Some say the desktop PC is virtually dead already, but reality disagrees. A powerful desktop is the best way to get a VR-ready system, because even the best laptop GPUs can't keep up with those on the desktop—well, except one. The Acer Predator 17X strains at the limits of what's possible in a laptop right now, packing a desktop-class Nvidia GTX 980 GPU in a frame remarkably similar to the normal Predator 17, which can't go further than the GTX 980M. The performance difference is huge.
The 17X isn't the first consumer laptop with a GTX 980—both MSI's Dominator Pro-G and Asus' mad watercooled GX700 feature the same graphics card. But the 17X is a tad more practical. Up close, it looks like a normal gaming laptop, which means it's big, thick, and heavy. But it can can get by with a familiar fan setup rather exotic watercooling.
That said, the cooling system isn't entirely ordinary. Rather than use two fans like the normal Predator 17, the Predator 17X has three. There's an additional fan towards the front, used to pull in cool air from the front edge of the laptop before it's filtered through the insides and flushed out through some rear vents.
The fans use Acer's AeroBlade design, which Acer claims uses the "world’s thinnest metal fan blades." These are also used in the Predator 17. Acer's big claim is that the Predator 17X can squeeze better performance out of the GTX 980 than the Asus GX700—even though the Asus has a water-cooling module that should radically boost its cooling capabilities.
The 17X is about as practical as a super-powered gaming laptop can be without sacrificing performance, but bear in mind it still weighs a hefty 4.55kg and is 45mm thick. It is one of the only laptops to be certified "Vive-ready" by HTC... but I've used both the Vive and Oculus Rift with a GTX 980M before and found most VR experiences worked perfectly fine.
Family resemblances
Other parts of the Acer Predator 17X are typical of the series. The frame is soft-touch plastic, and there are love-it-or-hate-it bits of red trim throughout. It's a very aggressive look. There are lights too: a multi-coloured keyboard backlight and a couple of moody-looking strips on the lid. The trackpad is ringed with a light strip too. Basically, you had better like your laptop looking like a Christmas tree if you're going to buy this thing.
Trackpad and keyboard are much as they are in the Acer Predator 17. You get deeper-than-average chiclet keys and ultra-deep mouse buttons that are entirely separate from the pad itself. The big 17-inch frame gives the Predator 17X enough room to fit in a row of macro buttons too. There are five buttons, with an extra button on top giving you the ability add groups to the quintet to exponentially increase their functions.
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