I seen this come up on my Google news feed, and I think it's a nice mixture between the modern conveniences of the slim and light laptops, without the restrictions of slim and light gaming laptops. As a former lover of my Helios 500 which unfortunately died earlier this year, due to a VRM failure, I like that they're continuing to modernize their design.
I would love to see a comparison to the M18. I bought the M18 after watching yours and a few other reviews. Though the CPU temps at first were higher than I would have liked, after taking your advice, I set the temp to 85c max in Command Center. I did some adjustments in the custom settings to both the CPU and GPU clock speeds, and now I never go over 85c for the CPU and 67c for the GPU. I'm using an IETS GT600 cooling pad which, to be honest, isn't making all that much of a difference, but I have it, so I'm using it. So far, after upgrading the stock 4800 32gb RAM to 5600 and upgrading the SSD drives, and installing a fresh Windows 11, I'm having 0 issues with it. I've played 15-hour sessions without any problems and couldn't be happier with my purchase. I paid $2600 when it was on-sale for the 13900HX and RTX4800.
I am glad your tweaks have helped with your experience on the m18. I agree, its thermals are very manageable. I was thinking of doing a comparison between the two. Let's see how popular this video ends up.
I've been trying to get my hands on this model, but Best Buy has cancelled each of my three orders over the past 3 weeks due to "low inventory." Apparently they're working on it... At the frequent sale price of $2,199, this seems like the best value option for those seeking a 4080 + mini led combo device. I'm very much looking forward to the full review. Hopefully a throttlestop undervolt can help with those CPU temps. 108° should never happen with liquid metal in an 18" chassis unless something went wrong - especially with such fan activity. Thank you for putting in the work and helping laptop buyers like me make more informed decisions!
@@OWNORDISOWNWell it took five orders getting cancelled, but my sixth finally got delivered! The screen is everything it was hyped up to be. In my opinion, it's even better than the Asus Scar 18's miniLED panel. However I'm having trouble getting any more than 145w out of the 4080 and figuring out how to unlock undervolt protection so throttlestop/XTU can be put to work. The Acer PredatorSense software and BIOS leave a lot to be desired in the way of advanced options. Jarrod's recent review mentioned the 145w voltage limit his machine's 4080 was experiencing, but he chalked it up to potential silicon lottery. Mine is doing the same thing. From what I can tell, this 4080 can only go up to 165w which is disappointing in itself compared to the competition's 175w, but it's not even able to reach the gimped limit. I'm hoping yours is less handicapped and you're able to explore this in your full review. I have the privileged dilemma of choosing between this Acer Predator 18 and a similarly spec'ed Lenovo Legion 7i Pro. I'd love the bigger, better screen, but If these other shortcomings can't be overcome, I'm not sure the screen is enough to tip the scales. As always, thank you for what you do, Stephen - can hardly wait for your full review to come out!
Thx for your review on Helios 18, especially for part of RGB strip at rear . By comparing to last years' model helios 300, I prefer its simple chassis of this year. But, . I refuse to believe why Acer can slot in a 4090 on a slim laptop like Triton 17X but cant for a thick laptop like Helios 18.....
Thanks, I agree! I just uploaded a video comparing it to the Alienware m18 and in turbo mode the Helios 18 matches the performance of a 4090. It does really well.
Thank You very much for this informative video review of Predator Helios 18. I would like to see display properties' sheet where is visible colour depth. It is interesting to know is it 8bit colour depth display or high, as this is mini LED technology panel?
Thanks, glad you liked it. Yes, the Acer has a mini Led display. I mentioned that in the follow up video where I compared it to the Alienware m18. th-cam.com/video/7QcCfmfsAlA/w-d-xo.htmlsi=uqviFGZUXSeJpkIR Time slot for 3min 59sec
Looks way more premium that what you usually expect from Helios lineup. I remember back in 2017 Helios 300 was the cheapest 1060 6GB laptop, lol. Now they are going more and more premium. I just wish they had AMD options and Ryzen H-series CPUs along with type c charging and battery charge limit in their software. They'd be among the first ones for me to consider. Thanks for the video!
