Acer Predator Helios 500 17 AMD Review
The Acer Predator Helios 500 17 AMD is a high-performance gaming laptop that delivers immersive gaming experiences. Its powerful hardware and features make it an excellent choice for serious gamers who demand the best performance.
Design and Build Quality
The Acer Predator Helios 500 17 AMD’s design and build quality are impressive and well-crafted to cater to gamers’ needs. The laptop is constructed with a sturdy metal chassis that is built to last. The sleek black design with red accents and the predator logo on the back of the display gives it a stylish appearance.
The laptop’s hinge mechanism is solid and provides excellent support for the display. It can be opened and closed smoothly without any wobbling or shaking. The laptop weighs around 4.8kg, which is relatively heavy but understandable considering its size and powerful hardware.
The keyboard and touchpad are ergonomically designed and comfortable and responsive. The keys are backlit with RGB lighting, which allows gamers to customize the colors and lighting effects according to their preference. The large touchpad has a smooth surface, providing accurate tracking and gesture control.
The Acer Predator Helios 500 17 AMD’s design and build quality are impressive and built to last. The laptop’s sturdy construction and well-crafted design make it a perfect choice for gamers who want a reliable and stylish laptop.
Display and Audio
The Acer Predator Helios 500 17 AMD’s display and audio are impressive and deliver an immersive gaming experience.
Display
The laptop features a 17.3-inch Full HD IPS display with a 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution. The display is bright and vivid and has excellent color accuracy, perfect for gaming, streaming, and content creation. The 144Hz refresh rate and 3ms response time ensure smooth gameplay without ghosting or motion blur. The display also has NVIDIA G-Sync technology, which synchronizes the display’s refresh rate with the GPU’s output, resulting in a tear-free and smooth gaming experience.
Audio
The Acer Predator Helios 500 17 AMD has a robust audio system that delivers clear and powerful sound. The laptop has two speakers, a subwoofer, and Acer TrueHarmony and Waves MaxxAudio technology. The audio quality is well-balanced, with clear treble, deep bass, and immersive surround sound that provides an excellent gaming experience. The laptop also has a built-in microphone that delivers clear voice recording and communication during gameplay.
The Acer Predator Helios 500 17 AMD’s display and audio are exceptional and deliver an immersive and engaging gaming experience. The display’s high refresh rate and excellent color accuracy, coupled with the laptop’s robust audio system, make it a perfect choice for gamers who demand the best audio-visual experience.
Performance and Hardware
The Acer Predator Helios 500 17 AMD is equipped with powerful hardware that delivers exceptional performance for gaming and other demanding tasks.
Processor
The laptop is powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 2700 eight-core processor with a base clock speed of 3.2 GHz and a maximum turbo frequency of 4.1 GHz. The processor is built on a 12nm manufacturing process and has 16 threads, which makes it perfect for multi-tasking and handling heavy workloads.
Graphics
The laptop features an AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 GPU with 8GB of dedicated GDDR5 VRAM. The graphics card provides excellent performance for gaming and other graphics-intensive applications. It can handle most modern games at high graphics settings with ease.
Memory and Storage
The Acer Predator Helios 500 17 AMD comes with 16GB of DDR4 RAM, which can be upgraded to 64GB for more demanding applications. The laptop has two M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD slots, one of which is pre-installed with a 256GB SSD. It also has a 1TB HDD for extra storage.
Connectivity
The laptop has a comprehensive range of connectivity options, including Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.0, USB Type-C, HDMI, DisplayPort, and audio jacks.
In summary, the Acer Predator Helios 500 17 AMD has powerful hardware that delivers exceptional performance for gaming and other demanding tasks. The laptop’s eight-core processor, powerful graphics card, ample memory, storage, and comprehensive range of connectivity options make it a perfect choice for gamers and professionals requiring a high-performance laptop.
Cooling System and Battery Life
The Acer Predator Helios 500 17 AMD has an advanced cooling system that efficiently dissipates heat generated by the powerful hardware.
Cooling System
The laptop features Acer’s patented AeroBlade 3D fan technology, with thin metal blades that increase airflow and reduce noise. It also has four copper heat pipes and two AeroBlade fans that work in tandem to keep the laptop cool during intensive gaming sessions. Additionally, the laptop has CoolBoost technology that allows users to manually increase the fan speed for even better cooling performance.
Battery Life
The laptop’s battery life is average, with a 74Wh battery that provides around 3-4 hours under normal usage. However, during gaming, the battery life is significantly reduced due to the high power requirements of the hardware.
The Acer Predator Helios 500 17 AMD has an advanced cooling system that efficiently dissipates heat generated by the powerful hardware. The laptop’s AeroBlade 3D fan technology, copper heat pipes, and CoolBoost technology keep it cool during intensive gaming sessions. However, the battery life is average, and users should keep the laptop plugged in during extended gaming sessions for the best performance.
Gaming and VR Capabilities
The Acer Predator Helios 500 17 AMD is a high-performance laptop with excellent gaming and VR capabilities.
Gaming Performance
The laptop’s powerful hardware, including the AMD Ryzen 7 2700 processor and AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 GPU, provides excellent gaming performance. The laptop can easily handle most modern games at high graphics settings. Additionally, the display’s 144Hz refresh rate and 3ms response time, along with the NVIDIA G-Sync technology, deliver a smooth and tear-free gaming experience.
