Acer Refreshes its Predator Helios, Predator Triton and Nitro Gaming Notebooks

Editor’s Summary

Acer’s gaming notebooks now offer a range of 10th Gen Intel® Core™ processors and up to NVIDIA® GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER™ graphics

Acer is also bringing the latest display technology to its Predator and Nitro gaming notebooks with models offering 240 Hz or 144 Hz displays for seamless, tear-free gaming

Acer’s new PowerGem thermal technology makes its debut in the Predator Helios 700, bringing significant cooling enhancements to the ultra-powerful notebook

Today at Acer’s online global press conference, the company announced significant new updates to four of its popular gaming notebooks: the Predator Helios 700, Predator Helios 300, Predator Triton 300 and Nitro 7. These new refreshed models bring exciting updates across the board, giving gamers of all levels and types something to look forward to. 

The notebook lines now include the latest 10th Gen Intel® Core™ H-series processors for desktop-caliber performance that can be taken anywhere. NVIDIA® GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER™ or RTX 2070 SUPER GPUs deliver the performance needed to drive fast displays with high refresh rates for blur-free seamless visuals in even the most demanding of AAA games. To keep the notebooks operating at peak performance and optimal temperatures, Acer has equipped the notebooks with enhanced thermal designs, new cooling technologies and additional heat pipes.

Predator Helios 700 – A Notebook That Can Replace Your Desktop

The Predator Helios 700, featuring the iconic sliding HyperDrift keyboard, has been upgraded to include either an overclockable 10th Gen Intel Core i9-10980HK or i7-10875H processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER or RTX 2070 SUPER GPUs.

The device’s thermal management capabilities have been significantly enhanced with a new thermal solution called Predator PowerGem, included on models with the Intel Core i9 processor. PowerGem is a special material with 3.83 times more vertical heat conductivity than copper, improving the notebook’s heat emission efficiency. All models include three copper heat pipes, Acer CoolBoost Technology, a vapor chamber and two Acer custom-engineered 4th Gen AeroBlade™ 3D fans.

Additional high-performance updates include faster 2933 Hz memory (max 64 GB), an additional Thunderbolt 3 port (for a total of two) and the latest Killer DoubleShot™ Pro (Wi-Fi 6 AX1650i wireless and E3100G Ethernet) to ensure that speed-critical applications get bandwidth priority. Fast PCIe NVMe Solid State Drives in RAID 0 keep everything lightning fast, and games will roar to life on the Helios 700’s beautiful 17.3-inch 144 Hz FHD IPS[i] display with NVIDIA® G-SYNC® technology.

The keyboard, which features per-key RGB lighting and anti-ghosting, has been updated to include MagTek mechanical switches for the WASD keys and a set of new racing keys which offer increased precision. Designed for racing games, they feature 1.5 mm of keycap curvature that enables gamers to make finer and more controlled movements in game. Gamers can swap the standard WASD keys on the keyboard out with the included MagForce keys and racing keys, choosing the set best suited for the game they’re playing. Once swapped, gamers can use the Predator Sense app or press the P3 hotkey in order to adjust the keys’ lighting and actuation point.

Predator Helios 300 – Powerful, Feature Packed

Acer’s popular Predator Helios 300 has raised the bar for gaming notebooks, offering the best performance for the dollar. Now available with the latest 10th Gen Intel Core H-series processors, overclockable NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 GPU with Max-Q Design and a 240 Hz 15.6-inch FHD IPS display with 3 ms overdrive, the newest Helios 300 has cemented its reputation as one of the most powerful and feature-packed yet affordably-priced gaming notebooks available. It also supports up to 32 GB of 2933 MHz DDR4 memory, two PCIe NVMe SSDs in RAID 0 configuration and up to a 2 TB hard drive, delivering the speed and storage necessary to maintain large libraries of AAA games and movies.

Enhancing the overall performance and gaming experience, DTS:X Ultra Audio delivers high-end 360-degree surround sound for experiencing media in a realistic spatial soundscape. With headphones, it provides an authentic audio experience letting sounds be heard as they were meant to be, whether near or far, and features specially tuned sound modes that have been optimized for different game genres (strategy, RPG or FPS).

