Acer ConceptD 7 Ezel review: A multi-mode creator laptop with impressive GPU performance Review

Acer’s ConceptD range of laptops, desktop PCs and displays are very a lot aimed at innovative customers, and we were impressed by the significant-conclude graphics general performance of the original ConceptD 7 laptop released in 2019, even if it did arrive at the cost of instead weak battery daily life. 

This 2021 update increases on its predecessor in a selection of ways, not least — as the title suggests — with the addition of the multipurpose new ‘Ezel’ display screen. And, with substantial improvements to each graphics general performance and battery daily life, the ConceptD seven Ezel will have a large amount of charm for these working in professional-level graphics and design and style. 

Characteristics & design and style

At very first look, the ConceptD seven Ezel seems to be nearly equivalent to its predecessor, with the very same distinct white aluminium casing and fifteen.six-inch display screen. But whilst the 2019 product experienced a quite traditional clamshell design and style, the 4K display screen of the new Ezel product (3840 x 2160, 282.4dpi) is also contact-sensitive and has a twin-hinge mechanism that permits you to tilt the monitor into a wide range of unique positions. The laptop also contains a stress-sensitive Wacom stylus, so the most noticeable possibility is simply to slide the foundation of the monitor forward so that it handles the keyboard and acts like a digital drawing board for graphics and illustration operate. That ‘ezel’ mode performs very well when working with the laptop on a desk, but if you want to set your toes up whilst working from house then you can just keep on to slide the monitor forward so that it folds fully flat and turns the laptop into a substantial pill. There is an additional possibility much too, as you can also reverse the monitor so that it faces away from you when you want to display your operate to colleagues or purchasers. 

I did in the beginning marvel if the ‘ezel’ display screen was just about anything much more than an eye-catching novelty, but it only usually takes a small whilst working with the stylus on the adjustable display screen to find it a enjoyable and comfortable way to operate. The 4K IPS display screen is brilliant and clear, whilst the colors occasionally appeared a small in excess of-saturated to my bare eye. Nonetheless, Acer states that the display screen supports 100{d11068cee6a5c14bc1230e191cd2ec553067ecb641ed9b4e647acef6cc316fdd} of each sRGB and Adobe RGB color benchmarks, so it can be very well suited to graphics and design and style operate. But, like its predecessor, it would not assistance the DCI-P3 standard that is broadly made use of in movie modifying, which is a small disappointing specified the 4K display screen and significant-conclude general performance on give. 

You can use an external monitor for significant-conclude movie modifying, of study course, and the ConceptD seven Ezel is very well connected, with a choice of HDMI, DisplayPort and two Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports for external movie connections. The laptop contains each Wi-Fi six (802.11ax) and Gigabit Ethernet for significant-velocity network connections, together with two USB 3.one ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack and internal stereo speakers. The only disadvantage right here is that the Ezel product is significantly heavier than its predecessor (which continues to be on sale if you happen to be following a much more traditional laptop design and style), with the pounds soaring from two.1kg to two.45kg, or 3.1kg if you happen to be carrying the electrical power provide as very well. 

Value & choices

Acer’s Uk web site lists 3 just configurations for the ConceptD seven Ezel, and offers an RRP of £2,499.98 (ex. VAT £2,999.97 inc. VAT, or $two,999.ninety nine) for our entry-level evaluate device, which is equipped with a tenth generation eight-main Intel Core i7-10875H running at two.3GHz (5.1GHz with TurboBoost), together with 16GB of RAM and a 1TB stable-state drive. That selling price also contains a discrete Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 GPU with 8GB of dedicated movie RAM, whilst the laptop can also change to Intel’s integrated UHD Graphics when you need to help you save battery electrical power. It really is really worth noting, although, that you are unable to purchase immediate from Acer, and on the net pricing tends to be a small better than Acer’s RRP, so it can be really worth procuring about for the finest selling price. 

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There are two other configurations offered in the Uk: one with 32GB of RAM and a GeForce RTX 2080 Super GPU with 8GB of movie RAM, bringing it to a common on the net selling price of £2.901.62 (ex. VAT £3,481.94 inc. VAT, or $3,499.ninety nine) there is also a configuration with 32GB of RAM and a workstation-class Quadro RTX 3000 GPU (in some cases referred to as the ConceptD seven Ezel Pro) with 6GB of movie RAM, whose selling price is only marginally better at £2,916.sixty four (ex. VAT £3,499.97 inc. VAT). This Quadro RTX 3000 configuration isn’t currently offered in the US. 

Performance

The ConceptD seven Ezel is much more costly than its predecessor from 2019, which begun at £1,915.83 (ex. VAT £2,299 inc. VAT, or $2699.ninety nine), but as very well as the adjustable display screen, it also offers considerably more powerful general performance.  

The six-main processor on give in 2019 delivered Geekbench 4 CPU scores of 5,421 (solitary-main) and 21,450 (multi-main). In distinction, our evaluate unit’s 8-main processor scored 5,745 and 28,267 for solitary- and multi-main general performance, respectively.  

Jogging the newer Geekbench 5 CPU benchmark developed scores of one,325 (solitary-main) and seven,seven-hundred (multi-main), which places it ideal together with transportable workstations this sort of as Dell’s Precision 5750, which runs on a identical 8-main CPU and scored one,290 (solitary-main) and seven,600 (multi-main). 

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But it can be graphics general performance that seriously stands out, with the ConceptD seven Ezel reaching an outstanding 84fps when running the demanding Unigine Valley benchmarks, when compared to 45fps for its 2019 predecessor. It even outgunned the Dell Precision 5750, which shipped 74.5fps on the Valley check. Admittedly, the ConceptD seven Ezel didn’t run as cool and quiet as its predecessor — the cooling lovers keep on being quiet most of the time, but did make a visible whirring sound as we regularly ran via Unigine Valley’s heavyweight graphics tests. Even so, that is an acceptable compromise in get to obtain this sort of outstanding GPU general performance, and there is no doubt that the ConceptD seven Ezel will generate its retain for significant-conclude graphics and design and style operate. 

We were also pleased to see that battery daily life has improved considerably. The primary ConceptD seven could only manage four several hours and 20 minutes of streaming movie, even when working with integrated graphics. In distinction, the new Ezel product lasted for a wholesome nine several hours and five minutes with its integrated graphics. Unsurprisingly, switching to the discrete GeForce RTX 2070 GPU and running our graphics tests continuously did decrease battery daily life to just a hundred and ten minutes, but a desktop-substitution laptop this sort of as this isn’t going to stray from a mains electrical power provide very frequently. 

Conclusions

Not everyone will have to have an adjustable ‘Ezel’ display screen, and the added pounds of this product could possibly deter customers who admire the streamlined design and style and two.0kg pounds of Apple’s 16-inch MacBook Pro, for example. Nonetheless, the multipurpose display screen and outstanding general performance of Acer’s ConceptD seven Ezel will have a large amount of charm for designers who need a highly effective digital drawing board that is acceptable for working at house or in the place of work.

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