Acer Predator Helios 700
The monster machine
No, nobody threw their back out trying to lift this thing. Yet. Acer’s newest high-powered gaming laptop is, as the Internet would say, an “absolute unit.” We truly are in awe of its size. More than an inch and a half thick and weighing 10 pounds, this isn’t a system for the casual gamer on the go. It is, fundamentally, a desktop replacement; at three and a half grand, it costs comfortably more than plenty of prebuilt and custom desktop systems, and is ready to match them in performance, too.
The hardware inside this machine is, frankly, staggering. In addition to an eight-core, ninth-generation Core i99980HK processor, and up to 64GB of RAM at 2,666MHz, this beast has a fullsized Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 inside; not a slimmer, slower Max-Q model, like you’d find in most laptops, but a mighty desktop GPU. There’s also one terabyte of storage, in high-speed M.2 NVMe Gen 3.0 trim, no less. The system has some monstrous overclocking potential, too, utilizing Acer’s own PredatorSense software for easy, on-the-fly system tweaking and monitoring that can even be controlled via an app for mobile devices.
Of course, all that power produces a significant amount of heat. Acer has been firing on all cylinders when it comes to cooling solutions for this machine, and it shows; there are vents on three of the four edges, and the two powerful fans are surrounded by a whopping five copper heat pipes that dissipate the excess heat from the processor and graphics card. All that pales in comparison to the ultimate in dynamic cooling, something Acer calls the HyperDrift keyboard, which slides down the chassis to reveal a vapor chamber, channeling cool air through the machine at an incredible rate.
When in use, the keyboard situates itself at the base of the chassis, while the trackpad and the bezel around it fold down to form an angled wrist rest. This mode truly does away with the “laptop” moniker the system is clinging desperately on to; with the vapor chamber open, this isn’t fitting on anybody’s lap. The more powerful overclocking presets demand that the keyboard be extended and the system be connected to an external power source (and the charger is not what we’d describe as “lightweight” either), and the fans can get very loud when running at load; we’re talking jet engine more than desk fan, here.
Fan friction
These are relatively minor complaints, though. With auto overclocking engaged, the fans rarely hit frustrating volumes, and are virtually unnoticeable while wearing headphones (a courtesy not extended to those around you, of course). And, yes, while it’s not the most portable machine we’ve reviewed, it’s still easier to move around than a desktop PC. If you’re a gamer who has to travel a lot for work, or if desk space at home is limited, this could be an ideal replacement.
When it comes to the external hardware, the Helios 700 doesn’t let up. While the screen is only a standard 17.3inch 1080p display, it has a refresh rate of 144Hz and is Nvidia G-Sync compatible, which serves to reduce blur and improve frame rates in games. The keyboard feels good to use, with “Magforce” WASD and arrow keys that can detect variable input pressure to produce an analogstick-esque effect. There are also three mappable hotkeys, which can be swapped between three color-coded function groups. The trackpad is illuminated in cool blue around the edges, and the RGB lighting of each key can be individually adjusted in PredatorSense. Our only gripe here would be that the trackpad buttons feel a little spongy, but anyone who owns this laptop should really be using a mouse anyway.
Lastly, there’s the audio. It’s pretty good—not mind-blowing, but as effective as one might expect from a machine this price—utilizing five speakers and one subwoofer for effective surround sound. The Helios 700 also uses Waves NX 3D Sound to improve headphone performance, although that’s still going to be mostly dependent on your headset. On the whole, though, if you’re looking for a seriously beefy laptop, this is the way to go. –Christian Guyton