Best Acer gaming laptops in 2024

The best Acer gaming laptops combine excellent performance with affordability, allowing users to jump into the most demanding games at a moment's notice. After all, there's nothing more invigorating than getting lost in a gorgeous digital world, becoming addicted to a exhilarating gameplay loop, and experiencing a truly lifechanging narrative.

But to do those things, you need the proper power. After all, this is a medium that requires cutting-edge technology. So whether you're looking for a budget laptop, a premium gaming rig, or something in between, there are plenty of options to choose from. Here are the best Acer gaming laptops on the market today.

If you're in the market for a peripheral, check out our pages for best gaming headsets, best gaming mouse, best gaming monitors and best gaming keyboard.

What are the best Acer gaming laptops?

The Acer Predator Triton 500 SE (2022) is easily the best Acer gaming laptop you can purchase right now, but that comes with the assumption that you have the cash to afford it. This absolute beast of a machine is packed with an Intel Core i9-12900H processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti graphics card, and but our review unit came at a steep cost of $3,000.

If you're looking for something with solid performance, but nowhere near as costly, the Acer Predator Triton 300 SE is under half the cost with admirable specs. Boasting the powerful Intel Core i7-11375H processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 GPU, this is a worthwhile gaming laptop for those on a budget.

If even that's too expensive for you, the Acer Nitro 5 (2022)'s cheapest model is only $999, outfitted with an Intel Core i5-12500H processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti graphics card, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage. Sure, it's nowhere near as powerful as the other stuff on this list, but it's the cheapest one here.

The Acer Predator Triton 500 SE (2021) is also a great pick, and while it might be an older model of our number one Acer gaming laptop, it's also slightly more affordable yet still carries excellent specs. For $2,700, you get an Intel Core i9-11900H processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 graphics card.

The Acer Predator Helios 300 SpatialLabs Edition is easily the most expensive laptop on this list, costing $3,399. It's packed with a 12th Gen Core i9 processor and an Nvidia RTX 3080 GPU, but what makes it really stand out is its 3D functionality that utilizes an eye-tracking camera, a stereoscopic 3D display and real-time rendering technologies that mean you can enjoy 3D without the glasses. It's not at the consumer level just yet, but it is an exciting piece of tech.

The Quick List

Best Premium Laptop

Acer’s updated Predator Triton 500 SE is a sleek, subtle powerhouse you can sneak into the office, get nearly a day’s worth of work done. And if you plug in during your lunch break, you can vanquish your enemies and get back to business. 

Featuring a 12th Gen Intel Core i9 CPU and Nvidia’s powerful 3080Ti GPU with 16GB of VRAM, this Predator is hiding its potent gaming genes underneath a gorgeous all-aluminum, gun-metal grey exterior that is office elegant. Even its air vents possess an understated aggressive look that will excite you.              

The Predator feels lighter and looks smaller than you would expect. However, once you pop it open and see the 16-inch, 16:10 aspect ratio, 240Hz display, you will find yourself totally immersed in whatever you’re doing. I absolutely recommend the Acer Predator Triton 500 SE for those secret gamers who like to accomplish a little bit of everything during their day. If you have the budget to spend anywhere between $2,000 to $3,000, this is the best Acer gaming laptop out there.

See our full Acer Predator Triton 500 SE (2022) review

Best Budget Laptop

Acer is known for making quality laptops at affordable prices, but its gaming laptops (like the one above) can get a little pricey. However, the Acer Predator Triton 300 SE sits in that cozy spot where the company offers its best quality components packed into a relatively affordable package.

For $1,399, you get a powerful Intel Core i7-11375H processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 GPU. On the Laptop Mag battery test, the Acer Predator Triton 300 SE lasted 6 hours and 41 minutes, and it boasts a colorful 14-inch, 144Hz display wrapped up in a sleek and thin chassis.

The only real downsides are the quiet audio and the keyboard and touchpad experience could be a little better. Overall, the Triton 300 is easily one of the best gaming laptops out there to get if you’re on a tight budget.

