Acer has switched up its Helios branding for 2023, the Helios 300 series is gone, instead replaced by the Helios 16 and Helios 18. The numbers, of course, refer to the display size of each laptop.

As usual, multiple configurations are available in each chassis, but the model reviewed here is the 16-inch model with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 on board. It’s the most affordable variant, all models share the same processor, but the GPU can be upgraded to an RTX 4070 or 4080, if preferred.

With a completely new design for 2023, I’ve been excited to see how the Helios 16 performs – here’s how it got on.

Design

• Dimensions: 26.9×357.8×278.7 mm
• Weight: 3.9KG
• I/O: 3x USB-A, 2x USB-C, HDMI, RJ-45, 3.5mm headphone/mic, microSD reader

The Helios 16 has a pretty subtle design, for a gaming machine, but it still has just enough RGB lighting to signify that it means business. I’m a fan of this more minimalist look, too many sci-fi flares and angular pieces can often detract from the overall aesthetic.

The chassis is mostly black, and the lid and palm rest are made from an aluminium alloy material, while the underside and screen bezels are made from plastic. The unit feels solid and well-built throughout, though the lid surface is quite fingerprint and smudge prone, which I’m never too keen on. Interestingly, there are hot-swappable shrouds for the rear ventilation. The review unit came with both black and grey surrounds that can be attached with magnets, or removed entirely. I don’t feel like these parts change the overall look that much. It’s a nice idea, but some wilder colours might have made it more appealing.

The Helios 16 keeps most of its cyberpunk styling confined to an illuminated bar that runs along the length of the rear, behind the display when unfolded. I like the look of this piece, but it’s not something you’ll actually get to enjoy while the laptop is in use, it’s hidden by the screen and is only for the benefit of onlookers.

What you do get to enjoy, though, is the per-key RGB backlighting on the keyboard. This is highly configurable and customisable, as is the rear light bar, and the effects are pretty great. Colour gradients shift smoothly and Acer’s PredatorSense software makes it easy to adjust to your taste.

The keyboard is nice to use, there’s nothing particularly special about the switches, but it feels very natural to type on and there’s a good amount of key travel. It’s a slightly mushy feeling, but I was able to touch-type at full speed and found it plenty responsive for gaming.

The touchpad is pretty large and coated with Corning Gorilla Glass. This too is very responsive and I found my fingers gliding over the surface well. But, seeing as this is a gaming machine, I didn’t use it all that often, instead opting for a nice gaming mouse wherever possible.

When it comes to I/O the Helios 16 is extremely well-equipped, there are ports on the rear of the device, as well as down both sides. You get five USB ports in total, a singular USB 3.2 Gen 1 type-A, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 type-As and two USB-C ports which support DisplayPort over USB-C and Thunderbolt 4. There’s also an HDMI port, a Gigabit Ethernet port, a headphone/microphone combo socket and even a microSD card reader.

There’s no denying this is a pretty chunky laptop, especially for something equipped with an RTX 4060, but it does leave room for ample cooling, and you’ll certainly be taking advantage of that if you opt for the RTX 4080 variant.

It weighs in at just under 4KG, and you can add about another kilo to that when you factor in the massive power brick and its cables. This means that it’s not the most portable device, and you won’t have the best time lugging it about in a backpack all day. For at-home use, though, it’s still a hell of a lot smaller than your typical desktop rig, and much easier to take with you on trips or to a LAN party.

Display, speakers and webcam

• 16-inch 240Hz WQXGA 2560×1600 mini LED display
• Stereo speakers with DTS X
• 1080p webcam

The Mini LED display is a definite highlight of this machine, it’s spacious at 16 inches and offers excellent black levels along with lots of brightness. Of course, it’s never going to quite match the inky blacks of an OLED panel, but it’s the next best thing. Plus, it gets a lot brighter than most OLEDs, able to output up to 1000nits at peak, Acer tells me.

It’s a 16:10 panel on this model, meaning you get some extra height compared to a traditional 16:9 display. It’s my preferred aspect ratio for most tasks, it’s great for productivity and translates well to gaming, too.

The panel covers 100 per cent of the DCI-P3 colour space, so it could prove to be useful for creative work. I mainly stuck to things like gaming and watching Netflix, and in those cases, the display provides rich vibrant colours that look great. It has a blistering fast 250Hz refresh rate, as well as Nvidia G-Sync support, so games always look buttery smooth and free from tearing.

