Apple has failed to deliver substantively new Mac Pro desktop hardware for professionals for several years now, and Acer wants to fill the void. The company today announcing a pair of powerful new “ConceptD” PCs that emphasize quiet operation and professional components. They’re part of the company’s new line aimed at creative professionals, which so far also includes laptops, monitors, and a VR headset (the OJO) aimed at developers and engineers.
The ConceptD 500
The ConceptD 500 is the lesser of the two in terms of performance, sporting up to a Core i9-9900K CPU, 64GB of RAM, and Nvidia Quadro RTX 4000 graphics. But its curved white-and-black shell with a wood-panel top (complete with a wireless Qi charger) looks quite nice, and should please aesthetics-conscious creative types.
Acer says the system will maintain a fan noise profile below 40dB, so you should be able to maintain a quiet environment while rendering your next masterpiece. Storage options include 1 o 2TB hard drives, 256 or 512GB M.2 SSDs, and Intel Optane memory options in 16 or 32GB flavors. The ConceptD starts and $1,699 and should be available in June.
ConceptD 900
While the larger ConceptD 900 doesn’t sport the visual appeal of its little sibling, it more than makes up for that in sheer hardware muscle in its fairly compact (200x623x456mm) all-black chassis. The tower supports dual Intel Xeon Gold 6148 processors (that’s 80 computing threads, if you’re counting), 12 memory slots (for up to 192GB of ECC DDR4), and Nvidia Quadro 6000 graphics. The five tool-free storage bays can be filled with up to 1TB of solid-state storage and a pair of 4TB hard drives, according to Acer. Of course if you add your own storage, the chassis can house more than that.
Acer is also emphasizing quiet cooling with the ConceptD 900, with six cooling fans and a front panel designed to optimize intake of cool air. Of course, that kind of computing horsepower doesn’t come cheap. The ConceptD 900 should also arrive in June, towing a price tag of $19,999. That’s out of our price range, but we’re sure the professional animation studios, development houses, and research facilities this system is made for won’t mind the price so much.
Image Credits: Tom's Hardware
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After a rough start with the Mattel Aquarius as a child, Matt built his first PC in the late 1990s and ventured into mild PC modding in the early 2000s. He’s spent the last 15 years covering emerging technology for Smithsonian, Popular Science, and Consumer Reports, while testing components and PCs for Computer Shopper, PCMag and Digital Trends.
