Super laptop: we’ve never seen anything like this
The first reaction when I saw Acer’s ConceptD 9 on the table was, “Wow! Monster!” The second was exactly the same. I have never seen a more powerful, larger and more expensive laptop in my life – its price is 483,990 rubles! I tried to find an analogy with an expensive and powerful car, but I could not find it: this has not yet been released. This is a laptop that is ahead of its time both in design and in announced capabilities. I can’t wait to try it out.
Let’s start with the appearance, since the laptop turned out to be not quite standard and in many ways has its own unique features. The first thing to understand is that the device is large enough. Despite the laptop format, it is still more of a stationary solution. To get maximum performance, you need to connect to the mains through a complete power supply, which is also quite big. Otherwise ConceptD 9looks like it came to our editorial office from the future: strict lines, small bevels in the style of sports cars and a display placed on the Ezel Aero Hinge hinges. Just the latter allow you to use the laptop screen in any of the four modes – as it will be convenient for us. It can be turned in the opposite direction and get a graphics tablet. The stylus is fully supported here. Or flip the display horizontally and hold a meeting, illustrating their speech with a presentation – listeners will see the image on the screen, looking at it from above.
The display size is 17.3 inches with a resolution of 3840 × 2160 pixels, which is a rather rare combination. This display has received a large number of certifications: full coverage of Adobe RGB, colors correspond to PANTONE Validated, and color difference coefficient Delta-E <1. As a result, we get the ultimate screen for any type of task, besides touch and with stylus support.
The laptop has all the main ports you might need. There is more than enough space here, because we are talking about a 17-inch laptop. On the right side there are two USB Type-C ports – Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.1 Gen 1. In addition, there is USB Type-A 3.1 and Ethernet with a bandwidth of 2.5 gigabits. The left side received a second USB Type-A 3.1 and USB Type-A 2.0 and two 3.5 mm audio jacks for headphones and a microphone. The rear end is equipped with a charging port, full-size HDMI and DisplayPort. In general, a complete set.
ConceptD 9 keyboard without numeric keypad. But the manufacturer found an elegant way out of the situation and added touch projection to the touchpad, which is located to the right of the keyboard. It is convenient to use – and space is saved. The key travel is clear, there are no additional sounds or leaks when pressed. If you work a lot with text, then now you will simply adore your workflow. After all, typing on this keyboard is a pleasure.
Above the keyboard is an audio system that can recreate surround sound – and for very different purposes. Waves MaxxAudio software enhances sound quality, and MaxxBass, despite the miniature audio system, rocks the bass to the fullest. If you speak in conference mode, then MaxxDialog will come into play, processing the sound in such a way as to separate your voice from other audio tracks and remove all distortions, background noises, etc. It seems that Acer has provided everything at all.
Studying iron
I’ll start with a small digression. While installing software for testing and viewing characteristics, I had to open many tabs. Usually, I pay attention to their number only when my computer starts to slow down, making it clear that it’s time to close the extra tabs. Sitting at the conceptD 9, I completely forgot about it. Noticed when the tabs no longer fit on the screen. I counted them – 68 pieces. I finished it up to 100, but did not notice any changes in the speed of work. Then I gave up and decided to see what this beast was made of.
The hardware inside the laptop has been configured to meet the needs of content creators and people working with 3D graphics to the fullest. That is, it is not just a laptop, but a real professional tool that gives you complete freedom in terms of productivity, while remaining compact and mobile. If we compare computers with cars, then an ordinary laptop is a passenger car. You can travel, but you are unlikely to be comfortable living in it on a permanent basis. ConceptD 9 is a true mobile home. Or even a penthouse.
