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| Acer PH315-52-588F Predator Helios 300 2020 Gaming Laptop |
Acer PH315-52-588F Predator Helios 300 2020 Gaming Laptop
This device does an excellent job according to its stated performance. During this review, the device was printed two days later. If there are long-term problems, I can update them later.
Test method:
I don't have many tools to measure actual brightness, degraded colors, etc. In general, I do tests based on the firmware and some of them catch my attention.
Building:
The upper part (the back of the screen) is made of metal, the keyboard and palm rest are made of metal, and the edges and bottom of the screen are made of plastic. This is a good design decision because it prevents the floor from turning into an oven. The hinge is fixed and can be moved very easily.
the screen:
The nominal brightness of the screen is about 300 lumens. Based on comparisons with others with similar ratings, this screen depends on the possibility that you are actually brighter than this rating. As long as there is no direct sunlight on the screen, it can be seen completely from the outside during the day. The refresh rate of 144 Hz is a very interesting feature, as it allows rock movement. Contrast and gradient are very effective and easy to notice. I don't have a colorimeter, so maybe it's just smart engineering, but there doesn't seem to be a compromise here. The screen is affected by the contrast of the backlight, so bright spots appear on the edges of a completely black image. However, this is the perfect choice for IPS LCD.
GPU:
The graphics processing unit (GPU) seems to be able to handle everything that happens in the most violent settings and has not had any performance issues. The sports effects of Witcher 3 and Darksiders Warmastered Edition are amazing, because the latter runs at 144Hz without any problems. In Final Fantasy XIV Stormbringer Standard, you get 14000+ high recognition, everything reaches its limits and stops all improvements. The laptop is preset to an overclocking setting called "Turbo", which is activated by a button on the top left of the keyboard. You can of course create your own overclocking profile.
Like most gaming laptops, Predator Helios 300 Intel Optimus is used for more energy efficient use to save battery power and reduce fan noise. In short, Intel Optimus can dynamically switch between the stronger and stronger Intel GPU processor and GTX-1660ti. The system tries to guess which GPU to use for a particular process, but you can control it in different ways. In the Nvidia Control Panel, you can specify the GPU to be used in a specific application so that it runs automatically under the Nvidia Card as long as you run the program (i.e. your game). You can also say the system is better than the Nvidia card in every way (it's not a good idea unless you want to keep listening to the fan and watch the battery run low in front of you). Finally, there is a context menu item called "Run with Graphics Assistant" that allows you to right-click the app before launching it to select a function that you can use. Therefore, Optimus is very useful for performance balance, but there are also some unfortunate compromises. There is no "View" option in the Nvidia Control Panel, because Optimus dynamically manages these parameters, even if the GPU cannot technically use the G-Sync and Fast Sync options.
keyboard:
The keyboard is great in most cases. The keys are fairly spacious, slightly convex, quiet and pleasant. I'm used to pushing hard for my fingers to explode and sometimes I end up writing two letters, but I can't adjust them. (I tried to use the Windows Filter Key settings to solve this problem, but it's more of an accessibility option and very limited.) With the keyboard display, you can use a 10-key keyboard on the keyboard, but the key is much narrower than the rest of the keyboard. The key 0 has been moved to the middle column to accommodate the arrow keys. So it is a compromise. It is really annoying when you try to enter a lot of numbers, like B. License Key.
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| Acer PH315-52-588F Predator Helios 300 2020 Gaming Laptop |
The touchpad:
The touchpad is large and very sensitive. There are no mouse buttons, but the bottom of the panel can be clicked because the left and right corners represent the left and right mouse buttons, respectively.
