WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:05.920 I think Acer has finally figured it out. 00:00:03.360 --> 00:00:11.519 For the first time ever, as far as I know, Acer has done a pre-built gaming 00:00:09.040 --> 00:00:17.119 rig that ships with NVIDIA's topofthe-line graphics card installed. 00:00:14.000 --> 00:00:19.840 And the Predator G1 borrows a lot more 00:00:17.119 --> 00:00:25.920 from enthusiasts and boutique system builders than just the idea of packing a 00:00:22.720 --> 00:00:28.640 proper GPU inside. Let's take a closer 00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:35.760 look. 00:00:35.760 --> 00:00:42.320 Intel's Skull Canyon Nook features a sixth generation Core i7 processor and 00:00:40.239 --> 00:00:46.480 Thunderbolt 3. You can learn more at the link in the video description. 00:00:44.960 --> 00:00:51.840 Inside the box, you'll get the following: a Predator G1 gaming PC, some 00:00:49.360 --> 00:00:55.760 extra screws and cables, a surprisingly competent set of peripherals. The 00:00:53.920 --> 00:00:59.600 mouse's clicks are pleasantly tactile and it includes extra buttons for back 00:00:57.920 --> 00:01:04.080 forward and toggling between three preset DPI settings. And the keyboard is 00:01:01.920 --> 00:01:07.520 dual color LED back lit with a toggable gaming mode and Kaiwa mechanical key 00:01:06.159 --> 00:01:11.520 switches mounted to what seems to be a steel back plate. Then if you get the 00:01:09.680 --> 00:01:16.159 special edition launch bundle, there's also a copy of The Division and this is 00:01:14.080 --> 00:01:20.720 a new one, an Acer Predator themed luggage with cutouts to carry your 00:01:18.080 --> 00:01:24.479 gaming rig for when you travel. Leaving last but not least, two standard PC 00:01:22.560 --> 00:01:31.200 power cables and two laptop power bricks in a neat looking holder. That Wait a 00:01:26.640 --> 00:01:33.360 minute. What? Two power bricks? Yes, my 00:01:31.200 --> 00:01:37.200 friends. The idea that I pitched to Cooler Master's product manager almost 00:01:35.280 --> 00:01:42.159 three years ago of moving the power supply or two as it were outside an 00:01:40.079 --> 00:01:47.439 otherwise standard desktop chassis for improvements to both thermals and size 00:01:44.400 --> 00:01:50.880 cuz I'm a genius has officially come to 00:01:47.439 --> 00:01:53.280 life courtesy of Acer of all people. 00:01:50.880 --> 00:01:57.920 Well, whatever. Let's see if it worked. But first, I need to know if they impose 00:01:55.759 --> 00:02:04.079 limits on the hardware that can be used in the Predator G1. So, let's pop her 00:02:00.560 --> 00:02:07.920 open. which reveals a very interesting 00:02:04.079 --> 00:02:11.360 layout. The centerpiece is a Core i76700 00:02:07.920 --> 00:02:14.319 nonK quadcore hyperthreaded CPU, so no 00:02:11.360 --> 00:02:19.040 overclocking. There's 32 gigs of DDR4 RAM and a cleverly positioned blower 00:02:16.879 --> 00:02:25.200 case fan that should draw air across the front where a 512 gig M.2 to SATA SSD, a 00:02:22.879 --> 00:02:30.000 slim DVD writer and a two TBTE hard drive reside across the memory sticks 00:02:27.680 --> 00:02:34.879 and CPU area. And finally, over the motherboard heat sinks that cool both 00:02:31.840 --> 00:02:38.480 the CPU power delivery modules and the 00:02:34.879 --> 00:02:41.280 DC toDC converters that take 19vt 00:02:38.480 --> 00:02:46.560 external power and turn it into the 12, 5, and 3.3 volt juice needed by your 00:02:44.080 --> 00:02:50.720 computer guts. Not something that you often see on a pre-built motherboard. 