Acer Predator Helios 500: test and first impressions on this notebook with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080
Acer Predator Helios 500
Being able to preview the new Acer Predator Helios 500 gave us the opportunity to experience how much power products of this type can offer in 2021. It is a high-end gaming notebook, made with a very specific focus on performance, sacrificing a bit its laptop nature. The CPU and GPU combination chosen by Acer is the best currently available on the market with the other technical specifications, such as the 17.2-inch display and internal memory, equally impressive.All this has been enclosed in an imposing body for a decidedly particular product in terms of size and weight. The starting price was set by Acer at $ 2,499, but will only be available on the market in the fall with different hardware configurations. We have tried it firsthand in the past few days and we are finally ready to tell you our first impressions of this power monster.
Features
Intel CPU and NVIDIA GPU for this Acer Predator Helios 500 The Acer Predator Helios 500 is undoubtedly a high-end laptop. At the purchase, several configuration options will be available, but we will focus on the specifications of the tested model. Under the body we found an Intel Core i9-11980HK CPU, absolutely the best in the line of portable processors from the US manufacturer. The chip has 8 cores and 16 threads made with SuperFin 10 nanometer technology.At its side, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 GPU with 16 GB of VRAM could not be missing, for the absolute best performing combination in this category. The RAM memory banks inside the Acer Predator Helios 500 are 32 GB, while the storage space consists of two NVMe SSDs in Raid 0 to maximize read and write performance. The internal memory of 2 TB undoubtedly represents a very large space, especially in relation to the speed of the SSDs.
As for the display, Acer in our model has provided us with a 17.2-inch panel with 1080p resolution, a 360 Hz refresh rate and HDR 1000 certification. This is a great screen with excellent contrast levels and good peak brightness.
Ventilation system for heat dissipation Tra the other features we would like to emphasize the possibility of installing an internal 5G modem during the purchase phase. The webcam present with 1080p resolution and 60 FPS seemed particularly good in our use, both in latency and in color management. For completeness we leave you the complete technical sheet with also the various configuration options available during the purchase phase.
Technical sheet
CPU: Intel Core i9-11980 HK / Intel Core i7-10800H GPU: Nvidia RTX 3080 Laptop 16 GB GDDR6 / RTX 3070 Laptop 8 GB GDDR6 Display: 17.2 inch IPS FullHD 360 Hz HDR 1000 / IPS 4K 120 Hz HDR 1000 RAM memory: up to 64 GB DDR4 3200 MHz Internal memory: SSD MVMe starting from 512 GB Modem: Wi-Fi support 6 Ports: 2 Thunderbolt 4.0, 3 USB-A gen 3.2, one mini-DP 1.4 Port, HDMI output, Ethernet input and headphone jack input Keyboard: RGB with mechanical keys Speaker: DTS technology support: X Ultra Audio Weight: 3.9 kg Starting price: € 2,499 up to € 4,500
The other options that should be present in the purchase phase will be mainly related to the choice of RAM, internal memory, video card and laptop display. The manufacturer has not been particularly clear about these options, but we know that there is a variant with the 4K screen at 120 Hz. The RAM memory can be increased up to 64 GB, while the internal memory will be offered in various configurations. Finally, the GPU adopted for the entry level model should be an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070.
Design
A design strongly linked to the world of gaming Extracting for the first time the Acer Predator Helios 500 from the packaging, we were impressed with its shape. The weight of 3.9 kilograms and the rather generous dimensions immediately moved it into a very precise product category. In fact, it is not a light and elegant gaming laptop, but a real tank.Acer wanted to create a product with which to be able to push performance to the maximum, creating a machine with dimensions and a really important weight, especially if you consider the solutions adopted by many other manufacturers. The lines and plastic materials used to make the body are particularly linked to the world of gaming, as it is easy to guess by observing the numerous RGB LED strips. The latter extend from under the mechanical keyboard up to the side surfaces of the product to offer very pleasant continuous lighting.
The RGB strips and port layout on this Acer Predator Helios 500 The ventilation system is truly impressive with dissipation grids placed both on the sides and in the back of the laptop. When pushed to the maximum, the fans are able to dissipate an enormous amount of heat, while producing a rather invasive noise. Despite this, the lower part of the laptop still heats the surface on which it is placed a lot.
Display frames are promoted, made with care so as not to take away space for the pixels. From the trackpad, on the other hand, we expected something more in this price range, both in terms of size and in general use. The mechanical keyboard on the other hand has a really good design and implementation with a balanced key spacing and a prompt response to any click.
User experience
Front with illuminated keyboard In the our test we were able to experience the power of this Acer Predator Helios 500. Through the official overclocking program present in it, we first pushed the performance into its most advanced preset, while avoiding reaching the available performance peaks. In fact, in the maximum overclock mode, the fans are definitely too noisy, so we preferred the middle ground between this configuration and the standard one. ! function () {"use strict"; window.addEventListener ("message", (function (e) {if (void 0! == e.data ["datawrapper-height"]) {var t = document.querySelectorAll ( "iframe"); for (var a in e.data ["datawrapper-height"]) for (var r = 0; r First we installed some video games to experiment with gaming performance. The 1080p screen together with a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 GPU is a decidedly perfect combination to guarantee very high frame rates. In numerous competitive titles such as Call Of Duty Warzone or Valorant we have exploited the 360 Hz display to have the maximum possible fluidity. NVIDIA's DLSS technology has allowed us to achieve truly mind-boggling frame rates, ideal for not losing a single frame in a particularly lively clash. In the most demanding video games at a graphic level such as Cyberpunk 2077 we instead enjoyed an excellent performance, easily exceeding 60 frames per second with all graph settings and to the maximum (without even bothering the DLSS).At first glance, this Acer Predator Helios 500 therefore seemed to us an ideal machine for those looking for high gaming performance, especially as regards the frame rate, perhaps for excel in the most competitive online games.
17.2 inch display with 4K or 1080p resolution We then spent a few hours also doing tests related to daily use, putting the laptop under stress with demanding programs. The enormous power of the Intel i9 processor combined with the truly impressive speed of the SSDs in Raid 0 offers a smooth and responsive user experience. The laptop turns on in a few moments and after having entrusted it to carry out numerous tasks at the same time, it continues to guarantee the same solid performance.
It was not easy to put it under stress even with heavier programs such as those dedicated to photo retouching and to video editing, where the power of the CPU and GPU made the difference. At the end of the day we tried to watch some movies and TV series on Netflix, being pleasantly surprised by the good contrast offered by the screen, as well as by the excellent audio speakers integrated into the body of the laptop.
This Acer Predator Helios 500 is undoubtedly a high-end product, dedicated to a well-defined and also quite limited clientele. The goal is to provide the customer with a machine without compromise in terms of power, while sacrificing its portability. It is certainly not the only product of this type in the now large gaming laptop market. We are therefore curious to test it thoroughly when its final version will be provided to us in the fall, just before the official launch on the market. For the moment it remains a product to absolutely keep an eye on, if you are interested in this category of laptops.
