![]() One thing that did bother me about the keyboard is that the buttons in the top most row are significantly smaller than the rest of the keys, which makes it a bit difficult for me to hit the correct key at times, thanks to my fat fingers. The first set of macros is preconfigured with graphics mode (turbo on/off), cool mode, touchpad on/off, keyboard on/off, and Windows/insert key on/off out of the box.Ĭoming to the backlighting, the keyboard is divided into four customizable zones which can be individually configured using the Predator Sense software, but there’s no option to individually customize each key and no way to change the brightness of the backlight. I personally like the placement of the macro keys, as it doesn’t interfere with the keyboard layout, but reaching the keys might be an issue for users with smaller hands. The keyboard has a total of 6 extra programmable macro keys which are placed on the top left corner, five of which can be highlighted and grouped by color into three sets using the Predator Sense software. ![]() The arrow and WASD keys have a blue outline which makes them stand out, much like the Predator Helios 300’s red outline, and the arrow keys are offset to the bottom which is a nice touch. ![]() The keys are well spaced out, the key travel is satisfactory and the keyboard backlighting is just about right. My typing experience on the Acer Predator Helios 500 was quite enjoyable to say the least. I would’ve loved it if Acer had kept the bezels thin, but since Acer is going with a big and bulky design for the entire laptop, I’ll let that pass. Other than that, the IPS LCD has great viewing angles and it can get fairly bright at max brightness. Don’t get me wrong, the display is good enough for games and media consumption, but it just doesn’t cut it if you’re looking to get the laptop for video/photo editing. I tried calibrating the display using the Nvidia Control Panel and the Windows screen calibration tool, but no matter what I did, the screen just remained warm. Pictures and videos appeared quite warm and upon comparing them with our in-house 5K iMac, I found that the colors were way off. However, upon careful inspection I found that the display wasn’t as color accurate as I expected. Our unit featured the latter and I was completely blown away by the display quality at first. On the display front, Acer offers two options with the Predator Helios 500, a 17.3-inch full HD IPS LCD with an impressive 144Hz refresh rate and a 17.3-inch 4K IPS LCD with a 60Hz refresh rate. The laptop also comes with Bluetooth 5.0, which means connecting multiple Bluetooth devices at the same time won’t be an issue. For connectivity, Acer has included a Killer Wireless-AC card with dual band support and 2×2 Mu-MIMO technology. I’m pretty satisfied with the port selection on the Predator Helios 500 and I just can’t think of anything else that the laptop might need. The HDMI port along with the full-sized DisplayPort port and the power connector reside on the back of the device, flanked by large menacing looking vents on either side. All things considered, the dated design with a new color coat and the above average build quality is frankly quite unimpressive and leaves a lot to be desired. The case warps slights upon applying pressure from an angle and the hinge connecting the display isn’t firm enough to keep it steady if you’re moving the laptop around while it’s open. Beyond that, the laptop has a full plastic shell, which is quite disappointing for a laptop at this price range, and it has a very aggressive gamer-y design, so it isn’t an ideal office laptop (not that you could bring it to work everyday in the first place due to its sheer size and weight).Įven though the case is made of plastic, it’s fairly rigid but it isn’t as sturdy as you would expect from a laptop at this price point. Instead of the Predator Helios 300’s red and black color scheme, Acer has gone with a blue and gray color scheme for the Predator Helios 500 which, in my opinion, makes it stand apart from most other gaming laptops in the market today. Killer Gigabit LAN, 802.11 a/b/g/c WiFi + Bluetooth 5.0Īt first glance, the Predator Helios 500 looks a lot like a bigger version of the Predator Helios 300 with a different color scheme. ![]() Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 with 8GB GDDR5 VRAMĢx USB Type-C Gen 2 Thunderbolt Ports, 3x USB Type-A ports, HDMI Port, DisplayPort, Mic-in port, 3.5mm headphone jack, RJ-45 Ethernet port, Kensington lock For the purpose of this review, we received the top end variant of the Acer Predator Helios 500, which features:ġ7.3-inch 4K IPS Display with Nvidia G-Sync Before we go any further with the review, let’s get the specifications out of the way.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |