Somnolent

Those of you who frequent the rumour mill will remember reports earlier in the year that PC hardware specialists Acer were going to release a console to compete with the likes of the Xbox 360 and PS3. Of course it all turned out to be a load of horse shit, but even this outlandish rumour had an element of truth to it. Acer were working on a game specific machine, although it is actually a highly specialized PC and God damn it’s a sexy looking thing!

In Sydney this week, we were given a chance to rub its sunset orange Lamborghini-inspired exterior, poke about in its innards and give Call of Duty 4 a hammering and we have to say, it was hard not to be impressed.

Aimed specifically at the extreme gamer category, three tiers of the Acer Aspire Predator are in stores right now, ranging from around $4,000 - $8,000, depending on just how big you want your e-peen to be. This is the top end of the spectrum, pushing the latest and greatest tech – from 4 hotswap hard-drives slots, to space for 8GB of RAM, SLi graphics and liquid cooling – all of which is a (albeit expensive) gift to the wants and needs of overclockers and tweakers.

You will be able to customize the innards at the time of purchase if it just doesn’t quite suit your style, but really, even the monitor shouts sex. Every PC is hand-tested and turned around within 24hrs of an order, features a two-year warranty and really, we cannot see any software on the horizon that would see even the lowest model out-dated in that time (or years beyond to be realistic).

It’s hard not to be in awe of the Predator. The chassis is just awesome and it has a host of funky little additions, from blue LED lights all over the front to robot claw driven optical disc drives and a Dark Helmet style front face mask. Inside it is amazingly void of cabling too, neat and tidy as it drives the best in PC performance towards your games.

While the Acer Predator doesn't quite compete with the next-gen consoles it is existence is further proof that there is a danger for the Xbox 720 and PS4 out there. (click the link for more on that)

For the full specs on offer click to the next page