Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Acer Predator 17 Gaming Laptop, Core i7, GeForce GTX 1070, 17.3" Full HD G-SYNC, 16GB DDR4, 256GB SSD, 1TB HDD, G9-793-79V5 The Acer Predator G9-793-79V5 is probably the best choice I made for a gaming laptop, I really was tempted to get an Asus ROG but after checking the specs between them I believe this one convinced me. Will try to be as detailed as possible. * THE GOOD: + 17" diagonal LCD IPS screen providing native 1920x1080 resolution. + nVidia GTX 1070 graphics. + Illuminated keyboard + keypad. + Hotkey / macro profiles on the left side, switch button allows to store up to 15 macros + OS very clean, not a lot of bloatware to complain of and the Acer utilities include a wi-fi analyzer which in turn allows to configure better wi-fi channels for better network performance. + 2x128Gb M.2 (B+M) key SSD + 1Tb 7200 SATA HD. + 16Gb RAM out of the box plus 2 easy access slots on the back for expansion. + USB 3.0 ports layout is good, not spread all over and spaced nicely to connect multiple devices without blocking each other. * THE BAD: - Heavy and large but again its 17" made for gaming or to replace a desktop so deal with it. - Proper gaming sessions require power brick connected, power brick rated for 230W output. - Quick start guide very simple instructions, you actually need to download the manual to learn most of its tricks. - 2x128Gb M.2 (B+M) key in RAID-0 configuration. (Read below) - Locked "InsydeH20" BIOS. (Read below) - Basic optical media, DVD reader / writer, my previous computer was an HP Pavilion dv6 and could read Blu-Ray discs. Let me give you my biggest beefs to a couple of the "BAD" things. * Having 2 SSD drives is a big bonus, but using them in a RAID-0 array its pointless, because they are SSD's, they are fast already and the RAID-0 gain in so minimal that the computer actually wastes time writing on 2 devices instead of 1. * This problem with RAID 0 is compounded due the fact that Acer decided to lock the BIOS so the SATA mode is set to RAID and preventing end users to change it. Again this is a major mistake. In the event of RAID array failure the user cannot reinstall software or may not recover at all since the configuration setting is locked. At this point some of you who know how to work with RAID-0 arrays may think. "Surely that kind of problem is very rare." Sadly it is not, before this review I received this same computer and while running it through its paces the RAID array failed. Because RAID was locked in BIOS I could not use an image I made at first and the Acer recovery tools and recovery management were unable to reinstall the software or rebuild the array from scratch. This also prevents users from upgrading to bigger SSD drive sizes, I am unaware of the RAID array will be rebuilt on a bigger SSD drive, plus the SSD slots and space for them may cause problem installing a new SSD. (See pictures) Acer really needs to unlock the BIOS and give the option to the users to configure the computer as they see fit and its not really that hard. After speaking with Acer support he claimed that users can unlock the BIOS but its not Acer's policy to disclose how to do it. So I assume the unlock procedure is just a backdoor or master password to unlock all features. Now a bit on the good side: This is a laptop computer but you want to use it on a table for comfort, when its running at full speed it gets warm BUT the lap portion remains relatively cool. Using the overclocking options the most heat came from the rear away from the lap and even away from the keyboard, even graphic-intensive games were run very smoothly at "Ultra" settings In the end I think the GOOD overcome the BAD and its a solid purchase for both work and entertainment for the next couple years and if Acer stops trying to tie leashes on the customers it will be a great purchase for everyone else. ** 08/12/2017 A bit of more updates. ** Around 1 month after I got the computer have used it to convert movies with handbrake and while all 4 cores work at full I see no extra heat coming out from the back, heat output remains at a steady 97F-98F. While people like to use test programs like heaven and others I prefer to use somewhat intensive applications. I run Second life at Ultra settings and Space Engineers online and they both run quite smoothly, very little (if any) visual lag. The most delays I notice is when using the SATA hard drive for the programs but using the SSD's pretty much prevents that. Still trying to get ACER to spit the BIOS backdoor/master password to unlock all features but no success so far. ** 08/22/2017 More updates. ** With the help from ACER predator forums I learned I could update from the 2x128Gb RAID-0 to a single 512Gb NVMe M.2 stick by removing both SSD's and placing the new one then restore a full backup upon the new drive so as not lose any existing data. (No need to make changes to BIOS except boot order) The process took 2 or 3 tries before getting it right but it worked, with the single NVMe drive the predator is not just fast. It flies! Loading time from Power-Up to Windows 10 login is 7 seconds flat. Afterwards I connected one of the remaining 128Gb sticks to the M.2 SATA connector and using Inter Rapid Storage GUI inside windows broke its RAID setting so I can use it instead to install programs on it. So now I have 3 drives: 1x512Gb NVMe M.2 SSD stick. 1x128Gb SATA M.2 SSD stick 1x1Tb SATA 7200 HD. ** 07/30/2020 Update ** A few days ago the battery is no longer charging, I assume the battery life / charge cycles have reached its limit, (500 recharge cycles or so they say) so still waiting for a replacement. Without the battery the gaming sessions experience a bit of lag because the computer pulls some power from the battery to compensate. While it is warned in the description, it would be nice if ACER designed the laptops to draw full power from the power block without touching the battery, I do not know if this was addressed on later models.