 Hey, it's Chaim from The Verge, and this is the Acer Predator 21X. It's the biggest, most powerful, most expensive gaming laptop ever made. It's a $9,000 behemoth with 21-inch screen that literally dwarfs any other computer. And while it's certainly an impressive-looking and massive device, is there any real reason to justify buying it, or even for it to exist at all? I've been using it for a couple weeks now, and the one thing I can't emphasize enough is just how big this thing is. Like, really, really big. It weighs almost 19 pounds, which is about as much as six MacBook Pros. Incidentally, its $9,000 price tag is also the cost of six MacBook Pros. Despite the size, it is technically still a laptop. It has a screen, it has a battery, and at least on paper, it works unplugged and away from a wall. The Predator 21X checks all the major boxes for a gaming computer. Glowing LEDs, huge plastic vents, a giant roaring dragon, a cutaway to see inside the computer. All here. Just, you know, bigger. Subtlety is not exactly this thing's strong suit. With that kind of firepower, it would be surprising if anything didn't run well on the Predator. And fortunately, anything from Rocket League to the incredibly graphically intensive Battlefield 1 runs great. Just simply go to the menu, hit maximum settings, and you're ready to go. Performance does take a bit of a hit, though, when you're unplugged. And using this as an actual computer? It works. But using this thing for anything other than playing games is a lot like using a Lamborghini to drive to a grocery store. It'll get you there, but it's not really what it's for. Could you use it to get work done on the subway or take over a table at your local coffee shop? Sure. But you'll look ridiculous while you're doing it, and there's really much better ways to use this computer. Acer only ships it in one model, with an overclocked Core i7 processor, dual GTX 1080 graphics card, a 1TB hard drive, two 500GB SSDs, and a completely unnecessary 64GB of RAM. The screen is a curved 21-inch panel, which is a first for a laptop, and has a Tobii eye-tracking rig attached to the bottom that can track your eyes while playing games to aim and light up UI elements. At just under two hours, battery life is a bit lower than you'd expect from the usual 7 to 10 that you'd want from a regular work computer. The mechanical keyboard is really loud, and gets really uncomfortable to use if you're not using the optional palm rest. The trackpad is actually surprisingly good for a Windows computer, but it's a bit small for navigating the giant screen. Fortunately, it flips over to become a number pad, because if you're using the trackpad on this thing, you're already missing the point. And yeah, it is a bit bulky to carry around when you're out and about. I'd highly recommend using two hands to carry it pretty much at all times. And that's not even factoring in the chargers. That's right, there are two of them. Each of which also weighs a couple pounds. And while the Predator itself is bigger than my entire backpack, fortunately Acer includes a custom-wheeled case so that you can take it to commute, or to a nearby coffee shop. And it's that carrying case that really sums up the Predator 21X. It's out of place and impractical to an extreme. It's not really meant to fit in your bag or on your desk, because it's supposed to stand out. The Predator 21X is a trophy of a laptop. It's for people who need to have the biggest, best thing out there. If you're a regular computer user or even a serious gamer, there's still no reason to consider buying one. And yet, I'm glad that something as ridiculous as the Predator 21X exists. Because as expensive and impractical as it is, it's nice to know that, at least at Acer, sheer overkill is still in style. How many of these did you use for a couple weeks now? $9,000. You're gonna put in a wheeled case and walk around? The case is giant. It's like a giant plastic suitcase.