The Acer SpatialLabs Eyes Stereo Camera is a new camera with two lenses positioned apart, just like eyes, to capture a stereoscopic 3D image.

The device is a straightforward 'box' design, with two eight-megapixel cameras, a weatherproof design, EIS, and a 'manual mode'.

It is designed to provide 'eyes' to Acer's existing range of 3D products – monitors and laptops which have 3D displays which don't need glasses.

Acer's SpatialLabs tech relies on a lenticular monitor, but the technology has moved on a long way from the ridged screens over static images you might remember from years ago (or the Nintendo 3DS).

Acer's screens use eye-tracking cameras to ensure the correct image is projected, allowing the user a certain amount of movement.

There are still limitations. There are four apps that make up the SpatialLabs suite, all for Windows, so Mac users won't be able to take advantage. Each requires switching to full screen; the 4K monitors work on a SBS (side by side) approach, which is – in so far as any 3D system is – well-recognised. What that means is video is sent as two side-by-side images; a side-effect in YouTube for a long while was messed-up control icons.

The result, though, is that (in person) objects can appear to be about 10cm / 3-inches closer to you than the surface of the screen itself.

Ok, so the camera...

The camera lenses have an aperture of f/2 with a 21mm EFL. Together the provide an 80-degree horizontal and 52-degree vertical field of view. The 'eyes' are 63mm apart, similar to human eyes, and each possesses a 1/2.8-inch CMOS sensor.

These deliver a photo resolution of 7680 x 2160 SBS, or a 30fps video at the same resolution (or 60fps at 3840 x 2160). This lower resolution is also available for stereo webcam and for a 30fps HDR mode.

The back of the camera sports a 2.41-inch touchscreen, though there is also a 'built-in selfie mirror' so the camera can be aimed for meetings and the like.

The camera does a boast 6-axis gyro for image stabilization, and a light 220g weight (perhaps as it only has 37 minutes of recording time untethered).

These specs suggest that when Acer say 'designed for photographers' they're using a modern take on the term, very video and streaming bias, but at least the lenses are appropriate positioned (though it is interesting that the EFL is narrower than the 42mm you might expect – presumably this is to allow the user to 'frame' themselves/their subject).

The device's uses aren't as niche as you might imagine either; 3D content is increasingly standardized (so much so it's a barely mentioned feature of plenty of TVs). Anything which can handle a video feed can, in theory, handle SBS video, so 3D video calling on Teams, Zoom, and Google Meet are cited by Acer as practical uses.

This, admittedly, is something customers will need to wait for, until another SpatialLabs widget comes along, promised for Q3 this year, but then the camera itself won't go on sale in Q3 for US$549. 

Until then, it is a good reminder that innovations in photography aren't all being led by traditional photography brands. Sure, faster focusing and eye-tracking are exciting but they're improvements – but this is a markedly different approach but one which might yet take-off given the impetus coming from the many AR and VR products. This is a more complete example, but Apple Spatial Video can already be recorded on some iPhones, so Acer isn't alone here.

If you're interested in 3D, have you considered the best 360-degree cameras?

The Acer Aspire 5 is directly targeted at the top end of more affordable laptops. The mid-range priced model we are testing here bags you an Intel Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB RAM, and a GeForce RTX 2050. These push the limits of what is possible with a budget to mid-range laptops but fall short of what is required for creatives with more demanding requirements for video editing, 3D editing, or more complex layering and compositing of photos. The 17-inch display is a highlight but it comes at the cost of being much less portable.

Acer Aspire 5: Specifications

Operating System: Windows 11 Home
Processor: Intel Core i7-1260P processor Dodeca-core 2.10 GHz
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050 with 4 GB dedicated memory
Display: 17.3" Full HD (1920 x 1080) 16:9 IPS
Memory: 16 GB, DDR4 SDRAM
Storage: 1 TB SSD
I/O Ports: HDMI, USB Type-A x3, USB Type-C
Touchpad: Yes
Camera: 1080p webcam
Battery: 8 hour battery run-time
Weight: 2.30 kg
Dimensions: (W x D x H) 40.21, 25.79, 1.99cm

Acer Aspire 5: Key Features

The display on the Aspire 5 is a really good size for all creative applications including photo-editing and video-editing. Even though the increased laptop size doesn’t make it the most portable machine, when you’re set up in your mobile workspace you’ll have no difficulty working with the likes of Photoshop or Lightroom. The screen real estate also makes it possible to carry out a range of other tasks with ease, and having two windows open side by side doesn’t cramp the view too much. 

