Acer Predator Helios 300 PH315-52 [PH315-52-55SB] (NH.Q54EU.017)

Predator

The Predator series models from Acer have earned a reputation for being well-crafted gaming laptops with the right priorities. The Acer Predator Helios 300 PH315-52, which came to us for testing, confirms this status: it’s a fairly powerful laptop with an excellent gaming display (Full HD, 144 Hz, 3 ms response time), a noisy but efficient cooling system, a comfortable keyboard, and high-performance internals. In our case, it features a combination of an eight-threaded Core i5 with an RTX 2060 graphics card, 16 GB of RAM, and a 512 GB SSD. By 2020 standards, this is adequate laptop hardware that "knocks out" a stable 60 FPS even in demanding games like Death Stranding, RDR2, and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. This is even better than the usual Core i7 and GTX 1660 from other laptops, as the impact of the processor on FPS is now minimal, and the RTX 2060 handles games more briskly.

Convenient, powerful, and cool

The appearance of the model looks old-school and will appeal to those who long for classic gaming design: here you have thick chopped body lines, large air vents in the spirit of racing cars, and zoned keyboard lighting with a dedicated WASD block. Plus, the body itself is built like a tank, you could even knock someone out with it. The coolers work as they should, effectively dissipating excess heat from hot components. True, they make a hell of a noise, but that's the reality of gaming laptops—finding a powerful, quiet, and cool model all at once is still a challenge. The set of ports, including 4 USBs (one of them USB C), HDMI and miniDisplayPort, allows you to connect any peripherals or an external monitor without any problems.

Uneven backlighting and increased power consumption

Disadvantages of the model include noticeable uneven backlighting of the display and increased power consumption, leading to a few unpleasant moments. When powered by the built-in battery, the Predator Helios 300 reduces processor frequencies to last longer, and under high load, the battery discharges even if plugged in. Fast charging would not be amiss here, but unfortunately, it is not available. Overall, despite the existing shortcomings, the Helios 300 is a worthy candidate for purchase.