Acer Makes Graphics Cards Now. And It's Weird...

Dawid Does Tech Stuff
4 Apr 202411:39

Summary

TLDRThe video discusses Acer's foray into the graphics card market with a unique cooler design that combines elements of both blower and open-air coolers. Despite concerns about potential downsides of this hybrid design, the reviewer finds that the card, an RX 7600, performs well in terms of temperature and power draw, especially in games that aren't optimized for AMD cards. However, the card's performance is marred by frequent crashes in certain games, and its high price point is questioned given the availability of more cost-effective options.

Takeaways

  • šŸ’» Acer, known for short-lived PCs, ventures into graphics cards with a novel cooler design.
  • šŸ”§ The cooler design combines elements of both blower and open-air coolers, aiming for their respective benefits.
  • šŸŽ The packaging is impressive, with a sleek presentation box for the new Acer GPU.
  • šŸŒ¬ļø The hybrid cooler design includes a coax fan and a blower fan, potentially mitigating the downsides of each type.
  • šŸ’” Despite concerns about heat management, the GPU's temperature performance seems satisfactory in the initial test.
  • šŸŽ® Gaming tests with Battlefield 5 and Cyberpunk 2077 show varying results, with the latter causing system crashes.
  • šŸ”„ A comparison with an RTX 3060 reveals similar power draw and temperature profiles, but Acer's card is noisier.
  • šŸ’° The Acer graphics card is priced higher than its competitors, offering only modest performance improvements.
  • šŸ“‰ In a poorly ventilated pre-built case, the Acer GPU's temperature remains acceptable, but the noise level is high.
  • šŸš€ The review concludes that while the Acer graphics card is not a poor choice, its price and noise levels may deter some buyers.

Q & A

  • What is the reputation of Acer's products in terms of durability?

    -The script suggests that Acer's products, specifically their PCs, are not known for their long-term durability, as users typically own them for only about a year and a half before disposing of them.

  • What new product category has Acer entered with a unique cooler design?

    -Acer has entered the graphics card market with a unique cooler design that attempts to combine the benefits of both blower and open air cooler designs.

  • What are the two most popular graphics card cooler designs and their respective advantages?

    -The two most popular graphics card cooler designs are blower and open air coolers. Blowers are advantageous in low airflow environments as they dump most of their heat outside of the case, but can be noisy. Open air coolers provide better cooling with more fan and air movement, but can increase heat inside the case if used in low airflow environments.

  • What is the main concern about the combined cooler design of Acer's new graphics card?

    -The main concern is that the combined cooler design might result in the downsides of both blower and open air coolers, such as increased heat in the case and noise from the blower fan.

  • How does the reviewer describe the packaging and physical appearance of the Acer GPU?

    -The packaging is described as high-quality, with an outer sleeve and a fancy box that opens easily. The GPU itself has a cool look, featuring a coax fan, a blower fan, and a metal back plate with a Predator logo.

  • What game was particularly challenging for the Acer GPU in terms of temperature and stability?

    -Cyberpunk 2077 was the game that presented issues, with the system crashing multiple times and exhibiting higher temperatures, even when compared to other GPUs like the RTX 3060.

  • How does the performance of the Acer GPU compare to the RTX 3060 in Battlefield 5?

    -The Acer GPU (RX 7600) shows a decent performance increase over the previous generation (360) in Battlefield 5, but the temperature and power draw are very similar to the RTX 3060.

  • What was the outcome when the Acer GPU was tested in a pre-built system with poor airflow?

    -The Acer GPU ran hotter in the pre-built system with poor airflow, but its temperature remained within acceptable limits. The noise level was high, and the combined cooler design did not show significant advantages over a normal open air cooler in this environment.

  • What is the price point of the Acer GPU discussed in the script?

    -The Acer GPU was purchased for $450 Canadian dollars, making it the most expensive 7600 model available at the time of the review.

  • What conclusion does the reviewer reach about Acer's graphics card based on the test results?

    -The reviewer concludes that while the Acer GPU is adequate and noisy, its price makes it less attractive compared to other options. The unique cooler design did not provide significant advantages, and the card's performance was marred by issues like crashes in certain games.

Outlines

00:00

šŸ–„ļø Acer's Foray into Graphics Cards

This paragraph introduces Acer's venture into the graphics card market with a unique cooling design. The speaker discusses Acer's reputation for producing PCs with short lifespans and their decision to combine blower and open air cooler designs. The packaging and aesthetics of the GPU are described, along with the inclusion of a coax fan and a blower fan. The speaker expresses skepticism about the effectiveness of this design but acknowledges that Acer's engineers might have a better understanding.

