![]() This test illustrates how Nvidia’s efficient Max-Q GPUs achieve their energy savings in part by dialing back performance. We test their visual chops using the Graphics sub-score in 3DMark’s Fire Strike Extreme benchmark, a synthetic benchmark that focuses on pure GPU performance. Gaming laptops need strong graphics capabilities, of course. Once again, the Core i7-7700HQ laptops turn in similar results, with the Core i5-equipped Dell Inspiron lagging far behind. ![]() The extended duration reveals how a laptop’s temperature throttling affects performance over time. The file we encode in our CPU-intensive HandBrake test (which uses an older version of the software) takes around 45 minutes on a quad-core processor. Brad Chacos/IDGīut Cinebench’s benchmark runs in a short duration. Because the chip lacks hyper-threading support, Dell’s laptop brings up the rear in Cinebench’s multi-threaded benchmark by a large margin. The others deliver virtually identical performance results. All of the gaming laptops being compared today use the quad-core Intel Core i7-7700HQ except the Dell Inspiron, which uses a Core i5 chip instead. Maxon’s Cinebench R15 measures raw CPU performance, and will happily use as many threads as you can throw at it. We’ll be comparing it against several similar systems in our tests, including the $950, GTX 1060 Max-Q-equipped Dell InspiGaming, the thin-and-light, $2,200 Gigabyte Aero 15X with a GTX 1070 Max-Q, and the $1,250 Microcenter PowerSpec 1510 with a full-fat GTX 1070. The Acer Predator Helios 300 packs an awful lot of punch for its price. It’s just lackluster compared to rival screens. Don’t get me wrong: The Predator Helios 300’s display is serviceable overall. Some colors lack pop and feel washed-out as a result, especially vibrant hues. In fact, at 230 nits maximum, it doesn’t even hit the minimum brightness level we use for our battery run-down tests, which run at a standardized 250 to 260 nits to simulate comfortable indoor viewing. It’s nice and sharp with wide viewing angles, but far too dim. I wish I could say the same for the 1920×1080 IPS display. The Helios 300’s keyboard and touchpad excel overall. I’d have preferred dedicated left- and right-click buttons, but hey, I’m a purist. The clickpad-style touchpad handles very smoothly and accurately. They can be turned on or off manually, but not dimmed or customized on a per-key basis. ![]() Fetching red backlights augment the keyboard and look nice against the black keys. The chiclet-style keys have plenty of travel and aren’t overly loud in use. The inputs feel comfortable and responsive, too. You’ll feel it in your backpack but won’t break your spine lugging it around. With 5 pounds, 7.9 ounces of heft and a 1.1-inch thickness, the Helios 300 is fairly compact for a gaming rig. Two angled red stripes flank the Predator logo on the lid, ensuring everyone in the coffee shop knows you’re using an Acer. The laptop chassis includes plenty of plastic, as you’d expect in a gaming notebook in this price range, but Acer augments it with a sleek, brushed-metal lid and keyboard deck. Given how easy it is to crack open the Predator Helios 300-the empty hard drive bay is secured shut by a single Phillips screw-I’d recommend going the DIY route to add more storage to the laptop. Acer offers another configuration that supplements the SSD with a 1TB mechanical hard drive, but at a steep $300 premium. This entry-level configuration includes an SSD with a scant 256GB capacity that’ll fill up fast in this era of plus-sized games. Despite the affordable price, Acer didn’t skimp on the memory, stocking the Helios 300 with 16GB of DDR4 RAM. Not here: The Predator packs the same quad-core Core i7-7700HQ processor found in laptops that cost two or three times more, along with a full-fat 6GB GeForce GTX 1060-no dialed-back Max-Q version here.
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