Voice:
The laptop is equipped with a pair of stereo speakers that may meet the actual requirements. They are still young and can't hear enough noise to beat fans while playing. Games or other devices running the GPU must impose noise reduction or headphones isolation. But the clear surround sound is convincing.
background:
Last year, they changed the backlight in blue to blue, which I think is more pleasing to the eye, but this is a problem using the bed a little because the blue spectrum affects your ability to get REM sleep. It is something to search for.
the battery:
It operates at 3,720 mAh and has a 25% higher capacity than the previous year. In my opinion, it does not make sense to give the number "for a few hours" because it depends on background operations, screen brightness, operating mode and battery duration, etc. Nobody bought this laptop to extend battery life. Nvidia has many settings that extend battery life during the game. However, the frames should be limited to all settings. If you want to play games without AC power, the games you play will work on your laptop with very little power consumption.
Webcam / microphone
The maximum webcam can reach 720p30. This decision can also transfer still images, which appear to be the engineering of the sensor itself. It works well in relatively poor lighting conditions: When the overall brightness is increased, the screen is lit so strongly that useful details can be captured in a dark room. In a naturally lit room, the picture is darker than what you see with your eyes, and like most web cameras, the colors are a bit blurry. As with most pinhole cameras, bright lighting is brighter and colors are more realistic. It can be used easily in a well-lit office or outdoors. Stereo microphones capture crystal clear sound.
Network:
The WiFi speed killer in this device is incredible. My internet service speed is around 25MB / s. When downloading games from GOG Galaxy, this Wi-Fi card easily reaches 23MB / s (that's a little). I am glad to see that the laptop also maintains the RJ-45 for wired Ethernet connections - it uses smart hinge ports to maximize offline space.
Difficulty accessing the device / upgrading:
Unlike last year model, it has no quick access connection. If you want to get a WiFi, M.2, storage, or SSD network, you should remove the bottom part of the cap. Fortunately, after removing the Philips 10 screws and lowering the bottom cover, everything is close at hand.
Cooling method:
It is the best laptop I have ever seen. The heatsink and fan can be clearly seen through numerous cracks on the bottom, sides and back. The fan noise is the same as the noise of any laptop you used before, but the worst, although pressing the turbo button in the overclocking profile and upgrading these fans does the same thing, which gives the impression that the plane is ready to take off, if you do in the game, Noise isolation or cancellation is optional.
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| Acer PH315-52-588F Predator Helios 300 2020 Gaming Laptop |
Storage method:
256GB PCIe M.2 drive installed. It has excellent performance around 1.5 Gbps and is very fast and excellent. There are only a few left, but luckily there is another M.2 slot for installing another card later on. There is also a 2.5-inch drive, but the SATA connector and bracket connector set come with a warning that Acer is no longer a valid response to the user. So you can try installing it yourself to cancel the warranty.
Instructions / documents:
The device documentation is somewhat disappointing. It provides information about ports and keyboards, but no information about installing the M.2 device, upgrading memory, or installing a 2.5-inch drive. It is not a complete Meshaal process, but it seems clear. Explains that Acer does not want to tell you where to go. The SATA adapter for 2.5-inch drives must be connected to a special tape slot that does not specify exactly how to find them on the motherboard.
Other questions:
When I see the "Turbo" button, I should laugh. I'm too old to remember when I'm working on an Intel 386 processor, and there's no point doing exactly the same thing here.
BIOS is related to the most important issue I have seen recently, and there is no option to control and / or disable the integrated GPU.
This system is equipped with Norton Ultimate. Fortunately, this is the only garbage installed by Acer. Microsoft's standard Windows Defender is much better than Norton, and unlike Norton, not all CPU cycles are wasted for some reason. Windows Defender is part of Windows 10. Uninstall Norton and restart it to activate it. It is a better protection that does not expire and requires more money every year.
I have attached a picture of the application installed in this test so you can see what's connected to it.
The bottom line:
Advantages:
- Elegant, strong appearance
Excellent 144Hz screen
300 dpi is not a bright MacBook, but it can be used in daylight
- Comes with PCIe M.2 memory speed
Wi-Fi speed is very fast
- Powerful GPU
- Cooling is very effective - I've never seen a 46C break
Negatives:
Blue backlight is not enough to sleep
- The fan rings when the system is under load
- There is no option to disable Optimus and enable GSync (hence not GSync)
Norton Grandpa in the end?