Spending a grip on a gaming laptop computer isn’t troublesome; a cursory search on gaming laptops will internet you many choices that price greater than $4,000. However discovering a laptop computer that’s providing you with the best return in your funding is extra of a problem. Should you’re spending round $3,000 on a gaming laptop computer just like the Acer Predator Triton 500 SE, you need it to bury the competitors, not simply scrape by. Sadly, the Triton 500 SE is a bit disappointing and doesn’t flex its {hardware} sufficient to set it aside in a crowded market.
Housed in its all-silver chassis, the $2,999.99 configuration of the Triton 500 SE we examined features a twelfth Gen Core i9-12900H processor, RTX 3080 Ti graphics card, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of PCIe NVME storage. This {hardware} is greater than sufficient to take full benefit of its 16-inch 240Hz 2560 x 1600 show. Acer has cheaper fashions of the Triton 500 SE accessible, too; the base model, with an Intel Core i7-12700H CPU, RTX 3070 Ti, and 16GB of RAM, prices $2,099.99, about as a lot as a Lenovo Legion 5i Pro with twice the RAM and storage.
The Triton 500 SE has sufficient ports that it doesn’t want an exterior dock or a multitude of dongles. Alongside the left facet, you’ll discover an ethernet port, DC connector, a 3.5mm audio jack, a single USB-A port, and a USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 hookup. The proper facet options one other Thunderbolt port and USB-A port plus an HDMI output and SDXC card reader.
Should you’re sticking to the realm across the WASD keys, the keyboard is okay, however making an attempt to get precise work carried out on the keyboard generally is a problem. The switches have good tactile suggestions and a small quantity of journey, they usually don’t really feel mushy, however they’re smaller than common, and the gaps between them make me want this house have been used somewhat extra effectively. Too typically, I missed a key or needed to pause what I used to be doing to seek for a perform that had been relocated. In a number of circumstances, I hit the important thing that summons the Acer Predator software program as a substitute of the backspace key. I made far fewer errors with the keyboard on the Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 because of its barely bigger keys and extra acquainted structure.
The trackpad is sizable, at roughly 5 x 3 inches, and has a satisfying tactile response with a pleasant click on. It’s correct and responsive and didn’t randomly register my palms when utilizing it. It’ll get you by for those who’re taking part in Civilization 6, however you’re going to desire a devoted mouse on your Valorant ladder matches. It’s a bit disappointing that the fingerprint sensor takes up a part of the upper-left portion of the trackpad. It doesn’t get in the way in which fairly often, however I’d fairly have an even bigger trackpad floor with a fingerprint sensor on one other a part of the chassis.
At simply over 5 kilos, it could be tempting to name the Triton transportable, however the battery life prevents it from going far with out an accessible outlet. The Triton lasts a few hours when gaming on battery energy, which isn’t spectacular however is barely extra spectacular when you think about that it gives roughly the identical gaming expertise you’d get when it’s plugged in. The motherboard is supplied with a multiplexer, or MUX swap, that reinforces battery life by dynamically switching between the built-in and devoted GPUs relying on the duty. By leaning on the built-in GPU as a substitute of the RTX 3080 Ti, it managed to get virtually three hours of YouTube streaming / working. You may’t count on an excessive amount of from a laptop computer this dimension that makes use of such a demanding graphics card, however for those who want longevity out of your gaming laptop computer, the MSI GS77 Stealth lasts about so long as the Triton however prices you much less for the privilege.
Acer Predator Triton 500 SE specs (as reviewed)
- 16-inch IPS show, WQXGA 2560 x 1600, 240Hz
- Intel CoreTM i9-12900H 14-Core Processor, 2.51GHz with Intel Turbo Increase Know-how 2.0 as much as 4.7GHz
- 32GB of onboard LPDDR5
- 1TB PCIe Gen4 SSD, NVMe
- 5.29 kilos
- Two USB Kind-C (USB4, Thunderbolt 4, USB charging), two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, HDMI 2.1, SDXC card reader, headphone / speaker jack, DC-IN, Kensington lock slot
- Bluetooth 5.2, Gigabit ethernet, IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax
- Home windows Hi there fingerprint reader
- $2,999.99
The hinge on the show is agency and gained’t wobble so long as you employ the laptop computer on a flat floor. Nonetheless, I’d’ve appreciated a fabric on the lid and chassis that did a greater job of resisting fingerprints and different seen markings. One in all our large complaints from the previous Triton mannequin has resurfaced: the slim lid has a shocking quantity of flex. Nearly any quantity of strain causes the show to bow, which isn’t one thing I wish to see in a laptop computer that prices over $3,000.
