People who love slick-looking PCs powerful enough to edit 4K video or render virtual-reality worlds might not put an Acer desktop or laptop in the same category as an Apple iMac Pro or a Dell Precision workstation laptop. But Acer is trying to change their minds with an entire lineup of powerful, sleek machines and companion display panels.

The Taiwanese company unveiled three new laptops, two new desktops, a pair of new PC monitors, and a VR headset on Thursday at its annual global launch event at Brooklyn Navy Yard, a gritty post-industrial nexus for the creative pros who Acer hopes will buy these new devices. All of the new creator-minded gear falls under a new "ConceptD" brand launched today.

A Line of Pro-Creator Laptops, Tuned in 'D'

The entry-level laptop in the lineup, called the ConceptD 5, boasts a 15.6-inch 4K screen, an Intel Core i7, and an AMD Radeon RX Vega graphics processor inside a sleek, snow-white chassis that weighs just 3.3 pounds. (It's got the 15-inch MacBook Pro square in its sights.) It will start at $1,699.

The next rung up the ConceptD ladder is the ConceptD 7, whose available GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q graphics card is sure to chew through graphics-accelerated workflows. It's also a 15.6-inch machine with a 4K display, but it weighs significantly more, at 4.63 pounds. It will start at $2,299.

The third laptop is the ConceptD 9, which Acer watchers may recognize as a minimally changed version of the company's audacious Predator Triton 900 gaming rig. Both machines have a folding hinge that acts as an easel, similar to the one on the HP Spectre Folio.

At more than 9 pounds and starting at $4,999, the ConceptD 9 is neither portable nor a bargain, though it makes up for its heft with an even more powerful non-Max-Q RTX 2080 GPU and a 9th-generation Intel Core i9 CPU. Unlike its two smaller, white siblings, the ConceptD 9 has an all-black exterior.

All of the ConceptD laptops come with displays that are Pantone certified and can display 100 percent of the Adobe RGB color spectrum.

Big Iron (With a Wood Ceiling)

For Hollywood film editors and other people who need even more computing power and are willing to choose a desktop over a laptop to get it, Acer will also offer two ConceptD tower PCs. The ConceptD 500, which will start at $1,699, is an entry-level workstation with a wood grain pattern on the top that offers built-in wireless charging. Like the ConceptD 5 and ConceptD 7, the sides are white. Inside, you'll be able to configure it with an Intel Core i9 CPU and an Nvidia Quadro RTX 4000.

Then there's an extremely high-end ConceptD 900 workstation, which is truly an all-out performance powerhouse. It's all black, has two Intel Xeon Gold 6148 processors (for a total of 40 processor cores), an Nvidia Quadro RTX 6000 GPU, support for up 192GB of ECC memory across 12 DIMM slots, and up to five storage drives for a staggering maximum of 60TB of storage. This beyond-beastly machine will start at a jaw-dropping $19,999.

Rounding out the ConceptD lineup is a pair of monitors (see our hands on here)and a mixed-reality headset. The ConceptD OJO headset has inside-out tracking and shares the same white color scheme as the rest of the lineup. It's a sign that Acer hasn't given up on virtual reality after rumors surfaced late last year that the company was considering shuttering its StarVR subsidiary.

New Gaming and Consumer PCs

Acer also announced updates to its Predator gaming PC lineup, including a new Predator Helios 700 with a slide-able keyboard to improve the efficiency of the cooling fans. The Predator Helios 700 has a 17-inch screen and an optional GeForce RTX 2080 GPU, and will start at $2,699; read our hands on here.

Other new Acer gaming rigs include the Predator Helios 300 and the Nitro 7, and on the desktop side of things, a 43-inch Predator monitor with a 4K native resolution. Meanwhile, Acer also announced a new premium Chromebook for enterprise users and updates to its Aspire mainstream laptop lineup and its TravelMate business laptop. (Check out our hands on with the Chromebook 715 and TravelMate P6)

Sales of the new products start as early as next month in the US. But many of the most notable ones, including the ConceptD lineup, will become available in stages from June until the end of this year.

Further Reading

Desktop PC Reviews