Say what you will about Valve's Steam Machines and Steam OS—they're not great—but at the very least they have encouraged PC makers to rethink PC design for the living room. And now, with HTC wanting to turn front rooms into VR labs with its excellent Vive VR headset, there's a small but growing demand for sensibly sized PCs that'll slot in next to a PlayStation or an Xbox. Acer's new Predator G1 gaming desktop doesn't quite manage to slim down to PlayStation 4 proportions, but it does cram Nvidia's monster Titan X graphics card into a chassis just bigger than briefcase. Compared to a typical gaming desktop, or Acer's own Predator G6, it's positively tiny. The question is: how has Acer done it?
The Tardis effect
Acer says the Predator G1's case was built a bit more like a games console than a regular tower PC, with a clear airflow path through the case that helps cards like the Titan X stay cool under load. However, taking off the side panel, there's nothing too mad going on. It has a metal cage around the GPU, designed to function as a heatsink and as a way to protect the card during transit, but the Predator G1 uses conventional fans rather than water-cooling or any other comparable "next-level" antics.
While there's an obvious appeal for people who want a VR setup suitable for a living room environment, Acer's also pitching the G1 at those after a semi-portable system. Indeed, the first 1,000 buyers will receive a matching piece of luggage designed with the signature Predator series armoured look. No, it's still not small enough to get past Ryanair's draconian hand luggage restrictions thanks to the extra cushioning inside it to protect the PC—and I wonder how much room is actually left for clothes in the thing afterwards—but hey, if you're in the market for a small gaming PC anyway, it's a nice bonus.
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