Desktop reviews: Gateway SX2850-33 and the Acer Aspire Predator G7750-U222 - Acer Aspire Predator G7750-U222

The Acer Aspire Predator G7750-U222 is an intimidating desktop in both looks and performance. Its target audience is the gaming community, and it comes in a fixed configuration. The Predator has a suggested retail price of $1,999.99, and it comes with a one-year warranty.

The Predator comes with a 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7-930 processor with 8MB of L3 cache. This high-end processor from Intel gives the Predator excellent performance and allows it to handle almost anything you can throw at it. Common tasks like web surfing, viewing multimedia, and more are done with ease, and gaming is handled in the same manner. That's no surprise, however, considering that it's aimed at gamers in the first place. The multiple cores of the i7 chip also allow you to run various applications at once, and there is also 12 GB of DDR3 SDRAM on board to help.

Graphics on the Predator are supported by a 1.28 GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 470 card. A sizable amount of storage is available with a 1.5 TB hard drive that spins at 7,200rpm. The operating system that comes pre-installed on the Predator is Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64-bit.

Additional features of the Predator begin with a standard DVD burner. The fact that Acer did not include a Blu-ray player is a bit surprising, especially when you consider its high cost. Perhaps the gaming-centric look and aim of the desktop means most users would not use it for video entertainment, but Blu-ray still should have been included. A media card reader is included for transferring data with other devices.  Unfortunately, integrated Wi-Fi is absent, so you will have to upgrade that feature later.

Speaking of upgrades, there is plenty of room to increase the Predator's capability should you want to.  You can add an extra optical drive, and there is also room for three extra hard drives. Other vacancies include a standard PCI slot, a 1X PCI Express slot, and two 8X PCI Express slots. Keep in mind that if you do decide to upgrade, doing so will be a bit difficult, as getting inside the Predator to install new components is cumbersome.

The design of the Predator looks like something out of a Transformers movie, and it definitely lives up to its moniker in terms of appearance. It has a black and orange color scheme, jagged edges, and plenty of vents that give it an intimidating aura. It's also quite large, and will not blend in easily with most home or office environments. This is a gamer's desktop through and through.

The front cover that sits over the front panel slides up and on top of the tower to reveal the front panel connections, optical drives, and expansion bays. The top of the front panel features four USB ports and microphone and headphone jacks. Next come the optical drives, and beneath them are the media card reader, a USB port, and a FireWire port. The rest of the connectivity sits on the back panel, and includes six more USB ports, audio jacks, connections for a keyboard and mouse, another FireWire port, an Ethernet port, two eSATA ports, and two DVI ports.

If you are a gamer looking for a desktop made for conquering your foes, the Acer Aspire Predator is for you. Its mean looks and powerhouse performance make it perfect for gaming, and it also comes with plenty of room for upgrades.