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Acer Predator Helios 18 AI: Two-minute evaluation
The Acer Predator Helios 18 AI is a top-tier gaming laptop computer with an outstanding spec that’s positive to whet the appetites of even informal players. Regardless of what lurks inside, its exterior is remarkably restrained. At 18 inches, it is clearly very massive, however the black end and lack of branding maintain its profile moderately low. Nonetheless, that enormous rear protrusion and ostentatious RGB lighting give away its intentions.
I believe Acer has achieved nicely to maintain the Predator Helios 18 AI as slender as attainable. After all, that is all relative given the scale of laptop computer we’re coping with right here, nevertheless it’s impressively skinny for probably the most half, though it thickens on the rear.
Construct high quality can also be wonderful, equaling the best gaming laptops on this regard. Premium supplies are employed in all places, and the hinge for the lid is {smooth} and straightforward to function, whereas providing loads of stability as soon as set.
The keyboard is tactile and snappy, and the beneficiant spacing of the keys makes it straightforward to kind and recreation on the Predator Helios 18 AI. The quantity pad considerably compromises the format, although, with the area bar paying the very best worth; it’s a bit of too brief for my liking.
Then again, the big trackpad does a nice job of not interfering whereas utilizing the keyboard, with unintended contact failing to register in my expertise. It’s additionally very {smooth} and correct, must you want to use it over one of many best gaming mice.
Contemplating its mighty spec, the Predator Helios 18 AI performs in addition to you would possibly anticipate. Cyberpunk 2077 and Doom: The Darkish Ages ran with aplomb, every delivering fps figures within the a whole lot with most graphics settings, together with these for ray tracing.
You’ll have to endure fixed fan noise when gaming, however fortunately this isn’t egregious when the default Balanced mode is chosen within the Predator Sense app. The Predator Helios 18 AI additionally generates a good quantity of warmth, which may unfold to the edges and the keyboard after some time. Once more, although, this isn’t dangerous sufficient to trigger a difficulty.
The most important worth you’ll must pay for all this efficiency is… nicely, the worth. Beginning at $3,000, the Predator Helios 18 AI is extremely costly. I wrestle to assume who’ll want such a big and highly effective laptop computer, and be keen to pay this a lot for one.
After all, all the gaming laptop computer market is a premium one, however there are higher worth alternate options on the market in the event you don’t want an 18-inch show and triple-digit body charges, corresponding to the wonderful Razer Blade 16 (2025) or the MSI Katana 15 (2023), the latter of which we expect is presently the most effective funds gaming laptop computer round.
Acer Predator Helios 18 AI evaluation: Worth & Availability
- Begins from $2,999.99 / £3,499.99 / AU$7,299
- Vastly costly
- Higher worth alternate options
The Predator Helios 18 AI begins from $2,999.99 / £3,499.99 / AU$7,299 and is out there now. It comes with spare WASD and arrow keys, in addition to a thermal pad improve package for the RAM.
You don’t want me to let you know what an eye-watering sum that is. It’s comprehensible contemplating the spec, and my evaluation unit was much more outlandish, geared up with a 3840 x 2400 show and 192GB of RAM(!).
Costs are much like the Razer Blade, which performs equally too. In order for you one thing that’s even higher worth, the MSI Katana 15 (2023) is, in our view, probably the greatest funds gaming laptops round, in the event you’re completely happy to recreation at 1080p.
