What is Acer Predator 15 G9 593 GTX 1060?

THE VERBAL VERDICT

The GTX 1060-equipped Acer Predator 15 G9 593 GTX 1060 offers good gaming performance and a respectable battery life for a relatively low cost.

Not every upgrade needs to be done entirely from scratch. The new Acer Predator 15 (G9-593-72VT) (starts at $1,499; $1,699.99 as tested) adds an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card compared to the previous version we evaluated last year, but otherwise retains the same hefty body and dull keyboard illumination. However, improved visuals do translate into greater gaming performance, and the Predator 15 offers superb value overall. However, the HP Omen 17, our Editors’ Choice in this price category, offers quicker overall performance, a more powerful GTX 1070 graphics card, a better 4K screen, and a little thinner design for an additional $100.

Features and Design

Predator 15 (at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) version 2 looks to be substantially identical to version 1 in terms of size, keyboard layout with five dedicated macro keys, screen size and resolution, I/O ports, and swappable fan module. Read our review of the Acer Predator 15 (G9-591-74KN) ($1,899.98 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) for a detailed overview.

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One design deviation could be seen to the keen eye. The vertical grille at the back has been changed to a more triangular venting design, just as the new Acer Predator 17. The MSI GT62VR Dominator Pro-005 (at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) is roughly the same size (it is 1.56 by 15.36 by 10.47 inches, HWD, to the Acer’s 1.52 by 15.39 by 11.79 inches, HWD), but it weighs noticeably less. The new laptop is also a little heavier at 8.26 pounds—technically portable, but just barely (6.45 pounds).

The PredatorSense GameBar, which you can use to launch the Xbox app, record video of your screen, capture pictures, or access the Settings page, appears when you press the keyboard’s Button 5. The new Predator 15 also has support for Nvidia’s G-Sync technology, which synchronises the display’s frame rate with that of the game you’re playing to lessen screen tearing and improve gaming performance.

The speakers, connection choices, and guarantee remain the same, much like the appearance. However, the new Predator 15’s storage configuration is different from the previous Predator 15’s, which combined a 512GB SSD with a 1TB 7,200rpm hard drive. Additionally, the RAM has shrunk from 32GB to 16GB. Acer reduced the cost of its Predator 15 by $800 by reducing the RAM and SSD storage capacities and adding the GTX 1060. Although not everyone will like these modifications, the newer, more potent graphics card does result in greater overall gaming performance (see the “Performance” section below). However, you still have to accept the bulky design and subpar keyboard illumination.

Performance

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card is the primary change for this Predator 15. (The Intel Core i7-6700HQ CPU, clocked at 2.6GHz, is the same.) Performance gains from newer graphics cards are usually always noticeable, and we saw them in our 3D and gaming tests when compared to the previous Predator 15. The revised model increased from 22,872 to a respectable 23,827 on 3DMark Cloud Gate, and from 4,355 to 5,161 on the more demanding Fire Strike Extreme.

It outperformed the most current Razer Blade, which scored 22,215 on Cloud Gate and 4,120 on Fire Strike Extreme, and was comparable to the Alienware 13 (22,990 on Cloud Gate, The same processor and graphics hardware are in Fire Strike Extreme ($4,990). However, the MSI GT62VR (25,278 on Cloud Gate; 7,366 on Fire Strike Extreme) and Omen 17 (25,433 on Cloud Gate; 7,118 on Fire Strike Extreme) both achieved better scores, which is not unexpected given that they are both powered with the GTX 1070.

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The Predator 15 performed well in the Heaven and Valley video game tests as well. It had an average frame rate of 196 frames per second on Heaven and 103 frames per second on Valley at 1,366 by 768 resolution and Medium graphics quality. It averaged 68 frames per second at 1,920 by 1,080 resolution and 73 frames per second with the graphics quality set to Ultra on the same tests. That’s on par with the MSI GT62VR on the lower-level test (173 frames per second on Heaven and 95 frames per second on Valley), even though that device had greater results at the higher resolution (97fps on Heaven, 89fps on Valley). The HP Omen 17, our Editors’ Choice selection, follows the similar strategy.

The Predator 15 performed admirably on the PCMark 8 Work Conventional test, which evaluates general productivity, earning 3,388 points aside from gaming. With that, the MSI GT62VR (3,355), the Predator 15 (3,382) from before, the Razer Blade (3,312), the Alienware 13 (2,971), and the HP Omen 17 narrowly trail (2,729).

The battery life of the new Predator 15 is one area where it lagged behind its predecessor. On our rundown test, the previous model had a time of 6 hours, 38 minutes, which is fast for a gaming laptop. The Predator 15 barely lasted 5:16 this time. Though gaming laptops typically struggle to stay more than three hours on our test, that’s still quite impressive. It falls short of the Razer Blade’s outstanding battery life (7:23), although it is a bit of an aberration for the category. Additionally, it is longer than the MSI GT62VR (3:55), HP Omen (4:35), and Alienware 13 models (4:56).

Conclusion

The Predator 15 doesn’t offer many novelties, but Acer has enhanced gaming performance on a superb laptop. There are sexier variants available with more potent parts, sharper screens, and more streamlined designs. The HP Omen 17 is still our Editors’ Choice since it costs just $100 extra but has an even stronger graphics card, a 17-inch 4K screen, and weighs less than 2 pounds. However, if saving additional cash is more important to you than the extra juice, weight, and gamer appearance, you won’t be “settling” for this Acer Predator 15.