Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 Gaming Laptop | Intel Core i7-13650HX | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 | 16" WUXGA 1920 x 1200 165Hz G-SYNC Display | 16GB DDR5 | 512GB Gen 4 SSD | Killer Wi-Fi 6E | PHN16-71-76H5

My gaming rig was on its way out, with an outdated i5 processor, GTX 1060 graphics card (which I paid too much for used on eBay) and 16GB of RAM, so my partner and I discussed what our next PC purchase would be. After much research, I found that the Acer Helios 300 provided a decent integrated graphics card (3060) that could play older AAA titles on Ultra, and newer ones on either High or Medium with little overclocking using stock settings most of the time. Most recently I played the Diablo IV Beta & the Resident Evil 4 remake on High settings, and it looked great on the 1920x1080 screen.On occasion I do plug it into my 4K LG Monitor, or the 4K TV in the family room via HDMI port or Mini Display Port (and doing so increasing the screen resolution to 3840x2160). At this point, its when the overclocking tool(s) become most advantageous. Yes, the fans are a bit loud, but that's normal for these devices. To combat this I pair either my Apple Airpods Max via BT or my Razer THX headset when gaming on the TV. I also use a cooling mat that has a couple fans on the bottom that help dissipate heat.I've also been using this laptop for school work which it does in a flash on anything Office 365. Webcam and built-in mic are more than enough for Zoom calls and proctored exams. This thing is overkill for school work. (Which is just an added bonus.)I've also done a bit of video editing using Adobe Premiere and it renders video files much quicker than my old PC. I'm not much of a content creator, but I imagine this computer would be great for extensive 4K video or other more complex projects.Finally, this machine has several options for expand-ability and future-proofing. Since purchasing it, I have upgraded the RAM to 32GB and have installed a second SSD drive (using the included adapter that came in the box). And I'm happy knowing that there is an empty M.2 slot available when I decide to install a third hard drive for when I need to.I have no qualms about the price, and believe it was more than fair for what's available on the market today. It's a solid mid-tier gaming laptop that's more than capable with keeping up with newer titles. With chip shortages, supply chain issues, not to mention the folks who do bitcoin mining grabbing up all the graphics cards, which in turn jack up prices to insane amounts, it was a no-brainer to replace my aging gaming rig with this laptop instead of holding out hope for a better graphics card in the future.

I bought this laptop back in October of 2024 - waited awhile to see how it would go before I left a review.I'm an Apple guy so I was a little nervous going back to Windows. This laptop is very nice. Windows 11 is very nice also. Windows supplies its office suite as a test drive with limited time before they want you sign up for longer periods of time. I'll probably just buy the 1 time deal for 150.00 and then I'll have what I need. I really don't need the 365 suite.The screen is very bright and does not disappoint. It's very crisp with excellent detail and colors and is 18". I have not noticed any backlight bleed whatsoever. I only had 16" on my MacBook Pro. The screen size was a major reason why I wanted this laptop.The keyboard is backlit and you can change the color to whatever color you want the back light to be. It mainly sits on my desk. I moved it upstairs the other day for a bit on the battery. Battery life is not Apple battery life. It drains fairly quickly compared to my older MacBook Pro, but I'm not travelling with it much and it sits primarily on my desk. The power supply is rather large for it.Some people were complaining about the fans being too loud. Well, its a gaming laptop and some fan noise is expected. If I were a gamer the fans would be louder I'm sure, but I'm only using it for daily activities and I can here the fans but I'm not bothered by them as they are fairly quiet. The fans are adjustable via the Predator software they provide with the laptop.McAffee suite comes with it as a trial. The laptop is quick, grant you I'm not pushing to hard, but I have noticed no waiting when it comes to using it, so the processor speed and memory are fine for me. I do watch movies on it and the 18" screen is exceptional.All in all I'm very pleased with it. My only complaint is that at first the trackpad was a bit touchy. There is however an adjustment for this in Windows 11 to adjust the sensitivity. I noticed it's on sale for Black Friday that is a better deal than what I paid for it by probably 100 bucks or so back in October. If you want a big laptop, just buy it - you won't be disappointed.