Next up at Computex 2019 I’m checking out what Acer were showing off, we’ll start
with the more budget friendly entry level gaming laptops and then move onto the higher
end predator series.
Let’s start with the new 2019 versions of the Nitro 5 and Nitro 7 gaming laptops, the
Nitro 7 was announced in April and is new, while the Nitro 5 was refreshed with some
nice improvements.
The Nitro 5 is available in a few different configurations. On display they had an AMD
version, so Ryzen 7 3750H CPU with Radeon RX 560X graphics, and then another with Intel
9th gen i7-9750H CPU and Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti graphics. I’ve only used the older Nitro
5 with Ryzen 2500U CPU, so while this is a nice spec boost for the AMD version it would
have been good to have seen the AMD CPU paired with GTX 1660 Ti graphics as well, as I’ve
found the 560X a little lacking. While the design mostly looks the same I instantly noticed
the thinner screen bezels in the newer models, and the screen is 15.6 inches at 1080p and
available in 144Hz.
On the left from the back it’s got a Kensington lock, ethernet port, HDMI 2.0 output, USB
Type-C port, and 2 USB 3 Type-A ports. The right from front to back has a 3.5mm audio
jack, USB 2 Type-A port, power input and air exhaust towards the back. The back has also
been improved in these newer models with more ventilation, the old Nitro 5 only had half
of the back as air exhaust and was otherwise solid plastic.
Otherwise overall we’ve got the same black and red gamery design as before.
The Nitro 7 is quite similar to the Nitro 5, it seems to be available with the same
key specs like CPU and GPU. While the 5 is made of plastic, the 7 is made of metal, which
makes it look a bit sleeker in my opinion and it’s also a little thinner than the
Nitro 5.
The I/O on the Nitro 7 is the same as the Nitro 5, so I won’t bother repeating it
all. It’s also got a 15.6” 1080p 144Hz screen with 3ms response time in overdrive
mode, and the bezels look a bit thinner compared to previous Nitro laptops. It’s worth noting
that the Nitro 5 is available with both 15 or 17 inch versions, while the Nitro 7 seems
to be 15 inches only.
Underneath is pretty standard, with some air vents found towards the back of the device,
while the back has air exhausts with some red grills, matching the rest of the black
and red design.
The Nitro 5 starts from $800 USD, while the Nitro 7 is at the $1000 price point, and I
believe both are already available in many regions, I was told we can expect them in
late June in Australia, let me know if you want to see full reviews of either.
Next let’s move onto Acer’s Predator gaming laptops, these are more mid to high end when
compared with the Nitro series.
Let’s start out with the Helios 300, which is currently the lowest option in the predator
lineup but still a very capable gaming machine. In the past the Helios 300 has offered great
price to performance for a gaming laptop, and the refresh we’re getting appears to
have some nice improvements. In terms of specs these include upgrades to the Intel 9th gen
CPUs, GTX 16 series or RTX 20 series graphics, up to 2070 Max-Q I believe. A lot of the design
seems similar to the Triton 500 that came out earlier in the year, that is a black chassis
with blue accenting and no more red.
The bezels are also much slimmed down when compared to the 2018 and older Helios 300’s
chunkier design, which looks much nicer in my opinion. It’s available with a 15.6”
or 17.3” 1080p 144Hz screen.
On the left from the back there’s a Kensington lock, air exhaust vent, power input, ethernet
port, two USB Type-A ports and 3.5mm audio combo jack. On the right from the front to
back there’s a USB Type-C port, Type-A port, mini DisplayPort and HDMI outputs followed
by another air exhaust.
Underneath there are just some air intake vents towards the back, while the lid is black
with blue accenting and logo, which in my opinion looks a bit nicer when compared to
the previous red and black model.
I think I’m getting this one to review fairly soon, so stay tuned for that.
