I had the opportunity test Acer's SpatialLabs 3D technology at CES 2023, and I couldn't believe my own eyes. While playing God of War on a laptop with this 3D wizardry, my brain was convinced that I could step into the display and walk several feet through a cave to say hello to Kratos. That's how much depth Acer's 3D laptops have while running games.
Now, Acer has unleashed the next-generation Predator Helios 3D 15. It comes with new powerful internals, including a 13th Gen Intel Core i9 CPU and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 40-series GPU. After all, to run 3D magic, you'll need all the beastly internals you can get.
In addition to the Predator Helios 3D 15, Acer is also announcing the new Predator Helios Neo 16. Could these two laptops possibly land among our best Acer laptops and best gaming laptops? We'll just have to wait and see.
The new Acer Predator Helios 3D 15
The Predator Helios 3D 15 uses a mélange of Acer's SpatialLabs eye-tracking solution, a stereoscopic 3D display, and real-time rendering technologies to deliver 3D imagery that appears to pop out of the screen.
As it stands now, the Predator Helios 3D 15 supports over 70 titles for 3D gaming mode, but Acer says it will add more on a continuous basis.
The Predator Helios 3D 15 comes with an Intel Core i9-13900HX CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 GPU with 12GB of VRAM, up to 32GB of DDR5 memory, and up to 2TB of storage (NVMe Raid 0 SSD). The panel is a 15.6-inch, 3840 x 2160-pixel screen in 2D mode, but in 3D mode, the resolution drops to 1920 x 2160 pixels.
The Acer Predator Helios 3D 15 is far from light; it's nearly 7 pounds and has a thickness of 1.1 inches. But hey, what do you expect from a machine that can render 3D games?
The Acer 3D gaming laptop comes with a full range of ports, including two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, and a microSD card reader.
The Predator Helios 3D 15 SpatialLabs Edition will be available in June with a price tag of $3,500.
The new Acer Predator Helios Neo 16
Acer boasts that the Predator Helios Neo 16 offers the powerful components one would expect from the Helios line, but it comes at a more affordable price point. You'll love the chassis, too. It features laser-etched, encrypted codes on its abyssal-black anodized cover, inviting gamers to decode the design.
The Predator Helios Neo 16 comes in the following specs:
CPU
- Intel Core i7-13700HX processor
- Intel Core i5-13500HX processor
RAM
- Up to 32GB of DDR5 memory
Graphics
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 with 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 with 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 with 6GB of GDDR6 VRAM
Display (both include Nvidia Advanced Optimus and G-SYNC)
- 16.-inch, 16:10, WQXGA 2560 x 1600 IPS Display, 165Hz, 500 nits
- 16-inch, 16:10, WUXGA 1920 x 1200 display, 165Hz, 400 nits
To keep the Predator Helios Neo 16 temperate, it uses Acer's advanced cooling system that comes with custom-engineered, all-metal AeroBlade fan tech and liquid metal thermal grease on the CPU to push performance to the max. We can't wait to test the Helios Neo 16 to determine how well it stays cool while gaming.
The Predator Helios Neo 16 has a starting price of $1,200 and is expected to hit store shelves in May.
