Acer - Predator Helios 18 Gaming Laptop - 18" 2560 x 1600 IPS 240Hz – Intel i9-14900HX – GeForce RTX 4080 - 32GB DDR5 – 1TB SSD - Abyssal Black

I needed to upgrade my 19 acer predator (9750H w/ 1660ti a great machine also) been searching for a while, the acer predator supplies a very good product for a good deal. First off going from 15.6" 1080p to 18" 2k outstanding. I was lucky enough to catch this 400 off on sale with a 24 month no interest option. So far its fast, its beautiful and it places AAA games very very well. Heat is always the enemy, highly recommend getting a cooling pad so the fans can pull all the air needed. I cant say enough good about my past and the short experience I have with this beast. Id recommend them. If you get one you wont regret it.

I did many hours of research before buying a laptop this holiday season. Originally I was looking at 4070s, but after watching benchmark videos I realized the performance of it kind of didnt justify the extra cost over a 4060. Further looking into things, the 4080 is about a 45-60% increase in performance over the 4070. While the 4090 was only 8-15% better than a 4080. So my conclusion, was that a laptop with the 4080 would be what the best bang for buck. Also 12GB of VRAM is quickly becoming the bar. Okay, so this laptop. The Acer Predator Helios 18... An 18 inch screen is very nice. There's many models with less, but my preference was not caring about being a bit heavier and bigger and opted for max screen size. The screen looks awesome. 2560x1600 looks sharp on 18". It is also a good resolution for the mobile 4080. I did not realize the monitor also had gysnc until i unboxed! Pro tip: Use alt f3 for nvidias game filter. If the game supports it, you can do some great things. The RGB options are better than most other laptops from what ive seen. You can customize the keys, front logo, back logo, and the "infinity mirror" on the back as well. Very cool. Very slick. Nicely designed. Not too little, but not too much. I think Acer nailed it. The touch pad, is nice. Great size. Very responsive. And i like how just a little tap is enough to click. The interchangeable mag keys are cool. However, use with caution. As i almost had to return because i couldnt get my W key to work after trying them out and just settling on the default key. A friend fixed it... They're just very finicky. I guess I was being too gentle when putting it back on. Performance has been excellent. I was looking at Asus laptops, but based off reviews they just overheat way too much. A larger laptop will give better cooling. Those super slim designs are cool, but if you plan on gaming... then know what you're signing up for. The different profiles in predator sense software make it easy for me to choose between quiet, balanced, performance, turbo. The only time i ran into the CPU overheating was after downloading games then playing them right after and trying to do it all in quiet mode. Generally the GPU peaks at 80c while gaming in performance mode. Which is hot, but good for a laptop. I bought another SSD, from what ive read and seen, it should be easy to put in. You just need the right tool to open the bottom. However I have not done this yet. Will update my review if there are any issues when I cross that road. But from my knowledge, there are two SSD slots. The wifi on it, works great. At my friend's house one of my steam downloads peaked at 759mbs. He has GB internet.. so yea it made use of it. Though I think steam throttled me down shortly after to a steady 400mbs. It also has built in Bluetooth, which I did not know until I unboxed. It's been nice just using the same headset that I use with my phone. Battery life isn't exceptional. You may get 2 hours tops with it just sitting not doing anything. Im not really sure what the standard for battery life is in gaming laptops though. Overall, from unboxing on 12/27/24 till now... My experience with this laptop has been excellent. I bought it on sale for 2k. While cheaper than the competition, I do not see any cut corners or blemishes in quality. It is a fine machine!

This computer is nothing short of amazing. It’s been working quite well for me. I got it for work and gaming. The computer doesn’t overheat but temperatures can get around 85 degrees Celsius on the CPU while gaming. If your working then 60-75. I haven’t seen the 4080 go past 75 degrees Celsius even with high usage. I also bought an external fan cooler and it keeps temps in the 50’s on average. It’s really a great machine and you’re getting the best bang for your buck. Games tested: Roblox - works pretty well around 150 frames but it could be more depends on your setup. Rocket League: 400+ FPS with 1-4 latency which isn’t that bad honestly. It’s very playable and enjoyable. The computer runs smoothly and it’s easy to configure. I do have to remind new buyers to update all software as mine came outdated.