@@OWNORDISOWN but it has an Intel CPU and poor battery life... If it had both I'd seriously consider it. Plus I don't want to buy Intel ever again after they axed undervolting on most of their laptop CPUs.
@@OWNORDISOWN since I don't use laptop screen much(I use external monitor 90% of the time) I don't care about it that much. In fact, I'd prefer the screen to be cheaper, and lower resolution(at least 300 nits of brightness though), that would keep the cost down and increase battery life and gaming performance at native resolution. Anything in a gaming laptop is better than what they were before. Even my budget Dell G3 from 5 years ago has an ips screen tons better than my first 3 laptops(which had TN displays), that's enough for me.
@@TabalugaDragon for sure, this laptop is not for you. But I wager most people use the laptop screen more than an external monitor and that is probably the biggest selling point of the Helios 18.
2:36 This is not correct with the 4070 model. I recently ordered the 4070 model and my version has 2560x1600 resolution which is the same as the even higher end versions.
I only sampled 2 games and Dead Space was OK. Did Jarrod test a BF game? the high number of players and large map puts more stress on the CPU...I'll test more games in the review. Performance mode is better by nature of less watts to the GPU. I suspect it must have a shared heat pipe design.
Those temps are terrifying.. Imagine after a couple years without repaste, and with minimal maintenace... yikes. Wish Acer would offer Amd options like the optimal 8 core 7745Hx that is drastically more power efficient than these horrific intel power hogs.
In BF2042 the CPU was at 120W in Turbo mode and 100 Degrees, but it does drop to 65W and 83 degrees later on, and performance mode uses 65W so all is OK there. The fan noise is very loud though. I will have to play around with the fan control and see if I can find a happy medium.
@@OWNORDISOWN Yeh that fan noise is obnoxious, all to get very questionable temps at best (even the Gpu was toasty, look at those Gpu Hotspots in the 90!'s). Ofcourse Undervolting both the Cpu and Gpu will help alot, but quality large gaming laptops need to have their stock/base performance/temps equal to what its currently at with Undervolting.. Not rely on Undervolting just to get a vaguely bearable experience.
An absolute disappointment of a laptop , 18 inches laptop has the potential to have more cooling . Why only 2 fans in 18 inches body ? More room for ports yet nothing , and still this new laptop costs an arm and a leg . 18 inch face with a 15 inch body on the inside........ But hey it has magnets.
Please don't buy predator laptops, they are good in terms of performance but lacks in build quality and reliability. It runs as good as 2 year then problems starts one by one, you'll end up paying more in the long run, or if chance you bought the laptop and is under 1 year warranty, do put extended warranty as long as possible, that way you can save a lot of time and money........ peace.
I seen this come up on my Google news feed, and I think it's a nice mixture between the modern conveniences of the slim and light laptops, without the restrictions of slim and light gaming laptops.
As a former lover of my Helios 500 which unfortunately died earlier this year, due to a VRM failure, I like that they're continuing to modernize their design.
I agree! I like the design of the Helios line. And I loved the screen on this Helios 18 :)
@@OWNORDISOWN if only Dell would've given us this option on the M and X series. Grrrr...
@@cueball981totally agree!
I would love to see a comparison to the M18. I bought the M18 after watching yours and a few other reviews. Though the CPU temps at first were higher than I would have liked, after taking your advice, I set the temp to 85c max in Command Center. I did some adjustments in the custom settings to both the CPU and GPU clock speeds, and now I never go over 85c for the CPU and 67c for the GPU. I'm using an IETS GT600 cooling pad which, to be honest, isn't making all that much of a difference, but I have it, so I'm using it. So far, after upgrading the stock 4800 32gb RAM to 5600 and upgrading the SSD drives, and installing a fresh Windows 11, I'm having 0 issues with it. I've played 15-hour sessions without any problems and couldn't be happier with my purchase. I paid $2600 when it was on-sale for the 13900HX and RTX4800.
I am glad your tweaks have helped with your experience on the m18. I agree, its thermals are very manageable. I was thinking of doing a comparison between the two. Let's see how popular this video ends up.
