
Acer Predator Helios 500 17 Amd Reviews
Acer’s products are inexpensive and perform well. The Acer Predator Helios 500 17 Amd gaming laptop is unstoppable. Gaming laptop. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 GPU and 4K Mini LED display cost 3.8 lakhs.
The Taiwanese PC hardware manufacturer claims that the gaming laptop delivers “desktop caliber gameplay,” which may seem unlikely, but the PH517-52 variant has an overclockable 11th Gen Intel Core i9 processor. That suggests the laptop lets the demanding 11th-gen Intel processor run free. Acer’s claim is backed by its Predator laptops’ Power Gem cooling technology.
Only a small number of gaming laptops provide you choice, but the Acer Predator Helios 500 17 Amd does. Yes, the majority offer tuning software or let you choose the color of the LED or background. However, your alternatives are limited if you desire a significant modification, such as something other than Intel or Nvidia.
With the Predator Helios 500, though, such is not the case. This robust and potent gaming laptop gives you the unusual luxury of choosing between the standard pairing of Intel and Nvidia or going all AMD.
Acer Predator Helios 500 17 Amd Gaming/Creator Laptop
What is external?
Acer Predator’s Predator Helios 500 looks like a standard gaming laptop. For years, the company has worked toward this combination of aggressive lines and exhaust vents, and it’s here. Anodized cooling fins and others complement laptop exhaust ports.
Blue heatsinks are modest, yet they may unify the room like a great carpet.
Two Thunderbolt 2, DisplayPort, USB 3.0, Gigabit Ethernet, and HDMI connections are on the Predator Helios 500. Powering the Helios 500 is a 230-watt brick that should sit in the back rather than the side, where it can block your mouse.
Size and weight
New, slim gaming laptops and old, heavy ones exist. The Predator Helios 500 is clearly the latter. 8.8 pounds without the 3-pound power brick. 16.9 x 11.7 x 1.5 inches.
Expansion and performance justify such bulk. Most thin gaming laptops have one M.2 drive, but some have two. The Acer Predator Helios 500 17 Amd has two M.2 slots and a 2.5-inch drive bay with 5TB of magnetic storage.
The Predator Helios 500 has two RAM modules hidden beneath the keyboard and 16GB of RAM in two open SO-DIMM slots if needed. That’s impossible on a slim gaming laptop.
Typewriter and mouse
The RGB keyboard is a non-offensive dome-switched variety. By “offend,” we mean that the positioning of the keys is not in any way obviously strange. The trackpad also includes an LED outline and is trouble-free. Along the top, there are a set of six programmable macro keys.
The display
Acer claims the 17.3-inch “ComfyView” Full HD (1920 x 1080) panel as employing IPS. We discovered that two of the laptops’ panels were manufactured by AU Optronics and used AHVA. That stands for Advanced Hyper Viewing-Angle, which is AU Optronics’ take on Sharp’s IPS technology. To avoid infringing on trademarks, some people refer to this technology as “IPS-like.”
Gamers probably place more emphasis on the refresh rate, which is 144Hz. There are two versions, yes. G-Sync is available if you choose the Intel and Nvidia version, while a FreeSync display is yours if you choose the AMD version.
Inside: Choose your poison
Acer Predator Helios 500 17 Amd Reviews: That affects Helios 500 parts purchases. A GeForce GTX 1070, 6-core Core i9-8950HK, or 8th-generation Intel Core i7 8700H are choices.
AMD has an 8-core Ryzen 7 2700 and Radeon RX Vega 56.
Most gamers don’t need more than 16GB DDR4.
Need storage. Unlike the Core i9, the Core i7 has 256GB M.2 SSD and 1TB hard drive. AMD has one 256GB SSD.
Casual players may find 256GB excessive. Modern games require above 50GB, thus you may run out. Acer’s lack of a 1TB hard drive is puzzling because the laptop employs AMD CPUs.
Ryzen (left) has an empty hard drive bay, whereas Core i9 (right) contains a 2TB disk (on the right). Spacious. M.2 drives fit behind the right copper heat spreader on the Predator Helios 500. Both laptops support 32GB RAM upgrades.
Our package lacked the proprietary cable to connect the hard drive to the motherboard, making the AMD version’s easiest update impossible. Acer forums suggest it’s in the box.
Add another M.2 drive to find the cord.
