The gaming PC segment is always an exciting place, be it on the desktop or laptop side, with OEMs constantly refreshing their offerings to keep customers interested. In fact, gaming is one of the few bright spots in the PC market, which has been in decline for a while, but seems to be now faring a bit better[1].
Acer[2] added some new models to its Predator gaming lineup this April[3], as the company hopes to consolidate its portfolio and focus primarily on gaming and VR[4]. It took a while for Acer to bring its new gaming models to India, but the Predator Helios 300 is finally here[5] and today we’ll be testing it. With prices starting at Rs. 1,29,999, let’s see how it fares.
Acer Predator Helios 300 design and build quality
The design of the Helios 300 is similar to that of Acer’s previous Predator models, one of which we tested over a year ago[6], but with some new design cues and a lower weight. The 15.6-inch model is now slimmer than before and also lighter at 2.7kg (compared to 3.6kg). The body is still made mostly of plastic but Acer has provide some metal reinforcements for the lid and keyboard area. The design is aggressive like before, with supercar-like exhaust vents around the back and reflective details on the lid. However, the Predator logo isn’t backlit. The base is made of plastic, and there are large vents on the bottom.
We found a small degree of flex with the lid, but the metal plate ensures it doesn’t affect the the screen as there’s no visible pixel warping when you apply pressure. There’s a single, long...