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Acer is refreshing some of its gaming laptops this year at CES and the company has announced a new entry in its Predator Helios Neo lineup, the Predator Helios Neo 18.
All four laptops are getting hardware updates with 14th Gen Intel chips, alongside NVIDIA GeForce 40-series GPUs. Acer is also beefing up other parts of these laptops. For instance, the two Predator Helios laptops come with MagKey 3.0. switches, similar to the MagForce switches it announced on the Predator Helios 700 a few years ago.
These are hot-swappable switches that you can easily detach to replace for something more to your liking. A feature that you rarely if ever find on laptop keyboards. These are only on the WASD keys though. Still, swapping them out for something with shorter travel time and more responsiveness could help give you an edge in multiplayer games.
Additionally, Acer has added Wi-Fi 7 to the Predator Helios 16 and Predator Helios 18. Both these laptops come with upgraded displays too. This time around, Acer is using Mini LED so you can expect a vivid contrast of colors. Acer also says the screens come with a 1000-nit peak brightness so glare shouldn’t be much of an issue. Gamers will also appreciate the WQXGA resolution and the lightning-fast 250Hz refresh rate. Lots of frames can make all the difference. So the high refresh rate on these laptops is definitely going to be one of the greater strengths.
These can come with up to an Intel Core i9-14900HX CPU and up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 GPU. As always though, you’ll be able to choose from multiple configurations. With lower-powered models coming in at more affordable prices. Acer says the Predator Helios 16 and 18 will launch this month starting at $1,899.99 and $1,999.99 respectively. This means those RTX 4090 models will no doubt be quite expensive.
The Predator Helios Neo laptops will be more affordable
Those looking to save a little cash may want to look at Acer’s Predator Helios Neo models instead. These will also come in 16-inch and 18-inch versions, but they’ll start at a lower price and that could allow you to swing for a model with one of the more powerful graphics cards. Keeping that in mind, going for the better GPUs will still make these laptops expensive. They do start lower but just by a few hundred. As they’ll launch starting at $1,499.99 for the Predator Helios Neo 16 and $1,549.99 for the Predator Helios Neo 18.
Still, saving a few hundred is saving a few hundred. And when you’re looking to get a powerful gaming laptop you’ll want to save whatever you can. If you want to go for these models you’ll have to wait a little longer, however, because they won’t be launching until March. The Neo models will come with the same WQXGA resolution displays but they won’t be Mini LED and the refresh rate goes down to 240Hz. They also only come with up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GPU. And that’s what helps bring the price down a bit.
Additionally, they can come with up to 32GB of RAM and 2TB of storage. As well as DTS:X Surround Sound speakers for a better audio experience when you’re not using headphones. One nice little benefit is that all of the laptops will come with a free one-month trial of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. We wouldn’t say that’s a selling point, but it is a nice bonus.
These won’t have the MagKey 3.0 but they can come with up to the Intel Core i9-14900HX CPU. Interestingly, Acer has gone with the Intel Core chips here as opposed to the Intel Core Ultra CPUs that it put inside of its Predator laptops that it announced at the end of last year.