The Aspire 5 is well equipped with a Type-C USB 4 port which supports Thunderbolt making data transfer incredibly fast. The transferring of files from other devices such as hard drives is therefore not particularly onerous with speeds of up to 40Gbps. The laptop’s USB-A ports can only reach up to 20Gbps so it’s good to have the Thunderbolt option. Photographers and content creators work with SD cards a lot but this machine is not set up for transferring files from these cards directly. The use of a hub or docking station can overcome this though. 

This laptop proudly ships with a GeForce RTX 2050 but I wouldn’t rely on it for any significant graphics performance such as in gaming or more complex video editing and color grading. It’s branded as an RTX card but please don’t expect it to be any good at delivering ray tracing in games or 3D rendering. More on this in the performance section of this review.

This GPU is particularly aimed at lighter laptops that need more graphics computing power than an integrated alternative. The GeForce RTX 2050 therefore delivers the necessary power for working with Photoshop and working in the cloud but not much more.

The plugging in of external displays is made possible through the Type-C USB port but the HDMI port is better suited if you’re wanting to connect to an 8K monitor. This laptop is nowhere near capable enough to run video editing tasks at 4K, and definitely not at 8K.

Acer Aspire 5: Design & Handling

The Aspire 5 focuses first on functionality rather than aesthetics. The keyboard and touchpad are well positioned making it ergonomically pleasant to work with for a range of tasks. 

The materials are primarily plastic which makes the laptop light but not particularly robust when holding it or moving it around. It’s also difficult to open the laptop without two hands which isn’t too much of a problem but it does speak to the slightly clunky quality of the construction. Its plastic body and metal style finish with large bevels give it a rather outdated look, something that is common on a high proportion of budget and mid-range laptops. 

Acer Aspire 5: Photo Performance

The Aspire 5 is definitely a general all-rounder that doesn’t excel in any particular area. Its benchmark scores demonstrate that. The Cinebench scores came in at 532 points for the multi-core CPU and 105 points for the single-core CPU. The Geekbench score for multi-core came in at 6,843 and single-core at 2,071. Its GPU OpenCL score was 36,673. 

I’ve been at pains to say that this is not the machine to choose for video editing but just to prove it, during our Handbrake test, the Acer Aspire 5 transcoded a 10-minute 34-second 4K video to 1080p in 15 minutes 15 seconds. This is particularly slow considering the actual 4K video was only just over 10 minutes. The TUF Gaming F15 carried out the same test in 4 minutes 30 seconds. Encoding videos is a key part of a video editor's workflow and you don't want to be hanging around waiting longer than you have to for this process to be completed.

It’s worth remembering that this laptop is not designed for more intensive and demanding tasks so we shouldn’t be too harsh on it. Home workers wanting a laptop to run office applications, work in the cloud, or do basic photo-editing tasks will not be disappointed. I didn’t experience any performance issues when carrying out day-to-day tasks. Alongside this, the inclusion of a 1TB SSD worked perfectly for quick read-write access of files.

The device never got particularly hot but the fan does seem to be working noticeably hard to achieve this cooling. The noise is something that, at most times, blended into the background but the constant noise wasn’t particularly pleasing. 

Acer Aspire 5: Final Verdict

The Acer Aspire 5 is a mid-range laptop with a hardware spec to match. It is a great generalist but will not deliver if more demanding tasks are required. It is therefore a great option for someone wanting a reliable and semi-powerful machine for home working but not suitable for most photo or video editors. 

If you’re happy foregoing a minimal amount of display size then the Dell Inspiron 16 laptop or Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 are great alternatives. They offer similar specs but are a little more affordable. The IdeaPad benefits from an AMD Ryzen CPU and a slightly better graphics card in the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050.

Read more: check out our guide for the best budget laptops for more, or if you want to see the best of the best, take a look at our top picks for the best photo editing laptops and the best laptops for video editing.

The Acer Nitro 5 may seem slightly out of place when marketed towards creative professionals, but gaming laptops have been a solid choice for video editors and VFX work for many years thanks to them typically being equipped with graphically capable hardware and a high-quality display. The Nitro 5 is no different, but where gaming laptops can be an eyewatering investment, it stands apart as one of the few genuinely budget-friendly options on the market, with prices starting as low as $799.

Given its palatable price tag, you won’t find many luxuries included - there’s no OLED or miniLED display option for example - but if you’re looking for a device that's brilliant at the basics, the Nitro 5 could still be considered as one of the best laptops on the market. You’re getting a full HD 1080p display with a 144Hz refresh rate, the latest generation of both AMD and Intel processors and an Nvidia RTX graphics card that could give some of your favorite creative apps an AI-powered boost.

