Acer’s Predator Gaming Rig Stalks into U.S.

Acer has brought its Predator gaming desktop to the U.S. market, sporting Core 2 Quad CPUs and Nvidia GeForce 9000 graphics...and non-stratospheric prices.

Computer maker Acer—new corporate parents to Gateway—have brought their Predator GT7700 desktop gaming computer to the United States. Announced last May, the Predators sport Intel Core 2 Quad processors, Nvidia GeForce 9000 graphics, a liquid cooling system, optional 10,000 rpm Raptor drives, RAID capability, and support for up to 8 GB of RAM.

“Boasting advanced technology for exceptional speed, visuals, and sound, our gaming powerhouse will fire up even hard core gamers,” said Acer America’s senior manager for retail desktop product planning Stephanie Eggert, in a statement. “It’s a killer system at a price that won’t break the bank. Aggressive in design, price, and performance, the Aspire Predator is gaming nirvana.”

Although the system does look like it escaped from the wrong end of a Transformers trailer there’s no denying the power under the (bright orange) hood. The Predator will be offered in two basic configurations with Intel Core 2 Quad processors at either 2.5 or 2.83 GHz, Nvidia GeForce 9600 GT or 9800 GTX graphics, up to 8 GB of RAM, and either two or three 640 GB SATA II hard drives (configurable in RAID 0, 1 or 5). For connecting up peripherals and storage, the system offers 8 USB 2.0 ports (four in front, four in back), IEEE 1394, two eSATA ports, the gigabit Ethernet ports, a TV output, six audio jacks, and a multi-in-one media card reader. Both ship with 64-bit Windows Vista SP1.

Both configurations are available now, with the G7700-UQ9300A starting at $1,649 and the G7700-UQ9550A starting at $2,199.

Acer is also rolling out a new G24 high-performance 24-inch LCD display aimed at the gaming market, featuring a 1,920 by 1,200-pixel native resolution, a 2ms response time, a contrast ratio of 50,000:1 (which Acer claims is the industry’s highest), and 400 cdm² of brightness. The monitor handles D-sub, as well as DVI and HDMI with HDCP; the unit also features a VESA wall mount. Acer says the G24 monitor is available now for a suggested price of $399.99.