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The vast majority of our reviews come from verified purchases. Reviews from customers may include My Best Buy members, employees, and Tech Insider Network members (as tagged). Select reviewers may receive discounted products, promotional considerations or entries into drawings for honest, helpful reviews.

• Rated 4 out of 5 stars

  Predator

  • Incentivized
  • Verified Purchaser
  • Owned for 3 weeks

  It's an improvement to a 2014 laptop. It boots up faster and loads the browser in no time. Updates are accomplished in a short time. The AI to create a theme was super easy and came out in astonishingly vivid colors. I have watched youtube videos and the picture quality is amazing, Youtube video seems to take a few seconds to start on some videos. The sound is really good for a laptop. On occasion the video has stopped and a box opens to wait or close, I've had to close. Once I went back to youtube, it played the very video I wanted to watch. I haven't attempted to find out the cause. Below is a picture of the display theme. The battery is around 6 hours depending on your configurations might be less. This laptop in my opinion is priced about right for a laptop of this quality. This review is based on my limited use of the laptop and not influenced by any future gifts or certificates I may or may not receive.

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  Posted 1 month ago by JamesW

• Rated 5 out of 5 stars

  Great Gameplay and Thermals in Balanced Mode

  • Tech Insider Network Member
  • Top 250 Contributor

  The Acer Predator Helios Neo 16S AI, while a mouthful to say, is an impressive gaming laptop with only a few caveats. My model came configured with the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX, the RTX 5060, a 1TB SSD, and 16GB of DDR5-6400 memory. This is one of the lightest 16” laptops I’ve ever owned at just 4 lbs 12 oz. It’s also one of the thinnest and maintains a small footprint except for a thermal shelf that juts out from behind the screen. I do not care for it as it makes the laptop deeper and harder to fit in a bag. Otherwise, the build quality is decent, if slightly less premium than competitors. The chassis flex is minimal, the screen flex is minimal, and it can be opened easily with one hand. The hinge is fluid so overall a good build. Acer also includes a laptop sleeve to help protect it, something I haven’t seen recently from other brands. The port availability is great, with two USB-C 3.2 10Gbps (one being Thunderbolt 4), three USB-A (2 10Gbps), HDMI 2.1, 2.5Gbe ethernet, combo audio jack and microSD. The laptop also features a full-size keyboard with a number pad and a large precision trackpad. The keyboard is comfortable to type on, but the trackpad is more “clicky” than I’d like. There is a button above the keyboard that looks like the power button at first glance. This button, however, allows you to change performance modes. The button will light a different color depending on which mode is in use: Quiet, Balanced, Performance, or Turbo when plugged in or Balanced or Eco modes when on battery. The button can also be configured to just turn Turbo on or off with the PredatorSense software. It’s a nice feature to be able to quickly see which mode you are in by the button’s color and change it as needed, but it took me a while to remember which color is which and I don't think it can be changed. The display on this laptop is simply stunning. It is a gorgeous 2560x1600 OLED panel with up to 500nits of brightness and a 240hz refresh rate. Whether HDR is on or off, colors pop and games are incredibly vibrant and immersive. Blacks are inky, and grey colors are accurate. The screen is so good I’d rather play on this laptop with this screen even at a lower framerate. That said, the screen is very glossy, and will show every reflection in a lit room, making darker content harder to see and potentially causing eyestrain. The Core Ultra 9 delivers impressive CPU performance as it’s one of the best laptop CPUs you can get in 2025. In my tests it scored 3003 in Geekbench 6 Single-core and 17,135 in the multi-core score. With the popular 3D Mark Time Spy benchmark, it scored 12,130 overall with the graphics scoring 11,888 and CPU scoring 13,173. This laptop feels a bit lopsided with such a high-end CPU but lower-tier graphics card. However, I found