Petite and powerful; Ultra wide and immersive – these may be the coup de grace when it comes to any gaming setup. We are taking a close look at the Predator Orion 3000 & the Predator X34 GS monitor in our first ever double review to find out if the Intel Core i7 powered desktop and the ultrawide monitor check all the boxes to be the ultimate gaming setup!
You can get the Predator X34GS Monitor and Predator Orion 3000 at the Acer eStore or the official Acer store on Shopee.
Acer just had their annual Acer Day festival (we do not know really know what to call it really; a celebration?) last week and like every other year, Acer Day comes with plenty of promotions and sales and a few new products. This year, we see new gaming hardware that you might want to get your hands on. If you are looking for a gaming desktop, you might not want to look elsewhere at this time.
It is called the Predator Orion 3000, and it is the brand’s mid-tower rig that should give you the best balance between budget and gaming performance. It starts at MYR 3,999 and comes with Intel’s latest 11th Generation Tiger Lake CPU alongside NVIDIA’s latest GeForce RTX GPU. Unlike plenty of the pre-built PCs that you can find in the market as well, this one is actually something you can tinker with yourself and eventually upgrade on your own. Not to mention, the Acer Predator desktop towers are currently the only way for you to get your hands on their own engineered Predator FrostBlade cooling fans.
At the more budget friendly range of MYR 3,899, you are getting Intel’s 11th generation Core i5-11400F CPU. That CPU Is also paired with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Super GPU for good measure. With up to 8GB of RAM shipping with the tower, you will be able to easily handle games like DOTA 2 and Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) at Full HD.
You can spec your Orion 3000 up to an 11th generation Intel Core i7-11700F paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 for MYR 6,899 though. While that is nearly MYR 3,000 more than the entry-level variant Orion 3000, you are getting a substantially more powerful hardware in the tower. You are still getting the same 8GB RAM though from the Orion 3000. You can upgrade it to up to 64GB (16GB x 4) if you want.
Alongside the powerful CPU and GPU you can are getting either a 512GB or 1TB M.2 PCIe SSD. Obviously, this being a tower PC you get to expand that with additional SATA drives. Of course, you might want to ensure you have enough juice to get everything up to speed though. The Predator Orion 3000 comes with a 500W 80Plus Gold ATX power supply, which should be enough to power the Intel Core i7-11700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination. You also get Bluetooth 5.0 and WiFi 802..11ax/ac/a/b/g/n capabilities built into the tower, so you do not have to get an external adapter that might spoil the look of your PC.
As we mentioned, unlike plenty of pre-built PCs, the Predator Orion 3000 does not come in an out-of-this-world, unconventional chassis. While it is still a custom chassis that includes a headphone hanger integrated into the front panel, the internal layout is very traditional. That also means user expandability with the Orion 3000 is amazing. There is no custom layout to deal with, every part within the chassis is interchangeable.
With the Predator Orion 3000, you can even plonk in an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, for example, to replace the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 that is already in the graphics driving seat. Of course, you would need to up the ante a little on the power supply side and be prepared to pay more when it comes to your monthly electricity bill. You could also plonk in an 11th Generation Intel Core i9-11900K as well, if you really want, or just replace the stock cooler with a more powerful third-party one, just to improve cooling. You can even remove the motherboard easily to completely turn this machine around. Just keep in mind that you are going to be building a PC in a relatively small space with the Orion3000. As mentioned as well, you get the cooling power from the Acer engineered FrostBlade.
The Predator Orion 3000 is now available on Acer’s own online store and official online stores on both Shopee and Lazada. Prices, as mentioned, starts MYR 3,999 (Core i5 + GTX 1660 Super) and MYR 6,899 (Core i7 + RTX 3070). Considering the current market, the Orion 3000 is priced very competitively. As usual with a Predator product, you do not get to choose its colours, although the FrostBlade fans packs addressable RGB alongside some RGB bars on the front of the chassis. For more information on the Acer Predator Orion 3000, you can visit Acer’s website.
Acer’s Predator Triton 500 received a lot of praises and accolades in its 2019 and 2020 reign. It was regarded as one of the best thin and light gaming PCs you can buy with money at the time. It is not hard to understand why it was the device of choice for plenty of gamers and content creators that are looking for an ultra-portable powerhouse.
The Helios 500 too, was regarded as one very capable high-end gaming notebooks with no compromises. It was the very definition of a fuss-free portable gaming experience for Predator. That also was about two years ago though.
That was 2019 and 2020 though. Since then, the world has moved on to a new platform. The world saw the launch of NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 30 series late in 2020 and Intel’s brand new 11th Generation Core platform earlier in 2021. The Predators need an upgrade.
Predator Triton 500 SE
Acer’s Predator launched the Triton 300 SE last year. It was, in our humble opinions, a simple design study. The Triton 300 SE took up the idea of designing a gaming PC class with a timeless classic look. A simplistic design that is more futuristic than intimidating. At the same time, the sleek body has to contain a large power pool within.
The Acer Predator Triton 500 SE sits above the Acer Triton 300 SE, technically. If you put both devices together, you would struggle to find a difference too, at least visually, with good reason. Both feature the same shiny all-metal outer shell design. Rather than the usual matte black body that we are used to with gaming notebooks, the Triton 500 SE’s body is shiny and brilliant in sterling silver.