Acer’s custom-engineered cooling technology ensures that the device runs at an optimal temperature. The notebook features dual fans, including one newly designed 4th Generation AeroBlade™ 3D fan that reduces noise while increasing airflow, and Acer CoolBoost™, which allows manual adjustment of the fans to ensure that critical areas receive continuous cooling. Strategically placed intake and exhaust vents are also included.

Predator Triton 300 – Ideal for Gamers and Content Creators

Acer’s powerful but slim Predator Triton 300 gaming notebook has been refreshed to include a 10th Gen Intel Core H-series processor, up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 GPU with Max-Q Design and a 240 Hz display refresh rate. The 15.6-inch FHD IPS display also features a 3 ms response time, 300 nits brightness and supports 100% of the sRGB color space, making it ideal for both gaming and content creation. It further supports up to three M.2 SSDs (one PCIe, two combos), providing an abundance of storage plus the lightning-fast transfer rates and speed that gamers crave.

Three heat pipes have been added to the device’s advanced thermal design, which also includes a dual-fan cooling system (featuring one 4th Gen AeroBlade 3D metal fan), CoolBoost™ technology and strategically placed intake and exhaust vents. All this performance is housed in a thin and lightweight metal chassis[ii] that measures just 19.9 mm (0.78 inches) thin and 2.1 kg (4.63 lbs), making it easy to game on the go.

Nitro 7 – Sleek Metal Design for Gaming on the Go

Acer’s updated Nitro 7 is another option for gamers seeking portability. Its sleek metal chassis measures just 19.9 mm (0.78 inches) thin and 2.5 kg (5.51 lbs), but still manages to pack in a 10th Gen Intel Core H-series processor and up to a GeForce RTX™ 2060 GPU. With up to three slots for high-speed M.2 SSDs, up to 1 TB in RAID 0 configuration, up to 32 GB of DDR4 2933 memory, Killer™ Ethernet E2600 and Intel® Wi-Fi 6, game load and response times are incredibly quick.

The Nitro 7’s thermal design includes dual fans, a quad exhaust port design and Acer CoolBoost™ technology, which can be enabled in NitroSense to increase fan speed by 10% and CPU/GPU cooling by 9% compared to auto-mode. On top of the performance this makes possible, a 15.6-inch non-glare FHD IPS display with a 144 Hz refresh rate and 3 ms response allows for sharp visuals and smooth, blur-free gameplay.

Have computer sales dipped by 12%; As cos cut IT spends

Personal computer (PC) sales in India fell about 11.7% during the first quarter of the calendar year to about 2.1 million units as enterprises slowed down IT spending, according to research firm Gartner.

Both desktop PC and laptop sales declined about 11% during the period, as both large enterprises and small and medium businesses delayed their IT hardware purchases.

“Cost pressure seems to have kept away enterprises from spending on IT hardware during the first quarter of 2009, while there are signs of some turnaround in the consumer sentiment,” Gartner principal analyst Diptarup Chakraborti said.

Hewlett-Packard continued to lead India’s PC market, selling about 300,000 PCs in the quarter. The PC maker, however, saw an year-on-year decline in both desktop and laptop sales during the period. HCL Infosystems (200,000) and Dell (158,000) were ranked second and third, respectively. Acer was ranked fourth.

Gartner said it expects PC sales in India to decline 3.7% year-on-year to 8.98 million units this year. The firm had projected sales of 11 million units for the calendar year in the beginning of January, but the first quarter made it revise its projection downwards.

“Production of desktops and laptops has come to near a halt in manufacturing destinations such as Taiwan,” Mr Chakraborti said. PC makers say they saw some growth in new categories, such as netbooks and higher retail sales, in the first quarter but the good news is limited to the consumer space.

“Large enterprises and small and medium businesses are not buying. The e-government projects are also in a limbo with the Model Code of Conduct in place,” Acer India chief marketing officer S Rajendran said.

With the slowdown in enterprise spending, corporate buyers are expected to account for 69% of total PC sales in 2009, down from 71% last year.

The economic slowdown has resulted in a slump in PC sales across the globe. Worldwide PC shipments declined 6.5% in the first quarter of 2009 to 67.2 million units. As per Gartner, the decline could have been steeper but for low-priced laptops such as netbooks.

