Acer Predator Helios 300 review (PH315-53 model – Core i7, RTX 2070 graphics)

18 Comments

  1. mind12

    August 11, 2020 at 9:38 pm

    Great review. I saw one in an Acer store but I didn't like the design at all. Not a clean design, it's much like an ASUS TUF.

    "On the Intel side, which is what I’d stick with if I’d be primarily looking for a gaming notebook"
    Why would you stick with Intel?
    AMD Ryzen 4k = cheaper, better performance, lower TDP, better thermals, longer battery life.
    What am I missing here?
    Ok you can't pair them with a high tier GPU but most of us won't go above RTX2060 anyway.

    • Andrei Girbea

      August 12, 2020 at 10:57 am

      My argument is that some games still favor Intel processors and peak single-core performance, where Intel have their small edge. On top of that, there are more and arguably overall better quality Intel SKUs available, including this Helios at $1199 in the US. A comparing AMD configuration is 1300+, and there are very few options with 2060 graphics (RP-15, HP Omen, Lenovo 5 at some point). Haven't tested the RP and HP, so can't comment on those, but I'd carefully look at their gaming/thermals with games in comparison to this Helios. Based on my experience with the 1650Ti Legion 5, it's not going to run as cooly and quietly as this Helios with the 2060, and I'd also expect it to be more expensive than the Helios. I'll try to put up an article on the two once the 2060 legion 5 is available.

      Otherwise, I agree that the Ryzen 4800H is clearly the more advanced platform, but the lack of "proper" implementations could be a limiting factor for many. This Helios 300 chassis with AMD would have been an awesome choice.

      • mind12

        August 12, 2020 at 1:50 pm

        Makes sense. Looking forward to those reviews.

        Browsing youtube and the gamer reddit thread also daily for any upcoming news.
        Gave up getting the Lenovo 7i, the AMD Legion 5 is on the top of my list right now. Still not available in my country above the 1650 Ti. As AMD has serious supply issues with 4800H it won't come anytime soon here :(.
        Regarding thermals, there are a few reviews up with the 4800H + 2060 and the thermals were good.

  2. Marius46

    August 12, 2020 at 7:37 pm

    After waiting for new releases in my country (Romania), I had enough of waiting and managed to get this Helios 300 beauty and I love it. What I wanted to ask you is, did you straight up undervolted it or first you had to enable some BIOS feature ? Thank you!

    • Andrei Girbea

      August 12, 2020 at 7:52 pm

      this unit allowed undervolting in XTU by default. However, retail models might not. I don't think there's a BIOS options for it, I couldn't find in on the Nitro 5 that I've tested recently (that unit did not allow undervolting in XTU).

      • Marius46

        August 19, 2020 at 3:28 pm

        Quick update: I managed to undervolt it it throttlestop and your guide =)

      • Andrei Girbea

        August 19, 2020 at 4:09 pm

        Good to know. it didn't work on our sample.

  3. Shane

    August 28, 2020 at 9:20 am

    This was a great read and very in depth review! I just purchased this laptop yesterday in the same specs you tested and I’m loving it so far. I’m coming from over 25 years playing consoles exclusively so it’s a bit overwhelming trying to learn and take everything in.

    I just wanted to say this review cleared up a lot and made sense of some things I was unsure of. Thank you.

  4. Shadrack Rutto

    September 5, 2020 at 10:19 am

    I read somewhere that Max Q of 2002 have advanced optimus. I don't know if 2070 max Q has it. I am torn between choosing 17.3 2070 max Q with 8GB dedicated memory or 17.3 2060 max Q with 6GB dedicated memory. Both have 1 TB SSD. Price difference is USD 100. Which is better please.

  5. Mohammed Husain

    September 15, 2020 at 7:18 pm

    Does the windows come preinstalled in The 256gb SSD or the HDD??

  6. N K

    October 5, 2020 at 9:37 pm

    Acer is killing competition with this model. With 1200$ you get 10th gen i7 which is undervolted from the factory, it is very good for thermals and good thermals are good for laptop life. RTX 2060 is another super advantage for this price point, with i7 processor it makes great gaming experience. Acer Predator lineup has great build quality and aluminum deck and back in this one will make it very stiff and durable. 144 Hz FHD screen is more than enough for laptop and this hardware as full potential will be reached only in older games or with low graphics settings. Also, it is not super heavy so carrying around will be not a problem.

  7. wayne reeser

    October 19, 2020 at 8:05 pm

    how do you open the back panel? I removed all 11 screws, can't budge the back cover anywhere. I succeeded in popping a silver foot off and gave up, hoping for a video. I have pry tools, can't figure out where to use them on this model. Acer was no help.

    • Andrei Girbea

      October 20, 2020 at 8:26 am

      The back is attached strongly on this laptop. You should work your way around the edges witht he prying tool and pop-up all the snaps, and then you could also use a suction cup to pull the D-panel. I haven't done a video, but you'll probably find some for the 2019 Helios models on Youtube, they're the same.

  8. diov

    November 7, 2020 at 6:21 am

    thank you for this review, I am planning to buy this laptop, now I got more interested.
    may I ask the difference in i5 and i7 model with the features.
    What margin of money should I consider not getting an i7?

  9. Denes888

    November 19, 2020 at 12:55 pm

    Hi! Be aware, that most of the PH315-53 series laptop are equipped with either CMN1521 (RTX2060, most likely all GTX series card) or NCP004D (RTX2070 max-q). Both of them are 250nit display with awful screen bleeding, 45% NTSC and 60% sRGB coverage. I haven’t heard of 300nit displays from real buyers, only in the reviews ( so basically Acer gives top model to reviewers) or at least this is the case in Europe. This is for 144Hz display. I don’t have any information for the 240Hz options.
    Please put it in the review or at least, that there could be different display options, because lot of us buys laptop based on the informations from reviews and we get different spec, than listed. Thank you!

    • Andrei Girbea

      November 19, 2020 at 3:19 pm

      Thanks for the heads'up, I wasn't aware of this detail and I've updated the article.

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