Acer Predator Orion 7000 (2025) Review: A Silent Beast in a Beautiful Case

Forget the slightly quirky Predator logo; the Acer Predator Orion 7000 feels like a passion project from true PC hardware aficionados. Unlike many mass-produced gaming rigs, this machine boasts a substantial 360mm AIO cooler to keep its processor frosty, complemented by a full-sized tempered glass side panel that beautifully showcases a meticulously organized interior brimming with RGB lighting. Even the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 graphics card is elegantly mounted vertically via a PCIe riser, ensuring ample airflow. While it might not have the trendy ‘aquarium’ aesthetic of some newer cases, its robust metal chassis offers impressive solidity and excellent airflow – a stark contrast to the flimsy, cluttered builds often found in mainstream desktops. Over the past few weeks, we’ve put the Predator Orion 7000 through its paces with the latest games and various application benchmarks to determine if it truly stands among the elite gaming PCs.

Specs

The star component in this Acer machine’s specification is, undeniably, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 graphics card. It sits prominently in its vertical mount, showcasing all three of its fans. This GPU offers top-tier performance, surpassed only by the formidable RTX 5090. While it might occasionally strain when pushing demanding games to their absolute limits at 4K, it’s an exceptional card for immersive gaming at 2,560 x 1,440 resolution.

With 10,752 CUDA cores, the GPU boasts ample parallel processing power for most gaming demands. It’s also equipped with 16GB of incredibly fast GDDR7 VRAM, which is perfectly suited for 1440p gaming. However, pushing demanding 4K titles with path tracing enabled might test the limits of this memory capacity. Rumors suggest an RTX 5080 Super is on the horizon, potentially featuring 24GB of VRAM and an otherwise identical GPU, but the original RTX 5080 remains a fantastic performer.

This graphics card fully supports the latest Nvidia DLSS 4 suite, including multi-frame gen – Nvidia’s innovative technology that leverages AI cores to insert up to three additional frames between those genuinely rendered by the GPU. While not a magic bullet for poor frame rates, it significantly smooths out performance when your GPU is already running well, making games look incredibly fluid on high refresh rate monitors.

The CPU, an Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF, is less groundbreaking. The ‘F’ in its model name indicates its integrated GPU is disabled. While remarkably power-efficient and surprisingly cool-running, this chip lagged behind other CPUs in gaming benchmarks, struggling to outperform not only AMD’s latest offerings but even Intel’s own previous-generation 14th-gen Raptor Lake CPUs.

Despite this, the system remains capable of excellent gaming performance thanks to the GPU’s power, as our benchmarks will show. However, it’s a slight disappointment that Acer didn’t opt for one of AMD’s newer X3D CPUs, such as the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, which offer superior gaming performance.

On a positive note, the CPU is efficiently cooled by a robust AIO cooler, aesthetically enhanced by RGB fans and a glowing Predator logo on the pump unit. Its substantial 360mm radiator, mounted in the case’s roof, provides ample cooling capacity without resorting to noisy, high-speed fans. Indeed, even during intense Cinebench stress tests, the system remained remarkably quiet, with CPU temperatures peaking at a respectable 84°C (most core temperatures were considerably lower).

Another welcome addition is the 32GB of Orion-branded RGB memory, manufactured by Adata with SK Hynix chips, running at 6,000MT/s with CL40 latency timings. This is a noticeable improvement over the more common vanilla 5,200MT/s sticks often found in mass-produced gaming PCs.

For storage, a 2TB OEM SK Hynix SSD occupies the M.2 slot above the graphics card. While it’s a PCIe 4.0 SSD rather than a newer PCIe 5.0 model and features a basic bare PCB with a sticker instead of a heatsink, it offers ample storage. In CrystalDiskMark tests, it delivered respectable sequential read and write speeds of 7,097MB/s and 6,498MB/s, demonstrating its impressive speed.

Finally, while the rear I/O plate appears somewhat minimal compared to some high-end motherboards, it covers all essential connectivity. You’ll find five standard Type-A USB ports: two USB 2 for peripherals where speed isn’t critical (like printers or gaming mice), and three USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports for faster devices, offering speeds up to 10Gbps. A high-speed Thunderbolt 4 USB-C port is also present, convenient for connecting multiple devices and minimizing cable clutter, while providing a massive bandwidth of up to 40Gbps.

Design

Generally, mass-produced gaming PCs tend to underwhelm in design and build quality, often lacking the meticulous attention to detail seen in custom-built systems. However, the Acer Predator Orion 7000 is a refreshing exception. Despite its monolithic size and the somewhat generic Predator helmet logo, the overall aesthetic is striking.