The DTS X speakers are capable of outputting some serious volume and there’s a good level of spaciousness and detail to the sound. They have a tendency towards sharper sounds, which could come in handy for competitive gaming, as it allows you to pinpoint footsteps well, but it also means that dialogue and music can sound a little tinny. Most of the time, I chose to pair the laptop with a good gaming headset, instead.

The webcam has an ample 1080p resolution, putting it a cut above the average 720p unit, but it’s not likely to impress anyone too much. I wouldn’t use it for live streaming, but it’s more than good enough for Zoom calls. It handles changes in lighting quite well, too, it always kept my face properly exposed, even in challenging lighting.

Performance

• Intel Core i7 13700HX
• Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060
• 32GB DDR5, 1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD
• 90Wh Li-Ion battery, 330W charger

As I mentioned up top, I’m testing a fairly moderate specification of the Helios 16, with an RTX 4060 and Intel Core i7 13700HX on board. It is paired with an unusually large amount of RAM, though, so it’ll certainly have no trouble multitasking.

I was very impressed with the performance that this machine offers, while it might not be able to chomp through the latest triple-A titles at 4K resolutions, it has no trouble when it comes to the device’s built-in WQXGA display.

I played a good amount of Redfall on the Epic graphics preset, and it maintained a solid 85fps at 2560×1600, never once dipping below 60fps. I also used the Helios 16 to play some Bone Lab and The Last Clockwinder in VR, and performance impressed there, too.

In Cyberpunk 2077 using the Ultra preset at 2560×1600 with ray tracing disabled and DLSS enabled, you’ll get an average of 68fps, which is mighty impressive. If you’re cool with dropping below 60, you can enjoy ray tracing on Ultra settings at an average of 40fps.

There’s a handy little physical toggle switch to the lower left of the display, and this allows you to switch between quiet, balanced, performance and turbo presets. The fans get extremely loud in turbo mode, sounding a bit like a jet engine taking off, but it certainly helps the frame rates. In performance mode, they’re noisy but more reasonable, and they do their job well, as evidenced by the heat billowing out from the vents at the rear of the chassis. These vents are well placed, too, ensuring that the hot air is blown away from the user and that you aren’t likely to get a hot mouse hand.

The upside of all the noise is that the laptop stays exceptionally cool, especially around the keyboard area where your hands are likely to be. It does get hot around the light bar at the rear of the chassis, but since you aren’t going to be touching it, that’s absolutely fine.

Regarding the operating system, the Helios 16 ships with Windows 11 Home, and there are very few surprises there. It does, unfortunately, have a bit of bloatware installed, such as ExpressVPN, a McAfee trial and Dropbox, which is a tad annoying, but far from the worst that I’ve seen. The majority of Acer’s own software is, at least, quite useful, allowing you to easily control the RGB lighting and performance profiles.

This laptop features Nvidia Advanced Optimus, which means it will use the integrated GPU for simple tasks like office work and web browsing, only enabling the RTX 4060 when you boot up a game. The idea is that it prolongs battery life without sacrificing power when it’s required.

In practice, this means you can expect about 6-7 hours of use on battery power if you’re just writing emails, browsing the web and watching videos. However, when you open a game, that lifespan will drop significantly. So much so, that you’re lucky to get more than an hour playing a graphically intensive title.

Verdict

After my time with the Acer Predator Helios 16, I find myself with very few complaints. It performs excellently, is comfortable to use, feels sturdy and well-built and has a gorgeous display.

As for the downsides, it’s mainly the size and weight that would hold me back from recommending this to everyone. It’s a chunky and heavy machine that’s best constrained to household use, especially when you factor in the bulk of the hefty power brick. That’s nothing unusual, in the world of gaming laptops, but while you might be happy to lug about a behemoth with an RTX 4080 inside, it’s a bigger ask when it comes to a specification like this.

The upside of that is the excellent cooling. The keyboard area stayed cooler and more comfortable to use on this machine than any in recent memory, and that’s no doubt due to the extra breathing room afforded by this sizable chassis. It does get fairly loud, but it keeps the frame rates high, and that’s a trade-off that I’m sure many people will be happy to make.

There are lots of similarly priced laptops on the market, offering similar specifications, but I think it’s the screen that sets this model apart. With a speedy 240Hz refresh rate and all the benefits of Mini LED technology, it’s a cut above most of the competition.