Users who have paid attention to the high-end product lines of various brands know that manufacturers have launched notebooks and monitors for creative design, all with the prefix "Creator ".
What I want to share today is a new "Creator PC" launched by Acer : Acer ConceptD 3 Ezel
Also released at the same time is ConceptD 7 Ezel, the top configuration can reach Xeon processor + 32GB memory + Quadro RTX5000 +4K Flip touch screen + full speed Thunderbolt 3 interface × 2 .
also comes with Pantone color certification, 100% Adobe RGB color gamut, and has the characteristics of a designer notebook/some mobile workstation .
Acer ConceptD 3 Ezel pays more attention to cost performance (the screen changes from 15.6 inches to 14 inches, and the hardware configuration D7 is higher) .
Some people say that Creator PC is a niche demand. This may be true before 2014.
But seeing that more and more people around us are involved in creation, including UP owners, YouTube bloggers, designers, etc., it is not an exaggeration to say that demand is booming.
It can be said that Creator PC is a typical example of "demand affects supply in reverse" .
So, what is Creator PC?
Creator PC is actually a very loose concept, targeting people who need a high-spec computer, but not for playing games.
This includes professional art, audio and video content creation, and even overlaps with the concept of workstations at the high end .
What these users need is high-speed computing power, efficient storage, and fast I/O links, and Intel believes that the Core / Xeon processor , Optane storage, and Thunderbolt (future USB 4.0) technology it has are just right. can meet such needs.
Coupled with touch/pen input, high-quality screen, and stylish design, it is the Creator PC in Intel's mind.
Intel Taiwan branch spokesman Li Kunlong emphasized: "The Creator PC concept covers the entire process from material transfer to computer, editing and production, to finished product inspection."
It can be seen that Creator PC is not a professional worker. Exclusive equipment. In more application scenarios, common behaviors such as game screen video sharing and live broadcasting all meet the definition of content creation applications.
▼ In July 2019, after Intel proposed the concept of "Creator PC", the first batch of manufacturers followed up quickly.
At the CHINA JOY event in the same year, I saw "Creator PC" for the first time, which was the first generation Acer ConceptD 7:
▼ Of course, the majority of the booth at CJ at that time was gaming laptops (such as the Acer Predator I photographed) who).
However, the niche and high-end needs have still received sufficient attention from manufacturers such as Intel and NVIDIA.
▼ At that time, I was just the guy in red supporting the tablet in front of the NVIDIA booth event: The back of the
wall is the Creator PC The exhibition area of ( NVIDIA 's creative driver is indeed better to use. It was recently revealed in Lao Huang's press conference in April this year that the scenes and "real people" were all calculated by AI)
▼ The positioning of notebooks at that time was: Office, gaming and workstations, even workstations with desktop-level processors, may not meet the needs of creative design people. It can be said that the demand for Creator PC and the supply gap of this type of product exist at the same time.
▼ As for creative design, it is mainly launched for people in graphic design and film and television editing.
What is different from the industrial field is that this group of people has higher requirements for color accuracy, and at the same time requires relatively strong graphics rendering capabilities.
A simple summary is: it has the same value-added parts as game laptops, but it focuses on different user needs (same expensive, but just in a different direction).
The Acer ConceptD 3 Ezel shared this time is Acer’s flagship model of this generation of design notebooks.
▼ At the same time, Acer should be one of the brands that pays most attention to the needs of creators. It covers everything from monitors to consoles to laptops.
▼ "Ezel" means it will be a composite flip screen.
In my understanding, a separate flip screen actually doesn't make much sense. A separate touch screen also makes little sense, such as the new Surface Laptop3 (which I have spent a lot of time with).
Only by combining the composite flip screen and the touch screen can we get a more practical product, that is, Acer's "Ezel", which is like a "drawing board" with adjustable angles. Combined with the stylus can provide more Large creative space:
▼ Acer ConceptD 3 The entire body of Ezel is made of magnesium-aluminum alloy. The overall appearance is square with clear edges but will not pinch your hands. The white appearance of
and the delicate surface with a skin-like touch are in line with many people's expectations for art notebooks, especially female users (in fact, the MAO (micro arc oxidation) process is used to make the surface of magnesium alloy feel close to ceramic).
▼ But in terms of volume, although the Acer ConceptD 3 Ezel is not heavy overall, it is not purely a thin and light laptop. Compared with the black design, the white appearance can offset some of the heaviness and bring more design sense.
▼ Acer ConceptD 3 Ezel in normal mode. After opening the top cover, if you only look at the two sides of the BC, the appearance is low-key.
