Acer Helios 300 (10th Gen) Review - A Fall From Grace

Acer’s Helios 300 was one of the best gaming laptops available last year, and although improvements have been made with the new 2020 10th gen model, they’ve also taken some steps backwards and made it worse in some areas. I'll discuss why these changes have been made and how it affects things in this review.

*** Check Laptop Prices ***

Other items featured:

EVERYTHING I USE:

FOLLOW ME:

[Saiyan]

As an owner of the Helios 300 - 2020 model since August, I can tell you a few things I've learned in my experience. I'm glad Jarrod got a chance to post his review finally, I have some interesting things I can compare.

Specs - My system came with 512GB with a 2060 RTX with the 10750H Intel processor and a 144hz 1080p panel.

Gaming Experience - I've played Yakuza 0, Kiwami, Devil May Cry 5, Star Wars Battlefront II, Call of Duty Modern Warfare, Dead By Daylight, Final Fantasy XIV, a few other titles, all at ultra max or high settings. I get a sturdy framerates with no thermal throttling. It gets close which can be concerning but it doesn't quite reach it. My highest CPU load reaches over 72-86 when playing games, this may vary around other models (note that I do I keep overdrive on almost at all times). I'm not sure how a cooling pad would otherwise benefit this but some research has shown me a maybe 10% difference in cpu temps. Gaming overall feels smooth, never experiencing latency issues with games that require a high speed connection

Fans - Changing the fan profiles feels ultimately useless. If you try to block how many rpms the fans can move on high graphic and CPU loads, there is a system safety feature to bypass your predator sense settings to allow for more air to move around, probably to reduce the chance of thermal throttling or burning out your machine I'm guessing. At temps like these at high settings, base fan control doesn't matter, it would be best to get a cooling pad, honestly just leave it on auto and maybe enable cool boost, that is if you are comfortable with more fan noise.

Other areas- The 4 zone RGB profiles are fun to use, I enjoy playing with them, they aren't too bright nor too dim, they look great during the night but during day time you can only vividly see them. The overall build for the machine felt very premium for a gaming laptop, mine did come with a tiny bit of backlight bleed at the top of the panel but it doesn't even show during games so it doesn't bother me. The keyboard on this unit did take a little getting used to, but overall its a very nice keyboard, it just has a bit more key travel distance than normal. I feel this is the main reason why gamers are getting miscmlicks or bad keystrokes that don't register, because this keyboard is a little weird in that regard, and their hands aren't used to it. Overall in time, I believe when you get used to using it, it feel feel like a very good keyboard. The touchpad is great, and its got a big area, you can disable it at your will using Fn + F7 so no problems there if you accidently tap into it. The DTS speakers they partnered with this machine sound great, its very clear and you can hear a little bit of bass. Watching YouTube and streaming movies and tv is fantastic, nothing amazing but definitely above average. Shame there is no undervolt though, was one of the reasons I originally invested in the helios 300 because of the reputation of the 2019 model

Final Thoughts - It seems this gens Helios 300 can be defined as "coping performance for stability" Still, it is a very great gaming machine for its price point and the atheistic features it offers, I'm very happy overall my unit, I did have some backlight bleed but it doesn't appear at all when playing games, keyboard was a bit hard pressed originally like Jarrod's model but after using it enough I feel like it got easier to use. Maybe it's a keyboard you have to break in, its a little weird. So, those are my thoughts guys, hope it helps, the competition is big and in the end you need what works for you and your preferences!

[BruisedWayne]

Still got 2019 edition. All good for almost 6 months now. I’m happy and contented with it.

[denebvegaaltair]

Just got this as my first gaming laptop and my jaw dropped: the performance is insane. Makes every other device I've used in my life (personal, work, or school ones) feel like slugs. Truly a beast.

[jericgarcia]

My unit is coming next week and I can't wait to use it. My decision to get this model instead of the other laptops on its range is because of the 2019 reviews. I'm a photographer and filmmaker so gaming performance is not really a big of a deal and I'm happy thay it's performing quite well in the productivity department. Thank you so much, Jarrod!

[QaamansLand]

Hey Jarrod, do you plan to review the 2021 model W/RTX 3060? I recently purchased it and it's a blast. Love to hear your thoughts .

~~Q~~

[kcaspa]

I have a 2019 predator Helios 300 I bought it for Black Friday that year still works likes new ….even tho it fell off the top of my while I was driving at least 40 mph😭😭despite that everything is great 👍🏾

[johnnymcaffery]

great review! you forgot to mention they changed the plastic fan to metal for both

[fordsim]

Thanks for the videos!!!! Been looks for a while for the perfect laptop.... Choosing a vapor 15x, just a bit short on cash but hopefully soon I can get!!!

[TheShadowWolf]

Going to save up for one of these, wish me luck

[dukemeisterr]

Im still using the 2019 acer helios 300 1660ti variant and its still working great

[rationalistfaith]

There's a reason i'm up at 2am in PNW coding and checking youtube!! :) Good stuff!!

[RubyyVista]

Dang, good thing my last year’s Acer Predator is still going strong. Great review as always!

[dez]

2:40 So glad someone finally talked about the faulty keyboard, which is the reason why I ultimately returned this laptop. If you don't use an external keyboard, then I would recommend against buying this device.

[sovietski]

an actual good review without some unnecessary things. As an owner of this laptop, i can actually kind of agree

[alvarosaidperez]

Excelente la explicación Jarrod'sTech
que haces de las dos últimas laptops (Lenovo Legion 5 y la Acer Helios 300) que hiciste en el canal, al final decidí seguir tu consejo y compre la Lenovo Legion 5 considerando todos los pros y contras del análisis que realizas. Hubiese querido que la Lenovo Legion 5 que ofrece Amazon venga con la tarjeta gráfica RTX 2060 o 2070; sin embargo solo estaba disponible con la GTX 1060 Ti o menores. Gracias excelente tu trabajo.

[Happyfxs]

Hey man! Can you make a video about showing how to take care of your laptop so that the battery won't die? Like when to charge it or if its ok to play while it's charging and stuff like that

[Samuell]

the keyboard actuation force varies, I have had this problem before and got a replacement unit. Its all fine and good now

[carlosgamez]

I have the same unit and I didn’t have no issues but I’m glad to see u review it and for the price I’m very happy with it

[btw]

Will you be reviewing the new ARM based Macbook laptops? I know it's not a gaming laptop but it is interesting to see the test you will be doing since you were a pen tester prior doing YouTube.

[ultikillerrrr]

this makes me happy i got the 2019 version instead