Acer Predator Helios 16 review: Powerful, gorgeous, and reasonably priced

Acer doesn’t hold back in its latest RTX 4080 gaming laptop, as the Predator Helios 16 is a monstrosity that’s gorgeous inside and out.

The Acer Predator Helios 16 comes at the tail-end of Nvidia’s RTX 40-series GPUs reign at the top of the line-up. If rumors are to be believed, the 50-series GPUs will debut in the next few months. So what does that mean for a gaming laptop launched at this moment in time? The answer is a machine that harnesses the glorious power of one of the strongest laptop GPUs without sacrificing its display quality, all at a surprisingly reasonable price point.

While we were a bit disappointed by its battery life and speaker system, there’s still plenty of reason to fall in love with this laptop, and it could be a contender for one of our best gaming laptops. So without further ado, let’s see if the Acer Predator Helios 16 is right for you.

Acer Predator Helios 16: Specs and benchmarks

Acer Predator Helios 16: Price and configurations

The Predator Helios 16 we reviewed is available for $1,999 at Micro Center. It’s built with an Intel Core i9-14900HX processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 graphics card, 32GB of RAM, and 2TB of SSD storage. It also has a 16-inch, 2,560 x 1,600-pixel IPS display at 240Hz refresh rate.

Acer Predator Helios 16: Design

Need a gaming laptop that’s sufficiently large with a thick base, but is nowhere near as unwieldy as its 18-inch competitors? Look no further, as the Predator Helios 16 feels as premium as it costs. With the laptop shut, the Predator logo on the lid lights up in a gorgeous assortment of RGB colors, while the deck poking out from the back features a transparent layer of glass with RGB underneath that appears beautifully layered.

The only design flaw comes down to its creaky lid, which is not only wobbly, but makes noises that get me a tad uncomfortable whenever I close and open the laptop shut. This isn’t uncommon for gaming laptops, but it always makes me worry I’ll break it by accident, especially as the display easily bends.

The Predator Helios 16 weighs 5.9 pounds and measures 14.1 x 10.9 x 1~1.1 inches. That’s right in line with many of its competitors like the:

• Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 9 - 5.76 pounds, 14.3 x 10.3 x 1 inches
• Acer Predator Helios 18 - 7.2 pounds, 15.9 x 12.3 x 1.1 inches
• MSI Vector 16 HX A14VHG - 6 pounds, 14.1 x 11.2 x 1.1 inches

Acer Predator Helios 16: Ports

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All gaming laptops need a solid collection of ports, as peripherals are plenty in the world of gaming. Thankfully, the Predator Helios does decently well on this front.

• 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports
• 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports
• 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port
• 1 x HDMI 2.1 port
• 1 x charging port
• 1 x 3.5mm audio combo jack
• 1 x Ethernet port

If you're in need of more ports, like potentially the inclusion of a DisplayPort 1.4, you'll probably be best off checking out our best USB Type-C hub or best laptop docking station.

Acer Predator Helios 16: Battery life

We don’t have great news in regards to the Predator Helios 16’s battery life, as it’s worse than competitors. On the Laptop Mag battery test, which involves continuous web browsing over wifi at 150 nits, the Predator Helios 16 lasted 4 hours and 11 minutes.

We don’t expect much in battery life from an RTX 4080 laptop to begin with, as stronger GPUs are naturally more demanding in terms of power. For example, our longest lasting gaming laptops like the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (8:14) and Asus TUF Gaming A14 (10:04) are built with an RTX 4060.

Acer Predator Helios 16: Display

Built with a 16-inch, 2,560 x 1,600-pixel display at 240Hz refresh rate and 3ms response time, this IPS screen maintains the recent trend in excellency we’ve seen from gaming laptop panels, ensuring your experience watching films and playing games is presented on a bright and vivid screen.

I launched Elden Ring and was absolutely floored by how stunning the Predator Helios 16’s display is, boasting a bright and colorful view into the Realm of Shadow. As I overlooked the Scorched Ruins at night, the distinct color of the yellow foliage against the hints of orange wrapping around the Erdtree itself was subtle yet beautiful. The little differences in color won’t be quite as visible on a less capable display, and it’s especially beautiful while a flaming titan that roams the area lights everything up in a bright, orange glow.

Acer Predator Helios 16: Keyboard and touchpad

I adore the Predator Helios 16’s per-key RGB keyboard, excluding one small flaw, but it doesn’t take away from how satisfying it is to use.

I took the 10fastfingers typing test and managed 120 words per minute with a 99% accuracy, which just goes to show how comfortable, clicky, and large the keys are, perfectly accommodating my typing style.