Not only that, but unlike many modern ultrabooks and laptops that have sacrificed ports to slim down, this offering from Acer provides a decent selection that will allow you to plug in and use all manner of peripherals and accessories without relying on a separate dongle. Its far from perfect, but there really is a lot to love about the Acer Nitro 5.

Acer Nitro 5 (2022) specifications

CPU: Intel Core i5-12500H

Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti

RAM: 16GB DDR4

Screen: 15.6-inch IPS, 1080 x 1920, 144Hz
Touch input: No

Storage: 512GB PCIe SSD

Ports: 3 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A, 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C, 1 x power port, 1 x HDMI 2.1, 1 x Combo Jack, 1 x Kensington Slot

Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2

Battery: 57WHr

Camera: 720p webcam

Weight: 2.3kg (5.07 lbs)

Size (W x D x H): 36 x 25 x 25 cm (14.19” x 10.67” x 1.067")

Acer Nitro 5 (2022) configurations

There are several variations of the Acer Nitro 5 (2022) on the market, so it's pretty easy to snap up a configuration that will work best for you. Graphics cards are available from Nvidia from the humble GeForce RTX 3050 Ti, all the way up to the RTX 3080 for those who need a lot of power in their system. Processors get even more variety, with Intel offerings from the i5-11400H up to an i7-11800H, and AMD options providing a choice of either Ryzen 7 5800H or the seriously powerful Ryzen 9 5900HX.

Obviously, the more powerful the components, the higher the price tag. While prices start at $799 for a model equipped with an AMD Ryzen 5 5600H processor, an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 GPU, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD for storage, the most powerful laptop within the series will set you back $2,299 for an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. 

This means the Nitro 5 becomes less of a ‘great deal’ if you have higher specs in mind, so if you were looking for a top-of-the-line gaming laptop then you should also consider alternative products. The Razer Blade 17 for example, not only provides even more power in the form of more RAM and beefier graphics cards, but also a better display and enough ports for the laptop to completely replace a desktop setup if you’re happy to throw stacks of cash towards buying a gaming laptop for creative applications like video editing and photography.

Key features

Right out of the box, you can tell the Acer Nitro 5 is a gaming laptop from is design before you even switch the device on to see the fluxing rainbow of RGB lighting preset on the keyboard (you can change this thankfully). It’s a more muted look than seen in previous generations, but the overall aesthetic is still aggressively chunky and may stand out in a studio or office environment. 

Looks aside, this really is a case of ‘you get what you pay for’ and many of the features that work well for gamers might prove insufficient for creative work. One such example is the display, with our review model rocking a standard 1080p resolution and 144Hz refresh rate, which is perfectly suitable for playing the latest first-person-shooter titles such as Apex Legends or Valorant, but less than ideal for video editors hoping to render 4K footage.

Other display capabilities are just as ‘meh’, with the 15.6-inch IPS screen achieving just 67 percent coverage of the DCI-P3 digital cinema color space and 96 percent sRGB coverage - again, fantastic for gaming, but not ideal if you need to prioritize color accuracy. The Nitro 5 also has a notably low brightness, measuring at just 282 nits, which is poor even by non-creative laptop standards.

Still, this being a gaming laptop first is arguably part of the appeal. It's unlikely you can play a few rounds of your favorite games on a non-gaming laptop - at least at an enjoyable quality - and there are also models equipped with a more powerful 1440p, 165Hz IPS display if you’re happy to increase your budget.

Build and handling

As mentioned, the Acer Nitro 5 has persistent ‘gamer’ themes within its design such as an RGB-underlit keyboard, though this can thankfully be switched off or customized to a more tasteful and consistent shade. The keyboard itself also has red and black theming with a chunky border around both the arrow keys and WASD keys to help them stand out as these are the most commonly used keys within video games. The vents at the rear of the laptop also have a matching surround in the same shade which can look a tad garish.

The chassis itself is also something of a fingerprint magnet so you might want to keep a microfiber cloth nearby if you like to keep your devices looking their best. Otherwise, despite being made mostly from plastic, the Nitro 5 feels well built and doesn’t flex too much when pressure is applied around areas like the lid or the keyboard area, and while you’ll either love or hate its style, both the keyboard and touchpad are responsive and pleasant to use.

The laptop measures in at 360 x 250 x 250 mm and weighs 2.3kg, making it more compact and portable than other Acer offerings like the Predator Helios 300 (measuring 398 mm x 275.3 mm x 26.55 mm and weighing in at 2.90 kg), and most of its downsides are typical of gaming laptops in general rather than faults with this specific model - the fans can get loud when running under load for example, and things can get a little bit toasty during extended use.

