Review: Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 (PHN16-72-97Z5)

We’ve tested a number of machines from Predator, Acer’s gaming brand, and they’ve often delivered a lot of performance for the money. This was the case with the rather affordable Acer Predator Helios Neo 16, which we tested a year ago. Now the model has been updated with 2024 components, so it’s time to give it another look. Is it still up to the task?

This year’s version of the Helios Neo 16 looks exactly like its predecessor. The chassis is a single millimetre smaller at each side, but otherwise everything is the same. The weight is still 2.8kg.

The 16-inch screen is the perfect size for taking the PC on the road but still being able to use it for gaming at home without the need for an external monitor for immersion.

New standard for gaming displays

The previous version of the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 had to make do with a Full HD resolution display (1920 x 1080 pixels). This was a necessary compromise to get a high enough refresh rate for 3D gaming, namely 165 Hz.

But now the expiry date for the old Full HD standard has finally arrived. Even though this year’s model is slightly cheaper, a QHD+ resolution (2,560 x 1,600 pixels) screen is now included in the price – and with a refresh rate of 240 Hz. After this, there should be no acceptable excuse for making a gaming PC with a Full HD display!

The keyboard is the same as last year. It is RGB-illuminated in four groups of keys. This means you can get some degree of colour animation, but not with smooth transitions where each key has its own shade. It’s fine considering the price – and it’s better to save a little here than on the screen. The keys are also of acceptable quality. You can type a document on them. But do buy an external keyboard if you want to win the game.

USB-A for gaming

The Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 has a selection of ports that may seem old-fashioned, as USB-A ports outnumber USB-C. But the old port size is still quite common for gaming peripherals. However, time has not stood still and more and more mice, keyboards and headsets have USB-C connectivity. So a USB-C port or two on the sides of the enclosure would be appropriate. The two USB-C ports on the Helios Neo 16 are both inconveniently placed on the back, as they are primarily intended for external monitors.

Excellent electronics

Although the Helios Neo 16 is relatively inexpensive, no expense has been spared on the internals. The processor is a 14th generation Intel Core i9-14900HX with 24 cores and 32 threads. It’s the fastest processor Intel makes for consumer PCs right now. Naysayers will say there’s no significant difference between it and the 13th generation version from last year. But it is still the fastest available.

The choice of graphics card isn’t quite as ambitious. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 is significantly slower than the RTX 4080 and RTX 4090, but also significantly cheaper. And compared to last year’s test model, which had RTX 4060 graphics, the speed difference is substantial.

The tested PC came with 16 gigabytes of RAM and 1 terabyte SSD. However, it is also available with 32 gigabytes of RAM.

Benchmarks

The Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 costs less than a third of the most powerful gaming laptops. So don’t expect speed records.

But it’s not far off: in terms of pure processing power, the Helios Neo 16 is as fast as the monstrous – and almost four times more expensive – MSI Titan 18 HX. This can be seen in the Geekbench 6 test, where Acer achieves 16,037 in multi-core and 2,920 in single-core respectively. In the same test, the MSI achieved 16,822 in multi-core and 2,825 in single-core!

The simple explanation is that the two machines use the same processor. MSI has naturally chosen Intel’s top model for their flagship machine. But the CPU is cheap enough that Acer could afford to do the same on a mid-range model. And once you’ve chosen the fastest model, it’s hard to find anything faster…

For the same reason, the PCMark 10 office simulation score of 8,505 is among the fastest we’ve measured. Because the test is first and foremost about processing power.

Twice as fast – four times as expensive

Things look different in the various 3D graphics tests. They reveal that the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 ‘only’ has an RTX 4070 graphics processor, but the measurements also show that the speed difference between the top models is much smaller than the price difference.

The new and raytracing-heavy 3DMark Steel Nomad test comes out with a result of 2,831 and 28 fps. In comparison, the MSI Titan 18 HX with its RTX 4090 graphics card isn’t even twice as fast: 5,215 and 52 fps.

The results of the battery test are typical for gaming laptops. Two and a half hours is practically nothing. Since our test is more demanding than real-world use, you can probably wring a little more time out of the battery. But there’s no way around taking the charger with you.

Conclusion

If you dream of the fastest gaming laptop on the market, the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 is not the answer. It is, however, the computer you would buy instead of just dreaming.

The Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 is about half as fast at 3D shooters as the best gaming laptops on the market. But it costs between a third and a quarter of those. And there’s still enough power to run the vast majority of games at any relevant resolution and speed. At least as long as you use the built-in 240 Hz QHD display.

This year’s model is very similar to last year’s. But you get a lot more performance for not just the same money, but actually a little less.