The Predator 21x: A Laptop That Defies Convention

We're here at the Acer booth at CES 2017, and we're excited to show you a laptop that many would have considered impossible. But as we can see, it's very much possible – and that's no small feat. The Predator 21x is a 20-inch laptop with a curved 2560x1080 12Hz display, Cherry MX Brown mechanical keyboard with full individually controlled and back-lit RGB lighting, a right-handed right-sided touchpad, and a number pad that's also individually lit.

However, it's clear that Acer has taken some liberties with the design. As the host notes, the keys aren't even mechanical switches – they're not Cherry MX Brown, for example. And while the laptop is certainly feature-packed, with two USB 3s on each side, a Kensington lock, dedicated headphone and microphone audio jack, and an SD card reader, it's clear that Acer is prioritizing power over practicality.

The IO is certainly impressive – we've got two 330W bricks powering this beast, along with gigabit Ethernet, Thunderbolt 3.2 display port, HDMI 2.0, and a whole lot of ventilation to keep things cool. But why does it need five fans and nine internal heat pipes? According to the host, it's all about the specs inside: we've got a Core i7 7820HK processor that's overclockable, 64GB of DDR4 RAM, two GTX 1080s with SLI, and an NVMe SSD raid zero configuration with a 1TB hard drive that serves as additional storage. And while our benchmark results may not be perfect – we saw some issues in Unigine Heaven – it's clear that the temperatures of the GPUs were incredible, even at high loads.

So what does this mean for consumers? Well, if you're willing to spend top dollar on a laptop that's truly exceptional, then the Predator 21x might just be the machine for you. We're talking about a price tag that's likely to put it out of reach for all but the most die-hard enthusiasts – and yet, as the host notes, anyone who's serious about their gaming or content creation might well be willing to shell out the cash. And let's be real – this thing is a monster: 20 inches of screen real estate, a keyboard that's more suitable for typing than gaming (although it does have customizable backlighting), and a design that's more akin to a desktop workstation than a laptop.

Of course, not everyone will appreciate the Predator 21x. As we said earlier, some might find it too big or too heavy – and with its weight coming in at over 14 pounds, it's certainly not something you'd want to toss into a backpack or sling over your shoulder. But for those who are willing to take on the challenge, the rewards are likely to be well worth it.