VR Capabilities
The Acer Predator Helios 500 17 AMD can also handle virtual reality (VR) applications. The laptop’s powerful hardware can easily handle most VR games and applications. Additionally, it has a VR-ready HDMI port that provides a smooth and stable connection to VR headsets.
The Acer Predator Helios 500 17 AMD is a high-performance laptop with excellent gaming and VR capabilities. The laptop’s powerful hardware and advanced display technology provide a smooth and immersive gaming experience, and its VR-ready capabilities make it a perfect choice for gamers who want to experience the next level of gaming.
Connectivity and Ports
The Acer Predator Helios 500 17 AMD offers a comprehensive range of connectivity options and ports.
Connectivity
The laptop supports Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi 5, and Bluetooth 5.0 for wireless connectivity. It also has an RJ-45 LAN port for wired Ethernet connectivity. The Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity options provide high-speed internet connectivity, perfect for online gaming and streaming.
Ports
The laptop has a wide range of ports connecting various peripherals and devices. It has three USB 3.1 Type-A ports, two USB 3.1 Type-C ports (Thunderbolt 3), an HDMI port, a DisplayPort, and an audio jack. The laptop also has an SD card reader that supports SD, SDXC, and SDHC cards.
The Acer Predator Helios 500 17 AMD offers a comprehensive range of connectivity options and ports. The laptop’s Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi 5, and Bluetooth 5.0 support provide high-speed wireless connectivity. At the same time, the range of USB and Thunderbolt ports makes it easy to connect various peripherals and devices. The laptop’s SD card reader adds to its versatility, making it a perfect choice for content creators and professionals who require a wide range of connectivity options.
Keyboard and Touchpad
The Acer Predator Helios 500 17 AMD features a full-sized backlit keyboard and a precision touchpad that provide an excellent typing and navigation experience.
Keyboard
The laptop’s keyboard is spacious and has a full-sized numeric keypad, making it ideal for gamers and professionals who require a lot of data input. The keys are tactile and offer good feedback, making typing comfortable and accurate. The keyboard is also backlit with customizable RGB lighting, allowing users to customize the lighting effects to suit their preferences.
Touchpad
The laptop’s responsive and precise touchpad provides accurate cursor control and multi-touch gestures. The touchpad supports Windows Precision drivers, allowing users to customize the gestures and settings to their preferences. The laptop also has a dedicated button above the touchpad that allows users to disable the touchpad when using an external mouse.
The Acer Predator Helios 500 17 AMD features a full-sized backlit keyboard and a precision touchpad that provide an excellent typing and navigation experience. The keyboard’s spacious layout and tactile keys make it ideal for gamers and professionals who require a lot of data input. In contrast, the touchpad’s responsiveness and precision make navigating the operating system and applications easy. Overall, the keyboard and touchpad on the Acer Predator Helios 500 17 AMD are excellent and make for a great user experience.
Software and User Interface
The Acer Predator Helios 500 17 AMD runs on Windows 10 Home operating system and comes with pre-installed software that enhances the user experience.
Software
The laptop comes with a range of pre-installed software, including Acer PredatorSense software, which allows users to monitor and adjust the laptop’s fan speed, lighting, and overclocking settings. It also has Killer Control Center software, which optimizes internet connectivity for gaming and streaming.
User Interface
The laptop’s user interface is clean and intuitive, with a simple layout that makes it easy to navigate. The operating system’s interface is customizable, allowing users to personalize the desktop and taskbar to their preferences. The laptop also has a dedicated Turbo button that allows users to boost the laptop’s performance for intensive tasks quickly.
The Acer Predator Helios 500 17 AMD runs on the Windows 10 Home operating system and comes with pre-installed software that enhances the user experience. The laptop’s user interface is clean and intuitive, and the operating system’s customizable interface allows users to personalize the desktop and taskbar to their preferences. The laptop’s dedicated Turbo button and pre-installed software, including Acer PredatorSense and Killer Control Center, make it easy to monitor and adjust the laptop’s performance and connectivity settings.
Price and Value for Money
The Acer Predator Helios 500 17 AMD is a high-end gaming laptop with top-of-the-line hardware and features, making it one of the most powerful laptops in its category. With a price range of around $2,000 to $2,500, the laptop is relatively expensive compared to other gaming laptops. However, its high-end hardware and features make it a great value-for-money option for gamers and professionals who require a powerful laptop for intensive tasks.
The laptop’s AMD Ryzen 7 2700 processor, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 graphics card, 16GB DDR4 RAM, and 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD storage combination provide excellent performance for gaming and intensive tasks. The laptop’s 17.3-inch Full HD IPS display, high-quality audio, and advanced cooling system also make it a great option for gamers who require a high-quality audio-visual experience.
In summary, the Acer Predator Helios 500 17 AMD is an expensive gaming laptop that offers excellent value for money. Its high-end hardware and features make it one of the most powerful laptops in its category, and its advanced cooling system, audio-visual experience, and customizable RGB lighting add to its overall appeal. Overall, if you are looking for a powerful gaming laptop with top-of-the-line features and are willing to invest in it, the Acer Predator Helios 500 17 AMD is an excellent option.
Conclusion
The Acer Predator Helios 500 17 AMD is a high-end gaming laptop with top-of-the-line hardware and features. Its AMD Ryzen 7 2700 processor, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 graphics card, 16GB DDR4 RAM, and 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD storage combination provide excellent performance for gaming and intensive tasks. The laptop’s 17.3-inch Full HD IPS display, high-quality audio, and advanced cooling system also make it a great option for gamers who require a high-quality audio-visual experience.