While port selection is admirable, the lack of a built-in SD card reader will be a pain for photo editors on the go who don’t want to mess around with a separate dongle, but you do at least get a HDMI port and plenty of USB-A and USB-C variety for a remote workstation setup.

Performance

The Acer Nitro 5 is an admirable workhorse for the price. Our review unit only came equipped with the base model RTTX 3050 Ti GPU, but that was plenty powerful enough to load up titles like Minecraft and some of the aforementioned FPS-titles, all of which achieved decent frame rates running at 1080p. This will get restrictive when you try and play more demanding AAA releases though, so a more capable graphics card will be needed if you enjoy playing games like Cyberpunk 2077. 

In our tests the Nitro 5 achieved an overall score in PCMark 10 of 5,557, with a breakdown of 8,963 on Essentials, 7,892 on Productivity, and 6,913 on Digital Content Creation. This falls just under the capabilities of the previously mentioned Predator Helios 300, but still scores well for general laptop performance. In a 3DMark Time Spy test, the Nitro 5 scored just 5,274 which is under the gaming laptop average of 5,730, but this shouldn’t be surprising as the Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti is the entry-level GPU of the series, and models equipped with more capable hardware such as the slightly more powerful RTX 3060 will fair better. 

It’s worth remembering that this isn’t going to be the laptop of choice for those who want to run several applications alongside demanding games - its intended as an affordable and accessible way to jump into the world of PC gaming, and on that front, it does an admirable job.

Battery life is a pleasant surprise for a gaming laptop. In a looped video test it shut down after six hours and 17 minutes, and in a simulation of day-to-day activities using PCMark 10 it trundled along for five hours and 43 minutes. For a standard laptop that could be considered tragic, but gaming devices are notoriously power hungry which means the Nitro 5 actually outlasts more premium devices such as the Razer Blade 17 and can recharge to full capacity in around two hours.

Verdict

The Acer Nitro 5 isn’t the most glamorous laptop, nor the most powerful, but it offers genuine value for money in a saturated market full of similarly specc’d, but considerably more expensive hardware. Where pricier offerings are marketed towards those looking for a luxury product, the Nitro 5 offers a stripped-back experience for people who need a laptop for graphically demanding work (or entertainment) on a tight budget.

There are a few complaints - the lack of built-in SD card reader is a nuisance for creative professionals, and the option to include a better display would be nice - but these are issues we encountered from reviewing the device from the perspective of photographers, video editors and other creative professionals, none of which the Nitro 5 has claimed to be the demographic for.

The battery life could be considered disappointing even though it’s decent for its class as gaming laptops eat through a lot of power to run components like discrete GPUs and powerful cooling systems, and while the edgy ‘gamer’ aesthetic is less aggressive than on previous models, its appearance isn’t going to appeal to everyone, especially if you wanted a sleek, professional looking device.

Despite that, it has plenty to offer. Nvidia RTX graphics card technology offers a useful AI-powered boost across various Adobe applications and having been designed to run the latest games, it comes equipped with some pretty beefy components, which can speed up tasks like video rendering. It’s not an ideal choice for creatives who don’t play games, but for those who do, you’ll find it hard to beat for the price.

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In terms of what you need from a laptop, video editing and video gaming are not all that different: enter the Acer Predator Helios 300, which is undoubtedly a gaming laptop first but will serve you very well as a video editing rig too.

We're reviewing the 17-inch model here (a 15-inch version is also available), which means you're sacrificing portability for screen size. Yes, you can carry it around if you like, but it's a struggle – and you shouldn't expect too much in terms of battery life.

If you want plenty of power, would like to play the best PC games around, and have a sizable sum currently sitting in your bank account, the 17-inch Acer Predator Helios 300 is well worth putting on your shortlist.

Specifications

The Predator Helios 300 is available in a wide variety of configurations. We've already mentioned the 15-inch and 17-inch variations, but you can also pick from a few CPU, RAM, GPU and storage options. We can only review the unit we were sent, but if you want to spend more or less then there is that flexibility.

Our test laptop came with an 11th-gen Intel i5-11400H processor, 8GB of RAM, a hefty 2TB of storage, and an Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti GPU with 4GB of dedicated memory – for reference, it's the PH317-55 model, though even that has different options within it.

That's firmly within the mid-range as far as gaming laptops go, and while you can get much better specs – within the Helios 300 line as well as anywhere else – you will of course have to pay for them. For a lot of video editing and gaming needs, this is a configuration that will cope with everything more than adequately.

Key features

You're really buying this laptop for the 17-inch display and the GPU power – if those are both important to you, get this on your shortlist, because the Acer Predator Helios 300 is going for a reasonable price considering everything you get in return. The screen, with its 144Hz refresh rate and 1,920 x 1,080 resolution (other configurations are available), is bright, crisp, vivid and perfect for games.

There's plenty in the way of ports too, for attaching up your second monitor, your external storage, and whatever else: you get two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port with Thunderbolt 4 support, one HDMI 2.0 port, and an Ethernet port for a rock-solid internet connection. There's also a 720p webcam embedded in the top display bezel, but it doesn't support facial recognition for logging into Windows more easily (and there's no fingerprint sensor either).

Nvidia RTX 30 series cards are the best in the business at the time of writing, and that makes the Acer Predator Helios 300 worthy of your consideration – but then plenty of other gaming laptops feature the same series of GPUs as well.

Build and handling

There's no disguising the fact that this is a big, bulky, gaming laptop – you can pull it out in a coffee shop, but it's going to attract some attention. The large, illuminated blue Predator logo on the laptop lid is a part of that, as are the rainbow lighting effects on the keyboard, all of which can be customized as required.

What can't be changed are the large air grilles for keeping the internal components nice and cool, and the sheer size and bulk of this laptop (it measures 398 mm x 275.3 mm x 26.55 mm when closed and weighs in at 2.90 kg). It's worth mentioning that this laptop will get rather loud and hot under intense load, but no more so than other comparable gaming machines with the same config.

The keyboard and trackpad are a pleasure to use, offering a fine level of responsiveness and a premium feel, and a word too on the stereo speakers: they're by no means best-in-class, but they do a surprisingly decent job when it comes to movies, music, games, and anything else that comes with audio.

Performance

In a word: impressive. The components packed inside the Acer Predator Helios 300 ensure that pretty much everything flies on this laptop, even the most demanding games of the moment. Okay, an RTX 3080 or RTX 3090 will push frame rates higher still, but the RTX 3050 Ti avoids eye-watering prices while still doing most top-end games justice, especially at 1080p (an RTX 3080 configuration is actually available on the Helios 300). You'll have no problem with complex image or video editing projects here.

An overall PCMark 10 score of 5,691 backs that up: 9,013 on Essentials, 8,020 on Productivity, and 6,920 on Digital Content Creation. In our tests the laptop earned a Photo Editing Score of 9,234, a Rendering and Visualization Score of 7,521, and a Video Editing Score of 4,773. On the 3DMark Time Spy benchmark, meanwhile, the laptop scores 5,283 (just below the gaming laptop average of 5,730). In the time we spent with the laptop we noticed no hints of slowdown, stuttering or lag.

Battery life is pretty dismal, as you would expect from a gaming laptop like this. The battery lasted almost four hours on our video streaming test – though that was with the screen at maximum volume and the volume set low, so dimming the display and plugging in headphones would give you a bit more time. If you're gaming or editing video, you'll get way less than that, and might struggle to get much over an hour.

Verdict

How much you love or loathe the Acer Predator Helios 300 is really going to depend on what you want from your laptop. Obviously the aesthetics of this laptop are designed to appeal to gamers, down to the highlighted WASD keys on the keyboard – if you're not a gamer then you're not going to want this laptop.

If you are a gamer and you want a high-spec rig that's going to excel at other demanding tasks – like, say video editing – then this may well fit the bill. It certainly impresses in terms of its performance, its build quality and its size, as well as the typing and trackpad experience. With so many similarly priced and similarly specced laptops around though, we think it's going to be the looks of this model or perhaps some brand loyalty to Acer that will tip the balance in favor of the Predator Helios 300.

Then there are of course the best Macbooks to consider as well – not for gamers, but great for high-end creative work. That's a lot of competition for this laptop, but we reckon that it manages to hold its own, as long as it's not going to be unplugged very often and you spend a considerable amount of time gaming.

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The Acer ConceptD 7 Ezel Pro isn’t quite unique. But it is unusual, even delightful. In equal measure it’s also beautifully built, intriguingly engineered, expensive and slightly flawed. This is not just another high performance laptop.

The main event involves an innovative dual-hinged display. It creates a whole new world of ergonomic options in terms of screen positioning and user input. Add in an integrated Wacom EMR pen and you have an appealing portable solution for digital artists and content creators.

That’s enhanced by the quality of the gorgeous 15-inch full 4K touchscreen display with Pantone validation. Acer has also made this a powerful rig with high-spec components, albeit the hardware in this review unit is a couple of generations old and Acer has yet to update the chassis with Intel’s latest 12th Gen CPUs.