At the same time, you can also see that it adopts a visual borderless design, which integrates into one after the screen is turned off, without the visual bloated feeling of large borders:
▼ In addition to the middle hinge that can provide a flip effect, Acer ConceptD 3 The Ezel's upper cover itself also supports 170° flipping. This dual-axis design can unlock multiple usage scenarios and is not limited to the several possibilities given on the official website.
▼ In terms of appearance, the C surface of the Acer ConceptD 3 Ezel follows a pure white setting. Whether it is the buttons or the touchpad, the colors are unified. It seems quite obsessive at first glance, but it really fits the design style.
▼ There are intel i7 logo and NVIDIA logo in the lower left corner of the C side.
This is not surprising to me. To be more frank, the current Creator PC is the product of the joint efforts of intel and NVIDIA .
In terms of graphics rendering and other aspects, the new N card also performs very well. In this area, AMD Radeon is currently more like making up for those lost years.
▼ Whether it is the NVIDIA STUDIO driver or the earlier NVIDIA Creator Ready Driver (CRD), they are all products born to meet such needs (NV is indeed stronger than AMD Radeon in the professional field)
▼ The lower right corner is the PANTONE logo: It is certainly familiar to people in the design industry:
▼ Many industries require strict color standards, so intuitive color comparison is required.
Pantone's color cards (paper and cotton versions) are the professional choice of many people.
For example, if Party A requires a certain Pantone color number for a certain style of clothing, the safest way at this time is to compare clothing samples with colors.
▼ What attracts me most about Acer ConceptD 3 Ezel is its composite flip screen design.
There are many notebooks that can achieve a 180° flip screen (it is not difficult to design a hinge now), but to achieve compound reversal, it is necessary to redesign the structure of the upper cover (display).
Yes, the difference is that the former is just a hinge design at the connection, while the latter is a reset of the upper cover. There is an essential difference.
▼ The A side of the Acer ConceptD 3 Ezel uses MAO technology, which is made of metal, bringing a texture similar to ceramics. The
composite flip screen uses a slender metal hinge to separate the upper and lower sides of the A side. Fortunately, it does not feel visually inconsistent at first glance.
▼ After adjusting to the appropriate angle, Acer ConceptD 3 Ezel can easily achieve tablet-like mode.
You can also see the real function of the hinge at this time. The original metal color of the hinge will be darker than the white skin-like paint, but as a connecting piece that will be rotated repeatedly and has a tight structure, the metal can be surface processed Brings a more durable (wear-resistant) appearance (the entire shaft is CNC machined):
▼ Contacted Surface LapTop3 Everyone knows (I have it myself) that although it provides a touch screen, it does not use a compound flip mode like the ConceptD 3 Ezel, and its touch function utilization is very low because of the single hinge.
It is also very inconvenient to flip it to 180° and then use the stylus.
▼ ConceptD 3 Ezel’s solution is significantly easier to use. Through two-stage angle adjustment and even reverse folding, the touch screen and stylus can be fully utilized to provide a more comfortable creative angle.
In addition, in the mode shown below, the stylus and keyboard can be easily used alternately and simultaneously, which improves efficiency and optimizes the overall experience.
▼ There are no exposed wires on the back of the fully folded ConceptD 3 Ezel. There is an embedded design on the mold, which reduces the thickness of the upper cover while stuffing more components. In addition, the flip screen does not shake during use. The sign itself is very stable:
▼ The composite flip design is just one of the features of ConceptD 3 Ezel. In fact, since the launch of the first batch of Creator PCs, after receiving enough market feedback, the new Creator PCs have been improved a lot today.
Many times consumers know what they need better than manufacturers. Here I will share some details of the design of ConceptD 3 Ezel:
▼ First of all, ConceptD 3 Ezel did not make the LOGO very big (it can even be said to be small and conservative) .
ConceptD itself is a solid designer-oriented product, and ConceptD 3 Ezel is the flagship of this branch. If this budget is put into a game laptop of the same category, it will definitely be very flamboyant.
▼ But a small LOGO is indeed more in line with the mentality of most designers: this book is already very recognizable, and there is no need for a large LOGO to lower the overall impression score.
Tags that pretend to be pigs and eat tigers, but are low-key and not short of money will be more suitable for this group.
▼ Acer ConceptD 3 Ezel is available in a variety of specifications. The one I currently have is i7 10750H + GTX1650Ti + touch screen + stylus. The disadvantage of
is that it is currently out of stock. Compared with the top model, the configuration of i7+GTX1650Ti is more suitable for non-workstation needs like mine. It is mainly used for users who create:
▼ Personal test of this version of ConceptD 3 Ezel. The weight is 1759g, the weight of the integrated display version will be lower.