The Triton 500 SE is unique in more ways that one though. The odd shaped body houses an expansive 16-inch display with 16:10 display ratio. With up to 240Hz of refresh rate on tap from the WXGA resolution display, the Triton 500 SE give you a new perspective in gaming, obviously for the better. With 100% DCI-P3 colour coverage, the Predator Triton 500 is not only colour accurate for content creators, but also immersive for other forms of entertainment as well. With DTS:X audio, you can truly immerse yourself in Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and the upcoming Disney+ (for Malaysia).
To sustain 240Hz at high-resolution though, you need a lot of processing power. That processing power comes from an 11th Generation Intel Core i9 (up to) paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 mobile GPU (up to). You get to spec the Triton with up to 64GB (32GB DDR4 x 2) RAM to make quick work of Adobe apps. You even get to fit the Predator Triton 500 SE with up to two SSDs to ensure you always have extra space for your projects and games.
All of these are packed in a 19.9mm think all-metal body. Within the shell are three powerful 5th generation Aeroblade fans with Vortex Flow technology to keep the PC running cool and optimally at all times. The all-metal body also houses a large battery that could keep you running without plugging yourself to a wall socket for up to 12 hours. Of course, that is only possible with the help of NVIDIA Advanced Optimus technology.
Predator Helios 500
If light and portable is not what you are looking for, then raw power is what you want. You want the ultimate gaming laptop. You want the new Predator Helios 500.
The Predator Helios 500 that features a 17.3-inch display is more of a desktop replacement than a portable PC in its dress. In terms of design though, not much has changed from the older Helios 500 save for the arches on the back exhaust port. Keen eyed readers will also sport two power inlets.
That is because the Predator Helios 500 features an overclockable 11th Generation Intel Core i9 (up to) processor. Alongside the powerful processor is an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 GPU (up to) and up to 64GB of DDR4 (32GB x 2) RAM for good measure. The need for speed does not end there though. You get to slot in a pair (2) of NVMe PCIe SSDs in RAID 0 for the fastest experience. If you really need more space, there is space for a SATA drive.
The powerful internals give life to the 17.3-inch display. That large display pushes 4K UHD 2160p worth of pixels to you. The Mini LED panel also pushes 120Hz for the smoothest high-resolution experience you can get in a gaming notebook. With VESA Display HDR 1000 certification and AUO AmLED’s full-array local dimming technology, the Predator Helios 500’s display is a class above its competitors.
You need a lot to cool this powerhouse of a notebook too. You need two large 5th Generation Aeroblade fans with Vortex Flow technology to keep air rushing through the entire system. Thankfully also there is Acer’s PowerGem technology to help keep things manageable. On top of the fans is a full RGB keyboard with individual backlight control via PredatorSense. The WSAD keys can also be replaced with MagForce keys for more precise controls.
Alongside the Acer Predator Helios 500 and Predator Triton 500 SE, Acer also launched two Predator networking tools. With modern games needing constant internet connectivity, it does kind of make sense for Acer to launch new networking solutions for gamers. Of course, they released one product for home, and one product for life on-the-go.
The Predator Connect X5 5G router is the first Intel Killer-compatible 5G CPE in the world. With 5G, you get up to 4.7 Gbps internet speeds. This one router can also work with up to 256 devices, in case you want to host a LAN party with as many devices around. With Wi-Fi 6 capabilities, all 256 devices are going to have an uninterrupted access to the internet and network.
The Predator Connect D5 5G Dongle is exactly what it sounds like. It is a gaming focused 5G enabled dongle with Intel’s Killer Network solution. Plug the dongle into any USB 3.1 ports and you unleash the power of 5G on your Predator laptop. That also means you are going to be able to work on DOTA 2 with your squad even if you are constantly on the road.
Pricing and Availability
The Acer Predator Triton 500 SE will be available in the North American region and China in June 2021 onward at US$ 1,749.99 (MYR 7,241*) and CN¥ 14,999 (MYR 9,728***) onward, respectively. It will be available in the EMEA region in July onward for EU€ 1,999 (MYR 10,098**) onward. There are no mentions of its availability in the local regions just yet.
The Acer Predator Helios 500 will be available in the North American region and China in August 2021 onward at US$ 2,499.99 (MYR 10,346*) and CN¥ 39,999 (MYR 25,943***) onward. EMEA gets it earlier in June 2021 onward though with prices starting from EU€ 2,499 (MYR 12,624**). Again, there are no mentions on its availability in the local regions just yet.
There are also no mentions on the availability and final pricing of the announced network products currently. We are keeping our ears close to the ground though. That said, watch this space. For more information on Acer’s latest products, do visit their website.
* Approximately based on exchange rate of US$ 1 = MYR 4.14 as per 27/05/2021 on xe.com
** Approximately based on exchange rate of EU€ 1 = MYR 5.05 as per 27/05/2021 on xe.com
*** Approximately based on exchange rate of CN¥ 10 = MYR 6.49 as per 27/05/2021 on xe.com
Just as the Asia Pacific Predator League kicks off, Acer has taken the opportunity to refresh two of their most popular gaming laptops: the Nitro 5 and the Helios 300. The two gaming laptops come with refreshed graphics and processors for better gaming prowess.