An Intel Core i9-9980HK is used as a processor – these are 8 cores and 16 threads, and the frequency is 2.4 GHz, which rises to 5.0 GHz in boost under load, the volume of the third level cache is 16 MB. The processor copes with any task, while the cooling implemented by Acer engineers is unusually efficient – I tested AIDA64. Under 100% load of the processor and video card (I wanted to get a complete picture of heat dissipation inside the laptop case), we get a stable 85 degrees for the processor and 60 degrees for the video card. Over time, this indicator does not change. The only thing worth paying attention to is throttling at the very beginning, until the active cooling system starts up, but even there it does not exceed 10%, which can be easily attributed to an error. In real life, it will work at full capacity, and it doesn’t matter.
For the video card, Acer chose one of the most stable and powerful solutions – Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 with 8 gigabytes of GDDR6 video memory on board. ConceptD 9 has received the RTX Studio certification from Nvidia, which is focused on content creators and guarantees optimization for a wide range of professional applications from Adobe, Black Magic and many more. By installing the driver version for the Studio video card, we get an additional boost. If we want to play, then the driver can be easily rearranged to Game Ready – this is done in Nvidia GeForce Experience.
RAM is always 32 gigabytes – regardless of the configuration version, and the drive is SSD connected via M.2. There is also a second slot – you can optionally install a second drive.
Play
I started testing with games. I tried several multiplayer titles that can show their maximum on such a solution. However, almost any games run without any problems – the benefit of performance is more than enough, and a video card with support for RTX and DLSS technology is available.
In the beloved Fortnite, the battle royale mode is about 110 frames per second. In especially hot scenes, FPS can drop to 100 frames per second, but not lower.
Apex Legend demonstrates about 130-140 frames per second. In both cases, the graphics are set to maximum values, and the native resolution is chosen for the display of 3840 × 2160 pixels. In general, it would be possible to play both games at the same time, but this is beyond human capabilities.
But why do you need such power to play on a laptop when there are gaming PCs and consoles? The answer is simple. To stream games, you need a lot of hardware. And this, roughly speaking, binds the streamer to the workplace. In this regard, ConceptD 9 is a real salvation for those who want to go somewhere and not lose their income. And for e-sportsmen this is simply necessary, because if you are at a high level, then traveling to LAN tournaments is an essential component of your success. But the laptop is suitable not only for a professional e-sportsman, but also for those who are planning to become one. The power of ConceptD 9 will help you achieve high results, ensuring stable play without drawdowns.
We create
I did the output of the project in Adobe Premiere in 8K resolution, and I used the original video materials in 6K. Editing and creating a working prerender in a lower resolution went as smoothly as possible, almost on the fly. A five-minute video, average in terms of effect load, was displayed for about 26 minutes. How long does it take for your computer?
The test result in DaVinci Resolve 17 by Black Magic exceeded all my expectations. The source materials and color grading were the same as in the Adobe Premiere project, but the project took only 3 minutes 43 seconds to render.
A laptop is perfect for working with 3D graphics: the stock of iron is enough to get maximum performance when working with vector graphics and creating architectural projects. We used Furmark as a feature test. The ConceptD 9 was powerful enough.
Battery life under average load is about 2 hours 30 minutes. If you watch a video and do office tasks, it will be discharged in 7-8 hours. Excellent performance, especially for such a powerful device. If you are planning a business trip, then most likely you will be working from a hotel, office or coworking space where there are power outlets. And we will leave the photo session on the beach with a laptop to information businessmen – let them imagine the carefree life of a freelancer.
Drawing conclusions
So, ConceptD 9 is out of competition. Outwardly, it resembles laptops that will appear in five years, and in terms of actual performance, it can be compared with most desktops for similar money, especially considering the fact which display is installed here. This is the ultimate solution that will be interesting for gamers, streamers and professionals in the field of working with content and graphics. If you want to get the most out of your productivity while staying mobile, this is the solution for you. Bravo! I give a solid five.
The laptop fully justifies its cost, but we agreed with our colleagues from Acer to give it a small discount (although as a small one – almost 50 thousand rubles!). So everyone who, like me, is delighted with the power of this laptop can purchase it with a 10% discount using the promotional code POPMECH10. The promo code is valid until June 1 – and not only for this model, but for the entire ConceptD line.