What one expects from a mid-range Gaming Laptop? A Powerful CPU backed up by a mid range graphics card and loads of RAM.

Along with all this, good speakers, a decent battery backup and this all fits in a bit heavy package.
Why?
Because there is a lot to put as Gamers need everything possible to push the limits to every extent.
If DELL's Alienware series or HP's Omen co-created by MainGear aren't your piece of cake with a hefty build and to back it up, there is a more hefty price tag which not everyone can afford.

Acer brought a Good News for such users with the all new Acer Predator Helios 300.



Yes, the all new Acer Predator Helios 300 with most exciting and powerful Nvidia GTX 1060 Pascal series along with new Intel Kaby Lake Processors(Core i5-7th Gen and i7-7th Gen) is the product you are looking for. A price tag of about $1100 USD is all it takes to get to the next level of Gaming.

Acer doesn't have a very big history in Gaming Laptops but Predator series is doing well through the competition.

Have a look at the specifications of the unit we will be reviewing.

Operating System
Operating System Windows 10 Home

Processor & Chipset
Processor Manufacturer Intel®
Processor Type Core™ i7
Processor Model i7-7700HQ
Processor Speed 2.80 GHz
Processor Core Quad-core (4 Core™)

Memory
Standard Memory 16 GB
Maximum Memory 32 GB
Memory Technology DDR4 SDRAM
Number of Total Memory Slots 2
Memory Card Reader No
Memory Technology DDR4
Standard Memory 16 GB (standard)
Maximum Memory Up to 32 GB (maximum)

Storage
Hard Drive Capacity 1 TB
Hard Drive Interface Serial ATA
Solid State Drive Capacity 256 GB
Optical Drive Type No
Hard Drive Capacity 1 TB hard drive
Solid State Drive Capacity 256 GB SSD

Display & Graphics
Screen Size 15.6"
Display Screen Type LCD
Display Screen Technology ComfyView
In-plane Switching (IPS) Technology
Screen Mode Full HD
Backlight Technology LED
Screen Resolution 1920 x 1080
Graphics Controller Manufacturer NVIDIA®
Graphics Controller Model GeForce® GTX 1060
Graphics Memory Capacity Up to 6 GB
Graphics Memory Technology GDDR5
Graphics Memory Accessibility Dedicated

Network & Communication
Wireless LAN Standard IEEE 802.11ac
Ethernet Technology Gigabit Ethernet

Built-in Devices
Microphone Yes
Finger Print Reader No
Number of Speakers 2
Sound Mode Stereo

Interfaces/Ports
HDMI Yes
Number of USB 2.0 Ports 2
Number of USB 3.0 Ports 1
Number of USB 3.1 Gen 1 Ports 1
Total Number of USB Ports 4
Network (RJ-45) Yes

Software
Operating System Windows 10 Home
Operating System Architecture 64-bit

Input Devices
Pointing Device Type TouchPad
Keyboard Yes
Pointing Device Type TouchPad

Battery Information
Number of Cells 4-cell
Battery Chemistry Lithium Ion (Li-Ion)
Battery Capacity 3220 mAh
Maximum Battery Run Time 9 Hour

Power Description
Maximum Power Supply Wattage 180 W

Physical Characteristics
Height 1.1"
Height (Front) 1.05"
Height (Rear) 1.05"
Width 15.4"
Depth 10.5"
Weight (Approximate) 5.95 lbs

Package Contents
Predator Helios 300 G3-572-72YF Notebook
Lithium Ion Battery
AC Adapter

Here's our review for the all new Acer Predator Helios 300:


Design

The Predator's aluminum-and-plastic design doesn't stray far from the look of Acer's other budget gaming notebooks; its black, metal lid has two red stripes flanking the Predator logo. There's a small plastic bumper on the top of the lid that feels far cheaper than the aluminum that surrounds it.

When you lift the lid, you'll find the 15.6-inch, 1080p display, surrounded by a bezel that has the Predator logo on the bottom and the Acer logo on the top-left corner. That second logo is distracting, and I wish Acer had the confidence to let the Predator brand stand on its own, the way Dell does with Alienware and Asus does with its Republic of Gamers line. There's also a full keyboard with a number pad utilizing red backlighting and red WASD keys, as well as a black, metal deck.

As any good gaming notebook should, the Predator has plenty of ports. On the left side are an Ethernet jack, a USB Type-C port, HDMI output, a USB 3.0 port and an SD card slot. A headphone jack and a pair of USB 2.0 ports are located on the right side of the laptop.

Keyboard and Touchpad



The Predator's keyboard is comfortable, but I wish it felt more responsive. The keys have 1.6 millimeters of vertical travel, so I never felt as if I were bottoming out. But the keys require 79 grams of pressure to actuate, which kept them from feeling light and clicky.
There are a few oddities on the keyboard. The Shift key and the top arrow key are very close together -- far closer than any other two keys on the keyboard -- and the right arrow key takes up some space in the number pad.
The 4.1 x 3-inch touchpad is spacious, accurate and responsive to Windows 10 gestures; I had no problem pinching to zoom or swiping my Windows away. I had to click a bit harder than I usually expect to, though for games, most players use a dedicated gaming mouse anyway.

