ISSUE385|COMPUTER SHOPPER|MARCH2020
SPECIFICATIONS
Windowsoverall
Multitasking
DirtShowdown
Metro:Last Light
0% -50 Reference + 50 + 100
Seepage98for performance detailsPROCESSOROcta-core3.6GHzIntel Core i9-9900K•RAM64GB
DDR4•FRONTUSB PORTS2x USB2,1xUSB3.1•REAR USB
PORTS2x USB2,2xUSB3, 2x USB3.1,1xUSB Ty pe-C•GRAPHICS
CARD8GBNvidia Quadro RTX4000•STORAGE1TBSSD,2x2TB
harddisks•DISPLAYNone•OPERATING SYSTEMWindows 10
Pro•WARRANTYThreeyears RTB, including 30 days collectand
return•DETAILSwww.acer.com•PART CODEDT.C03EK.006299
81fps153fps346
havetopull outtwoplasticcoversattheback,
undo the screws underneath, remove alarge
bracket, undo another pair of largescrews
fasteningone of thesidepanels, and then
finally slide off the panel.Onlythe last two
stepsare necessary,frankly.
That said,it’s alot easier to getintoand
tinker with than the PA90,inthe sense that it’s
possible without specialist screwdrivers.While
lookingabitold hat, thelayout is also at least
conventional and familiar,soadding expansion
cards is easyonceyou’ve gotthe side open.
Forthis purpose,thereare twoPCI-E x16
slots(one is occupied by the RTX4000, but the
otherisspare), onePCI-Ex1slotand onelegacy
PCI slot.Aswithstorage,it’snot amassive
concern that all four RAMslots are filled –
64GB is an enormous amount of memory–
and while an extra M.2slotmight have been
nice,it’s worthremembering that one is filled
by that extremely quickSSD,while the other
is home to anetworking card that enables
802.11acWi-Fi connectivity.
UNDER COVER
That’s some very handy extra flexibility, should
you be unable to connect via the Ethernetport at
theback.Thissitsalongsidetwo USB2,USB3and
USB3.1ports apiece,plusastandardthree3.5mm
audiojacks, aPS/2 connectorand one USB3.1
connector, so it’s areasonably varied I/O panel
even if it’s notasdrenchedinUSB portsasyou
mightexpectfor the price.There is,however, a
USB Type-C connector on theGPU, which can be
used foroutputting video instead of the three
DisplayPort outputsalongside it.
In addition, there’s always thefront panel,
if you needafewmore peripherals connected.
This includes twoUSB2 ports, oneUSB3.1port,
microphoneand headphone jacks, and an SD
card reader.Photoeditors will appreciatethat last
one in particular, as it’s possible to grab photos
straight from acamera’s memory card.We’re not
so keenonthe littleplastic cover that sits on top
of this panel,however;it’s meanttokeepthe top
panel attractivelyflush, but it justendsupgetting
in theway whenever youwant to quickly connect
aUSB drive or pair of headphones.HIGHCONCEPT
That’s aminor annoyance,however,onaPC
that’smuch more likely to put asmile on your
face.Acerhas successfullyidentified what makes
agreat workstation–beefy CPU, high-spec
storage,plentyofmemory–andchosenthe right
componentsfor the job. We’d sooner chooseit
than the PA90,too,for the ConceptD500’smore
muscular GPUand bigger,faster storage drives.
JamesArcher