Getting my arms on the Acer Predator Atlas 8 confirmed what different handhelds have been lacking

Home windows-based gaming handhelds have actually began to mature just lately. Microsoft is partly to thank for placing some much-needed work in on the software program aspect, whereas {hardware} makers like Asus, Lenovo and MSI have had a number of gadget generations to find what works – and what doesn’t. That places a little bit of stress on Acer, who continues to be comparatively new to the occasion within the West, to impress.

The Predator Atlas 8 appears like a very good begin. Having simply tried one on the agency’s Computex showcase, it has options I’ve but to come across on a mainstream handheld. It was additionally my first style of Intel’s new Arc G3 Excessive processor, which based mostly on how effectively it ran Forza Horizon 6, might pose a severe risk to AMD’s handheld dominance.

The Predator Atlas 8 technically isn’t Acer’s first ever handheld: the agency lists a number of Nitro-branded fashions on its web site, however none ever noticed a large launch exterior of Asia. The celebrities have seemingly aligned for this newest effort, with the US, Europe, Center East, Africa and Australia set to get it from October onwards.

It doesn’t look all that completely different from the hand-held institution, with the same old brace of face buttons, shortcuts and analog sticks up entrance, bumpers and triggers on the prime, and some bonus buttons on the rear. The analog sticks are full dimension, with customisable LED rings that look similar to those on rival Asus’ ROG Xbox Ally X, however they don’t do something fancy with Corridor impact or TMR tech.

The round D-pad felt first rate sufficient – correct and never overly mushy – although I’ll withhold judgment till a full overview. Throwing fireballs and uppercuts in Road Fighter 6 stays the most effective check of any pad.

What instantly stood out to me was how naturally the Predator Atlas 8 sat in my arms. Acer has completely nailed the ergonomics right here, with good button placement and huge, sculpted grips that give even bigger mitts lots to seize onto. They’re finely textured for loads of grip. It weighs a considerable 810g, however the even distribution hides it effectively.

The opposite spotlight was the adjustable triggers. These use Corridor impact sensors to measure stress throughout your complete vary, making them superb for racing video games. I might feather the brakes in Forza Horizon 6 and be extra delicate with the throttle although corners than on some handhelds, which have overly brief triggers that really feel nearly binary on/off at instances. Flick the toggles beneath every set off and the pull distance is shortened dramatically, dashing up inputs for fast-paced shooters and the like.

They didn’t really feel fairly as satisfying because the Razer Wolverine V3 Professional controller’s near-instant activation microswitches, however I cherished having the ability to regulate on the fly relying on what I used to be taking part in. From what I can see the one different gaming handheld with adjustable triggers was the Zotac Zone, which didn’t get a lot traction after launching at a excessive value and with outdated {hardware}, so it’s nice to see the tech present up once more right here. I did miss the built-in rumble of the ROG Xbox Ally X’s improbable impulse triggers, although.

The Predator Atlas 8’s display appears like a secure guess. It’s not an OLED and there was no point out of HDR assist, so isn’t going to fret the Steam Deck OLED for distinction, however the remainder of the specs – 1200p decision, 120Hz variable refresh fee, 500 nits peak brightness – are up there with the most effective MSI and Asus have to supply proper now.

It’s a 16:10 side panel that fills the entrance of the hand-held properly, with decently slim bezels on all 4 sides and Gorilla Glass Victus safety. I appreciated the anti-glare coating in Acer’s brightly-lit demo space, and had no complaints about color vibrancy or viewing angles. The 2W audio system appeared to shout pretty loudly too.

There’s nothing to grouse about on the connectivity entrance, with twin Thunderbolt 4 USB-Cs on the highest of the gadget together with a microSD card slot. The ability button additionally doubles as a fingerprint sensor, which I discover very helpful for skipping the Home windows lock display.

Naturally the Predator Atlas 8 will arrive with the full-screen Xbox interface on board, protecting valuable system sources free till you manually head to the Home windows desktop. The UI felt immediately acquainted, with Acer’s pill-like shortcuts shortly opening the Recreation Bar.

Efficiency was undeniably spectacular. The model I performed had the spicier Arc G3 Excessive chipset, which mixes a 14-core CPU with a a 12-core Xe3 GPU. That’s two greater than the common Arc G3 will get and clock velocity is a smidge increased, giving it superior shove even whereas utilizing the identical 8-35W energy vary.

Forza Horizon 6 was hovering across the 50fps mark on the Predator’s native 1920×1200 decision and with the Excessive element preset, even earlier than Intel’s XeSS 3 upscaling tech was introduced into the combo. This was with the hand-held related to mains energy, admittedly, and in its highest energy profile, however that also comfortably eclipses the Xbox ROG Ally X – which additionally tops out at a decrease 1920×1080 decision. Intel has actually introduced the products this chip technology. Acer’s twin AeroBlade cooling followers had been in a position to tame the {hardware} with out sounding like a jet engine too.

I’m hoping time away from the mains will likely be a minimum of nearly as good as what AMD’s Ryzen Z2 Excessive can handle, although that may rely upon how demanding your video games are – in addition to what energy profile you may drop to with out tanking your body fee.

The agency has but to lock down remaining specs, however the top-end Arc G3 Excessive Predator Atlas 8 appears prone to get 24GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, together with an 80Whr battery. The step-down Arc G3 model might see 16GB, 512GB and 64Whr respectively.

That’ll nearly definitely put firmly in flagship territory. I’m betting it’ll be dearer than the Xbox Ally X (which at present retails for $899/£849) and hope it’ll undercut the Lenovo Legion Go 2 ($1399/£1249) – though each rivals have suffered due to the continued AI-inflicted reminiscence value disaster. By the point October rolls round, issues might have stabilised.

When it does, the Predator Atlas 8 additionally received’t be the one Arc G3-powered handheld; MSI has already confirmed it’ll be revealing its newest Claw at Computex, whereas OnexPlayer has additionally tapped up Intel for the brand new {hardware}. Nonetheless, they’ll each must work laborious to outshine the Acer’s customisable controls for players that like to leap between genres.