I've been trying to get my hands on this model, but Best Buy has cancelled each of my three orders over the past 3 weeks due to "low inventory." Apparently they're working on it... At the frequent sale price of $2,199, this seems like the best value option for those seeking a 4080 + mini led combo device.
I'm very much looking forward to the full review. Hopefully a throttlestop undervolt can help with those CPU temps. 108° should never happen with liquid metal in an 18" chassis unless something went wrong - especially with such fan activity. Thank you for putting in the work and helping laptop buyers like me make more informed decisions!
Thanks, appreciate it! I agree, when Best Buy has the $300 off sales the Helios 18 rtx 4080 is one hell of a deal. The screen is very nice 👍
@@OWNORDISOWNWell it took five orders getting cancelled, but my sixth finally got delivered! The screen is everything it was hyped up to be. In my opinion, it's even better than the Asus Scar 18's miniLED panel. However I'm having trouble getting any more than 145w out of the 4080 and figuring out how to unlock undervolt protection so throttlestop/XTU can be put to work. The Acer PredatorSense software and BIOS leave a lot to be desired in the way of advanced options.
Jarrod's recent review mentioned the 145w voltage limit his machine's 4080 was experiencing, but he chalked it up to potential silicon lottery. Mine is doing the same thing. From what I can tell, this 4080 can only go up to 165w which is disappointing in itself compared to the competition's 175w, but it's not even able to reach the gimped limit. I'm hoping yours is less handicapped and you're able to explore this in your full review.
I have the privileged dilemma of choosing between this Acer Predator 18 and a similarly spec'ed Lenovo Legion 7i Pro. I'd love the bigger, better screen, but If these other shortcomings can't be overcome, I'm not sure the screen is enough to tip the scales. As always, thank you for what you do, Stephen - can hardly wait for your full review to come out!
Thx for your review on Helios 18, especially for part of RGB strip at rear . By comparing to last years' model helios 300, I prefer its simple chassis of this year. But, . I refuse to believe why Acer can slot in a 4090 on a slim laptop like Triton 17X but cant for a thick laptop like Helios 18.....
Thanks, I agree! I just uploaded a video comparing it to the Alienware m18 and in turbo mode the Helios 18 matches the performance of a 4090. It does really well.
Hello! Are you sure that lid is made from aluminum and also the palm rest?
Thank You very much for this informative video review of Predator Helios 18. I would like to see display properties' sheet where is visible colour depth. It is interesting to know is it 8bit colour depth display or high, as this is mini LED technology panel?
Thanks, glad you liked it. Yes, the Acer has a mini Led display.
I mentioned that in the follow up video where I compared it to the Alienware m18.
th-cam.com/video/7QcCfmfsAlA/w-d-xo.htmlsi=uqviFGZUXSeJpkIR
Time slot for 3min 59sec
Hi - thinking about buying this one with the mini LED - I can get it for about £2660, would you recommend? Thanks a lot
I wish they woulda given us a 4050 version. It's still an upgrade for a lot of us older build dudes. lol
Looks way more premium that what you usually expect from Helios lineup. I remember back in 2017 Helios 300 was the cheapest 1060 6GB laptop, lol. Now they are going more and more premium. I just wish they had AMD options and Ryzen H-series CPUs along with type c charging and battery charge limit in their software. They'd be among the first ones for me to consider.
Thanks for the video!
This does have type C charging Sergei.
@@OWNORDISOWN but it has an Intel CPU and poor battery life... If it had both I'd seriously consider it.
Plus I don't want to buy Intel ever again after they axed undervolting on most of their laptop CPUs.
@@TabalugaDragon I understand, still the screen is really nice at this price point
@@OWNORDISOWN since I don't use laptop screen much(I use external monitor 90% of the time) I don't care about it that much. In fact, I'd prefer the screen to be cheaper, and lower resolution(at least 300 nits of brightness though), that would keep the cost down and increase battery life and gaming performance at native resolution.
Anything in a gaming laptop is better than what they were before. Even my budget Dell G3 from 5 years ago has an ips screen tons better than my first 3 laptops(which had TN displays), that's enough for me.