But you still get a powerful eight-core CPU and some serious Nvidia GPU firepower. With all that performance and engineering comes significant heft. This is a big, beefy system. Indeed, at 2.5kg it’s noticeably heavier than the most obvious competing laptop, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio, which offers a similar, but not quite identical dual-hinged display.

Pricing for the ConceptD 7 is highly variable with the sheer range of configurations on offer and both older and newer internal components available. As configured here with the 10th Gen Intel CPU and Nvidia RTX 2070 Series graphics, you’re looking at around $3,000/£2,900. But an update to a newer 11th Gen CPU and RTX 3080 graphics is actually better value, clocking in at $3,499 (UK pricing for this config isn’t currently available).

Specifications

• CPU: Intel Core i7-10875H (8-core) (11th gen CPUs available)
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 (RTX 30 series GPUs available)
• RAM: 16GB (up to 32GB available)
• Screen: 15.6-inch, 4K, IPS, 400 nits
• Touch input: Multi-touch, Wacom EMR stylus
• Storage: 1TB NVMe SSD (up to 2TB available)
• Ports: 2x Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C), 2x USB-A, HDMI, DisplayPort, SD card slot, 3.5mm headphone jack
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2
• Camera: 720p
• Weight: 5.6 pounds (2.5kg)
• Size: 14.1 x 10.2 x 1.13 inches (35.8 x 25.9 x 2.87 cm); W x D x H

Key features

Up front and center is the Acer ConceptD 7 Ezel Pro’s fabulous 15.6-inch 4K touchscreen display. It’s Pantone validated, which will be useful for certain workflows but doesn’t actually imply outstanding color accuracy.

Pantone is a validation system based on a reflective model of color and involves an inherently smaller color space than emission-based color gamuts, such as Adobe RGB and DCI-P3. In fact, it’s actually less demanding than sRGB. So, it’s not hugely relevant for creating digital content like video and images, instead it’s useful for workflows that involve printing. However, Acer also claims fully 100 percent coverage of Adobe RGB, which certainly endows this portable rig with decent content creation chops.

Of course, what really marks the ConceptD 7 out is that funky dual hinge combined with a 4K touchcreen and a Wacom EMR input pen that lives in a slot in the side of the chassis. Like all such EMR pens, it doesn't require charging and derives its power from the display itself.

As for speeds and feeds, our review unit makes do with slightly older hardware in the form of an eight-core 10th Gen Intel Core i7 processor and Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 2070 graphics. Acer can configure this system with Intel 11th Gen processors and Nvidia 30 series graphics. 1TB of NVMe SSD storage and 16GB of RAM round out the main spec touch points.

Ports wise, everything is located on the sides of the chassis as a consequence of the hinge design. On the left, Acer has specified two USB Type-C with full Thunderbolt 4 ports, a single USB-A and a headphone jack. On the right, you get another USB-A, plus HDMI and a full-sized DisplayPort socket, ethernet and the power connector.

Design and usability

So, how does that double-hinge work and what is it actually good for? Acer says it offers six different modes or positions. There’s conventional laptop and tablet configurations, ‘Stand’ which involves the screen forming a tent over the keyboard, ‘Share’ with the screen facing up and parallel to the keyboard, ‘Display’ which is a clamshell presentation mode with the screen reversed and finally ‘Float’.

In many ways it’s the latter that’s most intriguing. It brings the display closer to the user and, once you’ve tried it, you may not want to go back to a conventional laptop hinge. What’s more, the hinge has sufficient 'stiction' that it’s viable to use the pen for drawing in this position. Notably, this floating configuration is something Microsoft’s otherwise similar Surface Book Studio doesn’t offer.

Speaking of pen input, the supplied Wacom EMR pen combines nicely with the slightly matte screen surface to provide that touch of resistance that digital artists appreciate. The pen itself is probably thinner than most serious professionals are used to or prefer. However, the screen is compatible with other Wacom EMR pens.

Arguably the least convincing configuration for the Acer ConceptD 7 Ezel Pro is tablet mode, largely thanks to the 2.5kg heft of the device. That said, the main takeaway in this context is that the hinge allows not just the six headline configs, but an almost infinite array of options.

Elsewhere the keyboard is very solid and reasonably tactile, though the amber-colored backlighting is pretty ineffectual for actually identifying the keys - the light mainly bleeds around the edges of the keys rather than illuminating the symbols. The trackpad is also a little smaller than we’d prefer.

Performance

By most metrics, this is a powerful laptop PC with an eight-core Intel CPU and proper dedicated graphics. However, the latest Intel and AMD mobile processors give the 10th Gen Intel Core i7-10875H chip used here a bit of a hammering. By way of example, the ConceptD 7 scores 1,319 single-core points and 7,647 multi-core points in GeekBench 5. The latest Intel Core i9-12900HK is good for over 1,800 and 13,000 points respectively. In our 4K HEVC video encode test, the ConceptD 7 returns 6fps. Again, the latest Intel 12th Gen chip is nearly twice as fast.