Acer Predator Helios 18 AI evaluation: Specs
| Row 0 – Cell 0 |
Acer Predator Helios 18 AI Base Config |
Acer Predator Helios 18 AI Evaluate Config |
|
Worth |
$2,999.99 / £3,499.99 / AU$7299 |
TBC |
|
CPU |
Intel Core Extremely 9 275HX (24 Cores), 2.70 GHz |
Intel Core Extremely 9 275HX (24 Cores), 2.70 GHz |
|
GPU |
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 (16GB) |
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 (24GB) |
|
RAM |
64GB DDR5 |
192GB DDR5 |
|
Storage |
2TB PCIe NVMe SED SSD |
2TB PCIe NVMe SED SSD |
|
Show |
18-inch WQXGA (2560 x 1600), 16:10 ComfyView (Matte), 250Hz, IPS |
18-inch WQUXGA (3840 x 2400), 16:10 ComfyView (Matte), 250Hz, IPS |
|
Ports and Connectivity |
3 x USB-A, 2 x USB-C, 1 x RJ-45, 1 x SD card, 1 x HDMI, 1 x 3.5mm audio in/out; Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 |
3 x USB-A, 2 x USB-C, 1 x RJ-45, 1 x SD card, 1 x HDMI, 1 x 3.5mm audio in/out; Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 |
|
Battery |
99Wh |
99Wh |
|
Dimensions |
401 x 308 x 29.6mm |
401 x 308 x 29.6mm |
|
Weight |
3.5kg / 7.7lbs |
3.5kg / 7.7lbs |
Acer Predator Helios 18 AI evaluation: Design
- Massive however surprisingly skinny
- Comparatively understated
- Wonderful construct high quality
Given its massive show dimension, the Predator Helios 18 AI is a fairly understated gaming laptop computer. The rear bulge that extends past the lid hinge provides it some distinction, and the RGB lighting can mild up the entire unit like a Christmas tree if you would like it to (the bar that runs alongside the entrance edge and wraps across the facet is particularly hanging). However swap this off and also you’ll wrestle to inform it aside from the best business laptops.
It’s fairly cumbersome, though I believe the Predator Helios 18 AI does an admirable job of conserving its dimensions contained contemplating the beastly elements that lay inside. The entrance finish in all fairness skinny, however thickens because it strikes in the direction of the again. This elevated dimension does permit for bigger vent openings, although, so it’s a worthy sacrifice to enhance cooling efficiency.
The general construct high quality is tough to fault. All of the supplies which can be used feel and look premium and sturdy. The lid can also be impressively {smooth} to function but stays sufficiently steady when set in place.
Beneath you’ll discover three toes that run throughout the width of the Predator Helios 18 AI, they usually present loads of grip on desktop surfaces. In addition they elevate the chassis from the floor by a major diploma, once more permitting for improved air flow.
There are many ports on the Predator Helios 18 AI. On the left, you’ll discover an ethernet and a USB-A port, in addition to an SD card slot and a 3.5mm audio in/ out jack. On the appropriate are two extra USB-A ports, which is a wise location contemplating that is the place you’ll seemingly be connecting exterior peripherals.
On the rear are two USB-C ports, an HDMI port, and a big energy cable port. As you’ll think about, the facility provide is massive, however sadly the cable working from the brick to the jack finish is sort of brief. Owing to my setup, this meant I needed to maintain the brick on my desk moderately than putting it on the ground, which was fairly the inconvenience.
Acer Predator Helios 18 AI evaluation: Efficiency
- Implausible AAA efficiency
- Vibrant and sharp show
- Some fan noise and warmth
Gaming with the Predator Helios 18 AI didn’t get off to a very auspicious begin. After I ran Cyberpunk 2077 for the primary time, the sport’s benchmark perform recorded a disappointing 42fps, with the utmost 3840 x 2400 decision and Ray Tracing: Extremely preset chosen.
Some tinkering with the graphics settings resulted in modest enhancements to efficiency, nevertheless it wasn’t till after restarting the sport a few instances that issues instantly improved: I began getting about 100fps, even in busy in-game environments, with out reducing the decision or every other graphical settings.
Related figures had been achieved after I performed Doom: The Darkish Ages, though I did have to alter the DLSS mode from Auto to Extremely Efficiency to get there. Fortunately, this made no discernible distinction to the picture high quality.
And on that entrance, each video games seemed incredible on the WQUXGA show. Colours had been correct and vibrant, if very barely washed-out. This can be a frequent problem on many IPS shows, however right here the impact did little to detract from the awesomeness of the visuals.
The ultra-high 3840 x 2400 decision in my evaluation unit supplied unimaginable ranges of sharpness, whereas the excessive response instances resulted in super-smooth gameplay. It’s additionally able to very excessive brightness ranges, which helps to maintain pesky reflections at bay.
