purchase. It’s an outright outstanding gaming PC that’s easy to recommend.
Only slightly bulkier than your PS4 or Xbox One, the Predator G1 boasts both lavish design and spectacular performance. On a visual level, it’s as cool as cases come. Covered in black scales and lined by crimson, the G1’s reptilian spines and grooves make it feel like the leanest desktop PC in the range yet. A small depression above the front-facing USB, SD and USB-C input slots can be pushed to reveal the disc tray. Slightly above that, there are a pair of horn-like headphone mounts that can be extended for use. It all feels very appropriate, given the branding.
These features are well-incorporated into the overall design, leaving it as engaging to use as it is to look at. On every front, it carries with it an imposing presence – even when the growl-lights aren’t set to drift across the color spectrum. It is the kind of slick machine that’d feel as at home on your home office desk as it would on your TV cabinet – what matters is that it’s yours.
The Predator G1 is just as fierce under the hood. It boasts an Intel 6700 3.4gHz i7 processing unit, an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 graphics card and a hefty 32GBs of RAM. In terms of storage, it’s also packing with a 2TB traditional hard drive and 512GB SSD. To keep things as simple as the machine itself does: it’s a beast and it’s specs carry with them the same raw ferocity as the Predator G1’s exterior design.
Both the G1’s external and internal factors can be further configured through the pre-installed Predator Sense application. This custom app allows you to mess with the patterns, frequency of color of the lighting panels on the case as well as modify the speed of the two fans beneath it.
Acer are touting the machine as ‘VR-Ready’ but the reality goes way beyond that. The G1 can pretty much ready to run any serious title available on the PC at the moment with ease. If online gaming is your interest, rest assured that the Predator G1 will serve you well. We found it ran games like Overwatch and Heroes of the Storm at the highest possible settings without even coming close to dropping below 100FPS – even in the tightest of teamfights.
Same goes with even games that are infamous for being poorly optimised like Battleborn and Batman: Arkham Knight. We cranked all the settings way up on these two games – both known for delivering poor performance on even decent rigs – and found them both immediately playable and visually impressive. By the end of our two-week period with the machine we were honestly running out of ideas on how to push the limit with it – and I think that says a lot about the machine.
What’s more, the G1’s performance always came quietly. Even in the most technically entrenched of experiences, the Predator G1 remained barely audible. The only real catch here is that the rig requires two power outlets rather than the usual one. However, the end result is a high-end experience that’s elevated enough to be well-worth the minor inconvenience.
There’s not a whole lot you can’t do here in terms of gaming. While some power-users might eventually find some limitation in the future, for now – and especially for the kind of player the Predator G1 is aimed at – it doesn’t get any better than this.
There’s something to the experience of building your own computer – but that’s not you’re getting with the Predator G1. With the G1, you’re getting a machine that’s ready and rearing to go from the moment you plug it in. It’s got specs to last and a case design that’s more than capable of doing the same.
If you’re in the market for an outright gaming PC – this is the one you’ll want to walk home with.