The Predator Helios 300 gains the honour of being the first Predator laptop to come with NVIDIA’s RTX3060 graphics processor. The new setup comes with either the 10th generation Intel Core i5-10500H or the 10th generation Intel Core i7-10870H processors. The processor is paired with 8GB of DDR4 RAM. If you need more power, the laptop supports up to 32GB of RAM. In addition, it comes with 512GB of SSD with an addition NVMe and HDD slot for expansion. The Helios 300 comes with a 15.6-inch IPS display with Full HD resolution and 144Hz refresh rate. It’s complemented with DTS:X Ultra audio and 3D simulated surround sound. Acer has also packed its signature dual AeroBlade 3D fans for more efficient cooling to ensure your gaming sessions aren’t perturbed by overheating.
Acer’s Nitro 5, on the other hand, comes with the 11th Generation Intel Core series processors with 8GB of DDR RAM clocked at 3200MHz. It’s complemented by the NVIDIA GeForce GTX1650 and 512GB of NVMe SSD memory. It also supports up to 32GB of RAM if you need to up the ante and also has an extra M.2 slot for more storage. It also comes with a 15.6-inch IPS display with a 144Hz refresh rate and Full HD resolution.
Pricing & Availability
The Acer Nitro 5 gaming laptop is available at Acer authorised resellers nationwide and the Acer Online Stores. The Nitro 5 with the Core i7-11370H processor retails at MYR4,399 (USD$1,064.75) while the Core i5-11300H version will set you back MYR3,799 (USD$919.52).
The Predator Helios 500 is also available at the same channels for MYR5,299 (USD$1282.59) for the Core i5 version and MYR5,999 (USD$1452.02) for the Core i7 version.
If you purchase either one of these laptops during the Asia Pacific Predator League which happens between 6th to 11th April 2020, Acer is offering up to MYR638 (USD$154.42) worth of freebies including 3 Years McAfee Live Safe license worth RM299 and Acer Supercare 2 worth RM339.
Yep. We’re doing this – it’s our first review of a gaming chair – but this one has all the bells and whistles you won’t find in any other gaming chair.
A gaming chair is not just any chair for your computer setup. It’s one that will cradle your behind and support your back while you game endlessly into the night. Back in June, Acer made an announcement that took the gaming world off guard – the launch of a collaboration with OSIM to bring a new type of gaming chair; one that will massage the pain of gaming away. Thus, the Predator X OSIM Gaming chair was born.
Cushy Comfort in Elegant Black with Some Design Kinks
The Predator X OSIM gaming chair is one of the more comfortable gaming chairs we have had the chance to try. It’s well cushioned on the bottom and has pretty decent lumbar support. We say pretty decent but the lumbar support comes in the form of a lumbar pillow which doesn’t have any attachment to the chair. That said, it can’t be attached to the chair cause it’s get in the way of the massaging mechanism. The headrest of the Predator X OSIM gaming chair is also attached pretty loosely to the chair it literally slides into a slit in the back of the top of the chair.
The gaming chair comes in black accented by the Predator cyan. It’s made of a pseudo-leather material which is most likely polyurethane (PU). While the finish looks good, the material isn’t very breathable. This was most apparent with the lumbar pillow and the headrest which tend to get a little bit warm after about an hour or two. However, if you’re in an air-conditioned room, you’re likely not to feel it.
The biggest design flaw in the Predator X OSIM Gaming Chair is the length of the adapter cable. The cable is short and tends to get tangled around the wheels of the chair. It wouldn’t surprise us if you would need to replace the adapter over time. Of course, you can easily remedy this by not plugging it in unless you want a massage; but that pretty much defeats the purpose of having a gaming chair that massages you. OSIM will also need to figure out better cable management when it comes to this chair. As rolling up and down will cause problems with the adapter in the long run.
Hitting all the Right Spots with OSIM
Now we move on to the highlight of the chair – the massage. The massage portion of the chair is powered by OSIM’s massage technology. You access the control by pulling back the right arm rest. This will reveal the controls. You can choose from three preset massage programs by pressing the middle button and whether you need a upper or lower back massage with the button beside that. If you want to take full control of the massage yourself, you have the option to do that as well.
The massage from the Predator x OSIM gaming chair can be pretty intense. For most people, it will hit some of the problem points along your spine. The OSIM mechanism starts off really strong poking into the spine and adjusting after that. That said, when you’ve adjusted to the pressure, the mechanism hits all the right spots. It managed to release a few of the large knots I had in my shoulders and even relieved a few aches in my lower back. It massages in two modes: pounding or in circular motions. When you use the automatic setting, it will alternate between the two to get the knots out.
While the massage is good, the risk of having a massage chair you use as your daily work or gaming chair is that over work your back muscles which can make you pretty sore. So, just don’t over do it.
A Novel Idea with A Pricey Proposition
The Predator X OSIM Gaming chair will set you back about MYR4,899 but it’s available at a discounted price of MYR2,799 at the time of writing. It’s not too bad when it comes to massage chairs, but it is a little bit on the pricey when you look at other gaming chairs. That said, you are getting a massage chair foremost.
All in all, the Predator X OSIM Gaming chair is a novelty. While it would be nice to have a chair like this, it seems a little bit of an overkill. That and the cable management issues make us say wait it out. If the partnership continues into a second iteration, it’s likely that OSIM would have worked out some of the kinks in the design. However, if you are in the market for a gaming chair and a massage chair, this may just be the chair for you.
