LAS VEGAS - Last year, Acer unveiled one of the most ambitious designs we’ve seen on a gaming laptop. The Acer Predator Triton 900 featured an adjustable display that had the ability to flip into a number of different viewing modes by way of a special hinge that allowed the screen to flip into different positions.
At the time, we weren’t sure if the system would ever make it to market. But Acer just erased any doubt with the reveal of a March availability and an actual price of $3,999.
If that weren’t enough, the company is also launching the Triton 500, an all-metal 15-inch gaming laptop available in February, starting at $1,799.
Back at IFA 2018, we were impressed that Acer had found a way to create a convertible 17-inch gaming laptop. Boasting a 4K panel with Nvidia’s G-Sync technology, you can expect smooth image rendering thanks to the display synchronizing with the GPU. The entire panel rests on Acer’s proprietary Ezel Aero hinge that allows gamers to either flip, push the touchscreen forward or lay it back.
This flexibility gives consumers four unique modes. There’s the traditional notebook mode, Ezel mode which pushes the screen forward over the keyboard for a more immersive experience. Tablet mode allows the screen to lay almost completely flat over the keyboard while Stand mode flips the screen back from standard laptop mode. It’s similar to presentation mode on regular convertible systems.
Transitioning between the four modes was effortless, with the panel swinging freely and steadily from one position to the next.
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Spec-wise, the Predator Triton 900 will ship with an 8th Gen Intel Core i7 processor, up to 32GB of RAM, NVMe PCIe SSDs in RAID 0 configuration and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 GPU. If that isn’t enough, the notebook will also feature a wireless Xbox wireless receiver so you can play your favorite titles with an Xbox controller. Even cooler, there’s a small compartment along the left side of the system to stow away the dongle for safe keeping.
But maybe you don’t need a fancy convertible gaming laptop. Maybe you want something that’s powerful without all the fancy bells and whistles. Then you’ll want to check out the Triton 15. At only 0.7-inches thick and 4.6-pounds, the 500 is a lean, mean, all-metal gaming machine.
The laptop is configurable with the same ultra-powered specs as the 900, with the exception of the GPU, which taps out at 2080 Max-Q instead of the full-blown card. The system is also overclockable so you can squeeze every bit of performance from that relatively slim frame. And while you won’t get a 4K panel, the full HD (1920 x 1080) screen has G-Sync tech with a 144-Hertz refresh rate and an average brightness of 300 nits, which is sure to make most gamers happy.
It’s evident that Acer is moving to make a major statement in the gaming space. We’re excited to get both systems in for review to test their performance and to check out the innovative designs up close.
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