Today at IFA 2017, Acer's keynote was full of new products arriving in the coming year. The most remarkable product of the bunch is their Switch 7 Black Edition 2-in-1.
While the Switch 7 Black Edition may not look different than other 2-in-1 devices like Microsoft's Surface Pro initially, there are some surprises underneath the hood.
First is Acer's innovative cooling solution which they are calling "LiquidLoop." Essentially this is a heatpipe system which circulates through the chassis to cool both the Quad-Core 8th Generation Core processor, as well as a dedicated GPU in the form of the NVIDIA Geforce MX150.
Omitting the use of any fans in the chassis, Acer claims they can properly cool both the 15W processor and the 25W GPU with this heatpipe system.
As for the GPU, the Geforce MX150 is the Pascal-based successor to the 940MX, which saw popularity in many of these thin and light form-factor devices. While it won't play the latest titles at native resolution, you should expect to be able to play less demanding titles and older games at modest image quality settings. Personally, the idea of a passively cooled computer that can play Rocket League on the go excites me.
Beyond the innovative thermal design, Acer has some more tricks up their sleeve with the Switch 7 Black Edition.
Acer AutoStand is a kickstand system designed to operate with one hand, like a traditional notebook hinge. This could be a huge benefit to Acer over the more cumbersome competitors like the Surface Pro where you have to hold the tablet in place as you deploy the kickstand.
The Switch 7 Black Edition supports Windows Hello through the use of a fingerprint sensor embedded underneath the glass of the screen bezel. This sensor also supports Power on Authentication (POA) so that a single press will turn on the device and log into Windows Instantly.
These features combined with the 12.5-in 2256×1504 IPS display make the Switch 7 Black Edition an attractive alternative to 2-in-1 devices like the Surface Pro.
All of these cool features come with a steep price tag though. The Acer Switch 7 Black Edition is expected to ship in December in North America for prices starting at $1,699.
the surface pros are cooled
the surface pros are cooled the same way not very new but i guess a selling point. I like that finger print power on and login feature though.
I predict this thing will
I predict this thing will throttle. There is no way it will dissipate 40 watts consistently without a fan.
I wonder how the MX150 will
I wonder how the MX150 will compare to the Intel Iris Plus 640 graphics that we have seen on the Surface Laptop and the upper end model of the Spectre x360.
Aside from the issues of if
Aside from the issues of if it will really cool, its staggering that this came from Packard Bell… **cough** i mean Acer… Wait, or was that Gateway?