NO, NOBODY THREW their back out trying
to lift this thing. Yet. Acer’s newest
high-powered gaming laptop is, as the
Internet would say, an “absolute unit.”
We truly are in awe of its size. More than
an inch and a half thick and weighing 10
pounds, this isn’t a system for the casual
gamer on the go. It is, fundamentally, a
desktop replacement; at three and a half
grand, it costs comfortably more than
plenty of prebuilt and custom desktop
systems, and is ready to match them in
performance, too.
The hardware inside this machine
is, frankly, staggering. In addition to an
eight-core, ninth-generation Core i9-
9980HK processor, and up to 64GB of
RAM at 2,666MHz, this beast has a full-
sized Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 inside;
not a slimmer, slower Max-Q model, like
you’d find in most laptops, but a mighty
desktop GPU. There’s also one terabyte
of storage, in high-speed M.2 NVMe Gen
3.0 trim, no less. The system has some
monstrous overclocking potential, too,
utilizing Acer’s own PredatorSense
software for easy, on-the-fly system
tweaking and monitoring that can even be
controlled via an app for mobile devices.
Of course, all that power produces a
significant amount of heat. Acer has been
firing on all cylinders when it comes to
cooling solutions for this machine, and
it shows; there are vents on three of the
four edges, and the two powerful fans are
surrounded by a whopping five copper
heat pipes that dissipate the excess heat
from the processor and graphics card. All
that pales in comparison to the ultimateThe monster machine
Acer Predator Helios 700
9
VERDICT Acer Predator Helios 700POWERHOUSE Incredible
performance; 144Hz display;
customization in PredatorSense.
OVERWEIGHT Fans are extremely
noisy; bulky and heavy.
$3,499, http://www.acer.comSPECIFICATIONSCPU Intel Core i9-9980HK
Graphics Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080
RAM 64GB DDR4-2666 SDRAM
Screen 17.3-inch 1080p @ 144Hz
Storage 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
Ports
HDMI, DisplayPort,
3x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A,
2x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C,
RJ-45, audio
Connectivity Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11ac,
Bluetooth 5.0
Weight 10lb
Size 16.9 x 11.8 x 1.6 inchesBest scores are in bold. Our gaming laptop zero-point is the Acer Predator Triton 500, with an Intel Core i7-8750H,
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q, and 16GB of DDR4-2666. All game tests are performed at 1080p at the highest
graphical profile.BENCHMARKS
ZERO-
POINT
Cinebench R15 Multi (Index) 1,030 1,801 (75%)
CrystalDisk QD32
Sequential Read (MB/s) 3,374 3,490 (3%)
CrystalDisk QD32
Sequential Write (MB/s) 2,530 3,221 (27%)
3DMark: Fire Strike (Index) 13,610 22,674 (67%)
Rise of the Tomb Raider (fps) 92 149 (62%)
Total War: Warhammer II (fps) 62 103 (66%)
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon:
Wildlands (fps)^49 76 (55%)
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%in dynamic cooling, something Acer
calls the HyperDrift keyboard, which
slides down the chassis to reveal a vapor
chamber, channeling cool air through the
machine at an incredible rate.
When in use, the keyboard situates
itself at the base of the chassis, while
the trackpad and the bezel around it
fold down to form an angled wrist rest.
This mode truly does away with the
“laptop” moniker the system is clinging
desperately on to; with the vapor chamber
open, this isn’t fitting on anybody’s lap.
The more powerful overclocking presets
demand that the keyboard be extended
and the system be connected to an
external power source (and the charger
is not what we’d describe as “lightweight”
either), and the fans can get very loud
when running at load; we’re talking jet
engine more than desk fan, here.FAN FRICTION
These are relatively minor complaints,
though. With auto overclocking engaged,
the fans rarely hit frustrating volumes,
and are virtually unnoticeable while
wearing headphones (a courtesy not
extended to those around you, of course).
And, yes, while it’s not the most portable
machine we’ve reviewed, it’s still easier
to move around than a desktop PC. If
you’re a gamer who has to travel a lot for
work, or if desk space at home is limited,
this could be an ideal replacement.
When it comes to the external
hardware, the Helios 700 doesn’t let up.
While the screen is only a standard 17.3-
inch 1080p display, it has a refresh rate of144Hz and is Nvidia G-Sync compatible,
which serves to reduce blur and improve
frame rates in games. The keyboard
feels good to use, with “Magforce” WASD
and arrow keys that can detect variable
input pressure to produce an analog-
stick-esque effect. There are also three
mappable hotkeys, which can be swapped
between three color-coded function
groups. The trackpad is illuminated in
cool blue around the edges, and the RGB
lighting of each key can be individually
adjusted in PredatorSense. Our only
gripe here would be that the trackpad
buttons feel a little spongy, but anyone
who owns this laptop should really be
using a mouse anyway.
Lastly, there’s the audio. It’s pretty
good—not mind-blowing, but as effective
as one might expect from a machine
this price—utilizing five speakers and
one subwoofer for effective surround
sound. The Helios 700 also uses Waves
NX 3D Sound to improve headphone
performance, although that’s still going
to be mostly dependent on your headset.
On the whole, though, if you’re looking for
a seriously beefy laptop, this is the way
to go. –CHRISTIAN GUYTONin the lab
78 MAXIMUMPC DEC 2019 maximumpc.com