00:02:49.040 --> 00:02:55.120 Mind you, there's not much about this motherboard that's normal. Contrary to 00:02:53.040 --> 00:03:00.239 the statement made by this unfortunate Acer spokesperson who's totally getting 00:02:57.040 --> 00:03:04.560 called out right now. Like a mini ITX 00:03:00.239 --> 00:03:08.159 board, it has only a single PCIe 3.06x 00:03:04.560 --> 00:03:11.599 expansion slot, but it's closer in total 00:03:08.159 --> 00:03:14.159 size to an MATX board. So, what is the 00:03:11.599 --> 00:03:18.640 extra space being used for? A number of things. LED headers for the threezone 00:03:17.040 --> 00:03:22.720 LED illumination that can be configurated regrettably not to all 00:03:21.280 --> 00:03:28.480 operate on the same cycle for some reason using Acer's Predator Sense 00:03:25.200 --> 00:03:30.799 software. One of only a couple bloy 00:03:28.480 --> 00:03:34.879 pre-installed applications by the way. There's more room for memory sticks. So, 00:03:33.040 --> 00:03:40.239 thanks to its four DIM slots, the Predator G1 can be upgraded to 64 gigs 00:03:37.440 --> 00:03:45.360 of RAM. There's power distribution for the converted input power. The inclusion 00:03:42.480 --> 00:03:48.319 of an extra PCIe power port and cable is a really nice touch, by the way, for 00:03:46.799 --> 00:03:54.159 someone who might want to upgrade the graphics card in the future. And the 00:03:51.360 --> 00:03:58.720 very open CPU socket area, which should help the performance of the fairly OEM 00:03:56.560 --> 00:04:03.120 looking cooling solution that Acer has pre-installed. We'll talk about how well 00:04:00.640 --> 00:04:07.439 this works later. For now, there are a couple more items to highlight in here. 00:04:05.040 --> 00:04:12.239 Acer has included an extra 2 and 1/2 in drive cage with pre-run cables and 00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:16.639 screws in case you want to add another 2 and 1/2 in SSD or hard drive, which is 00:04:14.640 --> 00:04:21.919 much appreciated. And I want to take a closer look at the way the GTX 1080 00:04:19.120 --> 00:04:27.360 graphics card is installed. So, it's covered with a Predator branded shroud, 00:04:24.720 --> 00:04:32.160 but the unmistakable green glow visible from the bottom tells us two things. 00:04:29.680 --> 00:04:37.919 It's a Founders Edition, and it's installed upside down. So Acer used a 00:04:35.280 --> 00:04:41.680 hard PCB link to extend the PCI Express 16 neck slot, meaning that you can't 00:04:39.919 --> 00:04:46.960 admire your graphics card with the side panel off, but shorter links are less 00:04:44.720 --> 00:04:51.440 prone to signal degradation. And in theory, the way that they're pulling 00:04:48.720 --> 00:04:55.280 fresh air in from the other side panel, keeping it contained then within its own 00:04:53.280 --> 00:05:00.639 cooling zone and exhausting it out the back should deliver really solid thermal 00:04:58.160 --> 00:05:05.440 results, which we'll get to. But first, a look at the outside. So, the top and 00:05:02.800 --> 00:05:11.360 front of the Predator G1 features Acer's aggressive tank tread styling that I 00:05:09.120 --> 00:05:16.320 personally think works better here than it did on the G6 due to the machine 00:05:14.000 --> 00:05:22.639 smaller size. There's a power button flanked by two headset holders for some 00:05:19.759 --> 00:05:28.720 reason, the optical drive we saw on the inside, and front IO, so an SD card 00:05:25.199 --> 00:05:31.759 reader, a USB 310 GB type-C port, a USB 00:05:28.720 --> 00:05:34.240 3 5GB typeA port, and a couple of audio 00:05:31.759 --> 00:05:41.440 jacks. Around the back, the rest of the IO is actually pretty lackluster. The 00:05:37.840 --> 00:05:44.080 3DPs, HDMI, and DVI provided by the 00:05:41.440 --> 00:05:51.199 graphics card are accompanied only by 7.1 audio jacks with no digital output, 00:05:47.199 --> 00:05:53.600 four USB3 5GB ports, and the DC input 00:05:51.199 --> 00:05:58.400 jacks that may be at least partially responsible for the limited number of 00:05:55.520 --> 00:06:03.520 USB ports on this machine. Remember that external USB devices can draw up to 7 00:06:00.960 --> 00:06:08.000 1/2 watts each through the USB charging specification. And while the dual power 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:12.960 supplies confused the bananas out of my power meter, some napkin math tells us 00:06:10.720 --> 00:06:18.240 that we're not that far off of their rated output. So then, let's answer the 00:06:16.479 --> 00:06:22.639 big question. Was this approach worthwhile when Silverstone just 00:06:20.560 --> 00:06:29.199 released a power supply that we featured in our most compact gaming PC V2 over 00:06:25.919 --> 00:06:32.319 there that's cheaper, smaller, delivers 00:06:29.199 --> 00:06:34.240 50% more power, and with some creativity 00:06:32.319 --> 00:06:37.280 should be possible to integrate into a similar size chassis, especially if 00:06:35.759 --> 00:06:43.440 you're willing to give up the optical drive. Well, actually, it's looking 00:06:40.240 --> 00:06:45.600 pretty good for the G1 while being no 00:06:43.440 --> 00:06:50.160 louder than the graphics card would be on its own. in another enclosure or even 00:06:47.840 --> 00:06:55.600 on an open air test bench, the Predator G1 managed to turn in better thermal 00:06:53.199 --> 00:07:01.199 performance than its bigger brother in spite of its much smaller size. Not to 00:06:58.880 --> 00:07:05.919 mention that it's summer now versus March when we were checking out the G6. 00:07:04.160 --> 00:07:10.240 And it did all this while being rock solid stable throughout my testing, 00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:15.840 avoiding any and all thermal throttling on the CPU and letting the GTX 1080 00:07:13.120 --> 00:07:20.960 boost its clocks, albeit not fully, even with a synthetic stress test running on 00:07:17.840 --> 00:07:22.400 the CPU and the RAM concurrently. 00:07:20.960 --> 00:07:26.479 That means that whether we're talking about light workstation use, or gaming 00:07:24.560 --> 00:07:32.479 on a conventional screen, a G-Sync monitor, or in VR, the Predator G1 will 00:07:29.520 --> 00:07:37.120 perform. All of which leads us then to a pretty interesting conclusion. Acer has 00:07:34.880 --> 00:07:43.039 learned a lot over the last few years, going from poorly balanced gaming PCs 00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:49.199 with lackluster graphics cards and overpowered CPUs with too much RAM to 00:07:46.400 --> 00:07:54.400 correctly configured gaming PCs that unfortunately suffered from OEM grade 00:07:51.919 --> 00:07:59.120 thermal management. all the way to this compact, no compromises mini gaming rig 00:07:57.599 --> 00:08:04.080 that stood up to everything I could throw at it as long as I didn't want to 00:08:00.639 --> 00:08:06.000 overclock or run the drives in RAID or 00:08:04.080 --> 00:08:10.479 anything like that. Okay, custom still has some advantages. They still have 00:08:08.639 --> 00:08:16.400 some things to learn about making a product really feel premium. The inside 00:08:14.160 --> 00:08:20.160 should be black to go with the black PCB motherboard, which is a step forward in 00:08:18.000 --> 00:08:25.199 itself, by the way. The cable should be sleeved and NVMe M.2 2 SSD should have 00:08:23.280 --> 00:08:29.440 been included for a flagship product. And I'd like to see the next Predator 00:08:27.199 --> 00:08:34.959 aesthetic reimagining move to more premium materials. 00:08:31.919 --> 00:08:37.680 But with that said, the main complaints 00:08:34.959 --> 00:08:43.039 about pre-builts from the 2000s, crappy motherboards and power supplies, limited 00:08:39.919 --> 00:08:45.440 to no upgradability, and high prices are 00:08:43.039 --> 00:08:50.640 quickly fading away. Which isn't to say that the Predator G1 is cheap. Okay, the 00:08:47.920 --> 00:08:55.120 price is still high, but you're getting a lot of firepower in a surprisingly 00:08:52.959 --> 00:08:59.440 compact little battle station if you're willing to pay for it. So, thanks for 00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:03.519 watching, guys. If this video sucked, you know what to do. But if it was awesome, get subscribed, hit that like 00:09:02.080 --> 00:09:08.080 button, or even check out the link to where to buy the Predator G1 in the 00:09:05.760 --> 00:09:10.880 video description. Also linked in the description is our merch store, which 00:09:09.440 --> 00:09:15.279 has cool shirts like this one and our community forum, which you should definitely join. Now that you're done 00:09:14.240 --> 00:09:19.360 doing all that stuff, you're probably wondering what to watch next. So, click that little button in the top right 00:09:17.760 --> 00:09:22.640 corner to check out our latest video over on Channel Super Fun.