05:01

šŸŽ® Performance Testing and Initial Results

The speaker delves into the performance testing of the Acer graphics card, starting with Battlefield 5 at 1080p ultra settings. They note that the CPU seems to be the temperature bottleneck rather than the GPU. After a gaming session and a system crash, the speaker reports that the GPU temperature is within acceptable limits and that the cooler is performing well, contrary to their initial doubts. They also mention testing other games like Cyberpunk 2077 and The Last of Us, highlighting the GPU's performance and stability issues.

10:01

šŸ”„ Comparing Acer's GPU with an RTX 3060

In this section, the speaker compares the Acer GPU with an RTX 3060, the most popular graphics card at the time. They discuss the power draw and temperature performance of both GPUs while gaming, noting that the RTX 3060 has a slightly better cooling performance but similar temperatures. Frame rate comparisons between the two GPUs in Battlefield 5 and Cyberpunk 2077 are provided, with the Acer 7600 showing a decent improvement over the 360 in the former but a more significant difference in the latter. The speaker also tests the Acer graphics card in a pre-built system with poor airflow, revealing that the unique cooling design doesn't perform as well as a traditional open air design in such an environment.

šŸ’ø Cost-Effectiveness and Final Thoughts

The speaker concludes the video by reflecting on the cost-effectiveness of the Acer graphics card, which they purchased for a higher price than other 7600 models. They summarize that the card is adequate but noisy, and suggest that the price premium might be due to additional costs associated with the unique cooling design. The speaker ends with a call to action for viewers to subscribe to the channel and watch more videos, and thanks the audience for their time.

Mindmap

Keywords

šŸ’”Acer

Acer is a well-known company in the technology sector, specializing in manufacturing personal computers, monitors, and laptops. In the context of the video, Acer is venturing into the graphics card market with a new design aimed at improving cooling solutions.

šŸ’”Graphics Card Cooler Designs

Graphics card cooler designs refer to the various methods used to dissipate heat from the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). The two primary types mentioned in the video are blower and open air coolers. Blowers are effective in low airflow environments and tend to be noisier, while open air coolers offer better cooling in high airflow setups but may increase internal case temperature if not properly ventilated.

šŸ’”Hermetically Sealed Case

A hermetically sealed case is a type of enclosure that is completely sealed to prevent the entry of external particles or air. In the context of the video, it refers to the traditional design of graphics card shrouds, which are closed systems that can limit airflow and heat dissipation.

šŸ’”Coax Fan

A coax fan, also known as a counter-rotating fan, is a type of cooling fan found on modern GPU designs where two fans rotate in opposite directions. This design can improve cooling efficiency and reduce turbulence, leading to quieter operation.

šŸ’”Thermal Performance

Thermal performance refers to the efficiency with which a system, component, or device dissipates heat. In the context of the video, it relates to how well the Acer graphics card's cooling system manages the heat generated by the GPU during operation.

šŸ’”Crashing

In the context of the video, crashing refers to the unexpected termination or failure of a software application or system, such as a game or graphics card. This can be caused by various issues, including overheating, software bugs, or hardware incompatibilities.

šŸ’”RTX 3060

The RTX 3060 is a popular graphics card model from NVIDIA, known for its performance and power efficiency. In the video, it is used as a comparison to evaluate the performance and thermals of the Acer graphics card.

šŸ’”Pre-built System

A pre-built system refers to a computer that is assembled and sold as a complete unit, with all the necessary components like the CPU, GPU, storage, and other hardware pre-installed. These systems are often marketed to consumers who prefer not to build their own computers.

šŸ’”Ventilation

Ventilation in the context of computer cases refers to the presence and design of openings or fans that allow air to flow through the case, facilitating cooling and heat dissipation. Proper ventilation is crucial for maintaining optimal temperatures for all components.

šŸ’”Power Delivery

Power delivery in the context of a graphics card refers to the system that supplies power from the power supply unit (PSU) to the GPU and other components on the card. A well-designed power delivery system ensures stable and efficient power distribution, which is crucial for the card's performance and reliability.

šŸ’”Elma

In the video, 'Elma' seems to be a colloquial term used by the reviewer to refer to issues or problems that Acer products might have, possibly implying a history of reliability concerns based on the reviewer's experiences or perceptions.

Highlights

Acer, a company known for its PCs, is entering the graphics card market with a unique cooler design.

Acer's graphics card aims to overcome the company's reputation for hermetically sealed case designs.

The most popular graphics card cooler designs are blower and open air coolers, each with their own advantages and drawbacks.

Acer has combined both cooler designs in their new graphics card, potentially aiming for the benefits of both but possibly inheriting their downsides.