that the RTX 5060 provides a great gaming experience at the native resolution. Games I played were Madden 26, Halo Infinite multiplayer, Rocket League, Fortnite, Farming Simulator 25, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and Doom The Dark Ages. None of these games gave me any issues and played great. The 5060 can go to a maximum of 115W and from what I’ve seen so far is about the equivalent of the RTX 4070 in my last-gen laptops. Here are some in-game benchmarks in Turbo mode at native resolution: Borderlands 3 – Ultra Preset – 73 FPS Shadow of the Tomb Raider – Highest – DLSS Quality -125 FPS Cyberpunk 2077 – Ultra DLSS w/ 4X Frame Generation (No Raytracing): 171.88 F1 25 – Australia Wet - Ultra DLSS w/ 4X Frame generation: 95 FPS I found the fan noise on Turbo mode to be unbearable. While Performance mode can eke out a few more frames, I was most comfortable playing on Balanced mode, which limited the fan noise considerably. The laptop still stayed cool, and I didn’t notice any heat near the WASD keys while playing Doom. These are the same benchmarks in Balanced mode: Borderlands 3 – Ultra Preset – 67.25 FPS Shadow of the Tomb Raider – Highest – DLSS Quality: 111 FPS Cyberpunk 2077 – Ultra DLSS w/ 4X Frame Generation (No Raytracing): 159.02 F1 25 – Australia Wet - Ultra DLSS w/ 4X Frame generation: 71 FPS If you’re someone who just wants to play and doesn’t ever look at the graphics settings, you will love this laptop even if the RTX 5060 is the bottleneck for gaming performance. With the exception of older titles like Rocket League, you will need to lower the resolution to 1080p to even get close to the 240hz refresh rate. The laptop has “AI” in its name but 8GB of video ram does not get you very far when it comes to working with LLMs locally. And while using exclusive RTX 5 series features like DLSS 4 and Multiframe Generation feel like magic at times I can’t help but notice that the 5070 TI version of this laptop is only a few hundred dollars more with 12gb of video memory and gives you twice the system memory. The speakers on this laptop are better than I would have expected. While you’ll want to use headphones in most situations, I played every game above with just the speakers and I thought they were fine, except in Turbo mode, which just drowns out nearly all sound from the speakers. Upgradability on this laptop is very good as you can replace the SSD, the RAM, and the Wi-fi module. There’s also a second slot available for 2280 M.2 drives, but shorter drives will not fit. The chassis is not that easy to get into as it uses Torx T6 screws and there are multiple retaining clips that must be pried apart carefully and a lot of thermal tape in the way that would need to be removed to get access to items like the RAM. My unit came with 2 8GB modules of SK Hynix DDR5-6400, so you will need to replace both if you want to go to 32GB. The laptop comes with a 230W power brick and can also accept PD over USB-C up to I think 90W. To keep things lightweight the battery is only 76Wh, and with the large high-refresh screen you won’t be able to go too far from a power outlet. Like most laptops with NVIDIA graphics, attempting to game on battery is a short and disappointing experience. A couple of final things to note such as the annoying “whoosh” startup sound out of the box. Luckily it can be disabled either in the UEFI settings or PredatorSense. There is also a fair amount of annoying bloatware that needs to be removed including anti-virus, cloud storage promotions, and an app called Acer Quick Panel that kept popping up with no way to disable it other than to uninstall it. Pros: - Incredibly Powerful Intel Core Ultra 9 - Great Gaming Performance - NVIDIA DLSS 4 and Multi-frame Generation - Full-size keyboard with number pad. - Thin and Lightweight - Gorgeous OLED 2560x1600 240hz with HDR - Includes Laptop Sleeve - Upgradable RAM, SSD, and Wi-fi - Intel Killer Wi-fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 Cons: - Fans Too Loud in Turbo Mode - RTX 5060 Limits Potential - Predator Start Up Noise - Some Bloatware Overall – this is a very nice thin and light laptop, with a powerful high-end CPU, but with a lower-tier graphics card that keeps it from being a gaming powerhouse. I was still impressed at how well it performs out of the box, especially the thermals on balanced mode, which is the sweet spot in my opinion. 4.5/5