Screen

The contrast is pretty good though, due to the rich blacks, there’s little to no light bleeding around the frame (at least not on my test unit, but I’ve seen some complains from buyers on the forums), and the color accuracy out of the box is not that bad either.
If you don’t have high expectations, this screen will do for daily activities and games as long as you don’t use the laptop in bright environments or outdoors. But even so, this panel is sub-par in this day and age and Acer should have went with a better choice. Whether Acer will also offer an UHD screen option for the Helios line is unknown at this moment.

Hardware and performance


Acer offers the Helios 300 in a bunch of different models, but we got to test a high end 15-inch configuration with a Core i7-7700HQ processor, 32 GB of DDR4 RAM, Nvidia GTX 1060 6 GB graphics and dual storage, with an M.2 NVMe SSD and a 2.5″ HDD.

That’s my first encounter with an Intel 600p series SSD BTW, and it’s a good performer (good read speeds, slower write speeds) given it’s price, but there are much faster options out there. As for the included HDD, well, it performs just like a 7200 rpm HDD.Performance wise, this laptop flies. It can handle everyday tasks, demanding software and games fine, and it doesn’t show any signs of throttling and performance drops. 


I’ve added some benchmark results below:
3DMark 11: P11774;
3DMark 13: Sky Driver – 23383, Fire Strike – 9399, Time Spy – 3440;
PCMark 08: Home Conventional – 3526;
Geekbench 3 32-bit: Single-Core: 3818, Multi-core: 14047;
Geekbench 4 64-bit: Single-Core: 4387, Multi-core: 13899;

The Predator's Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 GPU with 6GB of VRAM is a great value, and it showed its might in our performance testing. When I played Mass Effect: Andromeda on ultra settings at 1080p with FXAA anti-aliasing, the game ran between 70 and 80 frames per second during battle and occasionally dropped down to 64 fps during interactive cutscenes.

On the Rise of the Tomb Raider benchmark (1080p, very high settings), the Predator ran the game at 67 fps, surpassing the mainstream notebook average (36 fps), the Strix (18 fps, GTX 1050), the Leopard Pro (33 fps, GTX 1060) and the Legion (46 fps, GTX 1050 Ti).

Grand Theft Auto V (1080p, ultra settings) played at 49 fps, which is slightly better than the average (47 fps) and the Leopard Pro (48 fps) and much smoother than the Strix (23 fps). We consider anything over 30 fps to be playable.

The Predator achieved a score of 7.1 on the SteamVR Performance Test, surpassing the average of 5.6 and tying the Leopard Pro.

Heat

Heat Dissipation is the best selling point for this laptop. It really runs cool and quiet most of the times. When it's not gaming, the Predator stays nice and cool under simple workloads. After we streamed HD video from YouTube for 15 minutes, the bottom of the notebook reached just 88 degrees Fahrenheit; the keyboard between the G and H keys measured 84.5 degrees; and the touchpad was 79.5 degrees. All of these temperatures are below our 95-degree comfort threshold.

                     
But things heat up when you start to play: The bottom climbed to 113.5 degrees, and the keyboard reached 104.5 degrees. However, the touchpad stayed cool, at 83.5 degrees.

Webcam

The 720p webcam on the Predator is nice and sharp, but its colors aren't accurate. While I could make out individual hairs and see the creases in a colleague's jacket behind me, my navy-blue shirt appeared black.

Battery life

There only a 48 Wh battery on the 15-inch variant of the Helios 300, which alongside the screen is one of its important flaws.

This is a gaming laptop that lasted far longer than we expected. It ran for 6 hours and 48 minutes on the Laptop Mag Battery Test, which browses the web continuously over Wi-Fi. That's lower than the mainstream average (7:00), but gaming notebooks tend to not even come close to that but in real environment, it can last upto about 4 hours when medium performance is needed.

Our Verdict:

The Acer Predator Helios 300 is a powerful, VR-ready gaming machine that costs several hundred dollars less than you might expect. Acer cut some corners with the display to get there, but its easy upgradability makes it a laptop you can keep gaming on for the long term. The battery life also impressed us.

If you want a better display and faster storage, the MSI GP72VR 7RFX Leopard Pro is the way to go, but you'll have to pay at least another $200, and it gets only 2 hours and 32 minutes of battery life. Lots of companies tout laptops that are strong values. Acer's Predator Helios 300 is the real deal.

That wraps up our review of the Acer Predator Helios 300 15. The comments section is open though, so if you have anything to add or any questions about this laptop and other similar ones, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

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