The packaging of Acer's graphics card is impressive, with a sleeve and a fancy box.

The GPU features a coax fan and a blower fan, with the latter potentially adding noise.

Acer's graphics card has a metal back plate with a design theme reminiscent of the Predator series.

The cooler shroud features a frosted plastic aesthetic, adding to the visual appeal of the GPU.

The RX 7600 GPU is not a high TDP unit, suggesting that temperature management should be adequate despite the cooler design.

During testing, the graphics card's temperature performance was surprisingly good, despite initial skepticism.

Cyberpunk 2077 exhibited stability issues on the Acer graphics card, with frequent crashes during benchmarking.

Comparing the Acer GPU with an RTX 3060, the latter showed slightly better temperature management but similar power draw.

In games like Battlefield 5 and Cyberpunk 2077, the RX 7600 performed better than its predecessor, the 360, in terms of frame rate.

When testing the Acer graphics card in a pre-built system with limited airflow, temperatures remained surprisingly low, but noise levels increased.

The open air cooler design of the RTX 360 ran hotter in the same pre-built system, but did not significantly impact CPU temperatures.

Despite decent performance, the Acer graphics card is priced higher than comparable models, making it a less attractive option.

The reviewer concludes that while the Acer graphics card is not terrible, its price and noise levels may deter potential buyers.

Transcripts

00:00

Acer. A company well known for making PCSĀ  that people own for max like a year andĀ a halfĀ 

00:04

before throwing straight in a river.Ā  I guess that's not quite Fair. Some of theirĀ Ā 

00:08

monitors and laptops aren't terrible butĀ  anyway they've decided to dip their toesĀ Ā 

00:13

into the world of graphics cards with thisĀ  very interesting cooler design I guess they'reĀ Ā 

00:19

trying to overcome the hermetically sealed caseĀ  designs they're known for. Let's see how it works out.

00:39

Now when it comes to graphics card coolerĀ  designs the two most popular ones are blowerĀ Ā 

00:44

and open air coolers now a blower design likeĀ  this one here works really well in low airflowĀ Ā 

00:49

environments because you've got a single fanĀ  sucking in air and farting it out the back ofĀ Ā 

00:54

the enclosed shroud design it dumps most ofĀ  its heat outside of the case they also haveĀ Ā 

01:00

a reputation for getting real noisy whereasĀ  open a designs provide a lot of potentialĀ Ā 

01:06

cooling with all their fans and space for airĀ  to move around but if they're in a low airĀ Ā 

01:11

flow environment they're just going to dumpĀ  all the heat into the case and all of yourĀ Ā 

01:14

components are going to catch on fire now AcerĀ  decided to combine both these cooler designsĀ Ā 

01:21

I'm guessing with the intention of gettingĀ  the benefits of both designs but from whatĀ Ā 

01:25

I'm seeing here it looks more like we're goingĀ  to get the downsides of both designs but againĀ Ā 

01:30

we'll see how it turns out uh this is quite niceĀ  packaging you've got this sleeve and then a veryĀ Ā 

01:37

fancy box that like pops open like that andĀ  there it is wo that is a pretty cool looking

01:45

GPU and there is our Acer GPU in all its GloryĀ  here's our coax fan which is very common onĀ Ā 

01:54

Modern GPU designs and then down here we'veĀ  got our blower fan which I'm guessing is hereĀ Ā 

01:59

for the sole purpose of adding that distinctĀ  howl now the reason that I don't think thisĀ Ā 

02:04

is a particularly good idea is that because ofĀ  what's Happening Here with the coax design theĀ Ā 

02:10

open air shroud and what's going on on theĀ  back here you're still going to be dumpingĀ Ā 

02:15

a bunch of heat into your case you just alsoĀ  have a loud blower fan on here but again I'mĀ Ā 

02:20

sure the engineers at Acer are way smarter thanĀ  I am so maybe this works out very excited to testĀ Ā 

02:26

it that's actually a metal back plate with a bunchĀ  of predator on the back so you can fantasize aboutĀ Ā 

02:33

being Arnold SWAT and Egger covered in mud in aĀ  jungle there is this kind of frosted plastic onĀ Ā 

02:38

the cooler shroud which I quite like the way itĀ  looks I mean generally I think this is a prettyĀ Ā 

02:43

cool looking graphics card and this is an RX 7600Ā  which isn't a super high TDP GPU so just going byĀ Ā 

02:51

the size of it even if the design isn't very goodĀ  I think the temperatures are going to be fine andĀ Ā 

02:57

then in terms of IO it's just a modern graphicsĀ  scard but with that I'm going to go test it nowĀ Ā 

