Reader TTS

If your job or hobby requires a powerful computer, and you're looking to buy one off the shelf rather than build it, you're probably weighing up two options; a Mac or a desktop

gaming rig. Pre-configured gaming PCs are generally built with fast processors, heaps of RAM and the latest graphics cards, which is also what you need for a range of creative and

development work from editing video to modelling in 3D. A potential problem is that gaming rigs also tend to be loud, excessive or covered in unnecessary windows and LED lighting. But

recently I've been testing an early sample of a desktop PC from Acer that pairs game-grade internals with a much more office-friendly design and finish, which is bizarrely unusual for a

Windows machine. The ConceptD 300 is a beautiful white and black mid-size tower, small and pretty enough to sit up on your desk but with a side-facing exhaust fan which means you can put it

in a corner if you need to. It's got a flat faux-wood top that makes it feel a bit more like office furniture than any gaming PC. Up front the air intake's been disguised behind

an interesting triangular patterned panel, and you also get an SD card reader and USB 3.2 ports in USB-A and USB-C formats. At the rear, as you might expect, is a bunch more USB ports and

your standard I/O. The unit I've been testing features a 10th Gen Intel i7 10700 CPU, 64GB of DDR4 memory and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER graphics card, plus 1TB of M.2 SSD storage

and 3TB of HDD. The system is user expandable and upgradeable, with the PC's outer shell lifting off after once you've removed a few screws. The amount of power included here is

easily enough for any intermediate creative work, and has plenty of potential for professional grade tasks as well. It's very quiet generally, but ramped up audibly once I was throwing

multiple 4K video streams at it. And of course it can be used for gaming as well, with the 2070 capable of pushing high framerates, high resolutions and accelerated ray tracing (though not

all at the same time), and Acer saying a configuration will be available with the more powerful RTX 3070. The ConceptD 300 is due in Australia in early 2021, with pricing for a 10th Gen i7

machine set to start at $2999. In all, it seems like a great alternative to a gaming PC for professional use, and likely much cheaper than the equivalent iMac even after you've supplied

your own display. TECHNOLOGY NEWSLETTER The top technology stories and reviews delivered weekly. Sign up to _The Age_'s newsletter here and _The Sydney Morning Herald_'s here. Tim

Biggs is a writer covering consumer technology, gadgets and video games.Connect via Twitter or email.