Gaming is in Acer’s blood. The Predator brand that stems out from the Taiwanese based firm is now one of the most recognisable names in the PC gaming community. Of course, building on a solid branding block and competitively valued gaming PC builds help cement their legacy in the gaming and eSports community.
Predator Orion 3000
Source: Acer
Before there was eSports though, there was something called a LAN Party. A LAN Party is basically a place for gamers to come together to game together in the same space; hence, LAN (Local Area Network). People used to come together to play multiplayer games like Counter Strike and such. In these LAN parties, you are expected to bring your own peripherals and even your own PC.
In such conditions, you need a gaming PC that is compact enough to take with you anywhere in the world. You still need powerful hardware as well though, for all the serious gaming you are going to get yourself into. You might want to go wireless as well, in this case.
That is why Predator built the Orion 3000, the baby Orion. The latest Orion series hardware features a compact mid-tower case that is ready to take on the latest AAA titles without breaking a sweat. You might break a sweat carrying the powerful package.
The Predator Orion 3000’s chassis is a custom-built chassis by Predator to look the part. The chassis even features a built-in headphone hook. But it is not form without function here. The chassis is designed with upgradability in mind. In that case, you can open the case and even upgrade the GPU or any other components yourself with little in your way.
You get to work with a 10th Generation Intel Core i7 (up to) paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (up to) SUPER for good measure. The combination of the CPU and GPU, on top of a healthy 8GB of RAM should be a recipe that works with most AAA titles today. If 8GB is not enough, you can fit up to 64GB of RAM into the baby Orion. All the peripherals get a healthy dose of air thanks to two in-house developed Acer FrostBlade fans with RGB ability. Of course, ther is WiFi 6 so that you can set up from anywhere and still get a decent network connection even without wires.
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Predator XB273U GX Gaming Monitor
Source: Acer
Of course, powerful hardware must be paired to a display worthy of all its power. You want a fast display, you want pretty colours, and you want 27-inch. We feel that 27-inch is the magic number for gaming monitors. It is big enough to fit a table and for you to see everything on your desk with enough details. It is not too big too for your desk so you can just sit at a comfortable distance and take advantage of the large display area.
The Predator XB273U GX gaming monitor fits that bill perfectly. 27-inch, check. Fast, it boasts 270Hz refresh rate and 0.5ms response time, overclocked; so, check. It boasts HDR 400 certification and Delta E<2; pretty colours, check. You can even power it with a USB Type-C 65W power delivery output.
On top of all of that you can swivel the monitor around, tilt it, and adjust its height for maximum comfort and most efficient layout on your desk. Thanks to 99% AdobeRGB colour gamut and Delta E<2 as well, the monitor can be used in creative cases such as photo and video editing when you need to. Did we forget to mention its WQHD (2560 x 1440) resolution?
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Acer CB342CK C Monitor
Source: Acer
At home though, you might want something a little more immersive. You might want an ultra-wide display to view everything on one display. You might want an Acer CB342CK C UltraWide monitor.
The Acer CB342CK C monitor features a 34-inch display that is stretched out wide. It boasts 3,440 by 1,440 (UWQHD) in resolution. It is still an acceptably speedy monitor too with 75Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time. Like the XB2783U GX, you can power the Ultra-Wide monitor with 65W power delivery too.
The ultra-wide IPS display is still a good-looking display with 99% sRGB colour gamut still. You get up to 400nits in brightness too if you need it. With AMD Radeon FreeSync, the monitor should still be reasonably good with games. The extra display real estate should allow for a more immersive gaming experience, especially with racing games.
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Source: Acer
Price and Availability
The Predator Orion 3000 comes in either a 10th Generation Intel Core i7 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER pairing (MYR 6,799) or a 10th Generation Intel Core i5 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER pairing (MYR 4,099). Both comes in the same great looking chassis. The baby Predator is now available from Acer’s authorised resellers across the nation and from Acer’s official online stores (including Lazada and Shopee).
Source: Acer
The Predator XB273U GX monitor is now available from Acer authorised stores nationwide and Acer’s official online stores (including Lazada and Shopee). There are no colour options for the 27-incher. The Predator XB273U GX will set you back MYR 3,299.
Source: Acer
The Acer CB432CK C Ultra-Wide monitor will be available at the end of December 2020. It will be available at all Acer’s authorised resellers across the nation and Acer’s official online stores (including Lazada and Shopee). You can get your hands on one when its available for MYR 1,799.
Customers who purchase any of these devices before 31 December 2020 will be entitled to redeem free gifts, including up to RM100 worth of Touch ‘n Go eWallet credit on their redemption website. In addition, every submission before 24 December 2020 will also entitle the customer to one entry to the Christmas rEunion Advent Calendar to stand a chance to bring back prizes from the total prize pool worth up to RM30,000. Starting from 1 December 2020 until 25 December 2020, Acer Malaysia will pick a lucky winner every day for the special prize. Winners will be announced on Acer Malaysia Facebook or their redemption website. For more information on Acer’s products, you can visit their website too.
The Movement Control Order, as we know it in Malaysia, or the sanctioned quarantine at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic (it is not over, by the way) really opened our eyes to plenty of things. It revealed the human ability to adapt to any situation and still survive. It also proved that our technology is ready to handle the situation and give us the kind of flexibility we need in that time of need.
But it also opened a whole other can of worms. Once we started working from home, we realised just how easily we can be productive without being in a professional environment. We also realised that the line between work and leisure is blurred to the point that we cannot see it. In that sense, we tend to be workaholics at home. Time for a change of lifestyle then, a new schedule.
