Acer Predator Helios 300 Review – 144Hz IPS Laptop

Rating: 8.0.

The Acer Helios 300 is a gaming laptop that boasts two headline features: a 144Hz IPS LCD display and a relatively modest price tag. That screen means you get the best of both worlds with the good overall image quality of an IPS display but with the fast gaming performance of a 144Hz refresh rate. Meanwhile, a price of £1250 is certainly not bargain basement but so far as gaming laptops go it's reasonably affordable.

Elsewhere you get a fairly typical chunky 15.6in laptop design with the addition of black brushed aluminium topping the lid and keyboard surround, along with a few touches of red to highlight its gaming credentials.

Also present is a backlit keyboard and plenty of connectivity while inside you’ll find an 8th-generation Intel Core processor, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 graphics, 16GB of DDR4 and both an M.2 SSD and 2.5in hard drive. That's the range topping configuration while you can also get lower-specced versions that include older generation CPUs, smaller storage drives and GTX 1050 Ti graphics.

The Acer Helios 300 is not going to be breaking any speed records but with that screen and that price it should be an ideal mid-range option.

Specification:

• OS: Windows 10 64-bit
• CPU: Intel core i7 8750H (2.2Ghz – 4.1GHz)
• Display: 15.6” 144Hz IPS LCD, 1920×1080, 16:9
• Memory Supplied: 2 x 8GB
• Memory Type: DDR4
• Memory Speed: 2,667
• Max Memory Support: 32GB
• Graphics Chipset: nVidia GeForce GTX 1060
• Graphics Memory: 6GB GDDR5
• Storage: Toshiba SG5 256GB SATA M.2 SSD, WD WD10SPZX 1TB 2.5in HDD
• Keyboard Type: Chiclet
• USB Ports: 1 x USB A 3.0, 1 X USB Type-C 3.1, 2 x USB A 2.0
• HDMI Port(s): 1
• Microphone/headphone Jack(s): 1 combi port
• Card Reader: SD (XC/HC)
• Audio: Stereo
• Wireless LAN – Intel 2×2 802.11ac
• Bluetooth: V4.2
• Webcam: Full HD type (30fps@1080p)
• Dimensions: 432.3mm x 289.9mm
• Weight: 2.6kg without power cable, 3.32kg with power cable
• Warranty: 1yr RTB

Total cost £1,249 inc vat.

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