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  Posted 3 months ago by Titan5178

• Rated 4 out of 5 stars

  Despite a few shortcomings, it gets the job done

  • Tech Insider Network Member

  Before I start a warning: If your unit doesn't power on, make sure the adapter is fully seated. It will make an audible "snap" when properly seated and the light on the right hand side will illuminate to most likely an orange hue indicating the battery is not charged or not at capacity. You may need to charge your battery as it needs to have a charge too in conjunction with the AC Adapter to power on. My unit arrived with a completely discharged battery which is ok. I just let mine charge overnight and in the morning my orange light on the right side was a nice shade of blue and the laptop fired right up. The Predator line from Acer is their top tier line usually brimming with extras from the packaging on down. I very much liked the step up in packaging and presentation from other Acer laptops I've used. Compared to their Nitro+ gaming laptop line, you are getting a much better unboxing experience along with a nice silky cover and padded slipcover. The last few Acer laptops I've used have all included nice padded slipcovers that are made to fit their laptops and this makes it nice when using a laptop carrying case that gives it an extra bit of protection. If you want the ultimate in protection, you put the thin silky cover on first, slide the laptop into your padded slipcover then slide that into a laptop carrying case. For the Acer Predator 16, including the slip cover, I'd recommend a 17" laptop carrying case as it is slightly bigger than standard 15" and 16" laptops. WHAT'S IN THE BOX: Acer Predator Helios Neo 16S Laptop w/ cover 230w PSU w/ power cord Some pamphlets along with a Predator style card Padded slip case Unlike some gaming laptops, the Predator only weights 4.73lbs. Since Acer wanted to prioritize size and weight along with capability, even the power adapter only weighs 1.7lbs equaling a combined weight of 6.43lbs. I have a few 18" gaming laptops and the combined weight of everything is still 2-3lbs less than just the 18" laptop itself. Once held in hand, you can really feel the sleekness and lighter weight. MY SPECS (direct from system info / Device Manager): Intel Ultra 9 275HX CPU (145w) Nvidia RTX 5060 8GB GPU (85w) 16" 240hz 500nit OLED 2560x1600 display SK Hynix 16GB DDR5 memory (2x8GB) 6400 removable SK Hynix nVME 1TB SSD Killer 6E AX1675i WiFi PORTS: Ports are plentiful and encompass the right (2x USB 3.2), left (Ethernet, USB 3.2, MicroSD and Headphone Jack) and rear (Power, HDMI, USB-C TB4, USB-C 3.2). I like that the Predator has a wide selection of ports. GAMING: My main games are World of Warcraft and Fallout 76 and this was the first problem I encountered. The CPU is plenty powerful enough for all modern games but unfortunately the 5060 8GB is a bit underpowered to drive the 16" 2560x1600 display (1440p+) effectively. I ended up dropping my resolution in both games to 1080p and dialing down some of the special effects to get a smoother 80-100fps+ experience everywhere. If I stuck with 2560x1600, I found myself having to reduce World of Warcraft from Ultra 10 to a rating of about 5 and turning off ray tracing to keep up a consistently smooth playing experience. I dialed down Fallout 76 to half settings at 2560x1600 to make it acceptable especially in encounters like the SBQ, Earl and EN where with details pumped up and/or using native resolution, performance just absolutely tanked. BENCHMARKS AND THERMALS: While benchmarking and stress testing, the CPU did regularly and quickly overheat and throttle. It also got plenty warm even playing World of Warcraft spiking into the 90s. Modern CPUs are designed to be able to turbo as much as possible and throttle down when they hit their max heat allowed so this is to be expected in certain, smaller chassis laptops. On the other hand, the GPU ran cool enough never exceeding 75c in Timespy and running even cooler in World of Warcraft and Fallout. In Cinebench R23, the Intel 275HX scored 33000 initially but subsequent runs were met with thermal throttling and by the third run it was down to 26000. In Timespy, the CPU again thermal throttled but the GPU had no problems staying cool enough scoring about ~11k GPU score putting it on par with a mobile 3070ti. BLOATWARE: While not as bad as my last Acer Nitro laptop, Acer continues to pack in a lot of bloatware and 3rd party offers/programs. I do wish they would stop doing this and either minimize the amount of bloatware or none at all. DISPLAY: This is probably the star of the show for the Predator. The 16" 240hz 500nit OLED display is absolutely stunning. I am fairly new to the OLED game over the last few years but one of those experiences was with an Acer 16" 1080p OLED AMD laptop and that screen was also stunning. I have zero complaints about this gorgeous screen and games and just general usage look spectacular on it. Once you've used an OLED display, it makes it hard to switch back to IPS and especially VA displays. Even MiniLED pales in comparison. SOUND: I found the sound reproduction to be slightly above average for the laptops I've tested and used in the past. The bass is lacking as it is on most laptops this size but still it is loud and punchy and easy to hear with good distinction. MEMORY AND STORAGE: I must applaud Acer for including two fully replaceable DDR5 SO-DIMMs. So many laptops 16" or smaller come with either one or both modules soldered on that including two fully removable modules is a breath of fresh air and a major selling point allowing full upgradability to any memory of your choosing. Need more capacity? You got it? Want to purchase modules with faster timings for better gaming and response time? Go for it. The 1TB SSD is also plenty speedy too. While it is only a Gen4 drive, it gets the job done and 1TB of storage is more than enough to get you going. KEYBOARD AND TRACKPAD: Again, I must applaud Acer not only for a well spaced keyboard but more importantly larger sized function keys. This is a gaming laptop and for some reason many other gaming laptop makers half or quarter size their function keys which are important to gamers as they come into play quite often especially in World of Warcraft. I cringe every time I see or use a gaming laptop with tiny function keys. Acer has some of the largest function keys I've used on a gaming laptop even larger than most 18" gaming laptops. The keyboard itself also is very nice to type on and works very well and is very bright and well lit. I found the trackpad to be functional. It wasn't special but it also had no glaring flaws and worked as needed during testing and general usage. I do like that it is a bit oversized for a 16" laptop and makes it easy to work with having such a large canvas. NOISE: During general use, the system stays relatively quiet with no ramping up and down of the fans. During gaming or stressful tasks, the fans do come to life but that is the case with all gaming laptops. I will say the Acer fans are a bit noisy when gaming. Definitely on the louder side but I've heard worse. PRICING: While it is pricier than many other 5060 laptops, unlike many of those, this one is equipped with Intel's top end series Ultra 9 along with an OLED screen and sleeker and better build quality with better sound and a quality keyboard and trackpad. No corners were cut soldering down one or both memory modules and both the memory and SSD is fully user upgradable. I've spent plenty of time in retail stores trying out several 15-16" gaming laptops and you get what you pay for and this is especially true here. The display and keyboard are your many devices for interfacing with a laptop. You want to prioritize them too. FINAL THOUGHTS: While it has a few issues mainly around the illogical pairing of an 85w 5060 8GB mobile GPU with a 2560x1600 display, CPU thermal throttling and above average noise when gaming, I found the Acer Predator 16 to be well built, small, compact and ergonomically easy to use and lightweight compared to many other gaming laptops. The keyboard is well spaced with proper sized function keys and the touchpad is large and spacious. It has a good amount of starting memory and storage and both are user upgradable which is a major plus. When not stressed, it stays very quiet and is priced well for packing Intel's Ultra 9 275HX, OLED display and above average build quality. I like it.

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  Posted 3 months ago by Electrosoft