See our full Acer Predator Triton 300 SE review

Best Laptop Under $1K

Acer’s Nitro series is among the most popular best cheap gaming laptops, but not all of them are good. The latest Acer Nitro 5 (2022), however, leans toward the "buy it" side.

Both models we tested boast strong performance, a comfortable keyboard, and a bright 15.6-inch, 1080p display. However, both also struggle with a dull panel, tiny speakers, and battery life that could and should last longer than the competition. The $999 price for the Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti model isn’t too bad, but a whopping $1,299 for the RTX 3060 is a little excessive, especially with its flaws.

The Acer Nitro 5 is one of those laptops that is a better value the cheaper it is. I’d recommend this to anyone willing to get the cheaper model and wait for a good discount. 

See our full Acer Nitro 5 (2022) review

Best RTX 3080 Laptop

The Acer Predator Triton 500 SE wants to be a gaming laptop that is both easy to carry and easy on the eyes. It brings to the table an increasingly common 16-inch frame with a 16:10 aspect ratio display housed in a relatively compact package. Better yet, the keyboard is comfortable to use during long gaming sessions despite the laptop's thin frame. Under the hood, this gaming rig brings the latest Nvidia RTX graphics and Intel Core 11th Gen processors, a combo you’d expect would help it punch well above its weight. 

The reality is a bit more complicated. Its performance doesn’t quite live up to the hardware it packs underneath the hood. However, the Predator Triton 500 SE gets enough of the basics right to be a compelling laptop for those who want a gaming system with a large display in a relatively portable chassis. And if you’re a stickler for aesthetics, this Triton brings some beauty to the brawn. 

While there is a newer version of this model available, you can still enjoy a similar level of power for a lower price with this 2021 edition.

See our full Acer Predator Triton 500 SE (2021) review

Best 3D Gaming Laptop

There’s nothing new under the sun and what’s old will be new again. But still, I was taken by surprise by the Acer Predator Helios SpatialLabs Edition gaming laptop. Priced at $3,399, this gaming rig is just as packed as you’d expect with a 12th Gen Core i9 processor and an Nvidia RTX 3080 GPU. However, Acer is attempting to bring 3D gaming back to the forefront with its 3D solution that allows you to play AAA titles sans glasses. 

Acer gave me a chance to try out a pre-production version of the laptop to see how it works. And I’m happy to report that the gameplay is definitely better than the 3D gaming laptops of yore. That doesn’t mean there aren’t a few caveats. But if the consumer version of the laptop is anything like my test unit, I expect to see the Helios 300 snagging a spot on the best gaming laptops list.

See our full Acer Predator Helios 300 SpatialLabs Edition hands-on review

How to Choose the Best Acer Gaming Laptop

When shopping for a gaming laptop, there's a lot to consider. To help you choose a system, here are five key points to keep in mind when choosing a system.

Budget: What you get for the money

You can find good inexpensive gaming laptops for under $1,000. However, more powerful mainstream gaming laptops are often priced between $1,500 and $2,000. Premium systems typically cost more than $2,000 and come stacked with a host of high-powered goodies such as high-powered specs and tricked-out software.

Screen Size: 15 inches is the go-to

It's very rare that you'll find a 13 or 14-inch gaming laptops nowadays as smaller bezels and lighter frames have paved the way for seriously thin-and-light gaming laptops. That means the days of chunky 15.6-inch laptops putting a strain on your back are over (almost).

From there, you have the 17.3-inch desktop replacements that like their smaller counterparts are becoming super svelte. But there are still the big behemoths that don't skimp on the specs. However, weighing upwards of 8 pounds, those big boys are made for your home gaming station. 

Screen Resolution: 1080p for high refresh rates, 4K for detail

When it comes to gaming laptops displays, you want to strike a balance between frame rates and aesthetics. And in case you're planning to get a truly mobile system battery life is also deserves consideration. We recommend checking out a system with a 1080p resolution. Panel makers are now serving up screens with high refresh rate, topping out at 360Hz with a 3 millisecond response rate. But don't count out 4K screens yet as we're starting to see laptops with 4K displays with 120Hz. Keep in mind that laptops with lower resolutions tend to have longer battery life overall.

