CES 2022 | Acer revitalises the Predator Helios 300 with Intel Alder Lake processors, a GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, and more

Last year's (2021) Acer Predator Helios 300 refresh opted to stick with a (now) two-generation Intel Comet Lake-H processor. This time around, it becomes part of the Alder Lake family, and Acer has also thrown in a new Nvidia GPU for good measure. Everything else about it remains more or less the same, with a few minor tweaks. Thankfully, Acer has kept the PredatorSense button that switches between fan modes on the fly.

Similar to its previous-generation counterpart, Acer offers the Acer Predator Helios 300 in two screen sizes: 15.6-inch and 17.3-inch. The former in QHD (2,560 x 1,440) and FHD (1,920 x 1,080) variants with a refresh rate of 165Hz and 240Hz, respectively. On the other hand, the 17.3-inch variant lowers the FHD panel's resolution to 144Hz. Acer has neglected to mention the panel's refresh rate, but if last year's model is anything to go by, it is 3ms.

Under the hood, the Acer Predator Helios 300 packs 12th-generation Intel Alder Lake processors. The top-of-the-line model likely packs a Core i7-12800H, but Acer hasn't confirmed it yet. One can configure the laptop with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 or the newly-launched GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, and we're probably looking at a TGP of 100W for both variants. Acer's 5th generation AeroBlade 3D fan, liquid metal thermal paste and Acer's CoolBoost technology keep the internals chilly.

The Acer Predator Helios 300 gets a DDR5 upgrade along with the Alder Lake CPU. It is configurable with 32GB of DDR4 DDR5 4,800MT/s RAM and a 1TB PCI-E Gen 4 NCMe SSD. Wired and wireless connectivity options include an HDMI 2.1 port, a Thunderbolt 4.0 port, a USB Type-C port, an RJ45 Ethernet jack, Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2.

The entry-level 15.6-inch Acer Predator Helios 300 variant will cost EUR 1,799 (US$2,038). Similarly, its 17.3-inch sibling will retail for EUR 1,999 (US$2,466). Both models are expected to go on sale in March 2022.