Acer had refreshed a few of its laptops to feature the Intel Core Ultra CPUs last month. Now, as part of its CES 2024 showcase, the company has done so for a few more, specifically the Acer Predator Helios 16 and 18, Neo variants for both, as well as the Nitro 17.
Let’s start with the Acer Predator Helios 16 and 18, as they got more than just a processor upgrade. Probably the most interesting change to these are the presence of what is called the Acer MagKey 3.0 installed in the WASD keys. What this means is that the switches for these keys can be swapped out for two other available options.
One is called the MagClick, which is the clicky option as the name suggests, and the other is MagSpeed. This one is presumably linear, but rather than explaining this the brand highlights its “speedometer aesthetic with vibrant LED lighting underneath”.
Beyond the fancy keyboard, the Acer Predator Helios 16 and 18 come with 16:10 screens, up to 250Hz refresh rate, and 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut. On the inside, the processor choice goes up to an Intel Core i9-14900HX, while graphics goes up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090.
As for the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 and 18, these are meant to be slightly more budget friendly, and therefore has had some of the bleeding edge toned down. With that, the refresh rate on these laptops’ screens go up to a maximum of 240Hz, and graphics options are capped at an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070.
And finally, we get to the Acer Nitro 17, the most budget friendly one of the lot. That being the case, it still comes with the necessary gaming chops, from the QHD display with a 165Hz refresh rate to the Intel Core i7-14700HX CPU and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU.
Like most things revealed as part of the CES 2024 showcase, local pricing and availability details are not yet available for any of these gaming laptops. For context though, the Acer Predator Helios 16 and 18 start from US$1,899.99 (~RM8,823) and US$1,999.99 (~RM9,287) respectively. The Predator Helios Neo 16 and 18, on the other hand, have starting prices of US$1,499.99 (~RM6,965) and US$1,549.99, (~RM7,197) respectively. And finally, the Acer Nitro 17 starts from US$1,249.99 (~RM5,804).
