T
he Acer ConceptD 7 is the
latest example of laptop
makers using their expertise in
creating thin, light and powerful
gaming laptops to create
stunningly-designed and powerful
workstation laptops aimed at
creatives – and directly challenging
the MacBook Pro.
Apple’s traditional dominance in
mindshare is under serious threat
from Windows laptops. This is
largely due to Nvidia’s RTX Studio
initiative, where the GPU maker
works with laptop makers to create
workstation laptops that feature
Nvidia’s latest RTX graphics cards
- which is what has happened with
the Acer ConceptD 7.
It’s a stylish and powerful laptop
that’s squarely aimed at
professionals and creatives who
need plenty of graphical oomph
– and with some of Nvidia’s latest
and greatest RTX graphical tech on
board, it’s not a bad choice for
people who want to play the odd
game either – though if you’re
mainly buying a laptop to play
on, you’re better off buying a
dedicated gaming laptop instead.
It comes with features that
mainstream laptops lack, such as a
Pantone-validated screen and
support for the Adobe RGB and
Delta E<2 colour gamuts. For those
who work in industries where
colour accuracy is of the utmost
importance, such as photographers
and video editors, these are big, if
expensive, selling points.
The ConceptD Palette UI is a
pre-installed bit of software that
helps you adjust the colours of the
screen, as well as other settings, to
ensure that tit is set up the way you
need it to be for work, and little
touches like this are what set it
apart from other workstations.
Of course, all this comes at a cost,
and with a price starting at £2,299,
the ConceptD 7 is certainly a pricey
proposition. If you’re looking for a
Windows-powered MacBookalternative for video and photo
editing, however, it certainly makes
a great impression.Hardware and design
Acer’s gaming laptops often come
with big and brash designs
– especially its Helios range – the
ConceptD 7 has a much more
restrained look, in line with its
positioning as a ‘serious’
professional device. So, while the
shape of the laptop is similar to
the gaming laptops, the colour
scheme is white with warm yellow
RGB backlighting for the keys.
It’s certainly a design that you’d
be happy to take out in a studio,
office or meeting room, but
rather than being stylishly
minimalist, we think the design
is a little dull. Perhaps it’s the
all-white design, which is a nice
change to all-black laptops, but
just doesn’t grab the eye.
We’ve also had bad experiences
in the past of white – and light-Acer ConceptD 7
From £2,299 | $2,299 http://www.acer.com
A mobile workstation for creatives
Images: Acer80 |^ |^ April 2020