Due to different positioning, in terms of weight and size, Acer ConceptD 3 Ezel does not completely fall into the category of ultra-thin and light, but it is still within the acceptable range. Users who can accept mid-range weight gaming laptops can quickly adopt ConceptD 3 Ezel. adapt.
▼ Taking into account various structural parts, cooling modules, etc., this weight is not surprising (but it does not exceed the weight I estimated). As a work-related laptop, the is ultra-thin and light but can be used for serious work. When the fan is wheezing and the frequency is reduced frequently, the necessary cooling module is the basis for a good experience.
▼ Just like SONY OLED TVs that often rotate to be "as thin as XX mm", combined with the visual center effect, when we observe the thickness of the ConceptD 3 Ezel screen, our eyes are basically focused on the flippable screen, and it feels really very Thin.
▼ In terms of screen working mode, the composite hinge gives users like me a more flexible solution.
By moving the A side, the distance between the user and the screen is shortened; by adjusting the rotating axis, it is adjusted to a more suitable angle:
▼ If you want to stand and use the stylus, then adjust the screen to horizontal mode.
Compared with the 180° flip of conventional notebooks, ConceptD 3 Ezel can effectively raise the screen and reduce the fatigue caused by straightening the arms while standing. The appropriate damping design also improves the screen experience at all angles:
▼ in When used, ConceptD 3 Ezel can unlock many visual angles that cannot be achieved with a single reel. The difference between
single hinge and ConceptD 3 Ezel is that if the former wants to achieve a specific angle, there will be a keyboard area in the middle, which increases the distance between the user and the screen. In this case, it actually reduces the user's viewing angle.
▼ So can bringing the laptop closer solve this problem?
answer: It can be partially solved, but it will reduce the space for comfortable input on the keyboard because it will be pulled in together with the keyboard. ——This is what I mentioned above: having a composite flip screen can unlock more working angles and comfortable spaces.
▼ The picture below shows the ConceptD 3 Ezel after it is completely flipped. After the screen is flipped, the screen will also flip.
For example, when showing a sketch to a colleague opposite us at work, we do not need the other person to stand up or come to our side. This effect can be achieved by simply flipping the screen:
▼ The effect after complete flipping is as follows:
▼ Let’s talk about ConceptD 3 Ezel This screen.
The designer industry has far greater requirements for color accuracy than most industries, and this is true for any industry related to visual effects (whether it is film and television post-production or other positions).
This places higher requirements on the color gamut volume and color accuracy of the screen (much higher than gaming laptops, which are related to jobs after all).
▼ Acer ConceptD 7 Ezel, the high-end version of Acer ConceptD 3 Ezel, supports 100% Adobe RGB color gamut, supports touch and 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity:
The version I have supports 100% sRGB color gamut, combined with PANTONE color certification and factory color calibration, to achieve Delta E<2.>
Because it needs to support a stylus, there must be requirements for the hardness of the screen.
The display surface of Acer ConceptD 3 Ezel is bonded with Corning Gorilla Glass and has anti-glare function. The surface of
has a fog treatment, and there will be no clear reflections and reflections when used under strong light (for comparison, Laptop3, the screen is so reflective that it can be used as a mirror)
▼ Uses a scissor-foot silent keyboard, amber backlight , stroke At 1.55mm, typing is quiet and crisp.
In order to better adapt to the design crowd, Acer ConceptD 3 Ezel has also made improvements to the keyboard layout. There are buttons for quick screenshots, quick windows, and quick software opening in the upper right corner, and independent buttons are used instead of key combinations.
▼ This series has an obvious trend of workstations. After being equipped with Intel standard voltage processors or even Xeons, there are also requirements for cooling modules (after all, no one wants to watch the processor slow down during rendering, right), so Its heat dissipation hole specifications are quite strong, with three air vents at the rear and three air inlet slots at the bottom:
▼ Compared with many notebooks that only have a single air intake slot at the bottom, Acer ConceptD 3 Ezel's reservations in this regard are indeed made in accordance with the specifications of gaming notebooks.
has a dual fan structure inside and Acer’s own Vortex Flow eddy current cooling solution. The overall noise is less than 40dBA, which is very or even lower than many environmental noises.
▼ One of the characteristics of the designer crowd is that they need a lot of external devices.
also caused many thin and light notebooks to be directly excluded from options. The docking station can solve the problem to a certain extent, but it increases the carrying volume and some high-quality docking stations require external power supply, which is far less convenient than the one that comes with the notebook.
