The new Acer Predator Atlas 8 gaming handheld, featuring Intel’s latest G Series chips, finally went up for pre-sale in the US on October 23, with full launch slated for November 1.
This is the new handheld I tested at Computex this year alongside the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+. Both are premium devices landing in a market turned upside down on account of RAM and storage shortages. MSI’s new Claw with Intel’s Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, for example, launched at $1,799.99.
Here’s where Acer’s new handheld packing the same Intel G3 Extreme chip offers a big surprise for shoppers. It’s priced at $1,299.99 at Best Buy. Or at least it was, for the Best Buy page preorder has since been removed. I’m not exactly sure why — maybe Acer is reconsidering the post-launch price now that preorders are in.
In any case, seeing a handheld with the same powerful mobile chip inside as the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ launch for $500 less should be on every gamer’s radar. But how is Acer undercutting the competition by so much?
How does Acer charge $500 less for its Intel Arc G3 Extreme gaming handheld?
Intel Arc G3 Extreme
Intel’s new mobile chips are designed specifically for handhelds, delivering considerably improved performance and efficiency compared to the AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme chips so common to the form factor.
On paper, the Acer and MSI devices are quite similar. Both feature the flagship Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip, with 14 cores, a 4.7GHz top clock speed, and a faster Arc B390 integrated GPU compared to the standard Arc G3 chip.
Both devices use an 8-inch IPS display with 1920×1200 resolution, 120Hz variable refresh rate, 500 nits brightness, and 100% sRGB color reproduction.
Both have Thunderbolt 4 ports and Wi-Fi 7. Both have Hall Effect triggers and joysticks. Both use an 80Wh battery. So what’s the deal?
Based on my (limited) time with the Predator Atlas 8, it looks like the big price difference comes down to build quality and configuration specs.
Let me get the biggest difference out of the way first: the $1,799.99 MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ ships with 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. The Acer Predator Atlas 8 pares that back to 24GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD.
Considering the price of storage and memory these days, this difference likely helps make up a huge chunk of the difference.
Otherwise, as I noted in my Intel Arc G3 Extreme hands-on piece, Acer’s device has triggers that don’t feel quite as snappy as MSI. The reverse can be said for the joysticks, where I believe Acer has MSI beat.
Audio from both devices was good, and although Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 is smaller and ultimately more portable, I found both handhelds to be comfortable to hold.
In terms of performance, the Predator Atlas 8 was running demanding games like Hogwarts Legacy and LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight at a cool, smooth clip.
I’ll have to do more testing once Acer’s handheld actually arrives here for testing, but I don’t expect it to perform any worse than MSI’s new Claw.
Bottom line? It’s the disparity in RAM and SSD configurations at launch that’s helping keep Acer’s gaming handheld at a much more reasonable price.
Is Acer’s $1,299.99 Predator Atlas 8 actually cheap?
In June, I wrote about how you could buy an Xbox Series X, PS5, and Switch 2 for less money than the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+, amidst rising concerns that the handheld market was cooked for good.
That’s not quite the case for Acer’s Predator Atlas 8, especially with console prices on the rise, but that doesn’t make it affordable.
Keep in mind that the Steam Deck, which kicked off the gaming handheld craze, launched at just $399 in 2022.
No, the Steam Deck isn’t nearly as powerful as the new Arc G3 devices, but it was priced to sell. Is Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 affordable relative to today’s overall market? Absolutely.
As mentioned, the Predator Atlas 8 Best Buy preorder page is down at the time of writing this piece. Check back soon, especially after November 1, when the handheld actually launches, to see if prices have changed.
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