You realised something too. You do not have much entertainment at home. You did not buy a TV because you tend to not be home until quite late in the evening. By that time, you just want to relax, wind down, watch a video or two on your smartphone or notebook, and then sleep. A TV is unnecessary at the time.
Other forms of entertainment get neglected too. Your gaming PC at the corner has collected so much dust that it looks like an ancient relic. You stopped playing that much games because you tend to stay out until its dark and you are sleepy. You want to play games, but you just do not have the energy for it in the past. In the current work-from-home situation though, you realise you have plenty more time to play games. But your Gaming PC is now old and slow. Time to buy a new Gaming PC.
You decide that its best to get a Gaming Notebook because it is the most convenient form of gaming PC to date. You can bring it around when you need to move, you can use it for work, you can watch movies on it, you can play music on it, you can have a LAN party at your friend’s place. It is the most versatile entertainment powerhouse in the world of entertainment powerhouses.
Which one do you go for though? What kind of budget do you stick to? There are so many choices out there at this point? What if you do not have more than MYR 6,000 to spend on one? What is the latest one in the market?
One of the latest gaming notebooks to arrive in Malaysia is the Acer Predator Helios 300. We heard somewhere too that the device was actually planned for an earlier release to no avail. That was due to the COVID-19 pandemics and its disruption toward the logistics industry globally. We do not blame them. It is also priced below MYR 6,000 at MYR 5,199, way below. In short, it sounds like one of the best deals to get if you are in the market for a gaming notebook. Is it though? Let us find out.
Design
The Acer Predator Helios 300 for the 2020 has been updated a little bit from before. The Acer Predator Helios 300 2020 gets pretty much the same GPU set up as before, same RAM size as before, and the same cooling internals. That is where the similarities end though.
The Predator Helios 300 is now packing more power with an Intel Core i7-10750H. With that, it also gets a slightly updated look. Gone is the ‘PREDATOR’ word logo on the cover. You get a much cleaner look on the back of the display now, which is the top clam of the notebook. The mascot logo is still there though, giving you some hints of the power contained within the all-aluminium body.
The power lines that frames the logo is still there too. The powerlines are as iconic as ever, in Predator’s signature blue. Sadly, only the logo in the center of the clam lights up with LED. We feel that the power lines deserve their own LED array to let others know that it means business.
The angled edge still stays, a staple now to Acer’s gaming line-up, including their Nitro series. The angles on the display clam is still a little sharp, but that is not a huge issue, considering that you rarely have contact with that part of the notebook.
The sharp edges that lines the palm rest surface though has been chamfered. They are still a little sharp on the ends, but at the same time the chamfered edges does make it a bit more comfortable for your palms and wrists. That chamfered edge is now chromed all the way too though, to add to some flair to how the device looks on your desk.
Open it up, and you will find, greeting you, is an expansive 15.6-inch IPS panel. With bezels remaining as thin as ever, but not too thin that it becomes awkward for Acer to find creative ways to mount their 720p HD webcam. Of course, we are still hoping that manufacturers include their own window or cap for the webcam just for our safety. At this point of time though, webcam spaces are a premium, so we may not see a webcam window anytime soon.
Look down and you find a full-size keyboard with proper physical number pad section. Instead of a single colour backlit keyboard, it is now a 4-zone RGB keyboard you can control with Predator Sense built into the notebook. There is a dedicated Predator Sense key too on the keyboard for you to access it quickly. I would have preferred a separate dedicated button though this arrangement by Acer makes everything look cleaner and more compact.
If you look closely too, you will see a ‘Turbo’ button on the top left corner of the typing surface. The new slits at the forehead of the keyboard are not speakers, by the way. They are extra cooling vents for the powerful 4th generation 3D Aeroblades. The ‘Turbo’ button is nestled right beside the vents.
This ‘Turbo’ button now lights up when you press it. Instead of just relying on your ears to see if the cooling fans go crazy or not, you can leave your headphones on and check the button instead. Although, the LED is not an expected Predator blue. Instead it is a plain white LED backlight. I would have liked it if it was Predator blue LED backlit. Then again, it could be less visible.
Around the sides, you find all the right interface ports, including a full HDMI out port and a Mini DP port. The charging port though has been moved to the back of the notebook. That also means that there is a big plate now in the middle of the back of the notebook, sacrificing some cooling vent space (hence the extra vents on top of the keyboard). We prefer this set up though, at least the charging cable will not cover anymore ports or vents. The large plate that houses the charging mechanism is quite large and sparse though. We would have liked to see an HDMI port moved there, the Mini DP port should belong there as well, and maybe an extra USB port on the plate.
Other than these things, the changes in design is now more internal. Instead of having an extra HDD slot on top of the 512GB SSD on the device, you now get an extra SSD and HDD slot on top of the 512GB SSD. Because of the new I/O layout too, they have to move the 3D AeroBlade fan a little bit, further apart to the sides. But they have also redesigned the heat pipes and tweaked their routing to make them a bit more efficient and effective, resulting in an improved cooling performance, despite the reduced intake vent surface area.