The Triton 500 was released earlier this year with Intel’s 8th gen CPUs, but has already
been refreshed with the latest 9th gen options. It’s quite a sleek looking machine like
the older Triton 700 that I’ve reviewed previously. The design is similar to the Helios
300 shown just before, all black and blue, though as a more premium option it’s available
with some nice extras. In terms of specs it’s also available with the i7-9750H CPU like
the Helios 300, however the GPU can go up to 2080 Max-Q, and it’s got G-Sync support
meaning performance should be boosted when compared to an Optimus laptop.
Unlike the Helios 300, the Triton 500 seems to have room for improved cooling above the
keyboard, granted it’s more likely to need it as a thinner machine. Both have a turbo
button above the keyboard you can press to instantly apply an overclocking profile.
For the I/O, on the right from front to back there’s a Type-C port, mini DisplayPort,
two USB Type-A ports, air exhaust vent and Kensington lock. On the left from the back
is an air exhaust vent, power input, ethernet port, Type-C port, HDMI output and two 3.5mm
audio jacks.
The Helios 700 is an interesting one, it’s quite a big machine and has a unique design
to help with cooling. What makes it special is what they’re calling the HyperDrive keyboard.
You can pull down the keyboard to improve cooling, as this will expose additional air
intake vents above the keyboard. You don’t have to use this, you can still play games
with the keyboard in the default position if you prefer.
The mechanism worked quite well, you have to pull it out harder than what would happen
during normal use and it clicks back in when you push it. I found it to be quite stable
when using it normally, while still feeling stable when pulled out. We can see the heatpipes
under the keyboard too, and there is also RGB lighting you can customize. With the keyboard
pulled down the touchpad section folds down and is on an angle, though realistically you’re
pulling the keyboard down while gaming and won’t be using the touchpad anyway, and
the touchpad has some blue lighting.
It can be configured with up to Intel 9th gen i9 CPUs, so 8 cores and RTX 2080 graphics,
so quite good specs that would generate a lot of heat under load, but I’ll find out
when I do the review, so make sure you’re subscribed for that. I’m expecting this
unique design to help with cooling, the only other machines I’m aware of that have a
similar design would be the ASUS Zephyrus series, and those run quite cool while being
much thinner.
The keyboard also has MagForce keys, the one they were showing here had different WASD
keys. I was told these use analog input and they were noticeably softer to press down,
apparently that may be beneficial, however I was advised you can change the key caps
so when you’re not gaming I think you can get all keys feeling the same, anyway an interesting
idea.
As a bigger machine, it’s got a 17.3 inch 1080p 144Hz display with a 3ms response time
and G-Sync.
On the left we start to get an idea of just how thick this machine is, with a large air
exhaust vent, ethernet port, two USB Type-A ports, and 3.5mm audio jacks. On the right
from front to back there’s a single USB Type-A port and two Type-C ports, the first
has VirtualLink support for VR, and the other has Thunderbolt 3 support, air exhaust vent
and Kensington lock up the back. On the back there are two massive air exhausts towards
the corners, then from left to right the power input, full size DisplayPort and HDMI outputs.
Underneath we’re just looking at air intakes towards the back of the machine, while the
lid is looking pretty similar to Acer’s other Predator laptops with the blue Predator
logo.
Acer also had some modded Helios 500 laptops on display which looked pretty cool. I noted
in my review of the Helios 500 that it was one of the coolest that I had ever tested
due to the large fans and thick heatsinks, so giving it water cooling is a bit overkill,
but the result turned out well. Maybe if it could be upgraded to AMD Ryzen 3000 series
CPU, but I’ve been told there aren’t plans for that at the moment. It would be pretty
cool if you could upgrade to the new 12 core 3900X CPU, Wendell from Level 1 tech’s seemed
to think it would be pretty easy to mod the BIOS but there are probably other factors
too, it would be a fun project if I owned a Helios 500 anyway.
Let me know which of these laptops you want me to review on the channel first down in
the comments, and if you’re new get subscribed for those upcoming videos as well as for the
rest of my Computex 2019 coverage.