They keyboard is fairly typical for a laptop: nothing special but nothing bad either. Ideally all three USB ports would support at least 3.0 speeds. So yes, the Helios 300 only has a single USB 3.0-A port, as Acer presumably believes you will use the right USB ports for an external mouse and perhaps keyboard as well. The right gets the power port, a 3.5mm audio jack, and two USB 2.0-A ports. The left has Ethernet, HDMI, a single USB 3.0-A port, and a USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C port, along with an SD card reader. The selection of I/O ports on this laptop is, unsurprisingly, basic. This again is Acer opting for a functional, basic design over something more sophisticated, which is fine for a cheap laptop. These are the only vents around the sides, so all exhaust goes through this one smallish port. It's interesting to see that half of these 'vents' are basically fake, leaving just one half of the total space for actual airflow. The vents along the back have received their dose of gamer style as well, thanks to a massive red outline. Some like this aesthetic I'm not a huge fan.
#HELIOS 300 PREDATOR PLUS#
It's a similar story when the laptop is open: a massive Predator logo below the display, red highlights around the keyboard and trackpad, plus a generally angular design that's typically confined to gamer products. There's no shortage of gamer style around this laptop, particularly on the lid, which features Acer's aggressive Predator logo along with some red highlights. It works, but only because this is an entry-level product. Little attention has been paid to keeping the device seamless, so the end result is a combination of several different materials and textures.
There are two brushed metal sections - the lid, and the keyboard surround - but the rest of the laptop is made from matte plastic. The construction of the Helios 300 is basic, essentially just ticking the boxes for what a modern gaming laptop must provide. A larger 17.3-inch variant is also available. Note: This review focuses on the 15.6-inch model of the Helios 300. Despite the weight and size, this laptop only packs a 48 Wh battery, which is mid-tier for this hardware.
#HELIOS 300 PREDATOR PORTABLE#
It's also around 6 lbs heavy, which is on the upper end for GTX 1060 laptops of this size the most portable often shave two pounds off this weight. The Helios 300 isn't slim, at 27mm thick, and the bezels around the display are as large as most budget gaming laptops. For the price, it seems like a great deal.īut there are some aspects to this laptop that Acer hasn't prioritized. And the display again, it's 1080p, so there is no difference on paper relative to similar products. There's still 16GB of RAM, just like most other GTX 1060 gaming laptops. Some gaming laptops ditch the SSD in their budget variants, but the Helios 300 packs a 256GB SSD in its base model. In this case, the Predator Helios 300 doesn't compromises on specs. After all, whenever a laptop strives to be the most affordable in any category, sacrifices are often made to get there. With this in mind, I wanted to get some hands on time with this gaming laptop to see where Acer has cut corners and whether the laptop is actually worth your cash. But what piqued my interest was the price: the Helios is basically the cheapest gaming laptop with these specs on the market, at $1,049 on Amazon, and user reviews have been largely positive. It's a 15-inch system with an Intel Core i7-7700HQ processor and GeForce GTX 1060 graphics, which is a baseline platform for many portable gaming machines. On the surface, the Acer Predator Helios 300 isn't a head-turning gaming laptop.
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