Acer brings Intel’s 8-core, 9th-gen processor to its Predator Orion desktops | Computing

Electronics company Acer says it will bring Intel’s 8-core, 9th-generation processor to its Predator Orion 9000 and 6000 desktops, putting them on par with Dell’s Alienware Aurora desktops. The new choice in processor puts more power in the hands of gamers and should make for seamless gameplay in the most demanding situations.

According to Jeff Lee, general manager of stationary computing, IT products business for Acer, Intel’s latest processors arm gamers with “an arsenal of PCs that can withstand the most demanding gaming scenarios today.”

“The refreshes are in line with Acer’s long-standing commitment to empower users with the latest technological breakthroughs, and provide them with best-in-class user experiences,” Lee said.

Acer promises that the top-of the-line Predator Orion 9000 with updated Intel processors will be a “dream machine” for the hardcore gamer. The desktop comes with the latest NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti GPUs, and support for 8K UHD graphics. Other cool features include a black-and-silver chassis, lighting bars and RBG LED fans, and a side window to showcase the internals of the desktop.

Acer’s Orion 6000 Series gaming desktop is being marketed more for those who want an exceptional gaming rig. It features NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 GPUs and the same signature transparent side panel. Info on pricing has not been made available.

The Intel 8-core 9th-gen processor powering these devices comes packed with plenty of oomph for gaming. It was tested with 19 of the most popular games today, across genres like shooters and RPGs. Intel says to expect up to 10 to 11 percent more performance over the previous generation on popular games like Hitman 2 and World of Tanks.

CES 2019 and IFA 2019 are both on the horizon, so 0ther leading desktop makers are likely to get on board with the new gaming- and performance-focused chipset in the not-too-distant future. Intel also showcased its new gaming desktop models during the keynote.

This yearly refresh is not uncommon for Intel and its partners, who are looking to take back gamers from rival AMD. Based on recent hires and all the talk in gaming today, the Intel Core i9-7980XE is Intel’s response to AMD’s new eight-core Threadripper chips.