The audio system, housed between the hinge and the keyboard, are uncommonly good for a laptop computer — a minimum of, I didn’t instantly wish to attain for the closest pair of headphones. They’re not far sufficient aside to supply the spatial audio you’d get from a pair of headphones, however they’re competent sufficient to supply a excessive and low finish that doesn’t sound tinny or washed-out. The Acer software program has a number of totally different EQ presets which might be meant to supply a greater listening expertise for various recreation genres, however “Music” offered essentially the most balanced sound of the bunch.
The 2650 x 1600 IPS show has a 16:10 side ratio, and Acer says it might probably hit 500 nits of brightness. It additionally helps G-Sync, with a most refresh fee of 240Hz. The {hardware} within the Triton 500 SE is remarkably highly effective, however even an RTX 3080 Ti can’t hit 240fps in trendy titles. Solely Counter-Strike: International Offensive bought shut, sustaining round 200fps at max settings and as much as 333fps after I dropped the decision to 1080p. It’s good to have a display with loads of overhead, however the truth that it has adaptive sync is extra vital to most individuals than the refresh fee.
It wasn’t straightforward to problem the Triton 500 SE with our present benchmarks. The Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti in our evaluation unit is the present top-of-the-line gaming GPU, and it’s highly effective — it hit round 60fps or higher at native decision with extremely settings and extremely ray tracing in virtually each recreation we examined it with.
In our Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark with extremely presets, ray tracing enabled, and DLSS off, it averaged 79fps. The $4,000 Razer Blade 17, one other RTX 3080 Ti laptop computer with a 2560 x 1600 display, bought 70fps on the identical settings, whereas the $2,800 MSI GS77 Stealth, with an RTX 3070 Ti, solely managed 58fps.
The Triton 500 SE additionally hit 67fps in Crimson Useless Redemption 2 at extremely settings with DLSS off, in comparison with 72fps for the Razer Blade 17 and 59 for the GS77 Stealth.
Within the extra demanding Cyberpunk 2077, the Predator Triton 500 SE hit 61fps at extremely settings with ray tracing set to extremely and 48fps with ray tracing set to “psycho,” each with DLSS off. Even video games like Doom Everlasting put out a comparatively regular 60fps with extremely presets and ray tracing enabled and hit a constant 120fps when utilizing DLSS efficiency mode.
Like the opposite laptops we’ve examined with RTX 3080 Ti GPUs, it blazed by means of our video export check, managing to finish the run in two minutes and 20 seconds.
All the benchmarks have been carried out whereas utilizing the best efficiency presets accessible by means of the Acer management software program, which yielded wonderful outcomes, however I did most of my gaming within the aptly named “whisper mode,” which fortunately lives as much as its identify. I’m unsure you’d be capable of market the Triton 500 SE with out this characteristic, because the followers may be loud sufficient to be distracting if the system is below even a modest stage of pressure. This mode has the followers working at their minimal, so some throttling can be anticipated right here, however in testing, the 500SE nonetheless managed to supply strong efficiency when positioned below these constraints. Taking part in Doom Everlasting with the identical settings, as an example, didn’t change a lot, nonetheless managing as much as 120fps when utilizing DLSS efficiency mode. Nonetheless, the Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark took some fairly critical hits, managing a median of simply 50fps utilizing the identical settings.
Switching between efficiency profiles is completed by means of the Acer management software program, which is easy and unobtrusive. You may summon this software program through the desktop or by utilizing its personal devoted macro key. The software program enables you to regulate fan speeds, efficiency profiles, and RGB lighting. However not like another gaming laptops, just like the Asus ROG Zephyrus collection, you possibly can solely change the efficiency profile whereas the laptop computer is plugged into an outlet. Even whereas at an almost full cost, I discovered that unplugging the laptop computer causes the {hardware} profile to revert to its default balanced energy state.
Comply with Proceed: Acer Predator Triton 500 SE
Each sensible gadget now requires you to comply with a collection of phrases and situations earlier than you should use it — contracts that nobody truly reads. It’s unattainable for us to learn and analyze each single certainly one of these agreements. However we began counting precisely what number of instances you need to hit “agree” to make use of gadgets after we evaluation them since these are agreements most individuals don’t learn and undoubtedly can’t negotiate.
