Review of the Acer Predator Helios 500
INTRODUCTION
Exactly what is
the Predator Helios 500 from Acer?
So, is the Acer
Predator Helios 500 a real contender for one of the best high-end gaming
laptops of the year?
Design and Build: Acer Predator Helios 500
First of all, you
might want to look at some other gaming computers if you want a machine you can
take with you every day. The Helios 500 is a real giant, and it weighs just
over 4 kg. Really, you could use this thing to protect yourself from a huge
bear.
When you add in
the heavy power adapter, which could possibly also be used to scare off that
second bear, you have quite a heavy package to carry.
The Gigabiye Aorus
X5, for example, is much easier to carry around. It weighs only 2.5kg, which
isn't too heavy. The Gigabyte Aero 14 is even lighter, weighing less than 2 kg,
so you won't hurt your back carrying it.
Obviously, if you
want beefy speed without the risk of throttling, portability will have to take
a hit. The Helios 500 is built like a brick portaloo because it has some
serious specs and needs a serious cooling system to handle them. So, it's best
to leave it on a desk and only take it with you when you need it. And if you do
need to take it somewhere, don't count on the Predator fitting into a regular
bag. Not only is it heavy, but it's also quite big.
Still, I have
nothing bad to say about the way it was made. The Helios 500 has a solid
plastic frame that doesn't bend or seem weak in any way. Even though I wouldn't
suggest dropping it, this laptop can handle bumps and bangs with a smile.
Connectivity is an
area where gaming computers really can't cut corners. The Predator Helios 500
is equipped with a lot of ports, so you can connect any drives, screens, and
other devices you want. There are three Type-A USB 3.0 ports and two
Thunderbolts, so you can plug in everything you need without running out of
room. Around the back, there are also ports for HDMI and DisplayPort. And, of
course, there's Ethernet, which guarantees a link that doesn't stutter.
The keyboard and touchpad of the Acer Predator Helios 500
It's not
surprising that the Helios has a full keyboard, given how big this monster is.
There's pretty much everything you could want, like a separate keypad and five
shortcut buttons that you can set up to three different ways.
Even the cursor
keys are a good size, which is so rare that it's something to be happy about.
Still, there is no space between the regular keyboard and that keypad, so I
sometimes hit the numbers instead of the return key when I was trying to hit
it.
The keyboard on
the Helios 500 has a hard finish and works well enough for fast-paced action
games. If you want to use the Predator for something other than shooting fools
in the face, it's also a comfy way to write essays or emails in your spare
time.
In contrast to the
dazzling illumination featured on many gaming laptops, which can almost cause
you to lose your vision, the LED lights that illuminate the keyboard on the
Helios are surprisingly understated. The board is divided into four different
areas, and each one can be lit with a different colour. This is easy to set up
with Acer's PredatorSense app, which comes pre-installed and is also used to
set up the five shortcut buttons. Even on full brightness, the backlighting is
rather weak (although still just about strong enough to highlight each key in
complete darkness).
A border of LED
lights can also be used to light up the keyboard. It’s definitely far from
ideal for anything beyond simple games, with patchy responsiveness when using
the keyboard at the same time. However, it’s perfectly smooth and responsive
for everything else, and I love that Acer has included separate mouse buttons,
positioned beneath the pad.
But one important
thing that isn't there is some kind of fingerprint reader. Because the Helios
500 doesn't work with Windows Hello, you have to type in a password every time
you want to open it.
The screen of the Acer Predator Helios 500
When you buy a
Helios 500, you can choose between a 17.3-inch screen with a Full HD resolution
or a 17.3-inch screen with a 4K resolution. This depends on the level of
graphics you want. Our review model was the FHD version, and I thought the
images were still clear and detailed enough for gaming or watching a movie when
your fingers get tired.
Besides being
cheaper, the 144Hz refresh rate is a good thing about the Full HD type. This
makes for a very smooth experience, which is great for driving games, shooters,
and other games with a fast pace.
Even though it's
not perfect, the colour accuracy is very good. When I put it through the
Trusted Reviews benchmarking process, I found that it could recreate 97% of the
sRGB gamut and 75% of the AdobeRGB gamut. This is about the same as competitors
like the Aorus X5 and a clear win over the Razer Blade 15.
If you use the usual settings and the
most brightness, the colour temperature will be around 7700k, which is cooler.
However, you can change this to your liking in the display settings. The 632:1
contrast isn't as good as most of the competition, which goes up to 1000:1.
One small problem with the Helios 500
is that it isn't very bright. If you turn it all the way up, the Predator comes
close to 300nits, which is fine for gaming inside. But if you try to play
anything outside on a warm day, you'll have to close your eyes a lot. Even
though that big panel has a matte finish, it can't help in darker scenes like
those in Rise of the Tomb Raider.
Acer Predator Helios 500 – Audio
Most of the sound comes from the audio
speakers, which are on either side of the laptop. And, as you might expect from
such a big laptop, the sound it makes is pretty meaty.
