Acer Readying AMD Ryzen-Powered Aspire Desktop PCs (Updated)

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By Derek Forrest
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Update, 6/26/2017, 2:50pm PT: Acer reached out to clarify that the optional wireless charging pad featured on the Aspire GX-281 would not be available in the U.S.. We've amended the article below to reflect this new information.

Original article, 6/4/17, 8:30am PT:

Acer revealed a new desktop gaming PC with AMD Ryzen processors for its Aspire product family: the Aspire GX-281.

The company displayed the Acer Aspire GX-281 at its booth during Computex, with the desktop PC featuring an AMD Ryzen 1700X processor, 32GB of DDR4 memory, and both AMD Radeon RX 480 and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 graphics card options. Similar to the Asus G11DF (Asus’s first Ryzen-powered desktop), the inclusion of the RX480 is a bit underwhelming, considering the recent arrival of the RX580. However, similar to the competition’s offering, the Acer GX-281 was likely commissioned before RX580 was readily available to OEMs.

Full specifications of the Acer Aspire GX-281 aren’t yet available, but we would venture a guess that the unit we saw at Computex is one of the most-premium versions of the upcoming gaming PC.

The GX-281 looks similar to other Aspire-branded PCs from Acer, with a black chassis sporting edgy red accents. The top of the device features a panel that can charge compatible smartphones wirelessly. However, Acer later clarified that this charging pad would not be available in US markets.

Pricing and availability of the Acer Aspire GX-281 are currently unknown.

Derek Forrest
Derek Forrest
Derek Forrest is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He writes hardware news and reviews gaming desktops and laptops.
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8 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Patrick_Bateman
    Why did they have to put that horrible glossy plastic on the front? It all looks good except for that area by the optical drive cages. Other than that, it is good to see AMD make a return to high-end gaming PCs.
    Reply
  • zodiacfml
    how is the rx480 underwhelming?
    Reply
  • sykozis
    The RX480 itself isn't underwhelming....just the fact that they're shipping new systems with Ryzen processors and an RX480 instead of the RX580 is a bit underwhelming.
    Reply
  • The article says "before RX580 was readily available to OEMs". Is there any evidence that the RX580 is available to OEMs? It's not manufactured by AMD, only by partners. The back of the computer seems anemic. 6 usb and an ethernet port? Is that motherboard even compliant with AMD specifications?
    Reply
  • iam2thecrowe
    19776650 said:
    The article says "before RX580 was readily available to OEMs". Is there any evidence that the RX580 is available to OEMs? It's not manufactured by AMD, only by partners. The back of the computer seems anemic. 6 usb and an ethernet port? Is that motherboard even compliant with AMD specifications?

    There is a reason Acer is cheaper than everyone else......
    Reply
  • photonboy
    AndyChow,
    Why would you need more than 6xUSB, ethernet, and audio connections on the rear anyway?

    You don't need video since it comes with a graphics card. If you really needed more than SIX USB you can always get a hub or addon card for pretty cheap.
    Reply
  • Dch48
    The RX580 is only minimally different from the 480. It is very slightly faster but that's it.

    I have a Sapphire RX470 and I love it.
    Reply
  • 19778341 said:
    AndyChow,
    Why would you need more than 6xUSB, ethernet, and audio connections on the rear anyway?

    You don't need video since it comes with a graphics card. If you really needed more than SIX USB you can always get a hub or addon card for pretty cheap.

    Since you ask, I want two usb-c. Don't have to be independent ports, could be shared. One for my cellphone, one for my laptop. But, that's me. If not, use the space. Just put some stuff that costs $0.05 and doesn't sacrifice anything. Like a ps/2, a couple usb-2, something.

    Doesn't have to be a parallel port that no one uses but that 1% of 1% of linux user that insists on boycotting something that doesn't have vga, parallel and serial, because a cousin of a cousin once used that feature in the 70's But my anemic junk terminal has 10 active usb ports, and I have to use these usb-c converters for my phone and laptop. So there is an actual barebones usecase where 6*usb+ethernet isn't enough.

    And it's fine that it has no video ports. The cpu doesn't have an integrated gpu, so it's very good that it doesn't have a video port. But, then, the ethernet should have WOL and those type of features.
    Reply