Refresh rate: 120Hz is the sweet spot

Depending what kind of games you're playing, particularly first person shooters and MOBA, you'll take anything that will enhance accuracy. Surprisingly, the higher a display's refresh rate is, the more accurate your shot become. It's a phenomenon that we've experienced first hand during many demos. And while 60Hz is passable, right now we recommend investing in a panel with at least a 120Hz refresh rate. 

Intel or AMD?

A couple of years ago, the answer to this question would have been undoubtedly Intel. But AMD has made a furious comeback with its new Ryzen CPUs, which are delivering great overall performance. Thanks to the architecture in the new Ryzen chips, they're super power efficient without sacrificing productivity. The Ryzen 5000 series CPUs have consistently impressed with its performance versus battery life.

Not to be outdone, Intel's 11th Gen chips are nothing to sneeze at. Laptop manufacturers have started rolling out systems with the Intel's 11th Gen H-series Tiger Lake chips. The 10-nanometer chips are extremely powerful, but still at the low-end of the spectrum with the overclockable HK-series CPU, due to launch soon. Why do you want to invest in an overclockable processor, because with the touch of a button, you can squeeze even more power out of the system. It comes in handy when you're multitasking or playing a really demanding game. 

Battery Life: At least 4.5 hours

Unless it's plugged in, gaming laptop battery life tends to be very short, especially when gaming. However, gaming laptop battery life has gotten increasing longer over the years. So much so, that anything under 4.5 hours is considered below average. But we've just reviewed our first gaming laptop that's lasted into the double digits. With results like that, we expect gaming laptops will match their non-gaming counterparts sooner than later. Our most power-efficient gaming laptop ran over 11 hours and sits on our longest-lasting laptops page.

Specs: 1080p / Core i5 / 16GB Are Best Bets

You can spend a lot of time delving into specs, but here are the key components to think about. If you just want really good mainstream performance, go for a Core i5 CPU, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD and a 1080p screen.

How We Test the Best Acer Gaming Laptops

We put each laptop through extensive benchmark testing — both synthetic and real-world — before they end up in the hands of our reviewers. We evaluate each aspect of the laptop, including its performance, battery life, display, speakers and heat management.

In our benchmark testing, we use a Klein K10 colorimeter to detect the brightness and sRGB color gamut of the laptop's display. For performance testing, we run the laptop through a gauntlet of benchmarks, including Geekbench 4.3 and 5.0 and 3DMark professional graphics tests. 

To determine real-world performance, we task the laptop to convert a 4K video to 1080p resolution and to duplicate a 4.97GB multimedia file. Our real-world graphics test is the Dirt 3 benchmark with medium settings at 1080p resolution.

We also run heat tests by playing a 15-minute full-screen video and measuring temperatures in different areas of the laptop. Last but not least, our battery test consists of continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness. For MacBooks and premium Windows 10 laptops, a runtime of over 9 hours is considered a good result whereas gaming laptops and workstations that can stay powered for longer than 5 hours deserve praise. 

These tests are complemented with extensive hands-on testing from our reviewers who critique everything from the laptop's materials to the feel of its touchpad.

Why Trust Laptop Mag

Laptop Mag reviews over one hundred different laptops every year, from paperweight ultralights to everyday workhorses to lumbering gaming notebooks that scorch the frame rates of even the hottest AAA games. We're not just experts in the laptop field, as we go one step further by meticulously testing smartphones, tablets, headphones, PC accessories, software, and even the latest in gaming. 

We are 100% independent and have decades of experience to help you buy with confidence. In fact, Laptop Mag has been testing and reviewing products for three decades, and we continue to deliver trustworthy reviews you can rely on. 

Our experienced team of writers and editors scour the available information about the laptop and put it through its paces to determine which is best for you. But before they start, the testing team subjects each system to a rigorous regimen of synthetic and real-world tests to see how a system handles the type of work and games you’re most likely to throw at it. 

Our editorial trustworthiness is enforced by one of the world's largest technology publishers, Future Publishing. As a company, we have unrivaled experience across every tech sector — and we're the group's specialist for all things mobile tech.