At full level, the Helios 500 makes a
loud, full-bodied sound, but the quality is still good. I had no problem
playing single-player games without headphones, but I still needed a good
surround sound headset for internet games.
The performance of the Acer Predator
Helios 500
For next-generation speed, you can
upgrade to a Core i9 chipset, but our Helios 500 review unit came with a less
powerful Core i7-8750H chipset. This was made possible with 16GB of RAM.
Even though it wasn't as good as some
of its more expensive competitors, this base model still did a good job.
Gigabyte Aorus X5 and Asus ROG G703 beat the Helios 500 in our regular PCMark
and Geekbench tests. But the numbers that came out showed that this machine can
still do great things.
|
|
PCMark 8 |
Geekbench 4 single-core |
Geekbench 4 multi-core |
|
Acer Predator Helios 500 |
4689 |
4547 |
14027 |
|
Gigabyte Aorus X5 |
5075 |
5468 |
21292 |
|
Asus ROG G703 |
5579 |
5266 |
17409 |
The Predator's
graphics are where it really displays its teeth. The excellent cooling system
of Nvidia's GeForce GTX 1070 gives it real power, preventing throttling even
during lengthy, taxing gameplay sessions.
The Helios 500, when
run in its default configuration, achieved the following results:
3DMark:
·
A score of 12530 in 3DMark Firestrike 1.1
·
Sky Diver 1.0 on 3DMark: 30594
·
3DWrite in 28602 for Cloud Gate 1.1.
· Version 1.2 of 3DMark Ice Storm: 168846
Found that Rise of the Tomb Raider worked great in this mode with all the details turned up. But if you really want to push the laptop to its limits, you can also use Acer's PredatorSense app to speed up the GPU. This is easy to use and comes with full fan control and temperature monitoring in a way that is clear and easy to understand. So, the Helios 500 is good for gamers who aren't as tech-savvy but still want to get the most out of their computer but don't want to deal with some of the more difficult and risky parts of overclocking.
SEE ALSO : Review of IGTOK: Is it a Scam ?
Rise of the Tomb
Raider looked absolutely incredible when the GPU was set to "turbo"
and 144Hz mode was turned on. In the Mountain Peak test, the Helios averaged
134 frames per second. Syria gave us 104fps, and the Geothermal Valley gave us
101fps. This is about the same as when we tested the same game on the Gigabyte
Aorus X5 and Asus ROG G703 with the highest settings. There are no stutters,
screen breaking, or other problems during action scenes.
Even so, those two
AeroBlade fans keep the air moving in a very quiet way. The hot air that comes
out of the Predator is sometimes strong enough to roast marshmallows, so keep
those vents clean at all times. I never worried about the machine itself
getting too hot. And, as was said, Acer's app lets you check the temperature of
your machine.
Still don't think
that gives you enough power? You can also choose an Acer Predator Helios 500
with an i9-8950HK CPU, which is a very powerful chip. Its Geekbench 4
multi-core score comes in at a very impressive 21,283, which is notably better
than i7 Predator Helios 500. How does it compare in how well it plays games?
There isn't a big difference here, and sometimes our benchmark numbers for Rise
of the Tomb Raider were even worse than for the i5 Predator Helios 500.
Comparison | Acer Predator Helios 500 (i9) | Acer Predator Helios 500 (i5) |
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Mountain Peak) | 134fps | 120fps |
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Syria) | 104fps | 103fps |
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Geothermal Valley) | 101fps | 109fps |
Nothing shocking
about that, really.. These days, the processor doesn't have as much of an
effect on frame rates as the GPU does. Even so, the i9 model is still a good
choice if you play a lot of processor-intensive games like Warhammer and Civilization,
since it cuts startup times by a lot.
The speeds of SSDs,
on the other hand, are not very good. CrystalDiskMark measured read and write
speeds of 523Mbps and 482Mbps, which is slower than most gaming competitors.
The Acer Predator Helios 500's energy life in 3DMark
When a challenging
game is loaded, the Helios 500 usually dies in just under two hours. Quite a
bad result, but as we've already said, this machine was made to sit on a desk
and only go on the road rarely.
The Helios 500 once
again didn't surprise in the usual Trusted Reviews benchmarking, which is just
a loop of simple tasks like browsing the web and watching videos. When fully
charged, this powerful machine will work for just over two hours. Considering
that's what you get with the Helios 500 even for fairly easy jobs, that's not
very good.
Is the Acer Predator Helios 500 worth buying?
When it comes to
speed, the Predator Helios 500 definitely checks all the boxes. Because the
GeForce GPU can be overclocked and has a reliable cooling system, you can play
even the most demanding games with the picture levels turned all the way up.
There are, of course,
some problems with the Helios, especially when compared to high-end machines
like the Asus ROG and the Aorus X5. The big, heavy body and short battery life
make this Predator hard to move around, so you'll want to keep it on a desk as
much as possible.
Verdict
Even though it's not
very portable and has a few small flaws, this is a good high-end gaming laptop
because it runs smoothly and stays cool. Just keep an eye on how much power is
left.
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