Since this is a keyboard with a number pad, some keys are unfortunately a bit squished in to make room. Acer opted for larger arrow keys at the expense of a full right shift key, which is a bit unfortunate for my personal use, as I regularly utilize the right shift for inserting symbols and special characters. I wish more gaming laptop keyboards would take a note from Lenovo Legion’s keyboards like the Lenovo Legion 5i 16 Gen 9, which lower the arrow keys a tad to ensure that nothing else on the keyboard is reduced in size

It also boasts MagKey 3.0 in its WASD keys, featuring a mechanical switch with incredibly short key travel of 0.3mm, making it ideal for competitive players who need the most responsive gameplay out of their gaming laptop.

The 4.9 by 3.2-inch trackpad is responsive, and I had no issue performing multi-finger gestures like zooming in, swapping tabs, minimizing tabs, and more. It does suffer from the typical issue of most trackpads where the uppermost portion is not clickable, which can be annoying when dragging files, but it’s solid otherwise.

Acer Predator Helios 16: Audio

While the Predator Helios 18 gets a lot right, this isn't one of them. Its speakers are flat, low in volume, and frequently blend sounds together in a way that sacrifices audio quality. We highly recommend having your own pair of headphones for this laptop.

I listened to “Pick Me - Second Attempt” by girl in red and was disappointed by the flatness of the bottom-firing speakers. When the piano keys, percussion, and vocals all blended together, it sounded a bit muddled, and I had trouble identifying the individual elements. Even when the vocals are present alone, it’s noticeably flat. While I would’ve liked the laptop to be capable of getting a little louder, its max volume is decent for listening to music.

But that’s not quite the case with gaming. I launched Elden Ring and was similarly let down as soon as I entered the game and heard the menu’s explosive musical arrangement reduced to a flat, mish-mash of blended sounds. It doesn’t help that the speakers are pretty low in volume, as while I could hear the music, I could barely feel it. As I entered the game and roamed around the Scorched Ruins area, the lowness of my sword slashes sounded flat when I fought against enemies. The atmospheric music especially gets lost in the background.

Acer Predator Helios 16: Performance and heat

If you want a gaming laptop that’s phenomenally quick, has tons of storage, and lots of RAM, the Predator Helios 16 does not disappoint. The model we reviewed is built with an Intel Core i9-14900HX processor, 2TB of SSD storage and 32GB of RAM.

The Predator Helios 16 stays pretty cool in most spots, although its keyboard can get a bit spicy amidst intense gaming with the G/H keys spiking to 102 degrees Fahrenheit, beyond our 95 degree comfort threshold.

Acer Predator Helios 16: Gaming and graphics

Built with an RTX 4080 graphics card with 12GB of vRAM, the Predator Helios 16 yields one of the best GPUs you can find in a gaming laptop nowadays, only surpassed by the RTX 4090, but that can get a bit too pricey for most people’s tastes. Instead, the RTX 4080 delivers performance that is excellent enough to satisfy most gamers.

I played Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree on maximum graphics and maximum ray tracing, and as I roamed around the Scorched Ruins and battled a flaming titan, I maintained around 55 to 60 frames per second, with rare drops down to 50 fps.

Acer Predator Helios 16: Webcam

Built with a 1080p webcam, we usually don’t expect much from a gaming laptop in terms of image quality, but the Predator Helios 16 does a surprisingly decent job at it. I took a photo of myself and was impressed at how the maroon of my hoodie appeared bold and vivid, alongside the pink of my walls contrasting well against the Christmas lights I have hung up. You probably won’t need to invest in one of the best webcams.

Acer Predator Helios 16: Software and warranty

The Predator Helios 16 is installed with Windows 11 and Acer’s own collection of software, even though there isn’t that much to talk about in this case. However, there are a few things you should keep an eye out for.

PredatorSense is your one-stop-shop for modifying settings involving fan speeds, monitoring temperatures, changing power presets, battery, keyboard, screen, and more. You can even perform computer checkups on the battery, RAM, and SSD. Best of all, PredatorSense has a dedicated key within the number pad, which is perfect for quickly modifying settings without having to dig for the application.

Beyond that, there’s the notorious Acer Jumpstart, which is Acer’s way of throwing intrusive advertisements in your face when you least expect them.

The Predator Helios 16 comes with a standard one-year warranty. You can see how Acer did in our Tech Support Showdown special report.

Bottom line

The Acer Predator Helios 16 is an absolute titan of a gaming laptop. It does nearly everything right, boasting powerful hardware without reaching a ridiculous price point, yet never sacrificing the necessity of a gorgeously vivid and bright display. You can also expect a satisfying keyboard, responsive trackpad, sturdy chassis, crisp webcam, and a solid collection of ports.

However, its dreadful battery life ensures it’s best reserved for gamers who plan to remain tethered to an outlet, alongside weak speakers, meaning you’ll want an external audio solution. If you can look beyond those two flaws (or don’t think they pertain to you), the Acer Predator Helios 16 is an excellent gaming laptop to invest in.