At the beginning of 2022, Acer launched the Predator Helios 500, which is close to the top-of-the-line configuration in hardware and screen. Recently, Acer brought the Predator Helios 300 to the market and upgraded it comprehensively. From the 11th generation CPU to the 12th generation, what will the performance of the 2.5kg body be?
The Predator Helios 300 features an Intel Core i7-12700H and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 8GB VRAM. The screen has a 15.6-inch QHD 2K resolution, a 165 Hz update rate, and a narrow bezel design, and a high picture update rate is more suitable for playing shooting and racing games. The 2K resolution is definitely sharper than the average FHD 1080p screen, and the picture becomes more detailed. On the keyboard, there is a Numpad, which makes it more convenient for users to input. It has the same RGB backlight effect as the gaming notebook. What’s special is the use of mini-LED backlight technology, which produces brighter light than non-mini LEDs and consumes less power.
Cool AeroBlade Special 3D Fan
Because as a gaming laptop, most of them are used for gaming, but to use up the computer’s performance to achieve higher fluency, it often generates a lot of heat, so it takes a lot of effort to dissipate heat. The Predator Helios 300 uses the 5th-generation AeroBlade special 3D fan technology, with a total of 89 fan blades, and four air outlets on the fuselage, which can blow heat out. If the user wants to reach the highest wind speed, just press the Turbo button on the keyboard to turn the wind speed to the maximum. However, the sound produced by the fan will also be relatively loud, so users should pay attention to this aspect. The author recommends that you wear headphones when you are playing, you can cut out the sound of the fan and focus on the computer.
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In addition to the cooling vents at the back of the fuselage, there are cooling positions on both sides to improve cooling efficiency. -
In addition to the cooling vents at the back of the fuselage, there are cooling positions on both sides to improve cooling efficiency.
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Mini DisplayPort, HDMI, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C and charging jack are placed behind the fuselage for easy wiring. -
On the left side of the fuselage are RJ-45, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A and headphone jack. -
In addition, there are two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A on the right side.
PredatorSense + DTS:X sound
Acer Predator Helios 300 is equipped with PredatorSense software, which provides users with performance monitoring and personalized settings. In addition to seeing the temperature and usage of the CPU and GPU, you can also modify settings for specific games, such as keyboard backlighting, fan speed, game type, and more. In the game, in addition to the most important fluency, the sound is actually very critical. One sound can judge the left and right and surround. The Predator Helios 300 has DTS:X ULTRA, which enables a 360° surround sound system with headphones or speakers.
Evaluation
In terms of specifications, the Acer Predator Helios 300 is paired with an Intel Core i7-12700H with 14 cores and 16 threads and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 8GB VRAM, which is enough to handle the vast majority of games on the market. This review will use the following four games for testing, namely “Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey”, “Apex Legend”, “Forza Horizon 5” and “Shadow Of Tomb Raider”.
With 2K on and at the highest quality, all games run very smoothly and the graphics are very detailed. And “Shadow Of Tomb Raider” at 2K resolution with ray tracing turned on, the average FPS is close to 100, and it still remains smooth in some explosion scenes. Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey was mediocre at 67 FPS. If you want to increase the number of frames, you can reduce the picture quality and animation effects. At 1,080p resolution, the average FPS of all games has increased, and among them, “Apex Legend” has the highest FPS at 132 FPS, and “Shadow Of Tomb Raider” also measured 111 FPS.
Finally, using CrystalDiskMark to test the hard drive, the read speed reached 6.5Gbps, and the write speed was measured to be close to 5Gbps. This means that the time required to start the game is shorter, and the speed of downloading files will be relatively fast, such as downloading movies, games, etc. Tested battery usage with Imtec Battery Mark, measured 1.2 hours of usable time under CPU load.
CONCLUSION
PCM Rating: 4/5 minutes
At first glance, you know that the Acer Predator Helios 300 is a gaming laptop, and you can tell by its appearance alone. The specifications are supported by i7-12700H and RTX 3070, so the game performs well and can definitely handle most 3A masterpieces. Turning on the fan speed to the maximum will definitely be noisy. This is unavoidable, but it is very helpful for heat dissipation, so wear headphones when you don’t want to hear noise when you are playing.
SPEC
- Operating System: Windows 11 Home Edition
- Processor: Intel i7-12700H
- Display: 15.6 inches
- Resolution: 2,560 x 1440
- Screen refresh rate: 165Hz
- Memory: 16GB
- Storage: 1,000GB SSD
- Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop
- I/O：1×HDMI、1×Mini DisplayPort、1×USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A、2×USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A、1×USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C、1×RJ-45
- Size: 359.4×276.4×25.9mm
- Weight: 2.5kg
Price: HK$20,998
Enquiry: Acer (2520 2000)