Acer Predator Helios 300 Laptop Review

Acer Predator Helios 300 

Entering the world of gaming laptops can be a daunting task with good hardware priced at AED 8,000 and above.

But the Acer "Predator Helios 300" is here, and it offers what is needed.

Gaming is a low-budget gaming laptop that offers good specifications and is capable of delivering advanced 144Hz gaming performance.

The specification might seem theoretically ideal for someone who wants to enter the world of gaming laptops, but how is the actual performance after the experiment?

Specifications:

Screen: 15.6-inch, 144Hz, Full HD IPS

(1920x1080)

Processor: Intel Core i7-9750H at 2.60

GHz, 6 Core

Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6 GB, GDDR6

Memory: 16GB DDR4

Storage: 256 GB M.2 NVMe SSD, 1TB HDD

Sockets: 2 x USB Type-A 3.1, 1 x USB Type-A 2.0, 1 x HDMI, 1 x Displayport mini 1 x 3.5mm audio-in jack, 1 x Ethernet LAN

Connectivity: Gigabit Wi-Fi 5 (2 × 2 MU-MIMO), 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0

Other: Webcam, Backlit keyboard

Dimensions: 14.21 x 10 x 0.90-inches

Weight: 5.07 pounds (2.3 kg)

Price: Almost about 1633.28 USD

Design and Features :

At first glance the Predator Helios 300 looks much better than last year's model. It also maintains the classic "Aljimr" aesthetic but replaces red colors with blue touches. The cover has two blue lines with the Predator logo in between. If you're not a big fan of the edges of the previous models, you'll be happy to know it's less thick this time. The device also has a few simple details and finishing touches here and there that make it look more refined and luxurious.

Considering the weight of the 2.3 kg laptop and its good price, it can be said that it has a solid structure. Most of the laptop's body is made of plastic except for the matte aluminum cover and inner surface that gives a good feel. It is also well balanced, which means you can open the laptop with one hand and with little effort, but you have to be careful of the edges as they can cause injuries.

The lower part is made entirely of plastic with several ventilation holes in the upper half of it to give room for fans blowing air from the back and sides. The laptop may not be the easiest to carry on the market, but its thickness also means that there are plenty of vents, so when the device warms up, heat will only be seen in the area near the Function Keys.

You will find a satisfactory number of sockets in the Helios 300.

There is a lock mechanism on the left side, followed by a charging socket that is not always easy to use, then an ethernet socket, two Type-A USB 3.1 sockets and a 3.5mm audio / microphone socket.

On the right side there are HDMI and DisplayPort mini, one USB 2.0 Type-A socket and a USB Type-C socket.

This is a good number of sockets, but it does not justify the absence of the Thunderbolt 3 socket.

The keyboard is one aspect that reflects the Helios 300's low price.

A single backlight touch is a great touch, and if the blue light doesn't suit you, you can easily change it with the Acer PredatorSense software.

But the keys themselves do not give that sense of smoothness and luxury when touched.

The buttons have a good travel distance with a good bounce, and I liked the size of the large button arrows as well as the dedicated Turbo button, but don't expect anything to be amazed.

The touchpad, on the other hand, has a matte texture although it is made of plastic. But it is also not perfect. Even though it is responsive and looks great on the 144Hz screen, the clicks look very powerful making them look cheap. It is much weaker than the excellent glass touch patches found on computers like Razer Blade, but these specifications are very good given the low price of the Helios 300.

Speaking of the screen, I am happy to say that Acer did not save money here and focused on providing a high quality screen at a high refresh rate, which is essential for the gaming laptop. The 144Hz Full HD IPS LCD provides brilliant colors with excellent resolution, great viewing angles and plenty of brightness. In short, the games look great on the Helios 300, leaving no room for complaint.

Games and media also look good in most, but you probably prefer to use headphones. The laptop fans produce loud noise especially when the turbo mode is on. You can control fan noise to some extent with PredatorSense, but don't expect complete silence. This is another sacrifice for the low price, but a sacrifice that I am happy to accept. The huge laptop architecture allows for a lot of ventilation holes, and during my experiment it barely rose to an uncomfortable level which was limited to a limited number of function keys.

PredatorSense:

There is a dedicated button above the number patch for PredatorSense that allows you to boost the overclock of the GTX 1660 Ti, a feature not usually found on low-cost laptops. The overclock is now limited to 3 preset options and there is no manual control over it, but in the maximum settings you can get up to 15fps.

You can also control fan speed settings per minute (rpm). Here, too, there are only 3 preset options, temperature monitoring, CPU activity and lighting color control. The program is easy to use by itself and is a great feature.

Performance and standards:

The place where the Predator Helios 300 really shines is performance. With a 9th-gen i7 Intel CPU and GTX 1660 Ti, the laptop can handle any modern AAA game and is equipped to continue through the next generation of games. It can also maintain a high frame rate at super settings without any effort,

As shown in our tests, Helios 300 succeeds in running most popular games at 60 frames per second, and stumbles only with games that require a lot of CPU like "Assassin’s Creed Odyssey".

We get to the real-world tests, where the combination of i7 CPU and GTX 1660 Ti can withstand many productivity and content creation tests. Internet browsing tests and Office programs were very smooth on Helios 300.

If you are looking to edit photos and videos on Adobe creative programs, you will be glad to know that the laptop works seamlessly across most tasks. The test results reflect this performance, as the Helios 300 is able to compete with the more expensive mid-range laptops.

Battery life:

One of the most downsides of the Predator Helios 300 is battery life. When the 180W is removed, its modest 4-cell 3,750 mAh battery barely lasts for 3 hours, far less than the five hours promised by Acer. During our standard battery test, which included 1080p video playback until the laptop was turned off, which was in this case Wonder Woman with 50% light and sound intensity, Helios 300 surrendered after just 3 hours and 10 minutes.

Extremely limited battery life is the only thing that could be a frustrating reason that might prevent you from buying an excellent laptop otherwise.

You will have to carry the bulky charger everywhere you go, and if you want to use Helios 300 while traveling, know that it will be very limited unless you have access to electricity.

Conclusion:

Acer Predator Helios 300 is arguably the best gaming laptop for the few budget owners on the market.

For 1633.45 USD , the laptop is well balanced between good price and performance,You'll get a highly efficient GPU and a large number of sockets for all your accessories and additional devices,Not to mention the excellent gaming performance compared to the price with a fantastic 144 Hz display.

Acer successfully delivers all these features without compromising on build quality or reducing features. But that doesn't mean the laptop is flawless.

Its thick design does not make it easier to carry than what is currently on the market, and the battery life is much shorter than you might get from the models at the same price.

If you are already considering buying this particular device, you may want to rethink the size of the SSD Not more than 256GB which will not be enough to store all your games and apps.