Acer Predator Orion 9000 Review: An Olympic bodybuilder in computer form

Physically, technically, aesthetically and audibly – the Acer Predator Orion 9000 is just insane. The name is awfully representative of the computer itself… waaay over the top – but in a wonderfully nerdy way.

It’s not everyday that we get our hands on what can only be described as an ‘absurd’, ‘ridiculous’ or otherwise ‘breathtakingly’ powerful computer… but when we do, we spend weeks gaming our lives away under the false premise of work. The Acer Predator Orion 9000 is big. Stupid big. It’s incredibly powerful and so much more than you’ll ever need. And therein lies it’s charm.

It’s a Ferrari… And if you’ve only got the budget for a Corolla, I heavily suggest not torturing yourself by reading on – but boy is it nice to dream.

The first thing you’ll notice about the Predator Orion 9000 is it’s stature. It’s the computer you found in your partners private messages they told you not to worry about… It’s the guy in the gym that lifts your bodyweight for his warmup…. You feel unworthy in its presence. From the gorgeous faux-carbon fibre panels to the aggressive grates and lines of the tower – the PC is just intimidating.

The RGB LED lights are rampant in this build and can be customized in groups at the front, in the main window and along the motherboard. There’s enough light to illuminate a room with this thing.

You’ll notice the front of the case has a rather segmented look, with a CD drive conveniently concealed behind the first pane, your two beautiful RGB fans displayed below and a small pop-out hook for your headphones. This is one of the first towers I’ve picked up that I IMMEDIATELY knew was designed by someone who actually games.

For the geeks, the Predator Orion is stacked up with;

• i7 8700K at 3.7Ghz stock.
• 8GB GeForce RTX 2080
• 16GB DDR4 RAM
• 256GB SSD
• 2TB HDD
• Win 10 Home

And let me tell you, the RTX 2080 is ridiculous. Just stupid powerful. I couldn’t break it with any game on any setting – not once did it even noticeably stutter. Naturally the RAM and i7 do a lot to support it, so the build feels really well rounded.

Out of the box, this beast comes with a Predator brand mouse and keyboard that actually go alright, however the mouse-pad is too small to be remotely effective. The overall setup, usability and gaming experience of the Orion 9000 is seamless. The hardware is as powerful as you’ll find in any pre-build and the Acer ‘PredatorSense’ software comes pre-installed to monitor CPU, GPU and lighting conditions. It has everything from fan speeds to temperatures and hotkey profiles.

I maintain that the Acer Predator Orion 9000 is a disgustingly large, powerful and beautiful gaming machine. It’s stocked at Harvey Norman stores for a whopping $4998.

As is the stance I always take with builds like this, I can’t and won’t pretend that kind of money is reasonable for a gaming computer when you compare it against an Xbox, Playstation or reasonably priced (~$1500) PC. But I can guarantee you that if you have the budget and the desire for an absolute WEAPON – the Acer Predator Orion 9000 is an excellent pick.