#Acer predator helios 300 black friday Bluetooth

Image output comes from HDMI 2.1 and mini-DisplayPort connections, and internal connectivity is handled by Gigabit Ethernet, dual-band Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2. This laptop has a Thunderbolt 4 connection that tackles charging and a USB-C alongside three full-size USB ports. At least the build quality here is great, making this a robust PC. It’s a big, bruising notebook that’ll take up plenty of space. The 700g power brick adds bulk, and the 28mm-thick chassis is chunky. It isn’t small either: the 3kg weight means this 15.6-inch laptop weighs as much as its 17.3-inch rivals. Elsewhere, you’ll find a band of RGB LEDs at the front and huge air vents at the back – it’s all a bit retro. The keyboard and trackpad are too soft to compete with crisp, snappy competitorsĪcer’s 3D technology also has an impact outside of the screen: the Predator Helios 300 has large bezels above and below the display.A good port selection, but you’ll find faster networking and better connectivity elsewhere.Robust, but weighs down your backpack and takes up loads of space.The 17.3-inch MSI combines its 1440p resolution with a 240Hz rate, and the convertible Asus has a bright 16:10 touchscreen at 165Hz. The Alienware is available with 1080p, 1440p and 4K displays at 480Hz, 165Hz and 120Hz. Rivals have plenty to say as well, despite their lack of 3D tech. That’s low, and it means this rig is only suitable for single-player games – eSports fans will need an external panel. My only specification quibble is the 60Hz refresh rate. Combine that with the loud, bold speakers, and you’ve got hardware that’ll make any game look and sound superb. The Delta E of 2.62 is accurate enough for gaming, and the display rendered 99.5% and 96.5% of the sRGB and Adobe RGB gamuts with huge volume figures – so colours are brilliant. The 417-nit peak brightness is easily good enough for indoor and outdoor gaming. The contrast ratio of 1606:1 is stellar and combines with the black point of 0.17 nits to deliver lashings of low-end depth and top-end vibrancy: games look bright and bold. Turn off the 3D tech, and you’ll have a better time with the crisp 4K display. More games may be added and performance might improve, but right now this tech is risky and not consistent enough to be worthwhile. Then there’s the game support: while SpatialLabs works with games like Guardians of the Galaxy, Borderlands and the others I’ve mentioned, support for about 50 titles leaves plenty absent. The 3D hardware also means games are blurrier than on a conventional 4K panel. You’ve got to keep your head relatively steady to appreciate the 3D effect – alter your viewing angle and immersion is ruined due to the dual renderings jumping around. In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, performance is inconsistent, and menus are difficult to use. It would look good if it wasn’t for those bugs. The 3D effect is subtle in Forza Horizon 5, but the game is hindered by obvious tearing and clipping. Similarly, straightforward apps add the 3D effect to videos, photos and creative apps.īut the good vibes don’t last. The SpatialLabs TrueGame app is basically Steam for 3D-compatible titles, and users can adjust the depth of the effect in-game with a keypress. It’s smooth and accurate – even during the fastest and most frantic action sequences – and it undoubtedly improves the gameplay experience. The 3D tech delivers a huge boost to the game’s depth. I booted up God of War, and the first impressions were good.

This notebook combines stereoscopic hardware, a head-tracking webcam and AI to get the job done. The speakers have plenty of volume, bass and midrange quality, so your media sounds immersiveĪcer’s SpatialLabs tech is usually found on the company’s ConceptD creative workstation laptops, but you don’t have to use much imagination to see how 3D tech translates to gaming.The underlying 4K display is bold, bright and vibrant and makes games look superb.The 3D tech has great ambition and impresses when it works – but that’s not often enough.

That might make it a more difficult sell, when alternatives like the Alienware x17 R2, MSI Raider GE77 and Asus ROG Flow X16 are ready to pounce should the Predator Helios 300 fall short of the best gaming laptops. The panel deploys 3D technology to make games even more absorbing, and you’ll find top-class Nvidia and Intel internals elsewhere.īut, at $3499 in the US, £3699 in the UK, and nearly €4000 in Europe, there’s no denying that this innovation is expensive. Need proof of the innovation on show? Look no further than its 15.6-inch display. Lots of companies try to innovate in the busy gaming laptop market, but not many do it like Acer – and that remains true of the exciting, surprising Acer Predator Helios 300 SpatialLabs Edition.