▼ Acer ConceptD 3 Ezel has dual USB on the right side The 3.2 interface is enough to expand 2 wireless receivers or other external devices, while retaining the 3.5mm audio interface, which is convenient for the use of many wired monitoring headphones:
▼ In addition, many people will worry that the USB3.2 interface is located on the right side, plus The length of card reader will affect the operating space of the mouse. On this point, Acer also gave its own solution.
That is: the SD 7.0 card slot is designed directly on the right side:
▼ The introduction of this design really feels like fighting for the future.
has a theoretical peak speed of 985MB/s. The current product can achieve a theoretical continuous reading of 870MB/s and a continuous writing of 740MB/s.
is only stronger than the SD card reader that can be bought outside. It will not become a beautiful decoration, but it is really stronger.
▼ A large number of expansion interfaces are also integrated on the left side.
First of all, it is the DC interface, because the current PD charging limit is 100W, which is not enough for the fully loaded ConceptD 3 Ezel with independent graphics, so the DC power supply port is still used:
▼ The anti-loss safety interface is also located on the left side, if you are careful You will find that there are heat dissipation holes on the left and right sides of this laptop. It can be said that the mold has put a lot of effort into heat dissipation.
▼ At that time, it also provided HDMI display expansion and dual interfaces supporting Thunderbolt 3 (Thunderbolt3) protocol. The left one is the TYPE-C interface, and the right side is the mini DP interface, which also supports Thunderbolt 3.
A Thunderbolt 3 interface can handle functions such as data transmission, external display, and two-way charging. A laptop with dual Thunderbolt 3 chips, which shows that the ConceptD 3 Ezel still has its sincerity.
In addition, the power on/off button is also compatible with the fingerprint recognition function, which can be used for unlocking, waking up and other operations. It is relatively hidden without sacrificing appearance. The recessed design of the power button also effectively reduces the possibility of accidentally touching it, and it is full of details.
▼ The stylus that comes with ConceptD 3 Ezel is hidden on the edge of the C side:
▼ In addition, the stylus is produced by wacom. Although it is small, the supplier is still first-line:
The test is i7 this time. 10750H + 16GB + GTX1650Ti version.
Acer ConceptD 3 Ezel provides a native control center, including application quick launch, performance monitoring and split-screen functions. When the notebook is connected to a larger monitor, the split-screen function can be utilized more efficiently.
▼ Intel 's smart turbo frequency function can efficiently use the core's performance. Under low load, individual cores will be used at high frequencies and other cores at low frequencies to better save power. This is also the reason why previous Intel laptops have longer battery life - low load power saving is better optimized.
▼ The memory frequency is 2933MHz and the capacity is 16GB. It is certainly suitable for light office work and can also bear the editing needs in most cases (industrial film-level ones are not within the scope of discussion)
▼ In the 7-Zip test, the overall score reached 1122%, giving full play to i7 The performance of 10750H is inseparable from the cooling module.
▼ In the CINEBENCH R20 test, the Acer ConceptD 3 Ezel single-core and full-core scores were 470cb and 2580cb respectively, slightly ahead of the desktop i7 7700K:
▼ In the latest version of R23, there are similar results, slightly weaker than the Xeon X5650:
▼ In the SSD test, it showed the flagship level of PCIE 3.0: continuous writing can reach 3343MB/s, and continuous writing can reach 3343MB/s. 3086MB/s.
If you must find several products with similar performance, they are Kingston 's KC2500 and Western Digital's SN750
▼ AS SSD Benchmark shows the real model of this SSD: Western Digital SN730.
That all makes sense. The performance of SN730 is definitely better than that of SN750. The PCB design is also exactly the same (compared with the new SN750). The difference is that SN730 uses 96 layers of stacked particles, while SN750 uses 64 layers. Stack particles.
Usage review:
① Acer ConceptD 3 Ezel is a product with very clear target users, which leads to users who have no needs may think: Why is the notebook designed like this and what is the use?
And users who just need it will think: Why don’t such notebooks come earlier? Such a polarizing situation.
Perhaps this is the reason why Creator PC was launched, to fully meet the needs of this group of people, and this is an ever-expanding group.
② You can see many shadows and ideas on the Acer ConceptD 3 Ezel, which have become textbook-level industrial design products. Those industrial designs were amazing at the time, won many industrial design awards, and eventually disappeared into the long river of history.
ConceptD 3 Ezel Some designs are the current continuation of this type of product. has long been discontinued because this type of concept model was considered unsuitable for the era in which it lived.
is the demand of the increasingly large user group of designers, which has reawakened the need for this type of ultimate product design.
③ Coupled with the top-of-the-line Acer ConceptD 7 Ezel with Quadro RTX5000, 4K touch screen, 100% Adobe color gamut and other features, it is already a workstation-level product.
From the above, both the products themselves and their users are quite excellent.