As with different Home windows 10 computer systems, the Acer Predator Triton 500 SE presents you with a number of issues to comply with or decline upon setup.
The obligatory insurance policies, for which an settlement is required, are:
- A request on your area and keyboard structure
- Home windows 10 License Settlement
- A Microsoft account for sign-in
- A PIN
As well as, there are a number of optionally available issues to comply with:
- Hook up with Wi-Fi community
- Arrange fingerprint sensor authentication
- Machine privateness settings: on-line speech recognition, Discover My Machine, Inking and Typing, Promoting ID, Location, Diagnostic information, Tailor-made experiences
- Ship Microsoft your exercise historical past to sync your exercise throughout Home windows gadgets
- Join your Android cellphone for My Cellphone companies
- Decide to avoid wasting information through OneDrive
- Join Microsoft 365
- Permit Microsoft to entry your location, location historical past, contacts, voice enter, speech and handwriting patterns, typing historical past, search historical past, calendar particulars, messages, apps, and Edge searching historical past to assist Cortana present personalised experiences and related solutions
- Present your identify, area, and e mail tackle for Acer assist and safety
That’s 5 obligatory agreements and 15 optionally available ones.
The Predator Triton 500 SE is in a troublesome spot. On one hand, it’s the least costly gaming laptop computer we’ve examined with specs like these. Of the RTX 3080 Ti fashions we’ve examined, the Razer Blade 17 has higher construct high quality however a much less highly effective CPU and prices $1,000 extra. The MSI GE76 Raider prices extra and has a lower-resolution display. However the Gigabyte Aero 16, which price $5,000 after we reviewed it, is now only a few hundred bucks more than the Triton 500 SE. It’s scorching and loud and has dangerous battery life, too, however it additionally has a 4K AMOLED display.
The RTX 3080 Ti is Nvidia’s present top-of-the-line cell graphics card (for now, a minimum of), and 2560 x 1600 looks like the precise decision for it proper now. You’ll must drop ray tracing and high quality settings to hit 60fps on a 4K show, and 1080p is simply too low-resolution for a 16-inch display. Springing for a 3080 Ti as a substitute of a 3070 Ti means you’ll have playable body charges for longer, which implies you’ll get extra life out of your laptop computer earlier than you need to improve.
Alternatively, the followers on my check unit have been so loud that I spent most of my gaming time in quiet mode and bought decrease body charges than a 3070 Ti. So why spend the additional cash except you will have actually good noise-canceling headphones?
That’s the RTX 3080 Ti. However the candy spot GPU in Nvidia’s lineup proper now’s the RTX 3070 Ti, which might nonetheless hit near 60fps at extremely settings in lots of video games, although normally not with ray tracing all the way in which up. And it prices lots much less. The Triton 500 SE has a $2,099.99 model with a Core i7-12700H CPU, RTX 3070 TI, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage. That’s far more compelling, particularly as a result of you possibly can simply improve the RAM. We haven’t reviewed that mannequin, however except its efficiency is wildly totally different from laptops with related specs we’ve examined, you’ll nonetheless get a lot of the efficiency of the $3,000 mannequin for round $800 much less.
However for a similar worth and even much less, you may get a Lenovo Legion 5i Pro on sale with the same CPU, GPU, and RAM, just about the identical port choice, and an identical 2560 x 1600 G-Sync panel. (Although it tops out at 165Hz as a substitute of 240Hz.) In his review, my colleague Cam Faulkner discovered that the Legion 5i Professional had higher construct high quality and quieter followers than the Triton 500 SE I examined. Even for those who can’t get the very same RAM and SSD configuration, each of these are simply person upgradeable, not like construct high quality and fan noise.
The Acer Predator Triton 500 SE isn’t a foul gaming laptop computer, and the RTX 3080 Ti mannequin I examined has highly effective {hardware} for the value. Nevertheless it’s nonetheless not definitely worth the worth premium, particularly with how loud the followers are, particularly with new graphics playing cards coming quickly, and particularly when the RTX 3070 Ti laptops get you 80 % of the efficiency for nearly $1,000 much less. However, with Nvidia’s new 40-series GPUs on the horizon, the pricing for a lot of gaming laptops outfitted with 30-series GPUs could calm down considerably.