@@TabalugaDragon for sure, this laptop is not for you. But I wager most people use the laptop screen more than an external monitor and that is probably the biggest selling point of the Helios 18.
The irregular back lights look like the predator is going to have a heart attack!
Can you fry an egg on a plastic frying pan? Or will the plastic melt?
Some fudge smudging on the lid
2:36 This is not correct with the 4070 model. I recently ordered the 4070 model and my version has 2560x1600 resolution which is the same as the even higher end versions.
Can u please tell me does your laptop have 4 pins on the hinges I returned the 1st one due to it not having 4 pins thank you replacement replacement
I don't recall there be any issue on the hinges on my unit. It was a review machine so it has gone back now.
Jarod got significantly better temps on the unit he tested, I wonder if there was a problem with the thermal interface material used here?
I only sampled 2 games and Dead Space was OK. Did Jarrod test a BF game? the high number of players and large map puts more stress on the CPU...I'll test more games in the review. Performance mode is better by nature of less watts to the GPU. I suspect it must have a shared heat pipe design.
Those temps are terrifying.. Imagine after a couple years without repaste, and with minimal maintenace... yikes. Wish Acer would offer Amd options like the optimal 8 core 7745Hx that is drastically more power efficient than these horrific intel power hogs.
The funny thing is the 7745hx also draws 100+ watts 😂
Foolish fanboy
It's also much, much slower than the 7945hx and 13900hx in multi core workloads. Don't know why you're coping
In BF2042 the CPU was at 120W in Turbo mode and 100 Degrees, but it does drop to 65W and 83 degrees later on, and performance mode uses 65W so all is OK there. The fan noise is very loud though. I will have to play around with the fan control and see if I can find a happy medium.
@@OWNORDISOWN Yeh that fan noise is obnoxious, all to get very questionable temps at best (even the Gpu was toasty, look at those Gpu Hotspots in the 90!'s). Ofcourse Undervolting both the Cpu and Gpu will help alot, but quality large gaming laptops need to have their stock/base performance/temps equal to what its currently at with Undervolting.. Not rely on Undervolting just to get a vaguely bearable experience.
@@slickrounder6045 what’s a good 4080 laptop with high watts to gpu yet good thermals?
Sounds like some alien eggs are frying inside the laptop
Is it really miniLED 18" panel?
Yes: www.acer.com/us-en/predator/laptops/helios/helios-18#filterHeader
I'm so worried that you will accidently drop the laptop on your ipad and break the screen throughout the entire video🤣
LOL. The only thing I dropped (and I dropped it alot) was those fiddly magnetic exhaust shrouds.
Smack black
afe u sure about price ? 1700$ is very cheap for 4080!
Look at my description. The 4080 is $2500. The 4060 is $1700. Best Buy just recently had a $300 sale on all models so keep your eyes open on them.
Build quality such missing a pin on the hinge get it together acer
Yikes, those fans aren't easy on the ears
LOL, yeah. I think they are the loudest I have heard!
Frankenstein's ⚰️ coffin 💻 laptop. Its alive! It's alive!
hey steve i got a lot of views
Hey Zay, yeah, i see one of your videos has done great!
An absolute disappointment of a laptop , 18 inches laptop has the potential to have more cooling . Why only 2 fans in 18 inches body ? More room for ports yet nothing , and still this new laptop costs an arm and a leg . 18 inch face with a 15 inch body on the inside........ But hey it has magnets.
because it`s acer, in europe nobody loves them theese days.
I think with the $300 discount Best Buy has been offering it makes it quite attractive given the display.
The fan noise is horrific, what a shame!
I just bought with the 4080 it is badass
Do you own 1?
The hair clips are weak
first
Mmmm.meh :\
Paint your laptop 💅 nails :\
Please don't buy predator laptops, they are good in terms of performance but lacks in build quality and reliability. It runs as good as 2 year then problems starts one by one, you'll end up paying more in the long run, or if chance you bought the laptop and is under 1 year warranty, do put extended warranty as long as possible, that way you can save a lot of time and money........ peace.
Looks like a bug zappper under the plastic! Catch some 🪳 cockroaches at night. Extra fun