Acer Predator Helios 18 AI Benchmarks
This is how the Acer Predator Helios 18 AI carried out in our collection of benchmark exams:
Geekbench 6.2:
Single – 2,803
Multi – 16,720
Cinebench R24:
Single – 125 13.89x
Multi – 1,728
3DMark:
Hearth Strike – 36,158
Time Spy – 17,341
Port Royal – 12,994
Night time Raid – 60,951
PCMark10:
8,885
Cyberpunk 2077:
1080p Low – 469fps
1080p Extremely – 361fps
1080p Ray Tracing: Overdrive – 128fps
Battery take a look at:
Film playback – 3 hours and a pair of minutes
PCMark10 (Gaming) – 1 hour 27 minutes
Fan noise is fixed when gaming on the Predator Helios 18 AI, however I didn’t discover it distractingly loud. The quantity will increase significantly in the event you set the Predator Sense profile to Efficiency mode, although – you then’ll really want one of many best PC gaming headsets to drown out the noise.
The Predator Helios 18 AI does job of conserving temperatures down. Its underside doesn’t get too scorching, though over time warmth leaks out of each side, which could be a little distracting in your mouse hand. After a few hours of gaming, I observed the underside of the keyboard grew to become fairly scorching, too, particularly across the area bar.
It wasn’t scorching sufficient to make utilizing the keyboard an issue, although. And what’s extra, the keyboard on the Predator Helios 18 AI is nice to recreation with. The keys are clicky however damped sufficient to make them tactile.
They’re a bit of on the small facet (though they’re generously spaced aside), owing to the inclusion of the aforementioned quantity pad. This compromises the format considerably – particularly the area bar, which isn’t so long as I’d’ve favored, and due to this fact considerably awkward to hit with my left thumb.
The trackpad on the Predator Helios 18 AI is massive and really {smooth}, making it straightforward to make use of. Mercifully, it additionally seems unaffected by contact with the edges of your palms, which means it received’t by chance register actions whereas your fingers lean over it to make use of the keyboard.
Acer Predator Helios 18 AI evaluation: Battery Life
- Massive 99Wh capability
- Underwhelming longevity
- Fast to cost
The battery lifetime of the Predator Helios 18 AI is not notably spectacular. Regardless of its 99Wh capability, it lasted slightly below 90 minutes PCMark10’s battery take a look at for gaming eventualities.
This makes it significantly worse than the Razer Blade 16 (2025), which managed about an hour extra, however a lot better than the MSI Katana 15 (2023), which didn’t even final one hour.
Charging the Predator Helios 18 AI again as much as full is a surprisingly fast course of, although – and given the scale of the facility brick, you’ll hope it could be.
Ought to I purchase the Predator Helios 18 AI?
|
Attributes |
Notes |
Score |
|---|---|---|
|
Worth |
The Predator Helios 18 AI is extremely costly, and solely price it in the event you want the very best gaming efficiency in laptop computer type. |
2.5 / 5 |
|
Design |
The Predator Helios 18 AI could be very massive, however is admirably skinny contemplating what’s inside. It’s brilliantly made, too, and the RGB lighting is tastefully vibrant. |
4 / 5 |
|
Efficiency |
My evaluation unit had an RTX 5090 and an Intel Core Extremely 9, so naturally its efficiency is out of this world. The show is superb, too. |
5 / 5 |
|
Battery Life |
The Predator Helios 18 AI cannot final an particularly very long time, however no less than it is able to replenishing shortly. |
3.5 / 5 |
|
Whole |
There’s no denying it is a ferocious gaming machine; you’ll be able to’t actually ask for extra from a gaming laptop computer. However the astronomical worth places it past the attain of many players, and there are lots of higher worth propositions on the market. |
3.5 / 5 |
Purchase it if…
Do not buy it if…
Acer Predator Helios 18 AI evaluation: Additionally Think about
How I examined the Predator Helios 18 AI
- Examined for just a few days
- Performed AAA video games
- Intensive PC gaming expertise
I examined the Predator Helios 18 AI for just a few days, throughout which period I performed video games corresponding to Cyberpunk 2077 and Doom: The Darkish Ages, each AAA titles that present stern exams for rigs owing to their demanding, cutting-edge graphics.
I additionally ran TechRadar’s collection of benchmarking exams, together with a battery take a look at the place I performed a film on a steady loop till the Predator Helios 18 AI shut down.
I’ve been PC gaming for over a decade, and through that point I’ve skilled quite a lot of methods and elements. I’ve additionally reviewed laptops beforehand, in addition to copious quantities of gaming {hardware}.