Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 2024
The Predator Helios Neo 16 looks the part and does the job if all you want is to push framerates , but it ’s at the price of pure usability .
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It certainly looks the part, but there are some annoying usability issues with the mousepad and side thermal vents.Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
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There ’s a tightropeevery gambling laptopneeds to take the air , and it is truly so hard to balance everything before tip over one bound or the other . You desire something that most hoi polloi can afford , with all the bells and pennywhistle , and you desire it to feel salutary and look effective . But price and performance are an inverse kinship , and unavoidably , something has to give to keep things cheap .
Acer ’s Predator Helios Neo 16 manages to string that needle jolly well , backpack a fortune of clout for its sub-$2,000 price with the top specs . But once you get it running , the tradeoffs are glare enough that they dramatically cut into the full enjoyment of what could be a quality budget - ish auto .
Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
The Predator Helios Neo 16 starts at a low of $ 1,200 and tops at close to $ 1,700 for this twelvemonth ’s and last year ’s models . That ’s a wide disconnect between all nine mannequin ; of the four with fourteenth - gen Intel CPUs , you will have to spend as much as $ 1,450 . Even with a newfangled scale design , the tardy version of the Helios Neo 16 with the top specs seems to be proper at the border of its limits .
With a Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 and an Intel Core i7 - 14700HX , thing tend to run live quickly , even with “ balanced ” performance with the lover starting to go full throttle . And do n’t even need about stamp battery life . Even on minimal mount , you ’re lucky to get a few hours out of it before the laptop practically begs for a charge . There ’s a mickle to enjoy with the Helios Neo 16 , but nothing that ’s genuinely so stellar that I would say you should pass more than $ 1,500 .
Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 Build Quality and Heat
I’d Prefer a Laptop That Doesn’t Warm My Mouse Hand
This budget laptop computer may be better if you purchase it at down specs rather than straining it with the most gamy - end parts you’re able to get . Most of that concerns Acer ’s heat energy organisation , which I get hold to be a constant annoyance . Either you deal with loud , oddly - rank fans or trammel carrying out .
I found that the side - face vents botch up out just as much hot tune as the rear fans , which is inauspicious because that ’s where I — along with most other human being — tend to keep my black eye . I register an outside temperature of 145 arcdegree directly on the chassis next to the devotee exhaust , which think of the desk next to the devotee also tended to get pretty ardent . It was n’t enough to make play uncomfortable , but it ’ll only be a blessing for folk music in dusty enough latitudes that the supernumerary rut might warm your frigid fingers .
The keyboard itself only climb to a high of 98 degrees Fahrenheit in the very center , and it never find uncomfortable to lie my sensitive hands and fingers on the medal eternal rest . That being said , the internals also tend to get hot . In my experience , the balanced mode on Acer ’s PredatorSense software lay the rooter amphetamine too low-pitched , even for middling games . The CPU strain a high of 92 degree Celsius , while the GPU hand a senior high of 91 degrees Celsius in some title . When it got that high , the heat did affect performance . you may manually crank up the buff to sub - helicopter levels , enough to draw a interested coup d’oeil from my roommate passing by in the hall .
Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
In Performance modal value , the sports fan go much hard . This leave in far more managed internal temps at the disbursement of your once - coolheaded desktop . There ’s no perfect option , and it seems to sharpen to the top - oddment specs being a footling too much for the Helios Neo 16 .
Otherwise , the habitus quality is just ok . As you might look with the caloric shelf , it ’s too big to fit inside a typical knapsack laptop sleeve , but it still feels sturdy . It ’s a slurred , relatively heavy gambling laptop that ’s not trying to swash the most power per square inch . Based on those prosody , it ’s pretty adequate . I apprize how the new redesign has enclosed the showing while maintaining an HDMI port , two Thunderbolt 4 USB - C Ports , ethernet , and a micro - Mount Rushmore State card expansion slot . The remembering and storage are upgradeable if you think you need more .
I antecedently called the $ 3,220Lenovo Legion Pro 7i 16the “ kitchen sump ” laptop for how much stuff was jammed in , admit the Numpad keyboard . The Predator Helios Neo 16 similarly sports the Numpad by adding a dedicated Francis Scott Key to bring up the PredatorSense software system . Despite being the same size , its design find more cramped with the broaden , pointless Copilot keystone and withered right shift . Other than that , the individual key sense all right , though just a hair too diffuse for most gamers wanting overnice feedback . The trackpad is a real bust , with terrible laurel wreath rejection and a dry feeling that makes you immediately jump for the mouse whenever possible .
Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 Performance
Solid Performance With the Included Specs
The Predator Helios Neo 16 , with the glasses on my brushup unit of measurement , is outside what I would want to view a “ budget ” gaming laptop computer . My contour included an RTX 4070 laptop GPU , 32 GB of RAM , and an Intel Core i7 - 14700HX . you’re able to get a wide variety of configurations on the Neo 16 , and at a minimum , you would bear as low as $ 1,200 for a laptop with an RTX 4050 and a Core i5 - 13500HX for last year ’s model .
In Cyberpunk 2077 , I could reach a Qaeda norm of 60 FPS on benchmarks and in gameplay with in high spirits preferences and light beam tracing without DLSS enable . you’re able to easily get closer to a 70 or 80 FPS average in benchmarks and some in - plot areas with DLSS without click off all the ray tracing choice .
Baldur ’s Gate III has have some passably staggering operation update recently . The Helios Neo 16 with an RTX 4070 in Performance mode could do 100 FPS in indoor environment and easily go above 80 FPS in the outdoor environs of Act I. In the city of Act III I , the middling FPS is 65 , dipping to the low 50s . With DLSS Performance mode , you may push it up to more than doubly that if you ’re desperate to take reward of the 240 Hz display on a turn - based secret plan . Otherwise , you could get a few more frames out of Quality modality and take the time to enjoy the visuals instead .
Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
In a plot like Horizon : Forbidden West , I managed a satisfying 60 FPS on gamy setting , whether in outside environments or interiors . Suffice it to say that with these specs , you ’ll hit self-coloured underframe charge per unit on any plot you ’d think of trying . On Geekbench 6 and Cinebench CPU tests , I could hit just under that of the Legion Pro 7i 16 with its Intel Core i9 - 14900HX in single - core tests , though more in multi - core . That ’s reasonably bloody good , considering the price dispute between the two machines . The CPU will beat theAsus ROG Zephyrus G14 ’s AMD processor if you only care about top speeds . In 3-D Mark tests like Time Spy , you ’ll begin to sympathise the difference between a more and less expensive laptop computer , even with the RTX 4070 . That being pronounce , it ’s still square .
And yet , there are enough heat issues that I would suggest not gun for the most intense specs on this budget - favorable laptop computer . If I were denounce for one of the Helios Neo 16 models , I would first consider one of the sub-$1,500 models with an RTX 4060 , but do n’t take these benchmarks to mean anything for cheaper simulation .
Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 Screen and Sound
An Okay Display Combined with Lackluster Audio
The Helios Neo 16 now lark up to a 240 Hz WQXGA display ( 2560×1600 ) . It ’s just your steady old IPS LCD with a express 3ms reception time , so if it were n’t for the high refresh rate and make - in Nvidia G - Sync , this screen would seem rather barebones .
You would want the 240 Hz refresh rate for those twitchy multiplayer shooters or MOBAs that need those fastness , and you would likely involve to cut down your in - game graphical setting to find a matching framerate . For somebody buying a sub-$2,000 gaming machine , I would suggest a better - look silver screen to match the higher - faithfulness artwork rather than find something that will press higher refresh rates .
We test the display light and recorded 500 nit bill at full - silver screen , which is exactly what Acer promises out of the box . It ’s smart enough for your daily usage but wo n’t wow you .
reasoned - wise , you could do bad , but not much forged . The Helios Neo 16 wo n’t be your first terminus for quality sound recording . Even something as elementary as a YouTube telecasting sounds bum and echo - y. The freshwater bass is absentminded , and you wo n’t finger like you ’re getting about as adept an auditory experience as you would performance .
Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 Battery Life
It Really Wants to Stay Plugged In
Even on Eco mode with automatic screen dimming and no RGB lights dynamic , the Predator Helios Neo 16 seemed to drain the battery like a leaky gravy boat . I cast off the magnate cable and just allow it ride there , running with nothing really happening on screen , and within less than 30 transactions , I assure back to see it ply down by 20 % . After about two hours , I was in the red .
On Balanced preferences , doing just some typical productivity and browse . I did n’t get two hours of battery life before it need a minute of juice . It was so flying I hold in PredatorSense to ensure there were n’t any issues , but the monitoring software give me the thumbs up .
This car want to keep you hooked up on your screen background everlastingly . Like an old man past his prime , you should only consider take it out of doors if you do n’t ask it to run too long .
The Acer Predator Helios Neo Tries to Be Too Many Things
Acer ’s budget - favorable design works in many different ways , and if all you need is a gaming laptop that wo n’t bring out the camber for the quality of its specs , it does knead . However , there are tradeoffs ; there are too many to justify it for much , but there are rather strict use display case . I would n’t think about buy a version that costs nearer to $ 2,000 , but you could debate one below $ 1,500 , where the tradeoffs make more sense . Even if the laptop computer looks like it ’s pack enough major power to warrant itself , remember that this could be used beyond gaming . With unfit phone , an okay screen , and lackluster usability , it just wo n’t make much sentience for all but the optical maser - focus gamer .
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