Acer Helios Neo 16 - 7 Problems You Need To Know!

The Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 is generally a great mid-range gaming laptop, but it's not perfect.. These are the 7 problems that I've got with this laptop that you need to know!

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Acer Helios Neo 16 Review Timestamps:
0:00 I’ve got 7 problems…
0:21 Problem #1
1:24 Problem #2
1:51 Problem #3
2:06 Problem #4
2:38 Problem #5
3:13 Problem #6
3:36 Problem #7
3:48 It’s Not All Bad.. Here What’s Good!
4:54 More Important Details

Disclosure: Purchases made through store links above may provide some compensation to Jarrod'sTech.

[abhijitbaruah]

I own both the laptops - Helios 300 (i7 12700H, RTX 3070Ti) and the Neo 16 (i7 13700HX, RTX 4060) and I disagree with most of the points mentioned here. First off, comparing a 3070Ti vs a 4060 is in itself a flawed argument. Its another matter that a 4060 manages to hold its own and, in most cases, even exceed the 3070Ti's performance...that, in itself, is a praiseworthy feat.

Gaming performance: In particular, the gaming performance comparison done here is with DLSS and Ray Tracing both turned off. Why?? Why would anyone buy a 40 series laptop and turn these 2 pathbreaking technologies off??
Conclusion: In games that do support DLSS and Ray Tracing, the Helios Neo 16 beats the Helios 300 hands down. Especially in games that support DLSS 2 and DLSS 3, you can't imagine how good the games look!

Battery: Unless you are doing hardcore gaming on battery power (which I doubt anyone does), you won't get any noticeable difference in battery capacity. I ran a test simultaneously on both laptops (played LOTR extended version movies back to back, LOL) and the Helios 300 lasted only 11min more than the Neo 16. Considering the bigger screen of the Neo 16, and the fact that the peak brightness of the Neo 16 is much higher than the Helios 300, I think its a good trade-off.

CPU performance: Much better than what Jarrod's numbers denote. For instance, I did several simultaneous x265 test encodes on both laptops at exactly the same settings (Mode: Quality, Preset: Slower, on Staxrip) and the Neo 16 outperformed the Helios 300...Every Single Time. Just another instance of "test figures" not really translating to real-world performance, eh? Also, GPU encoding on the 4060 using Nvenc simply blows the mind!

The cooling on the Neo 16 is much improved than the Helios 300, and is significantly quieter under normal cooling. Turn up the cooling to Turbo mode, though, and it gets quite loud too...but then, you can power through several hours of intense gaming with ease.

All in all, you buy a new laptop for the generational updates you get. In this case, you get the RTX 40 series capabilities, which is huge leap forward compared to the RTX 30 series. This simple fact outweighs most of the negatives mentioned here. Also, the argument that you are getting a 1 year old laptop at a lesser price than a new laptop...I mean, c'mon! Isn't this how technology works?

Take it from someone who has used (and abused!) both laptops for a significant amount of time - the Neo 16 is better than the Helios 300. End of story.

[lijimmy]

Despite the performance loss from last year, I feel the fan noise alone makes this years Neo a worthy upgrade. Helios went from being one of the loudest gaming laptops to one of the quietest.

[_fiftyseven_]

I think this is a better buy for the price compared to Lenovo LOQ 15 as well as the Nitro 5 (unless with the 3060) especially in the South-East Asian region. The battery too is quite bigger compared to the Legion & the Nitro

[SurfaceLevelAnalysis]

I bought this on sale for 999$, although it's a I5 13500hx with rtx 4050, but from what I've experienced it's an amazing laptop

[screenplayergaminginall]

Here in Malaysia the Helios 300 (2022) with an rtx 3060 and an i7-12700h with 16gb cost RM7579 (1622 USD) while the Helios neo 16 with the rtx 4050 and the i5-1300HX with 8GB RAM is RM4484 which is (960USD).

There's a huge difference here in Malaysia and the Helios neo 16 might be the one for me.

[adarshthco]

Jarrod, 13500HX version of this device is infact a value for money offering, considering the specs and the performance it brings to the table compared to its counterparts in terms of pricing.

[MrRez]

I bought one at the beginning of June and I really like it. Coming from my old 2018 Acer Helios 300 this was a massive upgrade.

[AlexPandianJ]

I bought this laptop for 860$ in Best buy with i5-13500hx and RTX4050. And the thermals are so good and cpu temps never went beyond 80. In eco moode i get 5 hrs of battery life which is good for gaming laptop i would say

[chinglegitrdx]

idk if it's the time or the region but the Helios 300 is more expensive (1750USD) than the Neo 16 (1500USD), and i do prefer newer models over older models just for the extended dirver support

[yashsarnaik]

In India case is totally different. Predator helios neos 16 is value for money in its segment

[craigm]

Turning on frame generation would paint a completely different picture in those bar graphs, I hope that newbie buyers understand that.

[ITFurdust]

I just got this laptop myself, Year End Sales Promotion, RM 3, 969 ($849.35), which is a steal for me. It's the Intel Core i5 13500HX and RTX 4050. Considering I got a good deal out of it, I'm not complaining, honestly.

[vihungchu]

And I got an I9 13900hx with the neo, it’s really well priced honestly. And now it’s make sense with 300w power supply.

[ramonsantosjr]

Thank you for showing the screen specs. I always consider sRGB, ARGB and DCI-P3 on screens when deciding to buy new laptop.

[islamulmustafa]

One of the biggest problem is Ram upgrade, it's support Max 32 Gig's

[Capristar]

Where I live, helios 300 still costs a bomb and the neo 16 is just way cheaper. Despites all the downgrades mentioned here, it is no brainer not to go for a cheaper one. I just hope it turns out well in the long run, that's all.

[EZnoob]

Bought I5-13500HX 1440p rtx4060 for only $999 and it's great, for the price and performance this couldn't be better

[sbx]

i got it with i5 13500hx rtx 4050 and its a beast rtx 4050 laptop without any doubt. i have no issues with it except the heavy weight. thermals and battery backup are pretty good. i don't know what is happening with you with this model. maybe you should try the i5 13500hx with rtx 4050 model.

[JayP.]

Waiting for mine to come in. Will be here Wednesday. The one I ordered from best buy has the 1080p camera. Ordered a Samsung 980 2tb m.2 to go with it.

[piyushsharma]

Hey there thanks for the vid! I recently purchased this laptop with the i5 13500HX and RTX 4050 configuration for around 80, 000 Rupees (Roughly 950 dollars). At this pricepoint i could not find anything near to this, at least here in India.