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Acer Predator Helios 300 Gaming Laptop, 15.6" Full HD, Intel Core i7-7700HQ CPU, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 256GB SSD, GeForce GTX 1060-6GB, VR Ready, Red Backlit KB, Metal Chassis, G3-571-77QK
I am amazed at what you get for this price point.
Pros:
-Price/Performance
-GTX 1060 easily pushes 1080p monitor
-Cooling seems to do a good job
-Quality build
-m.2 is PCIe/NVMe compatible
-free 2.5" bay with mounting included
-Matte screen
-Not too bulky
Cons (I gonna really reach here, no reason to complain at this price):
-Single USB 3 port
-USB C is NOT thunderbolt 3
-finger prints show easily on metal exterior
The build quality is instantly obvious. It is well made both in material quality as well as design. The first thing I did after unboxing was create a backup using a USB 3 stick which took ~1 hour. After that I opened it up and replaced the 256GB m.2 SATA SSD with a Samsung 960 EVO Series - 500GB NVMe - M.2 Internal SSD (MZ-V6E500BW) drive. The process was a little difficult as I wasnt sure how to get the base off after unscrewing all 15-16 screws. As it turns out, with the base facing up and the back facing away from you that you pull from the back vents up. The base has all around the perimeter plastic snaps that require a little effort to unsnap by pulling. Be careful these are easy to break. I broke 1 in my efforts which hasnt had any adverse effects but I could see 3+ being a problem. Once the bottom was off the m.2 is near the ram. 1 screw to release the m.2 drive and getting it back together was not issue. I also put a Samsung 850 Evo 500GB/SATA in the 2.5" bay.
I installed Windows 10 Pro (comes with Home) as I have all my computers domain joined to Server 2016 Essentials (Home cant join domains). Install went smooth, setup drivers, programs, AV, etc. Computer boots in the blink of an eye, shutdown/restart is blazing fast. Updated BIOS to latest (I think 1.03 as of this review) and no issues with that.
I have only played Overwatch so far, but it runs at a solid 60fps @ 1080p with Ultra settings. I know not the most intense game but still impressive. The screen also impressed me. After doing a ton of research in general and alot on this specific laptop the general complaint seemed to be the monitor. I can tell you unless you are a professional photographer/graphics designer who needs precise color that the monitor is impressive for what it is. It is the MOST matte display I have ever seen, virtually 0 reflectivity. Its 1080p, sharp, 60hz. You dont get premium features like G-Sync but if you run solid 60fps in a game theres no real advantage and its not worth $200-300 more just for that feature in my opinion.
Coming from a desktop i7 4770k @ 4.4GHz with a GTX 1070 I am very impressed with this laptop. I needed the mobility as I will be working out of state and travelling alot. I notice no difference in speed, if anything this laptop is a bit faster (most likely thanks to the 960 Evo SSD). It also puts out way less heat then my desktop did. In a relatively small 3rd bedroom/office my desktop could easily heat the room up to the point of needing to open a window or point a fan into the room to direct cool air in. This laptop is not nearly as hot.
The cooling in this laptop is great. In a really quite setting you can hear the fans, more so under load, but in typical settings for me with a fan on or a tv on in another room I cant hear them (especially with headphones on). The Predator Sense app is simple and makes controlling the fans easy. Without CoolBlast turned on max rpm of the fans is mid 4k, with it on the max goes up over 6k but adds a noticeable decrease in temps. I usually toggle it on when I know ill be gaming for a few hours. Temps are reasonable in my opinion (Celsius):
CPU: 40min/~75gaming
GPU: 60min/70max (GTX 1060 disables when not gaming, so temp is min/max gaming)
In conclusion, for ~$1k you get a 7700HQ, GTX 1060, 16GB DDR4, nice matte 1080p screen, quality build, NVMe capability, free 2.5" bay, backlit keyboard. Cant go wrong at this price especially when nothing else competes with similar specs. I am very happy with my purchase, would highly recommend.
EDIT (1/2/2018): Still works great, no issues so far. Handful of updates for drivers/BIOS. I have still not seen anything that competes with this on specs/price ratio. You would be hard pressed to build a comparable desktop version of this.
