![]() ![]() The Helios 500’s display produces 84% of the sRGB colour gamut (the same as the Predator Triton 700), which isn’t the best, and an average Delta E of 3.11 proves that this laptop is not suitable for professional video and photo editing – it simply isn’t accurate enough. But it’s not likely you’d be bringing this laptop to the local park for a gaming session anyway. A poor contrast ratio would be more noticeable in a game like Alien: Isolation, whereas in a game like Overwatch you probably wouldn’t know.Ī poor maximum brightness of 336.8cd/m2 means that you’d struggle to view the laptop in excessively bright lighting, and outside in particular. The lower contrast ratio results in less vibrant images, where the dark colours are not as dark as they should be and the light colours not as bright. First of all, it has a comparatively low contrast ratio of 978:1 – other premium gaming laptops (take the Gigabyte Aero 15X or Razer Blade Pro as examples) tend to exceed 1500:1. There are some issues with the display quality and accuracy, however. For gaming at silky-smooth framerates, the Full HD model is the way to go. There’s always the option to go all the way to 3,840 x 2,160 (4K) screen, but that higher-res panel only supports a refresh rate of 60Hz, unlike the 144Hz on my review model. The Helios 500 also measures 428 x 298 x 38.7mm (WDH), and will take up the majority of space on any sized desk. It is back-breakingly heavy, though, weighing in at over 3.7kg, or 5kg if you add the power brick into the mix. Its metallic chassis is finished in a subdued matte black, and it lacks distasteful logos and branding. While the Helios 500 achieves far better results in our key benchmarks, the Razer Blade 15 is a true all-rounder and is far more portable.īuy now from Currys Acer Predator Helios 500 review: DesignĪs gaming laptops go, the Acer Predator Helios 500 is easier on the eyes than most. Its main competitor is the Razer Blade 15, reviewed at £2,330, and is currently ranked as our favourite gaming laptop. While we tested Acer’s Predator Triton 700 at £2,500, it’s got nothing on the Helios 500 as far as performance is concerned. There’s a slightly more expensive loadout doing the rounds, too, which is equipped with a 60Hz 4K screen and costs £2,799. For storage, you get a 1TB HDD coupled with a 256GB SSD. Handling the gaming side of things is a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 GPU and 16GB RAM – which can be expanded up to 64GB. This particular configuration is fitted with a Full HD, 17.3in IPS display with a 144Hz refresh rate, and is powered by Intel’s beastly Core i9-8950HK processor, clocked at 2.9GHz. The model I was sent for review isn’t actually sold on the Acer website but can be purchased from Currys for the grand sum of £2,299. ![]() Acer Predator Helios 500 review: Price and competitionĪs always with laptops, there are a dizzying array of configurations to choose from when buying a Helios 500. But all that power comes at a cost – in more ways that one. The Acer Predator Helios 500 is a gaming powerhouse, achieving the highest CPU and GPU performance speeds we’ve ever seen in a laptop. It has the specs to match too, with a 17.3in Full HD 144Hz display, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 graphics, an 8th-Gen Intel Core i9 CPU and 16GB RAM. Of course the base model isn’t going to be quite as exciting as the full-bore overclockable version, but if we get in any of these configurations for review there’ll be plenty to talk about.No, the Helios 500 is intended as a semi-portable replacement for your desktop gaming PC. ![]() The Predator Helios 500 clearly has a lot going on in its guts, with pricing, thermals, and bulk to match. When you see as many gaming laptops as we do, you come to appreciate what it takes to shoehorn so much power into such little spaces. They may seem old-school, but I prefer them to sometimes-finicky clickpads. The trackpad, also backlit, has full right and left mouse buttons. Speaking of hotkeys and lighting, the anti-ghosting membrane keyboard is RGB backlit with four lighting zones supporting up to 16.8 million colors. The app also manages overclocking, temperature, hotkeys, and lighting. You can control the fans using Acer’s PredatorSense software. Intake vents take up almost half of the bottom panel, while huge exhaust ports line the back corners and much of the rear panel. Unfortunately we couldn’t open it up to show you, but the Predator Helios 500 has two of Acer’s fancy AeroBlade 3D metal fans and five heat pipes. Let’s talk more about the thermals before we move on. This rear view of the Acer Predator Helios 500 gaming laptop shows the large exhaust ports and the central ports for power, DisplayPort, and HDMI. ![]()
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