Acer's Predator line is expanding in a big way this year with several new gaming desktops.
The Predator Orion 5000 (starts at $1,499.99; $2,099.99 as tested) is the middle sibling, and the second we're testing following its gargantuan brother, the Predator Orion 9000.
It's much downsized in build, power, and price, a midrange option that may appeal to those who want a powerful, but not excessive, gaming system.
As with most Predator designs, the look may not be for everybody, but the system is cleanly assembled.
More important, this machine flies, thanks to its Intel Core i7-8700K processor and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 card.
Even if the aesthetic doesn't blow you away, its speed might, and its multiple loadouts are worth considering.
If you want a different case, though, consider configuring a similarly priced Editors' Choice CyberPower Gamer Master Ultra, Maingear F131, or Origin Neuron.
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Lights, Angles, Action!
The Orion 5000 lives up to its role in the Predator desktop lineup in both power and appearance, looking much like a shrunken-down version of the Orion 9000.
It bears the same design language and flourishes, from the angled front lighting and ridged face to the mesh side window and blue lighting.
Flip-down arms on either side let you hang a gaming headset off the case.
The geometric front panel looks pretty cool, with its two angled lights up top and dual case fans glowing blue through the front grate.
The aesthetic is on the aggressive side, but it's toned-down compared to MSI Aegis Ti3 , which is in your face with a domineering lean to its posture and an angry red color scheme.
The design is still an acquired taste—it has a distinct traditional "gamer" look that will either appeal to you or turn you off entirely.
Really, aside from the look, it's not the same category of machine as the Orion 9000 at all in terms of pricing, size, or power, so that's where the usefulness of a comparison ends.
It's comfortably smaller than the Orion 9000, measuring 22.17 by 9.96 by 20.47 inches (HWD) to its counterpart's 27.63 by 11.8 by 25.32 inches.
It's akin to the size of the Origin Neuron (17.8 by 9 by 15.7), which is much more expensive than the Orion 5000 as we tested, it but can be configured to about the same level.
The MSI Vortex G25VR ( at Amazon) and HP Omen X Compact Desktop, meanwhile, are much more similar in terms of power, but they come in very different bodies.
The windowed side panel pulls away after removing two rear screws.
(They're not thumbscrews; you'll need a screwdriver.) The interior is, well, plain.
There's not a whole lot going on, and you can see why Acer opted for the obscuring mesh-window siding.
When you can see clearly inside, it's obvious the system is more about functionality.
There's a CPU cooling block over the Intel Core i7-8700K processor, the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 graphics card, and 16GB of non-RGB memory.
Black plastic shrouds, which cover the 730-watt power supply and the graphics card (and direct the airflow), make things look all that much plainer.
It's all assembled cleanly enough, but it looks better as a semi-concealed dark, glowing chamber than it does in the light of day.
The machine also comes with a relatively simple, but not too cheap, keyboard and mouse combo.
The keyboard isn't mechanical, and the keys are a little mushy, but it does the job and has matching blue backlighting.
The mouse is on the small side but is comfortable enough.
This configuration is loaded with just one 512GB solid-state drive (SSD), which isn't a huge amount of room for games.
It's nice that it's a speedier SSD, yes, but the config is missing a large scratch drive.
In a pricey, roomy desktop, that's a bit disappointing.
You can choose among four other models of the Orion 5000, however, all less expensive than our $2,099.99 review unit.
Acer offers two $1,499.99 SKUs; one has a Core i5 processor, a GeForce GTX 1060, and just 256GB of storage, while the other is an AMD Ryzen 7 2700X-based system with a GeForce GTX 1060, a 256GB SSD, and a 2TB hard drive.
The other two include a GeForce GTX 1070, 512GB of SSD storage, and either a Core i5 or i7 processor for $1,799.99 and $1,999.99, respectively.
You get a load of USB ports on this desktop, with three USB 3.1 ports and a USB Type-C port on the top panel toward the front edge, and USB 2.0 ports and four more USB 3.1 ports around back.
The graphics card, as usual with current Nvidia cards, holds HDMI and DVI ports and three DisplayPort connections.
You can press in on the top portion of the front face to collapse a panel, revealing a DVD drive, should you have a reason for one in 2018.
The system also includes 802.11ac Wi-Fi built in and has an Ethernet port around back.
Ready for High-End Gaming
While this is by no means an inexpensive desktop, you can find far pricier builds out there, so it's good news that this unit soared in testing.
The hexa-core Core i7-8700K CPU is impressive all around, posting a high score on the PCMark 8 Work Conventional test, demonstrating strong capability for general use.
But it also seared through our more strenuous multimedia tests, coming in behind only the fastest, truly high-end desktops we've tested like the Falcon Northwest Talon, Maingear F131, and Origin PC Genesis.
As you can see below, it beat some of the competition on certain tests and came close in others, even occasionally beating some pricier machines.
Despite being the least-expensive option in the chart, it's a very capable media machine should you need to use it for work or a hobby.
As far as comparisons to more expensive machines go, gaming is somewhat of a different story, as many pricier desktops boast two graphics cards.
Compared to others with just one, though, the Orion 5000 holds its own, again as a less-expensive option.
The GeForce GTX 1080 is no slouch, averaging over 130 frames per second (fps) on the Heaven and Valley gaming tests set to Ultra quality settings and 1080p resolution.
Unsurprisingly, dialing these tests up to 4K reduced frame rates drastically—the Orion 5000 was capable of only 31 frames per second (fps) and 40fps on these synthetic benchmarks.
That's almost exactly in line with the $2,399 CyberPower Gamer Master Ultra, a Ryzen-based system that also includes a GTX 1080.
See How We Test Desktops
Some real-world game testing I did with the built-in benchmark tests in Rise of the Tomb Raider and Far Cry 5 told very similar stories.
At maximum detail settings at 1080p, the Orion 5000 averaged 125fps on Rise of the Tomb Raider and 106fps on Far Cry 5, a bit lower than the synthetic tests, but still way over 60fps.
On the same settings at 4K, the system averaged 47fps and 41fps.
That's slightly better than the synthetic tests, which is good news for your gaming experience, and over 30fps regardless.
Of course, not many people are truly aiming to play AAA games at max detail and 4K.
So, as demonstrated by the 1080p scores, you're in very good shape playing at any lower resolution.
Subjective Style, Objective Power
The Acer Predator Orion 5000 is an efficient, ready-to-go gaming PC with a distinct style.
Whether you personally like that aesthetic is another question, but at least there's some personality and shiny lights to make it stand out.
The case, love it or leave it, is the unique part of the build—you could put together these relatively straightforward (but expensive) components yourself without much trouble, but here you get them assembled cleanly and at not at a major premium.
It's perhaps slightly on the expensive side considering the storage capacity (specifically, the lack of a secondary hard drive), but given the high-end graphics card and processor, not too much so.
If you like the design, you'll be happy with the performance for the money.
But if you're just not feeling the "kind of blue" motif and would rather configure something for the same price with a different look, consider the Maingear F131, Origin Neuron, or the Velocity Micro Raptor Z55.
Cons
The Bottom Line
The Acer Predator Orion 5000's style, shape, and glow may prove sticking points for some.
But this is one powerful, ready-to-roll gaming desktop right out of the box.
