We’ve seen some pretty ridiculous systems at PC Pro aimed at gamers. Without naming the main culprits, it’s obvious that plenty of marketing departments think that those who play games on their PCs want a machine that looks like a Transformer after a Pimp My Ride makeover.

However, Acer appeared to have wandered into the gaming PC market and taken first prize in the competition for making a gaudy, over-the-top garish machine with this, their new Predator desktop. This orange creation may pack in some decent specs – the top configuration includes a QX9650 CPU and two 9800 GX2 graphics cards in SLI configuration. It’s a little bit ludicrous and, for all of its vaguely embarrasing styling, part of me wants one very badly indeed.

Even the names ooze machismo like a Schwarzenegger, Van Damme and Norris wrestling match. The cheapest model is dubbed the Sniper, and the rest of the names follow suit. There’s the Trooper, and then the Crusher. The best Predator is called, elegently, the Eliminator. It’s like watching an episode of Robot Wars without Craig Charles.

The specifications are just as enthusiastic, seemingly based around willy-waving and endless ego-stroking. The base model packs in a Q9300 quad-core processor, two 9600GT graphics cards, and over 1TB of storage. That’s before you notice the water cooling, 4GB of RAM (with 64-bit Vista) and Blu-ray drive. That’s the cheapest model, too. The Chillblast Fusion Juggernaut, at the top of our performance PC tree, is surely quaking in its boots.

The rest of the range ups the ante with every silly name: incrementally faster processors coupled with more graphical power, right up to the 4-GPU arrangement of the Eliminator.
And that’s before I even mention one of the most outlandish cases that we’ve ever laid eyes on. Where some cases may come with a door, the Predator has some sort of face-plate, held in place by four heavy-duty hinges. Open it up and the optical drive and card reader are hidden in between acres of slatted black metal that contrasts with the shiny orange exterior, all angles, lines and intimidation. It does, genuinely, look like some sort of transformer.

Acer claim that the gaudy case does actually come with benefits that will please gamers. Light effects are customisable, and the bottom half of the case opens to reveal easily-accessible hard disk bays, which will surely prove useful.

Undoubtedly, performance will be mind-boggling thanks to the expensive combination of gaming components, water cooling and sheer power. But just look at it. I’m in two minds as to whether I’d want to sit this in my bedroom or take it to a monster truck rally. A part of me wants one, and another part of me feels angry that this is, allegedly, what gamers want. In short, I’m torn between its gaming brilliance and garish looks.

Oh, and did we mention the prices? The Eliminator comes in at a SRRP of 4,000 euros. Which has slightly put me off. Performance will be fantastic but, specification aside, would you pay a premium to have a PC that looks like this?