Agencies

Computer sales across Asia drop

Sales of computers in the Asia Pacific region outside Japan fell for the first time in a decade during the fourth quarter, as the global meltdown hit consumer spending, a study said on Monday.

Preliminary figures showed 17.2 million desktop computers and laptops were sold in the December quarter, down 14 per cent from the previous quarter and 5 per cent lower than a year ago, global market intelligence firm IDC said.

The figures marked the first year-on-year decline since the third quarter of 1998 when the region was grappling with the Asian financial crisis, it added.

"This quarter was quite a jaw-dropper" not just in China but also in India, said Bryan Ma, regional director for personal systems research with IDC.

"The clouds are darkening in 2009, although there might be some pockets of shelter in the region's public sector."

For 2008, struggling Chinese computer giant Lenovo was the region's number one vendor with market share of 18.3 percent, followed by US rival Hewlett Packard which had 14.1 per cent, and Dell at 9.1 per cent, IDC said.

Taiwanese computer firm Acer was fourth with market share of 7.5 per cent and China's Founder ranked fifth, with 4.0 per cent.

Agencies

Top Web-based operating systems

Want to see what lies ahead in the world of operating systems? Head to the Web. That's where you'll find some workable examples of operating systems that move everything- applications, files, and communications- from the confines of your desktop to the more widely accessible Internet.

And mind you, Web-based operating systems are more than just a collection of applications that run within a browser. They're self-contained environments in which you can create and store documents, copy files from one folder or drive to another, and conduct communications.

In short, almost everything you can do from Windows or the Mac OS should be able to be accomplished within a Web OS. All you need is a Web browser to get there. Here's looking into some options.

Google Chrome

While the major players in the software industry are not yet among those with Web-based operating system (OS) prototypes, it's clear that the big names are paying attention- and making plans.

Google's Chrome, with its Spartan interface- largely devoid of visible menus, button bars, and status panels, easily reminds one of the basis of an operating system when it's expanded to full screen.

And Microsoft, although deriving a large portion of its revenue from the lucrative desktop applications business, has just announced that it will create Web-based versions of its Microsoft Office applications- and make them available for free.

eyeOS

A good place to start in your discovery of Web-based operating systems is eyeOS (http://eyeos.org), which is free, open source, and very easy to sign up for. There's no need to install anything to use eyeOS.

Simply sign up with a user name and password to create an account, and from that point forward, you have an operating system on the Web, accessible from any browser. eyeOS creates space on its servers to store your operating system settings and any files you create.

eyeOS resembles contemporary desktop-bound operating systems.

There's a workspace area- or desktop- along with icons on the left that represent shortcuts to applications, including a word processor, calendar, contact manager, RSS feed, and a trash bin.

Fire up the eyeOS word processor and you'll find yourself in a serviceable document creation tool, replete with toolbar buttons for most of the formatting tasks that users require today.

Documents you save are stored on eyeOS's servers by default, so there's no local storage involved. You can, if you choose, download the files you create to your own PC and upload files to your eyeOS environment.

The beauty of a Web-based environment, however, is that you can shut down your browser -- and thus your eyeOS operating system -- on one machine, launch a browser on another machine in another location, and then launch your eyeOS desktop again.

eyeOS even remembers all of the applications and documents you were last working on, so the workspace you see is exactly the one you left off with.

A green eyeOS button at the bottom middle of the screen is analogous to the Windows Vista Start button.

It contains shortcuts to system settings, applications, and a few other commands, including Close Session. Enter System Preferences, and you'll see some impressive customisation options, including the ability to change the theme, or look, of eyeOS to resemble Vista, Ubuntu, Gnome, or other operating systems. The one glaring omission from eyeOS is an e-mail client. Apparently you're expected to bring your own e-mail.

G.ho.st

G.ho.st (http://g.ho.st/) is in some ways even more full-featured and certainly more colourful- than eyeOS. After you sign up, for free, G.ho.st carves out an impressive 5 gigabytes of file storage on its servers for you, and it creates your very own G.ho.st Mail e-mail account, with 3 gigabytes of storage.