03:02

but you get to see into the future where weĀ  take the cooler off and have a closer look atĀ Ā 

03:06

its internal design okay well it's finally timeĀ  to tear down our Hannah Montana graphics cardĀ Ā 

03:14

the best of so you just lift that off and thenĀ  there are a couple more screws hiding underneath

03:22

here he so many connectors three yay we've gotĀ  like a copper contact plate which not only touchesĀ Ā 

03:39

the GPU but also the memory and then there'sĀ  a lot of thermal pad making contact with theĀ Ā 

03:45

power delivery there are four mediumsized heatĀ  pipes I'd call those it is quite a hefty coolerĀ Ā 

03:52

uh and considering that this is just a 7600 I'mĀ  sure temperatures are going to be fine but we'llĀ Ā 

03:57

see we'll see in a bit W that's 7600 die has aĀ  surprising amount of chrome bling on it uh nextĀ Ā 

04:04

to that we've got our 8 gigs of video memory andĀ  a power delivery that's not a complete AbominationĀ Ā 

04:11

I mean for the price you'd kind of hope that it'sĀ  not completely barebones but we'll talk about that

04:15

later now starting with Battlefield 5 at 1080pĀ  ultra settings you can see that temperature-Ā Ā 

04:25

wise the problem seems to be the CPU more thanĀ  the graphics card uh but I'm going to run it forĀ Ā 

04:31

a while and see how how hot the graphics cardĀ  gets and after half an hour in a quick crashĀ Ā 

04:36

we finally got our temperature result so this isĀ  after quite a while of gaming granted there wasĀ Ā 

04:41

like a crash in the middle of it uh but thisĀ  is about where the temperature is topped outĀ Ā 

04:47

uh the CPU has stabilized quite a bit so that'sĀ  good and uh the GPU is really not running veryĀ Ā 

04:54

poorly in terms of temperatures and it's drawingĀ  a decent amount of power as well so I do owe AcerĀ Ā 

05:00

an apology it seems because the cooler is doingĀ  fine now cyber Punk a game that doesn't have theĀ Ā 

05:08

same inappropriate adult feelings for AMD graphicsĀ  cards as Battlefield 5 does at high settings isĀ Ā 

05:14

running very well on this 7600 uh temperaturesĀ  are good we're getting a lot of frame rate itĀ Ā 

05:19

feels great like this is this is a good gamingĀ  experience wait did it just it just crashed againĀ Ā 

05:25

didn't it cyber Punk crashed a lot especially theĀ  built in Benchmark a bit I could only get it toĀ Ā 

05:31

finish once out of like eight tries other gamesĀ  like The Last of Us seemed more stable but thereĀ Ā 

05:37

was definitely something weird going on with thisĀ  system so I decided to take the graphics card andĀ Ā 

05:42

drop it in my open air test bed but cyber PunkĀ  still kept crashing so it seems like Acer hasĀ Ā 

05:48

continued their trend of injecting Elma into allĀ  of their products even in their graphics cardsĀ Ā 

05:53

very exciting Al my realization aside I decidedĀ  to drop an RTX 3060 in this system because it'sĀ Ā 

06:00

currently the most popular graphics card in theĀ  world to see how these two gpus compared now I'veĀ Ā 

06:05

been playing Battlefield 5 for a while now andĀ  interestingly the RTX 3060 seems to be drawing aĀ Ā 

06:10

very similar amount of power while gaming and it'sĀ  got a normal open air cooler temperature-wise itĀ Ā 

06:17

seems to be doing a little bit better but theĀ  ambient temperature has dropped by about thatĀ Ā 

06:22

amount so yeah very similar temperatures betweenĀ  the two cars which isn't impressive by any meansĀ Ā 

06:28

cuz this is one of the most basic coolers youĀ  get on a 3060 frame rate wise the 7600 is aĀ Ā 

06:34

decent step up over the 360 in Battlefield 5 butĀ  again as we mentioned before Battlefield 5 is aĀ Ā 

06:41

real thing for AMD graphics cards interestinglyĀ  in cyberpunk there's if anything a bigger DeltaĀ Ā 

06:47

in frame rate between the two gpus than there wasĀ  in Battlefield 5 which is kind of weird becauseĀ Ā 

06:54

that's not usually the case for this game asideĀ  from the whole constant crashing things cyberpunkĀ Ā 

07:00

feels quite a bit better on the 7600 and theĀ  trend continues with the last of us I mean youĀ Ā 

07:05

would really hope that the 7600 is faster thanĀ  the 360 cuz it's got like an entire generationĀ Ā 

