Acer Predator Helios 16 Review – The Ultimate High-Performance Gaming Laptop

A 16-inch gaming monster with swappable keycaps and an NVIDIA 4080 GPU.

The Acer Predator Helios 16 is the platonic ideal of a desktop replacement gaming laptop, stuffed to the cooling fans with some of the greatest gaming parts out there, like an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, Intel Core i9-14900HX, 32GB of DDR5-5600 RAM, and a 2TB M.2 SSD.

The exact config I tested is the 16-inch Helios 16 PH16-72-9110, currently on sale for $2,099. It’s more than capable of handling every game I booted up with aplomb but somehow still remains more reasonably portable; I carried this beast back and forth to work several times without the back pain commonly associated with monster gaming laptops.

It also impressed my gaming group. I’ve got a number of friends I regularly play games with. We’re all tech-savvy folks who all built our own desktop computers and crammed them full of the exact tech we wanted. And yet, none can compete with the power Acer Predator Helios 16 brings to the table.

Design and build

As gaming laptops continue to become more streamlined and less gamer-y, the Predator Helios finds a middle ground. At first glance, the Helios presents as a solid, gunmetal black box, booting it up presents a cavalcade of customization options. Not only is the keyboard RGB, but the Predator logo under the num pad, the Predator logo on the back, and the fan pack all offer RGB customizations. Game loudly with strobing lights, or disable them all and go stealth mode on a laptop that could easily pass for a sleek work machine.

The craftsmanship backs this up, with sturdy hinges and a solid body. With all the power behind it, the Helios does have some heft to it — 5.73Lbs, to be precise. While that’s nothing to scoff at, it does still sit two pounds lighter than my old college laptop and is even lighter than its less-powerful cousin, the Acer Nitro 17 (though the Nitro does have a larger screen).

The screen is a gorgeous 16-inch, 1440p, 16×10 display with a fast 240Hz refresh rate, the current standard for high-end gaming. With NVIDIA G-Sync supported and a high refresh rate, the display is beautifully smooth whether you’re jumping into an Apex match or just scrolling the web.

The keyboard is a fairly standard membrane design. The key spacing has enough of a gap that I never really worried about pressing multiple keys and the actuation is quick and snappy. The most novel feature is swappable keycaps for the WASD keys, with three options included: a traditional keycap that blends in with the rest of the keyboard, a gray keycap with a divot for easier control when moving, and an translucent keycap that offers actuation with an incredibly light touch. The divot set is great for gaming, though I recommend the traditional keycaps if you’re planning on using the Helios as a jack-of-all-trades device.

Benchmarks and performance

I ran the Predator Helios through our usual battery of benchmarks — Cinebench, 3DMark, Geekbench, and Cyberpunk 2077 — to unsurprisingly excellent results. A GeForce RTX 4080 and Intel Core i9-14900HX will put any build at the top of its class.

For gamers, the big takeaway from the benchmarks should be the 3D Mark scores as well as the Cyberpunk FPS. Across all tests, 3D Mark reported expected FPS of 140+ in Battlefield V, and performed well in Port Royale, a benchmark designed to push ray tracing to the extreme. Similarly, in Cyberpunk 2077, should get smooth frame rates no matter what settings you play on. On ultra settings with no DLSS or other frame generation tools, it averaged 60 FPS, easily meeting the minimum for any discerning gamer. Put on Ray Tracing: Overdrive and, thanks to NVIDIA frame generation, that jumps by nearly 50 percent for seamless gaming on one of the most intense games current-gen games, at the highest possible settings.

Of course, with most gaming laptops, battery life is a pain point. Unplugged, I would see about four hours of continuous life (with RGB) for non-gaming use. Boot a game up, maybe you’ll get a couple of hours. This is certainly not out of the norm, and most folks who rely on gaming laptops like the portability, but expect to plug the laptop in when they actually game. This also does mean the power brick is an absolute monster, so be prepared for an extra pound or two when transporting.

Gaming experience
To try and get the broadest experience, I put the Helios through a few different games: Apex Legends gave a good baseline for esports titles, Cyberpunk 2077 pushed the Helios to its limits, and Portal with RTX is a solid display of the laptop’s ray tracing prowess.

In Apex Legends, I was maintaining well over 100FPS — usually pushing closer to 140 — at almost all times, even with the settings maxed out. Response time was snappy, and tracking felt smooth and natural. Tweaking the settings a little bit would definitely give even more of an edge as you get closer to the 240Hz that the Helios’ display is capable of.

Similarly, Cyberpunk ran like a dream. The game booted lightning quick thanks to the onboard M.2 SSD and continued to perform admirably, maintaining a steady framerate as I cruised through the streets of Night City. It definitely ran a little hot, but with so many settings to dig through, it’s very possible to dial into the exact performance you want.

Portal with RTX was perhaps my most anticipated test, as even my home desktop with a GeForce RTX 3070 struggles in spots. The Helios, however, had no such struggles and ran buttery smooth even as I blitzed through chambers, pushing the game to lag, though it never actually did.

Game settings can be dialed in a bit more with the Acer Predator Sense software. Therein you can manage all of your RGB settings as well as adjust fan and overclock settings. By default, fans will only kick into high gear when needed, but you can also set up your own fan curve or just leave them blasting at 100% all the time. The bigger gaming benefit is easy overclock controls. If you need just that little bit of extra oomph, pop open Predator Sense and switch over to turbo mode, which maxes out overclocking and fan speeds.

If you’re looking for a portable, high-powered desktop replacement, the Predator Helios 16 is an excellent choice. It’s more than capable of handling AAA titles and will absolutely crush esports, whether you’re at home, gaming with friends, or plugged in while traveling.