Acer Predator Helios 300 (PH315-55-766X) Laptop Review

Today, laptops have evolved, in all categories. Realize: we now have machines weighing less than a kilo, gaming machines that are also convertible tablets, and multi-kilogram machines that use liquid cooling. It was very easy for a time to recognize a PC gamer: they all had the same head. The Acer Predator Helios 300 is part of this latest movement, but does it quite well.

Features of the Acer Predator Helios 300

screen size	17.3 inches
Screen type	IPS-LCD
Screen definition	2560 x 1440 pixels
Refresh rate	165Hz
Processor	Intel Core i7-12700H
Graphic card	Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti
RAM	32GB DDR5-4800
Storage	1TB
connectors	1 Thunderbolt 4, 3 USB A 3.2, 1 Ethernet, 1 Mini DisplayPort, 1 HDMI 2.1, 1 combo jack
Dimensions	39.93 x 29.55 x 2.7cm
Weight	3kg

Design and ergonomics: did you say gamer?

The main trait of the Predator Helios 300, in terms of design, is to be… exactly the image we have of a gaming PC. Except that its logo is surrounded by blue, and not red, it still has this big hinge slightly advanced, these angular lines and this thickness so gamer. That bonnet that picks up fingerprints so easily. Its weight too, 3 kilos, is in broad outline of what will always be called “PC gamers”: large transportable machines, but which look more like an All-in-One than a portable in the first sense of the term.

This is not a criticism however, far from it. To criticize this aspect of the Predator Helios 300 would be to criticize an entire category of the market, which is there because it has its fans. And we understand them: these machines are easy to repair and can even experience a new lease of life by changing their memories and their storage, which is possible here via very easily accessible hatches.

What is perhaps less impressive about this Predator Helios 300 compared to its competitors is its keyboard. This one is not badly made, far from it: the travel distance is quite good, the spacing excellent, the presence of the numeric keypad is appreciable. But these switches are not really typed gamers, and are on the contrary quite traditional. Also, the softness of the Space key, for example, could interfere with some very active FPS, such as Overwatch for example.

The comfort is there, but is not typical gamer beyond its addressable RGB key by key, and its LED strip affixed to the bottom of the chassis. The touchpad would also have benefited from being a little wider, although its very smooth coating is pleasant to the fingers. That being said, all this contributes to making the machine a little more accessible than its competitors, a bonus point for those who have already planned to use their favorite peripherals anyway.

Screen: satisfactory colorimetry

The Acer Predator Helios 300 benefits from a 17.3-inch IPS LCD panel in QHD definition of 2560 x 1440 pixels, i.e. a 16:9 ratio. This screen is NVIDIA G-Sync certified and can reach a maximum refresh rate of 165Hz for a response time of 3ms. It is anti-reflective treatment.

Its main problem is found on all computers in this category: its maximum brightness. Measured at 291 cd/m², it won’t be particularly satisfying when you have a nice big sun hitting it. The anti-glare screen will of course help, but a brightness of 400 or even 500 would be more than appreciated in this context. This is all the more true since this panel is intended to be HDR, but with so little brightness, it will be better to deactivate it.

However, let’s not be too harsh. Because once again, compared to other models on this specific space, the Predator Helios 300 makes at least the effort to cover 99.1% of the DCI P3 space and 139.9% of the sRGB space. An extended color range that will please, especially since its contrast ratio of 1124:1 will not tarnish the effect. On an average Delta E00 of 2.02, with an average color temperature of 6835K, we are on a relatively solid panel, which can be easily recalibrated for graphic work.

Software: it makes sense

Windows 11, of course, although unfortunately we still see this propensity for Acer to install a good dose of advertising applications. These include Norton and Dropbox, which we advise you to uninstall quickly.

The gaming experience will be on the side of PredatorSense, its software allowing both to manage the performance of the computer and its LED lighting. This same software which has the right to its own shortcut on the keyboard. The latter is not bad, far from it, and allows fairly fine adjustments to the machine without being too nebulous for the most neophytes. We particularly appreciate its clear interface, even if some finer settings deserve to be better highlighted.

Performance: beware take-off

The Acer Predator Helios 300, in our test configuration, uses an Intel Core i7-12700H, a 14-core, 20-thread processor that can turbo up to 4.7 GHz. It is here coupled with 32 GB of DDR5-4800 RAM and a storage memory of 1 TB in PCIe 4. For the graphics part, we can count on the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti 150w at 8 GB of GDDR6.

We’ve said it more than once and we’ll say it again: this is quite simply the basic configuration of any PC gamer this year. And the torque is still excellent, even more on the chassis of this Predator Helios 300 which can hold its turbo boost for a long time for excellent performance.

In ultra ray-tracing, on the latest patch and in native definition, Cyberpunk 2077 promises us 52 FPS on average with DLSS activated in auto mode. On Shadow of the Tomb Raider, with the DLSS in quality and the ray-tracing pushed to ultra on the Very high configuration, we arrive at 83 FPS on average. Suffice to say that on competitive titles like Overwatch 2 or Valorant, you will have frames to spare to take advantage of the 165 Hz screen.

All of this, however, comes at a price. And the price paid by the Acer Predator Helios 300 is again very traditional: heating. Or rather the ventilation, since even without using the Turbo mode (which forces the fans to run at full power constantly), the computer takes off very quickly on heavy tasks like these. It is clearly one of those PCs for gamers with headphones, but holds up better than its friends when it heats up in doing so: we are at 50°C on the bottom of the chassis, the hottest point, compared to 60°C on many ‘others.

Autonomy: what did you expect?

And here again, we remain on the basic cliché. The Acer Helios Predator 300 requires a good big block of 280W to operate, which at least has the advantage of being flat enough to slip easily into the compartment of a bag, but remains wide.

Its 4-cell battery won’t work miracles: you can use it in office automation for a good 4/5 hours before it gives up the ghost. An average score in its category, which is not embarrassing, but nothing extravagant either.

Conclusion