Like eyeOS, there's nothing to install. Once you sign up, you'll receive a confirmation e-mail message. Click the activation link inside, and you're ready to go.

The first time you launch G.ho.st, your browser will switch to full-screen mode so that you can see all there is that G.ho.st has to offer. There's a full-featured word processor, spreadsheet, e-mail, your personal G.ho.st drive for file storage, instant messaging, and even a few games.

There's also plenty of hand-holding in G.ho.st, as well, with icons that offer to take you on a tour of G.ho.st, help you set up your e-mail, create and edit documents, and upload files from your desktop computer to your G.ho.st environment.

A Go button in the lower left-hand corner of the G.ho.st screen mimics Vista's Start button; it provides handy access to all of the operating system's features and programs.

G.ho.st is full of glitz and color, and it is consequently more demanding of your hardware and somewhat more sluggish than eyeOS, which is streamlined by comparison. Still, many will likely find that G.ho.st's friendliness will make any performance hit worthwhile.

Desktop Two

Desktop Two (http://desktoptwo.com) is a java-based Web operating system that's the quickest of all to set up and get going.

After a brief sign-up routine, the desktop loads, and you're ready to start exploring.

Desktop Two offers more applications that allow users to create their own presence on the Web than the other major Web operating systems. Along with a word processor and e-mail program, Desktop Two provides a Web site editor and a blogging programme.

The blogging application, in particular, is impressive, providing a two-click entry into the world of setting up and maintaining your own blog.

Once you create your first blog entry, the programme provides you with the Web address that you can distribute to the world so that others can visit your blog on the Internet.

Desktop Two's conventional applications are less impressive, however, in part because the operating system was not always able to save documents to Desktop Two's online storage system.

Why Web-based OS

One could argue that a Web-based operating system is redundant, since one needs a computer, operating system, and Web browser to access an online operating system.

While that's true, the point of an online operating system is complete environment portability.

That means being able to log on to any computer that has an Internet connection and, in the time it takes to launch your Web OS, having all of your applications and documents ready for you to resume work.

Although you could cobble together many of the elements of a Web OS by using, say, Google Docs, Yahoo Mail, and other online applications, doing so would require you to make several stops around the Internet.

There's no doubt that today's Web-based operating systems are far from feature-laden, and they probably will not tempt many to abandon their current routine that combines desktop and Web-based software.

But given the push that the major players in the industry are making toward a completely Web-based future, there's also little doubt that Web-based operating systems, or some form thereof, are in our collective future.

Source: Agencies

Own a personal supercomputer!

US technology firm NVIDIA rolled out high-performance “personal supercomputers” that let desktop workstations handle mind-boggling tasks once far beyond their capabilities.

Computers built with innovative NVIDIA graphics processing units (GPUs) are capable of handling calculations typically relegated to expensive supercomputing “clusters”, a technology breakthrough the company says could soon bring lightning speeds to the next generation of computers aimed at the consumer market.

NVIDIA’s Tesla Personal Supercomputers deliver approximately 250 times the processing power of current computer workstations for similar prices, according to the California-based company. “This changes everything. This supercomputing power is being brought to the workstation,” Tesla computing products general manager Andy Keane said.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology and other universities and research facilities are already using GPU-based personal supercomputers. “GPU-based systems enable us to run life science codes in minutes rather than the hours it took earlier,” said Jack Collins of the Advanced Biomedical Computing Centre in the US state of Maryland. “This exceptional speedup has the ability to accelerate the discovery of potentially life-saving anti-cancer drugs.”

NVIDIA, founded in 1993, became renowned for GPUs that drive sophisticated computer game and video hardware. While CPUs typically handle tasks in a linear style, zipping from start to finish in series, GPUs work on tasks simultaneously in order to do things such as get colour pixels together on screens to present moving images. Sets of NVIDIA chips built for speed, power, and superior graphics production are built into upgraded Macintosh notebook computers recently rolled out by Apple.

GPUs that could do parallel computing mathematics at lightning speed were engineered by NVIDIA to make Tesla chips that put desktop workstations on par with supercomputers at one 100th of the price. “You can’t ignore the GPU; you can’t say it is just a game chip,” Keane said.