The tinted, full-sized tempered glass side panel provides a clear view into the interior, showcasing the vibrant RGB lighting and the impressively mounted graphics card. The GPU is connected via a PCIe riser to the motherboard’s top 16x PCIe 5.0 slot, with its 12VHPWR cable neatly managed. Crucially, there’s ample space around the vertically mounted card, allowing its fans to breathe freely without obstruction from the glass panel.

One minor peculiarity regarding the graphics card choice is its rather understated, all-black front design, which doesn’t fully capitalize on the vertical mounting for visual flair. Had it been a more colorful card with front-facing RGB, the placement would make more sense. As it stands, the only lighting is behind the GeForce logo on the top edge, which is largely obscured by the mount. Arguably, this particular graphics card might look better simply slotted into the motherboard in the traditional manner.

Another consequence of the vertical GPU mount is that it obstructs access to the rest of the motherboard. However, for most users, additional PCIe slots are rarely needed these days. There’s still space to install additional gaming SSDs in the two spare PCIe 4.0 M.2 2280 slots. The primary M.2 slot, currently housing the SK Hynix drive, also supports PCIe 5.0, offering the option to relocate the existing drive and install a high-speed PCIe 5.0 drive with a heatsink there later on.

A thoughtfully placed cable tidying plate in the top right of the interior effectively conceals many wires, contributing to a remarkably clean build. This setup is a significant improvement over some competitors, like the Alienware Aurora R16, which often feature visible and cluttered GPU cables behind their plastic windows.

The lighting scheme is impressive, with a multitude of RGB elements: three fans in the front, one in the back, and three in the roof, all crowned by the distinctive RGB Acer Predator logo emanating from the AIO cooler’s pump unit. All lighting is fully customizable via the Acer PredatorSense software, allowing users to select from a wide array of effects including static, breathing, wave, and rainbow motions, along with speed and color adjustments. Oddly, the RAM RGB lighting is configured separately from the fans, but everything can be synced for a cohesive look.

PredatorSense also provides various performance profiles, ranging from ‘quiet’ to ‘turbo,’ each with tailored fan speeds. We conducted all our benchmarks using the ‘Balanced’ profile, which is the default. Throughout our testing, the machine maintained impressive quietness, with no disturbing temperature spikes.

While this system demands considerable desk space due to its large case, it offers a much tidier build than the smaller Alienware Aurora, and the inclusion of a genuine tempered-glass side panel is a premium touch. Accessing the interior isn’t tool-free, but it’s straightforward: simply remove two Philips type-2 screws and press down a block on the back for the panel to release with an audible click.

Benchmarks

Thanks to its exceptionally powerful GPU, the Acer Orion 7000 delivers outstanding frame rates in the latest games at maximum settings, even at 4K in some scenarios, though it truly excels at 2,560 x 1,440. Let’s begin with Doom The Dark Ages, which benefits from full support for the new Nvidia DLSS 4 suite and runs incredibly well on this GPU. At Ultra Nightmare settings and 1440p, it achieved an average of 104fps with an 80fps 1% low, even without DLSS assistance.

This provides ample headroom for further frame rate boosts with DLSS. With upscaling set to Quality and multi-frame-gen maximized, the Acer Orion 7000 hit an astonishing average of 339fps, while maintaining a responsive latency of 28ms. The game felt incredibly smooth and quick at these settings.

Even at 4K on the Ultra Nightmare preset, the game averaged 60fps without DLSS and 88fps with DLSS at Quality. Enabling multi-frame gen pushed the average to 228fps, but latency increased from 25ms to 38ms. For a real challenge, we enabled the highly demanding path-tracing mode, which employs advanced ray tracing for hyper-realistic lighting.

We recommend enabling DLSS on the Balanced setting for this mode due to its intensity; DLSS 4 with the new Transformer model still delivers excellent visual quality. At 1440p with these settings, it averaged 75fps with 1% lows of 61fps, remaining perfectly playable with a latency of 31ms. Activating multi-frame gen further boosted the average to 217fps, though the resulting 41ms latency began to impact responsiveness.

Similarly, the visually stunning but GPU-intensive Indiana Jones and the Great Circle performed admirably. At the Ultra preset, it comfortably ran at 93fps at 4K and 142fps at 2,560 x 1,440. Maxing it out at the Supreme setting with full path tracing and DLSS set to Quality yielded an average of 73fps. It was also playable at 1440p with these settings, averaging 56fps with a 45fps 1% low. However, enabling multi-frame gen significantly increased latency, which we measured at 52ms.

Honestly, we’d recommend running this game at the standard Ultra preset without path tracing or AI upscaling. It looks fantastic and runs incredibly smoothly at 4K without needing DLSS.

