2019-08-12T12:37:16 02:00

Predator Orion 5000: High-end gaming PC in a practical test

When it comes to buying a new PC, gamers are usually divided. Some simply go for a complete PC like the one that comes ready-made. Others, on the other hand, are advocates of selecting each individual part themselves and thus configuring and assembling the computer step by step according to their own wishes.

It's impossible to say which of these two groups is right, because both variants have their advantages and disadvantages. However, the Predator Orion 5000 PCs from Acer more than clearly show that a complete PC can definitely deliver decent performance. The hardware manufacturer provided us with one of the current top models for testing and it only really broke a sweat in the rarest of cases.

Well thought-out build

When you unpack your Predator Orion 5000 for the first time, you'll first notice that there are some well thought-out refinements built into the PC's case. Of course, it offers USB ports, even including a USB-C port, in addition to the power button, and also jacks for headphones and microphone on the front, as usual.

However, it is particularly practical that a hook is attached to both sides of the case at the front. You can release this hook by pressing it lightly and fold it down so that it then offers room for your headset, for example.

Another extra that can be quite helpful is the hard drive compartment in the front panel. You can open it with a lever to install a new SSD hard drive, for example, without having to open and disassemble the entire PC.

On the other hand, the side window on the left side, through which you can examine the expensive hardware, is more of an eye-catcher. Thanks to various illumination options, which can be controlled with a separate program from Windows, you can also put them in scene according to your mood.

The same goes for the illuminated fans, which are installed in the front of the case and provide perfect cooling with the water cooling on the CPU. With the software, the colors of the lights can be adjusted at will, as well as certain effects like blinking and more.

Powerful current hardware

More important for gamers than such practical extras and well thought-out ideas are, of course, the hardware components that are installed. And this is where the Predator Orion 5000, in our case the Predator PO5-605s model, shines as well.

For the processor, Acer relies on a 9th generation Intel Core i9-9900K processor running on a Z390 chipset. Thanks to the aforementioned software that lets you control the lighting, you are also allowed to overclock the CPU whenever you dare. However, the processor with eight cores already runs at 3.6 GHz out of the box and even clocks up to 5 GHz in TurboBoost mode.

This high-performance processor is supported by 64 gigabytes of RAM and a in the tested Predator Orion 5000 model. Thus, the PC not only has the latest hardware installed, but also offers plenty of performance for the latest games and future titles.

Acer has also installed an SSD with a capacity of one terabyte so that you do not run out of storage space.

Predator Orion 5000: Performance without end

We finally tested how the Predator Orion 5000 gaming PC performs in daily gaming with a few titles. In the following, we'll show you the results based on those games that include a benchmark function. We always set the graphics settings to the maximum possible quality and then tried the games in Full HD (1,920 x 1,080 pixels) but also in 4K resolution (3,840 x 2,160 pixels).

Assassin's Creed Odyssey

Assassin's Creed Odyssey, the latest part of Ubisoft's assassin series, kicks things off. The adventure of Kassandra or Alexios in ancient Greece impresses above all with its gigantic and detailed game world, which is bursting with characters. Therefore, the demands on your PC hardware are correspondingly high if you want to enjoy the highest quality setting.

Full HD resolution, which should at least be the standard nowadays, does not pose a big challenge for the Predator Orion 5000. Despite maximum quality settings, the PC calculates an average of 72 frames per second here, which ensures an absolutely smooth gaming experience. Even the minimum value of 42 frames per second is easily enough to have fun in a game likeSpaß.

However, you will noticeably lose performance when you increase the resolution to 4K. On average, you will still achieve a playable 40 frames per second, but in the worst case, the rate will drop to 28 frames per second. Both are still sufficient for playing, but those of you who value a constant 60 fps will either have to reduce the resolution again or lower the quality minimally.

Tom Clancy's The Division 2

The multiplayer shooter The Division 2 was released on March 15, 2019 and also puts gaming PCs to the test. The reason: Here, too, you are transported to a large game world that is packed with a lot of details. In addition, the Snowdrop engine, on which the graphics are based, works with the latest effects, whether for light, shadows, fog and so on.