Thanks to our sponsor, Dbrand, for helping us show off this incredible machine – and for bringing some much-needed protection to devices that might otherwise be vulnerable to scratches and scuffs. With their authentic 3M vinyl wraps in a range of colors and designs, you can give your laptop (or any other device) a personalized look that's both functional and stylish. Check out Dbrand's site to see what they have to offer – and don't forget to like us on LinkedIn for more coverage from CES 2017!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthanks to dbrand for sponsoring our CES coverage this year check out their awesome skins at the link below here we are in the Acer booth and here it is in the flesh the laptop that many would have called impossible but I now that I've seen that it is indeed possible would simply call very very very highly improbable this is it it is a 20 1 in laptop with a curved 2560 by 1080 12 htz display a Cherry MX Brown mechanical keyboard with full individually controlled and back lit RGB lighting a right handed right sided touchpad oh look at that it can also have a number pad that is also individually lit but regrettably not Cherry MX Brown key switch I mean Acer you guys got to get your stuff together here these aren't even mechanical keys and it's got a balls to the wall IO including a couple USB 3s on the right a Kensington lock you lock this baby up because otherwise someone's going to walk off with it and gain a few pounds of arm bulk in the process I mean look at my arms I'm not flexing I'm just holding the laptop we got two more USB 3s on the left dedicated headphone and microphone audio Jackson SD card reader and oh this is where it gets real right around the back here where you got two power plugs in for two 330 W bricks more on that later gigabit Ethernet Thunderbolt 32 display port 1.2s HDMI 2.0 and a whole lot of ventilation so why does it need five fans and nine internal heat pipes that's a great question it comes down to Specs inside inside the Predator 21x you will find a core i7 7820hk that is an overclockable chip Acer didn't give any specific reason why they didn't just go with a desktop chip like I've seen ton in these kinds of machines before but there you go uh it's got 64 gigs of ddr4 dual Channel memory two GTX 1080s and SLI each with 8 gigs of gddr 5x it's got a 1 tbte nvme SSD raid zero configuration with a 1 tbte hard drive that is actually the memory and all the drive slots are pretty easy to get at so you've got a couple more spare SATA m.2 slots available and the CPU and GPU are both overclockable but what does that overclocking translate to well our Benchmark results actually went down in unigen Valley but I think that speaks to the pre-production nature of this machine not to the insufficient thermals because the temperatures of the gpus while running these tests were flipping unbelievable we're not even reaching the 80° limit of a GTX 1080 so I would expect that even though they don't have any details for me at this time these might even be full TDP 108s in a laptop form factor though it would be fairly generous to call this a laptop form factor there's only one configuration the highest end configuration but quite frankly I agree with Acer's decision as much as consumer choice is important quite frankly I think anyone spending $8,000 on a laptop is probably willing to spend $9,000 on a laptop because they're going for the best of the best and that's what this puppy is going to cost you at least in the US so uh wow that is a thing it's real it is not a PR stunt I mean it might still be a PR stunt but it's a real one that you can actually hold I mean look how thick this thing is so thanks for watching our coverage of the Predator 21x here at the Acer booth at C 2017 and a huge shout out to our sponsor for this video dbrand if you guys are thinking gee my device looks kind of cool and it's like kind of scratch resistant but it could be a lot better dbrand is the solution they've got a ton of authentic 3M vinyl wraps in many different colors and designs and they are sized perfectly to fit your device whether it's a game console phone or laptop whatever the case may be check it out over at dbrand.com we're going to have that Linked In the video descriptionthanks to dbrand for sponsoring our CES coverage this year check out their awesome skins at the link below here we are in the Acer booth and here it is in the flesh the laptop that many would have called impossible but I now that I've seen that it is indeed possible would simply call very very very highly improbable this is it it is a 20 1 in laptop with a curved 2560 by 1080 12 htz display a Cherry MX Brown mechanical keyboard with full individually controlled and back lit RGB lighting a right handed right sided touchpad oh look at that it can also have a number pad that is also individually lit but regrettably not Cherry MX Brown key switch I mean Acer you guys got to get your stuff together here these aren't even mechanical keys and it's got a balls to the wall IO including a couple USB 3s on the right a Kensington lock you lock this baby up because otherwise someone's going to walk off with it and gain a few pounds of arm bulk in the process I mean look at my arms I'm not flexing I'm just holding the laptop we got two more USB 3s on the left dedicated headphone and microphone audio Jackson SD card reader and oh this is where it gets real right around the back here where you got two power plugs in for two 330 W bricks more on that later gigabit Ethernet Thunderbolt 32 display port 1.2s HDMI 2.0 and a whole lot of ventilation so why does it need five fans and nine internal heat pipes that's a great question it comes down to Specs inside inside the Predator 21x you will find a core i7 7820hk that is an overclockable chip Acer didn't give any specific reason why they didn't just go with a desktop chip like I've seen ton in these kinds of machines before but there you go uh it's got 64 gigs of ddr4 dual Channel memory two GTX 1080s and SLI each with 8 gigs of gddr 5x it's got a 1 tbte nvme SSD raid zero configuration with a 1 tbte hard drive that is actually the memory and all the drive slots are pretty easy to get at so you've got a couple more spare SATA m.2 slots available and the CPU and GPU are both overclockable but what does that overclocking translate to well our Benchmark results actually went down in unigen Valley but I think that speaks to the pre-production nature of this machine not to the insufficient thermals because the temperatures of the gpus while running these tests were flipping unbelievable we're not even reaching the 80° limit of a GTX 1080 so I would expect that even though they don't have any details for me at this time these might even be full TDP 108s in a laptop form factor though it would be fairly generous to call this a laptop form factor there's only one configuration the highest end configuration but quite frankly I agree with Acer's decision as much as consumer choice is important quite frankly I think anyone spending $8,000 on a laptop is probably willing to spend $9,000 on a laptop because they're going for the best of the best and that's what this puppy is going to cost you at least in the US so uh wow that is a thing it's real it is not a PR stunt I mean it might still be a PR stunt but it's a real one that you can actually hold I mean look how thick this thing is so thanks for watching our coverage of the Predator 21x here at the Acer booth at C 2017 and a huge shout out to our sponsor for this video dbrand if you guys are thinking gee my device looks kind of cool and it's like kind of scratch resistant but it could be a lot better dbrand is the solution they've got a ton of authentic 3M vinyl wraps in many different colors and designs and they are sized perfectly to fit your device whether it's a game console phone or laptop whatever the case may be check it out over at dbrand.com we're going to have that Linked In the video description\n"