Acer unveils Switch Alpha 12 2-in-1 with liquid cooling
The fanless design of the Acer Switch Alpha 12 is made possible by the manufacturer's new LiquidLoop cooling technology. This has allowed the use of Intel's Skylake Core ix class of processors in a tablet or notebook as thin as 9.5 mm without being limited to Core m options. The 12-inch IPS display offers a native resolution of 2160 x 1440 pixels and the fold-out stand is reminiscent of the HP Spectre x2 with a maximum angle of 165 degrees.
The LiquidLoop technology cools the CPU by evaporation of a circulating coolant in a closed system to distribute CPU heat over a larger area. An active fan is not needed for the Switch Alpha 12. According to initial tests by the the press, the Core i5-6200U was able to maintain a temperature of 60 C after approximately 20 minutes of running Prime95 at a clock rate of at least 2.2 GHz.
Other than the new cooling system, other specifications include 4 to 8 GB RAM, a 512 GB SSD, MicroSDHC slot, USB Type-C Gen. 1, and USB 3.0. Dimensions and weight of the tablet are 292.1 x 201.4 x 9.5 mm and 900 g, respectively, while thickness and weight will increase to 15.85 mm and 1.25 kg with the keyboard dock attached. A loop on the keyboard base will hold an included active stylus and key travel is rated at 1.4 mm.
Acer WiGig Dock
Wireless features include 2x2 MIMO 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0. The optional Acer WiGig dock allows for 802.11ad for transfer rates of up to 4.6 Gbps via the 60 GHz band. The dedicated dock includes additional ports like USB Type-C 3.1, DisplayPort, HDMI, VGA, and more USB Type-A options.
Specifications
- Win 10 Home 64-bit / Pro 64-bit
- 12.0" IPS QHD (2160 x 1440), 10-finger-touch, 3:2
- Intel Core i3/i5/i7 U-Series CPUs
- Intel HD Graphics 520
- up to 8 GB RAM
- up to 512 GB SSD
- up to 8 h battery life
- USB 3.1 Type C, USB 3.0 Type A, 3.5 mm Headphones, MicroSD Slot, TPM
- 292 x 201 x 9.5 mm (Tablet), 292 x 201 x 15.9 mm (Keyboard+Tablet)
- 0.9 kg (Tablet), 160 g (Keyboard)
Price and Availability
The Acer Switch Alpha 12 is coming this June for a starting price of 800 Euros while the optional WiGig dock will run users another 300 Euros.
Source(s)
Own