However, the good news is that all gamers who go for Full-HD can push the graphics quality to the maximum with the Predator Orion 5000 without any problems. The average value of 58 frames per second, which is achieved with these settings in the benchmark, guarantees a smooth gaming experience, even when you encounter many enemies and fill your screen with lots of explosions and co.

However, things look a bit different in 4K. The tested PC achieves an average of 37 frames per second. This is also sufficient for unrestricted shooting fun. On the one hand, it is a third-person shooter. On the other hand, consoles like and , both of which can display 4K, are usually designed for 30 frames per second, but display them with less details than a powerful PC.

However, demanding gamers who value 60 fps will have to cut back a bit again and tweak the settings.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Another 3rd-person game in our test series was Shadow of the Tomb Raider. This one is particularly interesting because it supports both Nvidia's RTX and DLSS technology. The former provides realistically calculated lighting effects, while the latter is supposed to optimize edge smoothing without requiring significantly more performance. Of course, we enabled both for our test, although DLSS cannot be used for the Full HD resolution.

The results show that you are well equipped for these two new graphics technologies with the Predator Orion 5000. In Full HD, the PC delivered an average of 55 frames per second, which is an absolutely impeccable rate for enjoying Lara Croft's adventures.

If you turn the resolution up to 4K, the action adventure still flickers across your monitor with 39 frames per second on average, only dropping to 28 fps in rare moments.

This also shows that you can play in 4K without any problems. Even if these two values are too low for you, you can always deactivate RTX to increase the FPS noticeably.

Doom

After all these 3rd-person games, however, we naturally wanted to check how the Predator Orion 5000 performs in first-person shooters. The relatively recent example Metro Exodus, which also supports RTX and co., unfortunately doesn't offer a benchmark to show you the results. However, an excursion into post-apocalyptic Russia was possible without any problems even in 4K - even though advocates of 60 fps should definitely do without gimmicks like RTX here.

The classic Doom, on the other hand, also runs smoothly in 4K. Despite the lack of a benchmark, the fade-in detailed performance analysis showed that the insanely fast shooter usually reaches 80 to 90 frames per second. Partially, the rate even goes up to triple digits.

This gives us hope that the Predator Orion 5000 is also well-equipped for the upcoming Doom Eternal to conjure up a fast-paced hell trip on the screen.

Far Cry 5

Last but not least, we grabbed Far Cry 5. The first-person shooter was released last year, but with its huge open and insanely detailed game world, it still demands powerful PC hardware.

As expected, the Predator Orion 5000 was virtually unimpressed by the Full HD resolution here as well. With maximum quality settings, the PC calculated an average of 117 frames per second in this scenario and dropped to a maximum of 93 frames per second. Thus, even the most demanding gamers will get their money's worth because the performance does not drop to its knees in any gaming moment.

If you quadruple the resolution and set it to 4K, you will have to reckon with losses as usual. The average rate of 56 frames per second is without question sufficient to enjoy Far Cry 5. However, you won't reach the usually targeted 60 fps.

However, the minimum value of 50 frames per second is still enough to rid Hope County of the cultists in the game.

Conclusion

As you can see, the Predator Orion 5000 delivers exactly what you would expect from a high-end gaming PC. If you can afford to buy one of Acer's top-of-the-line PCs, you'll get a gaming box that has enough power under the hood to enjoy cutting-edge games in the best quality and high resolution.

In addition, the hardware should be potent enough for the coming years and the latest titles to bewell equipped. In many cases, it is enough to tweak a few controls in the games' graphics menu to get the desired 60 frames per second in 4K, for example.

Therefore, the Predator Orion 5000 is the perfect choice for all those gamers who are looking for a powerful gaming PC, but at the same time do not have the muse or are afraid to assemble such a device themselves. Acer offers a great overall package here that you just have to unpack, plug in, and turn on to start playing right away, so to speak.

Visit us on Facebook and Instagram and discuss your favorite games with us.