Verdict
The Acer Predator Helios 18 ( 2024 ) is a powerhouse laptop computer with strong gaming features and a superb 18 - inch show . Rivals have it crush on raw execution , but it ’s very competitively priced .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
see for the ultimate big - screen play laptop computer ? There ’s a new contender in the form of the Acer Predator Helios 18 ( 2024 ) . With its banging 18 - inch mini - lead CRT screen , cut - sharpness specification and customisable keyboard , it seems design for those who sense that last year ’s Predator Helios .
With a Core i9 - 14900HX processor and a choice of high - end Nvidia RTX GPUs , this Brobdingnagian slab of metal and plastic is n’t taking any prisoners , but has it got what it takes to match other gaming fireball like theAsus ROG Strix Scar 18orAlienware M18 ? I ’ve spent the last two calendar week gambling and benchmarking on this mighty beast in the promise of discover out .
Design
Words like compact , elegant or slimline have no place around the Acer Predator Helios 18 ( 2024 ) . Closed , it ’s an enormous pavage slab of a laptop computer , over 40 centimeter wide and about 31 cm deep , while standing just under 3 atomic number 96 high . With a weight of 3.3Kg it ’s actually bigger and heavier than the monolithic ROG Strix Scar 18 , which is something of an accomplishment . The lid and the keyboard deck are shape from a powder - surface black metallic element , while the groundwork underneath is a solid - feeling matt black charge card , with the drear RGB sports fan showing through a vent if you look up at it from below .
Some of the edges underneath the keyboard pack of cards are more marked than I might like , slimly screw up the primed and refinement , and thing get a minuscule toasty if you ’re crazy enough to in reality sit this teras on your overlap . Otherwise , I ’ve no complaints . It ’s not precisely silken or stylish , but it ’s a good - face and full-bodied equipment .
Fans of RGB ignition are in for a treat . The Predator Helios 18 not only has per - key RGB light on the keyboard , but dual faint stripe at the rear of the laptop computer , an illuminated piranha logo below the keyboard and a further glowing logo on the palpebra . All have customisable colours and animations through the PredatorSense app , leaving you free to go as subtle or as OTT as you want . It ’s not quite as spectacular a lightshow as we had from the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 , but it ’s awfully tightlipped .
There ’s also no shortage of connectivity . On the left - hand side you ’ll recover a Gigabit Ethernet RJ-45 port , a microSD card slot , a 3.5 mm headset socket and a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type A. On the right there are two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type A port wine . The rear , meanwhile , enshroud the power socket , an HDMI 2.1 outturn and two Thunderbolt 4 / USB Type - ampere-second ports . And , if that was n’t enough , you also getWi - Fi 7courtesy of an Intel Killer 1750x chipset . For most of us this will be more a overnice - to - have until Wi - Fi 7 routers make out down in price , but a little hereafter - proofing is always welcome .
I ’m a big fan of the Predator Helios 18 ’s keyboard . It ’s gravid and spacious , with 1.8 mm of travel and a fantastic , clicky feel . There ’s a consecrate samara for change over carrying out profiles or activating the PredatorSense app , and this is the first laptop I ’ve see to sport Microsoft ’s fresh CoPilot key , which marshal Windows CoPilot to action .
commonly , get per - primal ignition and the power to pick out or create specific lighting zones would be a highlight , especially if you punt at a high level . However , Acer has get going one well here by providing two bent of replacement WASD keycaps plus a keycap removal instrument . The first solidifying , dub MagSpeed , has the same feel as the even keys , but with what Acer call a speed indicator artistic . The second lot , MagClick , uses a mechanical electrical switch with a 0.3 mm propulsion , plan to boost your response speeds in fast - paced FPS game . I ca n’t say I find either secret plan - changing , but then I ’m more of a casual Call of Duty and Destiny 2 player than a Valorant , Fortnite or Warzone maestro .
Gamers tend to use a mouse over a touchpad , but the Predator Helios 18 wo n’t make you reach for one every metre you power it on . Its touchpad is monolithic , at 15 x 8.8 cm , with a fluid , crank - alike surface that ’s sensitive enough for navigating Windows , change game configurations and working in creative applications . It ’s one of the best I ’ve used recently .
Screen
Frankly , the Predator Helios 18 ’s Mini LED screen is the stuff of gamer ’s dreaming , with a 2560 x 1600 firmness of purpose , 250Hz refresh rate and a claimed maximum luminousness of 1000 nit . In the build , it ’s implausibly lustrous with rich , vivacious semblance and laughable levels of contrast . Testing with a tintometer , we sawsRGBandDCI - P3coverage of 99.9 % and 99.8 % , with 93.9 % coverage of theAdobe RGBgamut . We also found a maximal brightness level of 1008.9nits and low black layer of 0.0151 , leading to a dividing line ratio of 66862.9:1 .
What does that entail ? Well , biz face terrific . Even dreary tantrum seem rich with detail , while games that endure HDR can wallop you with deep black and searing highlights without any trouble . HDR picture also looks brilliant , and the sheer size of it of the 18 - in silver screen make it superb for all - round amusement . There ’s something about the 16:10 vista ratio and sitting relatively close that make water gambling on an 18 - in laptop computer as immersive as gaming on a big - screen OLED TV . And you do n’t have to indicate about who ’s hogging it , either .
There ’s some uncollectible news for originative eccentric ; colour accuracy is good , but not quite star , with an average Delta E of 3.73 , whether HDR was enabled or incapacitate in Windows . We had interchangeable issue with the Acer Predator Triton 17X with its 17 in Mini light-emitting diode screenland , and the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 with its similar 18 in elbow grease . That ’s still exact enough for most image and TV - redaction intention , and can be worked around with a little semblance matching and calibration , but it might put you off if you ’re doing colour - critical professional piece of work .