Similar applies to the RTX 2070 GPU. Its score of 82,979 in Geekbench’s OpenCL compute test is decent and compares well with Apple’s top M1 Max chip. But the latest RTX 3080 mobile GPU can hit over 150,000 points. This laptop has plenty of performance for image editing, therefore. But for serious video production, there are better options.

Another area that slightly suffers from the ageing Intel hardware is storage performance. The 1TB NVMe SSD isn’t exactly a slouch, with 3.5GB/s read speeds and 2.8GB/s writes. But you’re limited to PCIe Gen 3 speeds rather than Gen 4 by the older Intel platform.

As for screen performance, the 15.6-inch 4K panel is a beaut’. Colors, contrast, viewing angles, pixel density, it’s all fabulous. The one distraction is the tiny bit of sparkle and grain that’s a consequence of the matte coating for the touch input. It very slightly robs the display of clarity.

The one other issue with the display involves refresh rate. Limited to 60Hz, a higher refresh of 120Hz like that of the Microsoft Surface Book Studio would reduce latency when using the pen. It’s not a major problem

Finally, for battery life you can expect around six hours of video playback. That’s reasonable for this class of PC laptop but also looks poor compared to Apple’s latest MacBook Pros. But then those systems entirely lack features like the double hinge and touchscreen input.

Verdict

Genuinely useful alternatives to the dominant clamshell laptop form factor are few and far between. But the Acer ConceptD 7 Ezel Pro’s dual-hinge design isn’t just a gimmick. It’s beautifully executed, creates a whole new world of viewings and input options and makes you question whether it ought to be the norm for most desktop replacement laptops.

This is also a nicely engineered machine with a fantastic 4K touch screen and high-precision Wacom EMR pen input. As a portable tool for digital design and artwork, it’s really exceptional. Whether it makes sense from a pure image and video editing perspective is less convincing. For the money, a Windows laptop with newer Intel or AMD chips will chew through video workflows more rapidly, Apple’s latest MacBook Pro machines arguably even more so.

At 2.5kg, it’s a big old beast, especially in tablet mode, and doesn’t offer terribly impressive battery life. It could also do with an upgrade to the latest Intel CPU tech. But even in this configuration, it’s a fairly powerful system. All told, the Acer ConceptD 7 Ezel Pro is a niche option. But if its particular skill set appeals, there’s nothing else quite like it.

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A calibrated photo monitor is an essential part of any digital imaging workflow, but price and size can be deterrents. The Acer ConceptD CM2 CM2241W could be the simple solution for photographers - saving the need to buy a separate monitor calibrator.

We all know that the monitors in desktop computers and photo-editing laptops are usually the cheapest displays manufacturers can get away with. We also know that a calibrated monitor is essential for image editing, especially if you’re planning to make accurate prints. But then the inevitable questions about photo monitors are – does it have to be so big and do I really have to spend that much money? The answers are ‘no’ and ‘no’.

The good news is that the choice of more affordable photo monitors is on the increase and Acer is the latest arrival with its ConceptD CM2 series. The CM2241W is the 24-inch monitor and this display size strikes a good balance between something that’s big enough to be useful for applications such as image editing, but doesn’t take up a whole lot of space on your desk. The panel’s 16:10 aspect ratio helps here too, as it’s a bit taller than 16:9 and works well with images in the 3:2 aspect ratio, which is basically anything from a digital camera with either a full frame or APS-C sized sensor. 

The resolution is Full HD (at 1920x1200 pixels so, to be precise, WUXGA), which might cause a raised eyebrow now that 4K displays are becoming so common, but for some applications you can, in fact, have too much resolution. It may sound contradictory, but in terms of evaluating fine detailing in a still image, less resolution can be better than more, especially at the smaller monitor sizes which result in very high pixels-per-inch (ppi) counts. The CM2241W is very much targeted at enthusiast-level photographers who simply don’t need a big 4K monitor.

The display is an IPS panel with LED backlighting, an area of 518.4x324.0 millimetres and the resolution gives 109ppi. It has 10-bit color processing, delivering a palette of 1.07 billion for smoother shading, color transitions and tonal gradations. The IPS (In-Plane Switching) technology enables a wide viewing angle of up to 178 degrees, both horizontally and vertically. The response time is 1.0ms VRB – which is very fast indeed and more than enough for video-editing applications – and the refresh rate is 75Hz. A light matte anti-glare coating helps reduce reflections and glare, but doesn’t eliminate the latter entirely.