Hardware
Within the redesigned body, you are getting the same Intel Core i7-10750H as the Acer Nitro 5 we reviewed earlier. You can opt for a cheaper Core i5 edition, but we would suggest that you consider the Acer Nitro 5 then. Still, this one is in a league of its own. It is a Predator, and this one is just MYR 300 more than the top-of-the-line Acer Nitro 5.
For that MYR 300 extra, you are getting a better GPU too. It is just a step up from the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660Ti, but the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is still a much more superior GPU with DLSS 2.0 capabilities and proper ray tracing. In those alone, we do think that the Acer Predator Helios 300 will be a better buy.
If you are in the market for a thin and light though, you might want to look away. It is quite a hefty package, this Helios 300. It weighs 2.5kg and is just about as thick as the Acer Nitro 5 that weighs in at 1.8kg. Remember though that this Helios 300 is mostly constructed with Aluminium.
15.6-inch IPS LED-backlit (1920 x 1080) ComfyView 144Hz
Memory
512GB NVME M.2 SSD 8GB DDR4 RAM
Networking and Connections (I/O)
3 x USB Type-A 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C 1 x Standard HDMI 1.4 1 x Audio combo jack 1 x Network RJ-45 Intel Wi-Fi 6 Gig+ (802.11ax) Bluetooth 5.0
Battery
4-cell Li-Polymer
Operating System
Windows 10 Home (64-bit)
Miscellaneous
DTS:X Ultra Audio
Features
As we have mentioned before, most of the changes are in the internals of the Acer Predator Helios 300. The size has not changed, nor the weight. Plenty of the changes seem quite minor at first, but they do add up to an improved product over its previous one though.
For starters, we like how much cleaner the new Helios 300 for 2020 looks compared to the rest of the previous generation Acer predator notebooks. We can expect this kind of design as well moving forward with other Acer Predator products. The chamfered edges are a big plus in our books because it does help with typing comfort a little, despite the still sharp angle at the ends. But there are more to this notebook than just small improvements.
New Body, New Positions
Like the Acer Nitro 5 that we reviewed earlier last month, the Acer Predator Helios 300’s charging port is now at the back. This, in our opinion, is a big ergonomic improvement. Because of the angled design of the charging cable from Acer (slightly wider power brick for the 2020 version), the cable tends to cover either your I/O ports at the side or the exhaust vents.
You either restrict airflow, or block your ports, which gets very annoying in plenty of cases. Acer will not completely overhaul the cables a well, because a straight plug will disrupt your mouse experience, especially when you game. To right handers, it is a simple solution of moving the charging port to the left side of the device. That is discriminating left-handers though. So, the back is the most sensible choice.
The only complain we have, as mentioned is that the back plate that houses the charging internals is a little on the sparse side. We felt that the Mini DP port and HDMI port should be moved to the back alongside a full-sized USB port or USB Type-C port. Yes, go with what Lenovo has done with their Legion line-up, we like that.
4-Zone RGB Keyboard That is Even Better
Typing essays on the previous Acer Predator Helios 300 was not really a chore to begin with. We find that the keyboard on most gaming notebooks have improved tremendously, especially on Acer Predator notebooks. We feel like they have started understanding that gaming notebooks are still productivity machines when you need them to be. Typing experience is still an important part of a notebook PC.
In that sense, the 2019 version of the Helios 300 is a comfortable typewriter. The key travels cannot be compared to any mechanical keyboards, but they are still easy to work with. They give you enough feedback with some very soft tactile feel. We somehow feel also that the keyboard would be the best that they could have made it.
The 2020 variant though has a better keyboard than before somehow. The keys somehow feel a bit more tactile than we are used to with Acer’s island type individual keys. There is no difference between key travels between the 2019 variant and 2020 variant. The softness and mushiness are much reduced, and the typing experience somehow is made much more comfortable. No, you still cannot compare it to a mechanical keyboard, but it is a good keyboard to work with when you are out and about. Not everyone carries their mechanical keyboards in their bags.
You still get highlighted ‘WASD’, arrow, and Predator Sense keys on the Acer Predator Helios 300. Instead of choosing a single backlight colour though, you can go for multiple colours across four zones on the keyboard this time. You simply fire up Predator Sense to change the settings.
The chamfered edge that lines the bottom of the keyboard plate, is a life saver. At least the edges do not cut into your palms or wrists anymore. We think that rounded off edges or chamfered edges on notebooks should be a thing. It is a small difference that really changes your comfort levels with the device.
Predator Sense + 4th Gen 3D AeroBlade = Stone Cold
The subtitle might be a little of an exaggeration. But to be fair, the combination of the two really works. Because you do not have the restriction of space like you get in a Triton notebook, the Helios 300 can work with bigger intake and exhaust fans and vents. That allows even more air to pass through your hot internals and keep them properly cool.
If you’ve read our review of the Acer Nitro 5, you would have noticed that we mentioned that Nitro sense is not quite as powerful as Predator Sense. That is because Nitro Sense does not do overclocks, while Predator Sense does.
Strangely you cannot really tweak the overclocking settings on your own, not that this information is anything new. Acer do not really want you to cook your internals just for the sake of proving a point. This is as much about protecting you as it is protecting the PC and themselves.
Predator Sense clocks up your CPU and GPU to speeds that the manufacturers deem safe and plausible enough for their fans to keep them at their optimum temperature. Of course, this is done when you kick ‘Turbo’ mode on. The fans go at its fastest too, to ensure maximum airflow for the Helios 300. Nope, you cannot turn the fan down.