Performance of Acer Predator Helios 500 17 Amd
For those who don’t want to click on it, we’ll summarize our comparison of the AMD and Intel versions of this laptop as follows:
In multi-threaded applications like 3D modeling, video encoding, and anything else that can really benefit from the capability of 16 threads of work, the 8-core Ryzen 7 2700 typically has the advantage. Applications that use fewer threads, such as photo editing, and many other content creation programs, which are not as optimized as 3D modeling or other workstation programs, are preferred for the Core i9.
The graph below summarizes this information. We can see the performance advantages each version offers while using 1 thread to 16 threads using Cinebench R15. The 6-core Core i9 has an advantage due to the left side’s reduced thread count. However, the 8-core Ryzen 7 2700 takes over when you move to the far right side of the screen (more threads).
If someone informs you that one is superior to the other, they are misinforming you. The right response is: Depending on the workload, one is superior to the other. Consider your actions and select the CPU wisely.
When comparing the GeForce GTX 1070 with the Radeon RX Vega 56
The GPU of the Predator Helios 500 is another important factor. It’s been a very, very long time since we’ve seen a top-tier Radeon GPU in a laptop.
For more information, we’ll once again direct you to our AMD vs. Intel post, but we’ll focus on the most pertinent chart here, which compares the performance of the most recent Shadow of the Tomb Raider at 1920 x 1080 with the Highest Quality.
Shadows of the Tomb Raider 1080pIDG 14 Ryzen 7 2700 versus Core i9 8950hk
The Radeon RX Vega 56 and Ryzen 7 2700 outperform the GeForce combo in newer games that are more GPU-intensive and support more CPU cores, even though the higher-clocked Core i9 often provides them an advantage.
Summary
In conclusion, the Radeon RX Vega 56 appears to have the same advantage over the GeForce GTX 1070 as it does in desktops, notwithstanding some titles where the Core i9’s higher clocks give it the lead.
Performance in overclocking
Intel/GeForce Predator Helios 500s have pre-approved overclocks. However, the CPU performs best. Laptop overclocking profiles are safe. Rebooting disables you overclock.
AMD Ryzen Master failed to overclock. Manual overclocking failed. At 200MHz, all CPU cores blanked.
Ryzen and Vega’s newness. Acer hasn’t calibrated both processors for laptops yet because they’re new.
Irrational fan noise. The Intel-Nvidia Predator Helios 500’s fans are loud when used heavily. Ryzen and Radeon Vega are quiet desktop CPUs. Our Ryzen/Radeon gaming laptop is silent.
That didn’t cause overclocking issues. Full-speed fans failed to overclock Ryzen and Radeon.
Battery Efficiency
Although we don’t think 17-inch gaming laptops’ battery life is important, you still want to stare at the figures like a car accident. The Nvidia/Intel laptop’s two-plus hours aren’t great. AMD’s 72-minute laptop is horrible. Modern laptops play video, so we weren’t even playing a game.
G-Sync lowers Nvidia/Intel laptop battery life. For G-sync to work, the discrete GPU must always be active. Since AMD laptops lack integrated graphics, the GPU is always active.
As mentioned, this class of laptop’s battery life isn’t a concern. You’ll be disappointed and constantly air-conditioned.
The AMD or Intel Acer Predator Helios 500 should you purchase?
The Acer Predator Helios 500 17 Amd is reliable, but its personality depends on its configuration.
Most users benefit from Core i9 performance at reduced CPU loads. The most expensive configuration is the one we never saw for less than $2,500.
The AMD setup costs $2,200, but the Ryzen/Radeon variant sells for $400 less. This is the better buy if you don’t consider the 256GB SSD’s storage limitations for a large gaming laptop.
The 6-core midrange Core i7-8750H with a GTX 1070 may be best. With a 256GB SSD and 1TB hard drive, it’s a decent deal for $1,700.
Pros
- Advantages The 8-core Ryzen 7 2700 has more cores than its Intel competitor Radeon RX Vega 56 performs better than the GeForce GTX 1070 on average
- Very poor battery live the confounding 256GB storage configuration
Conclusion
The AMD version of the Acer Predator Helios 500 17 Amd is superior for multithreaded applications and significantly less expensive than its Core i9 sister. There is only one issue: the perplexing 256GB SSD, which is insufficient for a huge gaming laptop.