The sound recording is good , but not quite so hard to fault . The speaker system have plenty loud enough , create a broad and immersive soundstage with some depth of musical note and welly in the basso . However , thing get a morsel congested in the mid - range , affecting the overall clearness and punch . I found it well for gaming than for euphony , but I ’d probably still secure some headphones in to get the most out of my game and movies .
Performance
reckon , this matter has a Core i9 14900HXCPU , 32 GB of DDR5RAMand an RTX 4090GPU . You already make out that , banish some calamity , the Acer Predator Helios 18 ( 2024 ) going to be riotous . And so it is .
In our canonic productivity and originative software test , it ’s up there with the libertine laptop we ’ve see , including the ROG Strix Scar 18 . Asus ’s monster pull slightly forrader in the Geekbench 6 single - nitty-gritty and multi - core bench mark , but the Acer comes up cornet in PC Mark 10 . The Scar 18 has the bound on performance in our Cinebench R23 and Blender three-D submit test too , while the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D , with its AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX3D is quicker still . All the same , the difference is n’t huge . There ’s very little out there that the Predator Helios 18 wo n’t chew through without much trouble .
When we get to gaming benchmark , the difference is a slight more pronounced . Where the Asus can hit 105fps in QHD solution and Ultra setting in Returnal , the Predator Helios 18 comes in with 91fps . If you ’re play Cyberpunk 2077 at QHD / Ray - trace Ultra options , the Asus will give you 39.84fps , where the Helios 18 gives you 34.11fps . The Alienware M18 is even quicker , pulling out higher skeletal frame rates across the same tests . All the same , there ’s no reason for disappointment . dally about any game at any detail fix at 1440p or the venire ’s aboriginal 1600p , and you ’re going to get quiet frame pace .
Of course , you ’ll probably need to occupy DLSS to play biz at aboriginal resolutions with ray - trace turned on ; this saw frame rate scud from 28.31fps to 59.89fps , or 87.61fps with DLSS 3.0 frame generation enabled . Otherwise , though , you ’re rifle to get 60fps or importantly in the majority of secret plan , and even high frame rates in more lightweight eSports title of respect . In Rainbow Six : Extraction , for instance , I impregnate the 250Hz exhibit at 1080p and still handle 175fps at QHD .
Our test sample Predator Helios 18 came with two 1 TB SSDs configure as a 2 TB RAID 0 volume , and it ’s stupendously quick . I measured sequential read / write speeds of 12850MB / sec and 12321MB / sec respectively . The ROG Strix Scar 18 ’s similar frame-up deport slightly quicker translate speeds of 13499MB / sec , but dispirited write speeds of 9248MB / sec .
Software
You ’ll find a selection of Acer software package preinstalled , including the Purified Voice Console for audio enhancement in video calls , The QuickPanel shortcuts utility , and the Planet9 play hub . The only essential app is PredatorSense , which supply comprehensive controls over system monitoring and nosology , system lighting and performance profile . While there are no detailed overclocking ascendancy , the Turbo performance profile ease up you maximal fan speeds and overclocks within dependable configurations .
you could also change over between scenario options for daily use , restrained usage and gambling , each with their own customisable fan speeds , lighting effect and public presentation profile . You ’ll take a haphazardness shoot for using the Turbo profile or the Gaming scenario , but it can be worth it . In Cyberpunk 2077 , for example , I found a 5fps uplift by switching to the Gaming scenario when running at QHD , RT Ultra mount .
Battery
Take a good look at the screen , the chill organization and the overall specification , and it ’s somewhat obvious that battery life wo n’t be brilliant even with a 90Whr battery . In the PCMark 10 Modern Office bombardment benchmark , the Predator Helios 18 survived for three hours and 13 minutes before collapsing . That ’s only a safe solvent if you ’re compare to the ROG Strix Scar 18 , which dropped after just two hours and 12 minutes .
On the positive side , the enormous 330W magnate supplying can get you back to 47 % in half an hour of charging and back to fully charge in approximately 90 arcminute .
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
If you ’re looking for big - blind gambling at the highest options , the Predator Helios 18 can give it to you in stylus . The 18 - inch display is sensational , 3D operation is excellent and the feature set is tough to fault . What ’s more , it ’s a little less expensive than some contender , though not precisely tinny .
This is still a hugely expensive gaming laptop , and you could keep open some Johnny Cash by pass little or opting for a lowly and cheaper spec . Other bang-up gaming options are available if you ’re not disposed to slush this variety of John Cash for max options and bod rates .
Final Thoughts
This is another superb gaming laptop from Acer , survive straight up against the mightyROG Strix Scar 18andAlienware M18 , and stupefy the former on terms by several hundred pounds . If you ’re not set on an 18 - column inch model , we ’ve tested a bunch more , and you may find our top picks in ourbest gaming laptopsguide .
While it ’s not quite as tight as these two monster play laptops , the Acer Predator Helios 18 ( 2024 ) is still in much the same park , and it ’s hard to quibble with its gaming features , the excellent screen or the general ergonomics . If it does n’t beat its far-famed rivals when it fare to performance , it ’s still a strong challenger , particularly if you ’re clamber to stretch your budget anywhere beyond £ 3,000/$3,000 to £ 3,500/$3,500 .
Trusted Score
How we test
Every laptop we review goes through a serial of uniform checks designed to gauge key affair , admit build timbre , execution , screen quality and shelling living .
These let in formal synthetic bench mark and written tests , plus a serial of real - world check , such as how well it runs popular apps .
FAQs
Test Data
Full Specs