In default mode though, the fan is relatively quiet and peaceful. It is still powerful enough technically to run Horizon Zero Dawn at ‘ultimate’ settings and not go overboard with the noise. It does get hot though after a while and you still might want to kick ‘turbo’ mode on, just to manage its temperature.
In any sense though, we never got the feeling that the Acer Predator Helios 300 is ever going to overheat, especially when you turn on ‘Turbo’ mode when ou need a little bit of horsepower. We turn on ‘Turbo’ mode even when we are editing our videos. We also think that the full aluminium top of the Helios 300 does help a little bit in heat dissipation.
Performance
You can safely expect this generation of Acer Predator Helios 300 to really perform. Will it be that much more powerful? I doubt, but it will still be powerful. It is still one powerful device with a 10th Generation Intel Core i7-10750H processor that replaces the older 9th Generation six-core processor. But you still get the same NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 on the graphics end, which is still something of a powerhouse.
Gaming
Of course, we have to talk gaming, this is a gaming notebook after all. We tried games like Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, Horizon Zero Dawn, Assassin’s Creed: Origins, and Two Point Hospital on it. They are not the latest or most demanding games in the market, but Ghost Recon: Breakpoint can be quite taxing on even the most modern of hardware.
The latest, in terms of PC release date, among all the games is Horizon Zero Dawn. It is not the most demanding of games, but we were still excited to play it on the powerful Acer Predator Helios 300. For Horizon Zero Dawn though, you do not necessarily need an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, it could be just slightly overpowered even when you go on ultimate settings. Technically you will do fine even with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660Ti to get the game on ultimate settings.
Of course, for titles like Assassin’s Creed: Origins and Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, hardware will be a little taxed. Still, if we leave the game to decide the best settings for the Helios 300, you are sure to be getting smooth gameplay without too big of an issue. Ghost Recon: Breakpoint can be a little buggy on certain hardware though, so we might have to take that with a pinch of salt. Still, the game clocked at least 40fps in most cases only dropping frames in very few occasions.
Assassin’s Creed Origins is quite an old title to be fair. It is still a beautiful game to work with and requires quite a little bit in rendering power thanks to the vast open world that is ancient Egypt. Still, everything went down smoothly at high settings with fps reaching 120 at some points.
The last title we tested the Helios 300 is Two Point Hospital. That is a game that does not require that much at all to be fair, so you can expect it to run as smoothly as possible with near zero hiccups other than the game’s bugs. You can safely leave the settings at the highest for the game and you will still have no trouble running it even without ‘Turbo’ mode on. Of course, thanks to IPS display and 144Hz, Two Point Hospital looks excellent on the Helios 300.
Bye Bye Wave NX, Hello DTS: X Ultra
The previous generation of Acer’s Predator Helios 300 comes packing Acer’s own Wave NX audio technology. They are not bad, per se. They are just not as polished as we would like them to be.
With Wave NX in the previous generation Acer Predator notebooks, you get Virtual 3D audio if you are using your headphones. Regardless of the headphone make and type, Acer’s Wave NX solution, by default, will adjust the audio according to your head’s placement and movement. This is done via the webcam as well. To create an audio room for you.
While it sounds great in concept, and works nicely to a certain degree, it is inconsistent at times. That feature is removed in favour of conventional speakers. Except, the speakers are not that conventional thanks to DTS: X Ultra tuning.
While audio from notebooks generally lack low-frequency punches, the Acer Predator Helios 300 does have a little bit in thumping. It is not as powerful and defined as what you get if you have proper sub-woofers, but it is enough to enjoy your music with. You do want to have the DTS: X audio software turned on though to make full use of the DTS: X Ultra tuned speakers.
The software allows you to choose between a few audio profiles that is designed for specific uses. If you want to, you can tune the audio on your own too and save is a custom profile. Still, the pre set profiles does a stellar job on their own though. Unless you know what you are doing, best to leave the settings alone.
The speakers are quite loud at full chat, which could be a big distraction to other people in the same room as you are. Thank goodness they still have a 3.5mm jack for you to plug your headphones in for a more personalised listening experience. DTS: X will adjust the audio to that too.
Overall, there is technically not much to shout about in the sound department. Audio is crisp, and you can push it to maximum volume without getting your music to tear at the top. While it could use more low-end grunt, it is still respectable considering that the notebook does not pack a sub-woofer.
Battery
While they did quote that the new 10th Generation Intel Core processors are more efficient in power consumption, we did not actually notice that much in terms of power efficiency bump. There are no specific mentions on the battery life you can get out of the 4-cell battery within Acer Predator Helios 300 from Acer themselves. We did however get about 4 hours of battery life on average with the Acer Predator Helios 300.
Our average use on battery does not include gaming. We mostly have our browser on, sometimes you get 20 tabs out of Firefox, some email checking via Thunderbird or the browser itself. Spotify is on most of the time while we are on the go, of course with earphones plugged in. We did watch some YouTube videos on battery as well, that could take a little bit of toll on the battery life. Oh, we also tend to turn our display brightness settings all the way up.
Still, we managed nearly six hours of battery use at one time before it goes flat. In that case, we turned on battery saving mode immediately after we unplugged it from the charger. In that use case, we did not have Spotify on, the browser was closed as well, and we were only using Microsoft Word in full time in the lowest possible display brightness that we can work with.
