Acer Predator Helios 300: From 100 watts to 110 watts - TGP increase through firmware update

Acer opts for a material mix of metal (upper cover of the base unit, lid back) and plastic (all other components) when it comes to the chassis of the 15.6-inch Predator Helios 300 gaming laptop. The case is almost completely matte black. The silver bottom covers of the rear air vents are the exception. Color accents are also set by the illuminated Predator logo that's found on the lid's back as well as by a few discreet blue highlights on the keyboard.

The laptop is powered by a Core i7-10750H processor and a GeForce RTX 3070 laptop graphics core. These components combined bring all the latest games smoothly onto the Helios 300's screen; Full HD resolution and maximum quality settings can usually be applied.

A few weeks ago, Acer released firmware updates that increase the TGP for various gaming laptops. In the case of the Predator, the TGP jumps from 100 to 110 watts. The TGP boost leads to a (slight) increase in frame rates in some games. A general improvement can't be detected, though.

The laptop has room for a total of two NVMe SSDs in the M.2-2280 format. If both M.2 slots are equipped with appropriate SSDs, they can form a RAID 0 array if required. Furthermore, the Predator still offers room for a 2.5-inch storage medium. The necessary SATA slot (in the box) and the mounting frame (inside the laptop) are included.

More information and many benchmark results are available in our review of the Acer Predator Helios 300 PH315-53-786B.