Acer ConceptD CM2 CM2241W: Specifications

Panel Type: 61 centimetres (23.8 inches) IPS with white LED backlighting.

Display Area: 518.4x324.0 millimetres (full scan). 16:10 aspect ratio.

Native Resolution: 1920x1200 pixels (91 ppi).

Viewing Angles: 178 degrees horizontal and vertical.

Brightness: 350 cd/m² (typical).

Contrast: 1000:1 (typical).

Display colors: 1.07 billion.

Color Range: 99% of Adobe RGB 1998, 100% sRGB, 94.7% of DCI-P3.

Internal Processing: 10-bits per color.

Height Adjustment Range: 12 centimetres.

Mount Adjustments: -5.0-25 degrees tilt, 360 degrees swivel, 90 degrees pivot (for portrait format).

Connections: Display Port 1.2, two HDMI 2.0, one USB 3.1/3.2 Type B (upstream), three USB 3.1/3.2 Type A (downstream), 3.5mm audio output.

Features: Seven color mode presets (sRGB, Adobe RGB, DCI-P3, Standard, Movie, Graphics and CAD/CAM), one user-defined preset and two for external calibrations, 75Hz refresh rate and 1.0ms VRB response time, Delta E <= 2 (CIE) color accuracy, 3D LUT for hardware calibration, Adaptive Sync technology, anti-glare screen coating, built-in loudspeakers. Pantone validated. VESA wall mount compatible.

Dimensions (WxHxD): 533.4x509.2x 233.6 mm (including stand at highest setting).

Weight: 5.5 kilograms (including stand).

Design & features

Externally, the CM2241W is very stylish looking with super-slim bezels, a gently rounded back casing, a silver tubular support arm, and a circular base with a timber-effect finish. Initially, the base looks like it might just be a bit too small, but it’s actually quite weighty and certainly stable enough. Monitor positioning adjustments are very easily applied, including swiveling through a full 360 degrees. The height adjustment range is 12cm and the panel can also be tilted through 30 degrees (five degrees forward, 25 backwards), plus it can be rotated through 90 degrees to a vertical orientation. 

All the connections – along with the main on/off switch and the power cord’s plug-in – are on the base and comprise one Display Port, one USB Type B (upstream) and one USB Type A (downstream), two HDMI and a stereo audio output via 3.5mm minijack socket. Two more USB Type A ports are on the monitor’s left side and these are obviously the ones you’d use for temporarily connecting devices, such as a camera or card reader. There’s no built-in SD card reader and no USB-C connector either.

The physical controls are discreetly located at the lower right of the monitor’s rear panel and comprise a joystick controller – which Acer calls the ‘Navi button’ – and four unmarked rectangular buttons. As its name suggests, the Navi button serves as the navigator for the on-screen menus (OSD), with a press action serving as the ‘enter’ command. One of the buttons cycles through the input sources and two are ‘hot keys’ so they can be assigned various functions as desired. It’s all very logical and straightforward so, operationally, the CM2241W couldn’t be easier to set up or more efficient to then subsequently use.

The display comes calibrated for the three main color spaces of RGB, Adobe RGB and DCI-P3, plus there are another four presets designated Standard, Movie, Graphics and CAD/CAM. A 3D LUT (Look-Up Table) is included, enabling hardware calibration independent of a computer’s color management system. You can store two custom calibration profiles and also one user-defined screen setup (for brightness, contrast, black boost, etc.). If you aren’t planning to delve too deeply into the arcane world of digital color management, this is really all you need.

Acer ConceptD CM2 CM2241W: Verdict

As usual, to test the Acer monitor’s performance, we ran software-based calibration using the Datacolor SpyderX Elite colorimeter. The DisplayCal scores for color gamut, tone response, white point uniformity, contrast, luminance uniformity, color uniformity and color accuracy were all excellent. In fact, this display truly excels for color accuracy, which is exactly what you want for image editing, and the really good news is that the factory calibration is pretty spot-on, so you don’t actually need to do your own profiles (which, of course, is an added expense in terms of buying a colorimeter).

Acer has been smart with the CM2241W’s design and specifications because although it’s not a combination of size and resolution that would make headlines any more, the emphasis on color accuracy means it’s very well suited to image-editing applications. Additionally, the ease of setup and adjustment – along with the likelihood of long-term calibration stability – make it ideal for the enthusiast-level photographer who just wants a consistent color accuracy that will translate to great-looking prints. It’s essentially set-and-forget, so you can get on with getting the most out of your photography. Result. 

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