Display – 144Hz IPS Dream Like Before
The display, as mentioned, is still similarly sized. It is also still a 144Hz display like before, not a 240Hz unfortunately. Acer did claim that the 15.6-inch display is an IPS panel. That also means that you are getting vibrant and accurate colours for your viewing pleasure.
Of course, you have to remember that this is a gaming notebook. It will not be the most accurate display that you will find on a notebook. IPS display still offers a great viewing experience though. It is still good enough for you to work with colours in videos and photos though. Of course, if you want something with better colour accuracy, you might need to get a secondary display to attach to your PC.
Still, the colours are still quite vivid for a gaming notebook. That also means that you might be able to really enjoy movies and other forms of media on this gaming rig. Thanks to the DTS: X audio too, you do not need to plug in your headphones to enjoy movies on your own.
While 144Hz may not be the fastest display that you might be able to get on a notebook PC it is fast enough for most to enjoy. In this case you get to load up games at up to 144fps. If you are thinking of titles like GTA V or DOTA 2, you will get about 120 to 144fps easily with the kind of hardware The Helios 300 has.
Of course, if you are into competitive gaming, you might want something even higher than 144Hz. Thing is, you may not really need that kind of speed on your display. Your eyes might not even be able to tell the difference between a display refreshing at 120hz and 240hz. In that sense, 144Hz is more than enough for most of us. If you go for the modern AAA titles, you might not even hit 120Hz.
As we said earlier too, the bezels have not really changed from the 2019 Helios 300 to the 2020 variant. They did not go the route of completely redesigning a gaming notebook from the 2019 to 2020 models. They technically did not have to since the only big difference between the two generations is the processor. Still, we do think that they should stick to a slightly wider top and bottom bezel area just so that you can fit properly sized keyboards and properly placed webcams.
The webcam is still a 720p HD webcam though. Nothing too wrong with that, technically. Plenty of notebooks still work with 720p webcams. But we are in 2020 now, 720p is so last decade. We think that notebooks should move to a Full HD webcam format now.
The Acer Predator Helios 300 – Seriously, Why Not?
For MYR 5,199, we seriously think that this package is quite hard to beat. Its closest competitor, we think, is the ASUS ROG Strix G15. While that particular device comes with a 1TB SSD and 16GB RAM, you are paying a hefty MYR 6,699 for largely the same internals. That is more than MYR 1,000 compared to what you are paying for the Acer Predator Helios 300. If you do opt to get another 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD to match, you are still paying less for the Acer Predator Helios 300.
You may be getting less too, in terms of outrageous looks on your PC. The whole point of the Predator Helios 300 though is to blend in a little bit. It is to make sure that no one takes a second look at you when you sport the notebook in your favourite cafés. Plus, you can have your lightshow with the 4-zone RGB keyboard that you can set different profiles on anyway.
By default, the PC is relatively quiet anyway, that also means you can use it in the library and the person next to you will not complain about excessive wind noise. It can be within your production room not too far away from your recording mic too and you barely notice its there. It is only when you decide to ‘accidentally’ hit ‘Turbo’ that all hell breaks loose.
It is not a flashy hardware and it is not meant to be. In that sense, we love it. We love how it looks, how unassuming it is. We love that some may not be able to tell it apart from other Predator products. We love how Predator has stuck to one design choice and work with that identity. We love that we can change the RGB to a single colour the whole way (I am not that big of a fan on RGB). We love the price, as it is you are not paying an absurd amount of money for a top performer. We love its value, its versatility, and its practicality. We even love how it sounds (audio, not the cooling fans), though most of the time I use headphones with it.
Yes, there are some things we do not like too much about it, but we are nitpicking. We would like it to be a little lighter, for example. We also would like to start seeing notebooks coming with 1080p webcams. Maybe a 240Hz display would be really nice too, but that will push its price point up by a little bit.
Would we recommend this package? We would, very strongly. At MYR 5,199, nothing can come close to this performer. You really do not want to pass this up. You can even get your hands on it without going out of home within their online store. At this time, you really do not want to be leaving your homes too much. In that case; get this gaming notebook, and lock yourselves in for days with nothing but you and your games.
The baby Helios for 2020 was revealed in Next@Acer. The Acer Predator Helios 300 packs plenty of punch still with the 10th Generation Intel Core i7-10750H processor paired to up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX2070 GPU. You can even get up to 32BG of RAM inside the masculine body of the Helios 300 if you so wish to.
The new Helios 300 brings with it updated specs on the display with up to 240Hz refresh rate. It also brings customisation to your fingertips with the Predator app on your smartphone allowing you to tweak and customise to fit your needs.
Want more videos? Subscribe to our YouTube channel and be up to date with the latest!
The Acer Predator Triton 300 for 2020 is the latest in the line of very alluring thin and light gaming machines from Acer’s Predator. The new “game anywhere” mean machine will pack the power of Intel’s 10th Gen Core processors and NVIDIA’s super powerful GeForce RTX2070 GPU (up to). This thing is really made to game on the go. LAN party travel anyone?
The new Triton 300 packs a punch with supped up specifications and is versatile, allowing you to game anywhere. It boasts improved power efficiency and better performance with update specifications and improved cooling. Paired with the Predator center app, you’ll be able to customise and optimise the settings so you can get the best performance out of your Triton 300 at your fingertips.
Want more videos? Subscribe to our YouTube channel and be up to date with the latest!