AS GAMING LAPTOPS with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 stuffed inside go, the Acer Predator Helios 16 isn't the fastest. But it does have redeeming qualities, and then some.
It's a 16-inch laptop, which means it joins the likes of the Alienware X16, Asus ROG Strix Scar 16, Asus Zephyrus M16, Lenovo Legion Pro 7i, and Razer Blade 16 in a very competitive market. Like those laptops, the Helios' 16-inch frame and slim bezels make for a better compromise between screen and chassis size than most 17-inch devices.
Speaking of that screen, it's absolutely lush. It's a mini-LED panel with 1,000 dimming zones for relatively precise lighting control, plus 240Hz refresh and 2,560 by 1,600 pixels in a 16:10 aspect ratio. Admittedly, Mini LED is no microLED OLED, it's not capable of perpixel lighting, but we'll take it over a traditional LED screen any day.
Anyway, the colours are rich, vibrant, and it doesn't struggle to deliver a punchy image like some cheaper laptops. Crank the brightness right the way up and the image is super impressive, both on the desktop and in games. Playing through Metro Exodus Enhanced, this display is so, so good at showing off areas with bright flames erupting out of the darkness, or rays of light breaking through windows or a hole in the roof.
But does it make up for the Helios's occasional performance deficits? The RTX 4080 and Intel Core i9-13900HX CPU are a mighty combo on paper, but game performance is a mixed bag versus other gaming laptops with similar spec sheets. Despite running its RTX 4080 at 175Wthe same as pretty much every other RTX 4080 laptop we've tested-it's still often the lowest performer benchmarks, if not second-last. That said, with an RTX 4080, you're never short of frames.
Esta historia es de la edición September 2023 de Maximum PC.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición September 2023 de Maximum PC.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
NZXT C1500 Platinum
Top-tier performance and efficiency
Nvidia DLSS vs AMD FSR
Which AI upscaling technique has the edge?
World of Goo 2
Goo-d enough for two
BenQ X300G 4K Short Throw Projector
Priced high, yet punchy
Hyte Thicc Q60
Almost more mobile phone than CPU cooler
Remove stalkerware from your PC
ACCORDING TO KASPERSKY’S LATEST ‘State of Stalkerware’ report, over 40 percent of those surveyed worldwide said they’d experienced stalking or suspected that they were being stalked.
BUILD AN IT SUPPORT HUB
Discover how to use RustDesk to provide remote assistance and control your own devices remotely with Nick Peers
AMD's turn to drop the ball?
WITH INTEL'S RAPTOR LAKE CPUs falling over, the company firing around 15,000 employees, and cancelling its 2024 innovation event, AMD must have been enjoying the view - until its new Ryzen 9000 desktop CPUs rolled out. So, is AMD's CPU a minor stumble or game-changing fumble?
Intel issues fix for Raptor Lake degradation
EARLIER THIS YEAR, I wrote about difficulties I was having with a Core 19-13900K processor (see MPC230 Tech Talk). Little did we realize that we were only seeing the tip of the iceberg. While most complaints have involved the unlocked Core i9 Raptor Lake CPUs, it appears the instability problems build up and potentially impact many Raptor Lake-13th and 14th Gen Core CPUs, with Intel identifying 22 different desktop parts.
AMD Ryzen 7 9700X
The new Zen 5 CPUs are here—time to benchmark!