Ever since our journey started more than two decades ago, xBhp has been almost as much about technology as it has been about motorcycles. That is not just because it has been a pivotal part of sharing our journey with the community, but also because we truly appreciate technology. Pretty much geeks at heart, we never shy away from putting a good piece of technology through its paces. We have had a fair few computing partners over the years, but Acer has been one of our longest-standing and most successful partnerships ever. 

Computers are a necessity for us. Whether it is editing photos, videos or updating and maintaining the website and the forum, computers have played a crucial role in all of that. But we are also travellers, so a desktop is mostly out of the question. What we need is power comparable to a desktop but with portability to aid our globetrotting cause. But it is rather difficult to find something that strikes the right balance between portability and performance. 

We found the solution to this dilemma of ours in Acer. For years now, we have been relying on Acer’s comprehensive line of laptops for various purposes. In some cases, we have to prioritise portability, performance in some cases, and, in some, a mix of both. And in Acer’s lineup, we have found a laptop for all of those use cases. Moreover, this homage of ours also runs in conjunction with the launch of some scintillating new machines from Acer. 

So, to pay homage to this very fruitful partnership, we dressed up some impressive machines of our own in a livery inspired by Acer. The first is perhaps one of the most impressive feats of motorcycle engineering: the Triumph Rocket 3 R. This near-2.5 L behemoth lives up to its name; despite its heft, it is one of the fastest-accelerating motorcycles in the world. The second one is the Mahindra BE 6. It is one of the most impressive car launches from an Indian manufacturer, and yes, we are including ICE cars as well. Loaded with technology and brimming with performance, it is quite a match for the laptops from Acer… alongside the Rocket  3 R, of course. 

Coming back to the laptops, we’ll start with the Acer Swift 5, one of the lightest, thinnest and most beautiful laptops around. The Swift 5 is aimed at mobility. It has an astonishingly thin chassis which is as beautiful as it is light. Despite its diminutive size, the Swift 5 packs a very respectable amount of processing grunt. And in that compact chassis, it carries enough cooling hardware to keep an i7 under check, even under sustained loads. We have been using one with an i7, but recently, Acer launched the Acer Swift Pro with the latest Intel Core processors. With the latest chips from Intel, the new Swift Pro promises even more performance and lower power consumption but without compromising on its strongest quality- portability. 

Then comes the Acer Nitro V. This one has also been a mainstay in our arsenal for a while. It is not as light and compact as the Swift, but for obvious reasons. It has a beefier cooler, which allows it to rein in the amount of heat generated by both the CPU and the dedicated GPU. Still, it is not on the extreme end of that scale either. Despite the performance and the necessary cooling apparatus, it is still relatively easy to carry around. But plug it in and set it to performance mode, and it rewards you with performance worth its weight. Acer has updated the Nitro V lineup as well, again with the latest Intel Core series processors along with Nvidia’s latest RTX 5000 series GPUs. 

Finally, there’s the Acer Predator. We wish it were called Acer Apex Predator because that is exactly what it is. Simply put, top of the line. With even more sophisticated cooling, it can handle the immense power budget that allows the GPU to deliver performance that comes within striking distance of a mid-range desktop. We used the Helios for a while, and it was an outright beast when it came to performance. It chewed through editing tasks with a breeze, and that screen was something to behold. Though the Predator is aimed at serious gamers, I think creators can also find more than a few reasons to use it. Acer recently launched the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16, which promises to be lighter and even faster.  

So these are the machines that served as inspiration for the latest avatars of our Rocket 3 R and BE 6. After wrapping them up in their new liveries, we took them to one of our favourite playgrounds lately- Urban Racer. It is a premier destination for motorsport lovers, as it has a very nice and technical karting track along with a dedicated spot for drifting. As you have seen from our recent outings, drifting is something that we have been doing a lot. So it was natural that we’d smoke-treat the new liveries to break them in properly. 

In addition to this short outing, we are going to be doing a lot more with this new look of our BE 6 and Rocket 3 R. Moreover, we’ll also bring you updates on how the three new laptop lineups from Acer stack up. So, stay tuned. Till then, Game Hard, Create Hard, and Ride Hard. And do not forget to Ride Safe.