Very happy with it
Acer Predator Helios 300 Gaming Laptop, 15.6" Full HD, Intel Core i7-7700HQ CPU, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 256GB SSD, GeForce GTX 1060-6GB, VR Ready, Red Backlit KB, Metal Chassis, G3-571-77QK
That will get you to Amazon Site.....
I am amazed at what you get for this price point.
Pros:
-Price/Performance
-GTX 1060 easily pushes 1080p monitor
-Cooling seems to do a good job
-Quality build
-m.2 is PCIe/NVMe compatible
-free 2.5" bay with mounting included
-Matte screen
-Not too bulky
Cons (I gonna really reach here, no reason to complain at this price):
-Single USB 3 port
-USB C is NOT thunderbolt 3
-finger prints show easily on metal exterior
The build quality is instantly obvious. It is well made both in material quality as well as design. The first thing I did after unboxing was create a backup using a USB 3 stick which took ~1 hour. After that I opened it up and replaced the 256GB m.2 SATA SSD with a Samsung 960 EVO Series - 500GB NVMe - M.2 Internal SSD (MZ-V6E500BW) drive. The process was a little difficult as I wasnt sure how to get the base off after unscrewing all 15-16 screws. As it turns out, with the base facing up and the back facing away from you that you pull from the back vents up. The base has all around the perimeter plastic snaps that require a little effort to unsnap by pulling. Be careful these are easy to break. I broke 1 in my efforts which hasnt had any adverse effects but I could see 3+ being a problem. Once the bottom was off the m.2 is near the ram. 1 screw to release the m.2 drive and getting it back together was not issue. I also put a Samsung 850 Evo 500GB/SATA in the 2.5" bay.
I installed Windows 10 Pro (comes with Home) as I have all my computers domain joined to Server 2016 Essentials (Home cant join domains). Install went smooth, setup drivers, programs, AV, etc. Computer boots in the blink of an eye, shutdown/restart is blazing fast. Updated BIOS to latest (I think 1.03 as of this review) and no issues with that.
I have only played Overwatch so far, but it runs at a solid 60fps @ 1080p with Ultra settings. I know not the most intense game but still impressive. The screen also impressed me. After doing a ton of research in general and alot on this specific laptop the general complaint seemed to be the monitor. I can tell you unless you are a professional photographer/graphics designer who needs precise color that the monitor is impressive for what it is. It is the MOST matte display I have ever seen, virtually 0 reflectivity. Its 1080p, sharp, 60hz. You dont get premium features like G-Sync but if you run solid 60fps in a game theres no real advantage and its not worth $200-300 more just for that feature in my opinion.
Coming from a desktop i7 4770k @ 4.4GHz with a GTX 1070 I am very impressed with this laptop. I needed the mobility as I will be working out of state and travelling alot. I notice no difference in speed, if anything this laptop is a bit faster (most likely thanks to the 960 Evo SSD). It also puts out way less heat then my desktop did. In a relatively small 3rd bedroom/office my desktop could easily heat the room up to the point of needing to open a window or point a fan into the room to direct cool air in. This laptop is not nearly as hot.
The cooling in this laptop is great. In a really quite setting you can hear the fans, more so under load, but in typical settings for me with a fan on or a tv on in another room I cant hear them (especially with headphones on). The Predator Sense app is simple and makes controlling the fans easy. Without CoolBlast turned on max rpm of the fans is mid 4k, with it on the max goes up over 6k but adds a noticeable decrease in temps. I usually toggle it on when I know ill be gaming for a few hours. Temps are reasonable in my opinion (Celsius):
CPU: 40min/~75gaming
GPU: 60min/70max (GTX 1060 disables when not gaming, so temp is min/max gaming)
In conclusion, for ~$1k you get a 7700HQ, GTX 1060, 16GB DDR4, nice matte 1080p screen, quality build, NVMe capability, free 2.5" bay, backlit keyboard. Cant go wrong at this price especially when nothing else competes with similar specs. I am very happy with my purchase, would highly recommend.
EDIT (1/2/2018): Still works great, no issues so far. Handful of updates for drivers/BIOS. I have still not seen anything that competes with this on specs/price ratio. You would be hard pressed to build a comparable desktop version of this.
Very happy with it
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