Acer Launches New Predator, AIO, Compact Desktops

With the holidays approaching, system builders are making all effort to get your attention. Acer is no exception, unveiling three desktops today, including a extra affordable version of the Aspire Predator gaming rig we reviewed in August. Acer calls its new Predator (AG5900) a "mainstream alternative" to the premium AG7750, but it still offers bounty of performance for gamers and enthusiasts.

The "budget" machine packs an Intel Core i7-870, a 1GB ATI Radeon HD 5850, 8GB of RAM, 1.5TB of storage, a DVD drive, and it has three open 3.5-inch bays with one standard PCI and two PCIe x1 slots. That compares to the AG7750's i7-930, Nvidia GeForce GTX 470 (motherboard supports tri-SLI), 12GB of RAM, and 2TB of storage. Pricing is $1,350 for the former, $2,000 for the latter.

Additionally, the Taiwanese manufacturer has launched the new 21.5-inch Aspire Z3100 all-in-one PC and updated its existing 23-inch AZ5700 AIO. For $600, the smaller model features a 2.0GHz AMD Athlon II 170u processor, 3GB of RAM, an Nvidia GeForce 9200, and a 500GB HDD. Meanwhile, the larger version offers a multitouch display, a Core i5-650, 4GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage for $1,099.

On the smaller end of the spectrum, Acer has announced a new nettop system designed for home entertainment and general point use. The Aspire Revo AR3700 is priced at $350 and includes a dual-core Intel Atom D525 processor, discrete graphics courtesy of the Nvidia Ion, 2GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, and standard I/O such as HDMI-out, six USB 2.0 ports, and 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi.