Gaming PCslead the race when it comes to sheer performance numbers for the price they’re offered at, and this trend doesn’t seem to be fading away anytime soon. Assembling one yourself gives you control over the selection of parts and is easier to repair if anything goes wrong. But what about gamers who are constantly on the go and want to enjoy the same experience when not at home? Lugging around a gaming PC isn’t an option and that’s where a capable gaming laptop comes into play. Although not on the same level as a full desktop, a gaming laptop can still deliver top-shelf performance which you can carry with you around the world.
Right now you can pick up anAcerPredator Helios 18for only $2100. That high price is justified by theNvidia GeForce RTX 4080the laptop packs. This is the laptop you’d want if you prioritize raw gaming performance over everything else, and aren’t bothered about the steep price tag.
Acer’s Predator Helios Configuration
Thegiant 18-inch screenmakes the laptop a unit and a half to lug around. Thankfully, the laptop is made of mostly metal and durable plastic. The hinges feel strong, and the screen doesn’t wobble when gaming. If you plan on carrying this laptop to work or school every day, then be advised that itweighs 7.15 lbs. It’s not the mostportable gaming laptopout there, but that’s a common issue with these power-packed machines.
The brains behind this beast is theIntel i9-14900HX processorwhich has24-cores and 32-threads. It’s safe to say that you may throw any task at it without worrying about performance, be it 3D modeling or AI training. Intensive high-resolution video editing and rendering is also a breeze for this processor. With32GB of DDR5 RAMrunning at 5600MHz, your output will not be limited by the memory. However, mass storage is underwhelming with only1TB of SSD. Luckily, you can add more if needed.
The laptop boasts tremendous graphics processing prowess, thanks to theNvidia GeForce RTX 4080with12GB of VRAM,though it can draw up to 175W of power. Running Cyberpunk 2077 on 2560 x 1600 at high graphics settings will fetch youan average of 98 FPS. Similarly, Red Dead Redemption 2 will yield 121 FPS, making itone of the fastest laptops with an RTX 4080, and even competes with some laptops with an RTX 4090.
The Acer Predator Helios 18 laptop gets a2560 x 1600 IPSdisplay with a high refresh rate of 240Hz, which is more than adequate for gaming. Only a few games will deliver that many frames per second to utilize the high refresh rate. The screen also gets pretty bright and reaches a peak brightness ofabout 500 nits. It produces a vivid picture with high contrast and a wide color gamut. Gaming and media consumption is a joyful experience, eliminating the need to hook it to an external monitor.