07:10

on that card but yeah it feels quite a bit betterĀ  in these more demanding games so with that it'sĀ Ā 

07:15

time to test these graphics cards in the naturalĀ  environment of the Acer graphics card a terribleĀ Ā 

07:21

airflow case and what better way to asfixiate aĀ  graphics card than drop it in a pre-build now IĀ Ā 

07:29

did initially want to drop it in an Acer loserĀ  Nitro suckface Edition but I can't find mine soĀ Ā 

07:35

I guess this Aces prebuilt will have to do thisĀ  system does have all the Hallmarks of pre-builtĀ Ā 

07:40

dim we've got a complete lack of ventilation onĀ  the front it does have a teeny bit of ventilationĀ Ā 

07:46

on the side but I am going to like semi-obscureĀ  it just to get a worst case scenario I guessĀ Ā 

07:51

but aside from that there's nothing on the top andĀ  the only case fan is this tiny little thing on theĀ Ā 

07:57

back so let's see if Acer's Hy hbd cooler designĀ  Works any better in here than a normal Open Air

08:03

Design oh what a beauty now you can see thatĀ  Asus seems to think a blower style cooler isĀ Ā 

08:12

the best for this case design which makes senseĀ  it's not a very high airflow case design uh butĀ Ā 

08:16

let's drop the Acer card in here and see what kindĀ  of thermals we get before comparing it to that

08:22

360 and what I've also done here which may beĀ  kind of Overkill but I've leaned this glassĀ Ā 

08:30

panel over the side of this ventilation it'sĀ  still open air can still get in there but itĀ Ā 

08:36

is going to restricted just a little bit soĀ  that we get just proper proper asphixiationĀ Ā 

08:43

going on but after starting up the system whichĀ  sounds like firing up a motorbike from the ' 7sĀ Ā 

08:48

the temperature started off aggressively whileĀ  it's just been a couple of seconds in the GPUĀ Ā 

08:53

murder matron and we're already close to theĀ  temperatures we were seeing at load on theĀ Ā 

08:58

open test bed obviously it's going to run hotterĀ  here but how much hotter now I've bumped it up toĀ Ā 

09:04

1440p because we have a much slower CPU in here IĀ  think it's got an 11400 f in it and I want the GPUĀ Ā 

09:13

to be utilized fully so there you go 1440p andĀ  you can see it was a good call considering thatĀ Ā 

09:19

the CPU is struggling even with this now I'm alsoĀ  curious how much the graphics cards impacting theĀ Ā 

09:24

CPU temperature so we got to keep an eye on thatĀ  as well okay so it's been a reasonably long timeĀ Ā 

09:33

and that isn't going very poorly considering theĀ  the this the situation 74Ā° C on the graphics cardĀ Ā 

09:41

it's very noisy but the temperature is good andĀ  then CPU wise we've got 77 is De C and after halfĀ Ā 

09:49

an hour with the RTX 360 in there we got someĀ  interesting results the open air cooler afterĀ Ā 

09:55

ages is running at a higher temperature uh whichĀ  checks out it was also running hotter on the openĀ Ā 

10:01

air test bed uh but it hasn't really impactedĀ  our CPU temperature much it's still in the same

10:09

region which got me thinking how much would thatĀ  temperature drop with the stock blower GTX 1660tiĀ Ā 

10:24

that came in this system a graphics card thatĀ  uses quite a bit less power we're getting veryĀ Ā 

10:30

similar CPU temperatures and all that Heat's alsoĀ  being dumped out of the back of the case so itĀ Ā 

10:35

seems like in this case even the the open a styleĀ  360 wasn't having much of an impact on the CPU

10:44

temperatures so at the end of the day Acer'sĀ  graphics card doesn't seem too terrible untilĀ Ā 

10:58

you take the price in into account I paidĀ  $450 Canadian dollar for it making it theĀ Ā 

11:04

most expensive 7600 I could find you can getĀ  the XT for that for a card I can best describeĀ Ā 

11:10

as adequate but noisy but I guess they'veĀ  got to pay elma's royalty somehow whichĀ Ā 

11:15

brings me to the end of the video thankĀ  you very much for watching subscribe toĀ Ā 

11:19

the channel if you enjoyed the video maybeĀ  watch another one and until the next video

11:22

bye-bye

Rate This
ā˜…
ā˜…
ā˜…
ā˜…
ā˜…

5.0 / 5 (0 votes)

Related Tags
Acer Graphics CardHybrid CoolingGaming PerformanceTemperature TestingPC HardwareGraphics BenchmarkBlower vs Open AirTech ReviewGPU ComparisonSystem Stability