This PC also effortlessly handled Call of Duty Black Ops 6 at the Extreme graphics preset, averaging 147fps at 1440p with a mere 16ms latency, and 102fps at 4K with 20ms latency. While this game supports DLSS upscaling and frame generation, they weren’t necessary here.

Finally, the long-standing GPU stress-test, Cyberpunk 2077, also ran well, benefiting from full DLSS 4 support. With the Ultra ray tracing preset at 2,560 x 1,440 and DLSS set to Quality, the game looked superb and ran at a smooth 97fps.

Enabling multi-frame gen then boosted the frame rate to over 300fps, while latency remained reasonable at 34ms. Although 4K proved a bit too demanding for this machine, it looked excellent at 1440p. Even with the Overdrive setting for full path tracing and DLSS on Balanced, it averaged a solid 83fps with a 63fps 1% low and latency of 28ms.

While these gaming results are impressive, it’s frustrating to note that performance could have been even better if Acer had opted for an AMD X3D CPU instead of an Intel Arrow Lake chip. For instance, an RTX 5080 paired with our last-gen AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D test rig averaged 70fps in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p with the Ultra ray tracing preset and no DLSS, compared to 64fps on this Acer machine. The difference isn’t catastrophic, but it is significant and somewhat detracts from the system’s gaming value.

On the upside, the 20-core Intel CPU significantly outperforms the eight-core Ryzen 7 9800X3D in multi-threaded application software. In Cinebench R24, the Acer Orion 7000 scored 1,849 in the multi-threaded test, whereas the 9800X3D only managed 1,361, and the lower-clocked 7800X3D scored just 1,059. For users heavily reliant on multi-threaded software, such as for video encoding or 3D rendering, this CPU’s additional cores are a clear advantage. It’s simply a shame its gaming performance trails behind.

Price

The Acer Predator Orion 7000 is priced at £3,299 for the reviewed specification. While US pricing for the new range with Nvidia Blackwell GPUs is yet to be announced, the UK price translates to approximately $3,700 after VAT removal and currency conversion. Given that the previous Orion 7000, with an RTX 4080 and Core i7 13700KF, launched at $3,799, we anticipate the new PC will fall within a similar price bracket.

Using the UK price for comparison, it appears expensive for the components on offer. In contrast, an Alienware Aurora R16 with an identical CPU and GPU, 32GB of RAM, and a 2TB SSD, is currently listed for £2,998.99, and has been on offer for as low as £2,498.99. While the Acer might boast superior build quality, justifying an extra £300 is difficult.

Looking at independent UK system builder Scan, a system featuring a Ryzen 7 9800X3D, a 360mm AIO cooler, 32GB of RAM, a 2TB SSD, and an RTX 5080 can be acquired for £2,799.98, and it comes in a more aesthetically pleasing case. At its standard MSRP, the Acer Predator Orion 7000 is simply overpriced. However, it becomes a compelling option if found at a significantly reduced price.

Alternatives

Alienware Aurora R16

Alienware’s sleek, compact space-age rig takes up less desk space than the Orion 7000 and typically offers a more competitive price for the same core specifications, especially when on sale. While it lacks the genuine tempered glass side panel and premium metal chassis of the Orion, and our review sample showed somewhat sloppy cable management, it still presents a good appearance and delivers comparable gaming performance.

Read our full Alienware Aurora R16 review for more information.

Verdict

The high price of the Acer Orion 7000 is its primary drawback, as we are otherwise genuinely impressed by the quality of this gaming PC. The chassis is robust, the interior design is neat and thoughtfully arranged, and Acer has achieved an excellent balance between airflow and cooling, resulting in a system that runs quietly without overheating. Despite being a large, glowing monolith, this PC is both attractive and solidly constructed.

Furthermore, the specifications are largely spot-on, featuring a powerful GPU, a well-configured memory setup, and ample storage. The inclusion of a robust AIO CPU cooler is commendable, and the 1,200W PSU provides significant headroom for future upgrades, such as to an RTX 5090.

However, two main issues arise. Firstly, the choice of CPU, while acceptable for a general-purpose productivity PC, is not optimal for gaming. Several AMD CPUs currently offer superior gaming performance. Secondly, the price point is considerably higher than that of similarly specced PCs from either Alienware or independent system builders. Consequently, at its standard price, it doesn’t offer exceptional value. Nevertheless, it warrants serious consideration if you can find it at a discounted rate.

This concludes our PC review. If you’re exploring better CPU options for gaming, be sure to consult our guide to the best gaming CPU, where we detail our top chip recommendations.