Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 review
We test & benchmark the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 gaming laptop with Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 and Intel Core i7-13700HX
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The Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 is a new affordable budget to mid-range model in the Acer Predator line-up of gaming laptops. A variant of the standard Acer Predator Helios 16, this one comes with a different range of GPUs and CPUs (limited to the more affordable options) plus a different aesthetic design with blue accents.
Read below for our verdict on whether the Neo 16 is worth a buy.
Acer Predator Helios Neo 16
CPU
Intel Core i5-13500HX / i7-13700HX
Graphics Card
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 / 4060
RAM
16GB DDR5 RAM
Storage
512GB/1TB SSD
Max Refresh Rate
165Hz
Resolution
1200p / 1600p
Specifications & upgradability
Opening up the Neo 16 required a prying tool on top of the usual Phillips head screwdriver, as it was a bit difficult pop open with just fingers.
Once inside you can see the GPU and CPU covered with the thermal pipes. The Helios 16 has improved cooling over the models of previous years with ‘Liquid Metal Thermal Grease’ on the CPU, plus new 5th Gen AeroBlade 3D Fan design, that apparently has a 10% airflow improvement over the 4th gen.
Graphics options for the Neo 16 versions include the Nvidia RTX 4050 and RTX 4060 laptop GPUs. Processor options are either the Intel i5-13500HX or the i7-13700HX. Our model came with the highest spec options of both.
Memory is limited to 16GB of dual-channel DDR5-4800 SDRAM (2x 8GB sticks), though the two memory slots can be upgraded down the line should you want to (see our laptop RAM upgrade guide on how to do this). There’s only a single storage slot, which you have with either a 512GB or 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD.
Internet connection comes via either the Killer Wi-Fi 6 1650i chip or the Killer Ethernet E2600 – both of which use Intel Killer DoubleShot Pro technology which basically prioritizes any high-priority traffic (like gaming or voice chat), thereby reducing latency.
Finally, the laptop also comes with Advanced Optimus, meaning you don’t have to manually use a MUX Switch to ensure maximum performance when gaming (though this can be done anyway within Nvidia Control Panel.
CPU
Intel Core i5-13500HX / i7-13700HX
Graphics Card
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 / 4060
RAM
16GB DDR5 RAM
Storage
512GB/1TB SSD
Max Refresh Rate
165Hz
Resolution
1200p / 1600p
Screen Size
16-inch
Panel Type
IPS
Touchscreen?
No
- high-performing CPU and GPU for the money
- comes with Advanced Optimus
- 1600p screen with G-Sync
- great peak brightness and good color replication
- good battery life for a gaming laptop
- good selection of ports & sockets
- build quality flimsy around the bezels
- fans get loud on the maximum preset
- heavy power adapter
Software
The laptop comes with Acer’s own ‘Predator Sense’ onboard software, which has a Scenario section in which you can select between four different performance modes: Quiet, Default, Extreme, and Turbo – with the latter two overclocking the CPU and GPU and increasing fan speed. The RPM of the CPU and GPU fans can also be manually adjusted under the Fan Control section.
The software isn’t the easiest to navigate that we’ve come across, but it has a solid amount of customization and performance tweaking options, plus battery saving settings and performance monitoring.
Design aesthetics & RGB
Size, build quality & ergonomics
The Helios 16 has an all plastic chassis and lid but the build quality feels decent for the most part. We did notice some flimsiness of the plastic bezel however along the top edge of the screen, which is less than ideal. The hinges feel reasonably sturdy however, and there’s minimal screen wobble when typing.
Looking at the dimensions and weight of the Helios 16:
Height: 36cm / 14.18″, Width: 28cm / 11.02″, Depth: 2.83cm / 1.11″
Laptop weight: 2.57kg, Power adapter weight: 1.26kg, Combined weight: 3.83kg
For a 16-inch machine the weight of the laptop itself is pretty good, however the charger negates this through being notably heavier than many out there. Dimensions-wise it gets quite chunky towards the rear, and definitely isn’t what we’d call a slimline laptop, however it’s still reasonably portable.
Keyboard
The ‘FineTip’ keyboard the Helios 16 comes with is essentially your standard membrane keyboard offering. It’s obviously not as clicky or responsive as some of the optomechanical or full mechanical options we’ve tested, nor is it as sturdy as some premium membrane options, but there’s nothing wrong with it either. The advantage is that it is a pretty quiet typing experience.
You get a numpad along the right side, which is nice for general use outside of gaming, and the key-spacing feels nice and roomy – I didn’t notice any propensity for typing errors.
Trackpad
The ‘Microsoft Precision Touchpad’ isn’t glass unfortunately, though it still feels decent to use being fairly responsive. It is fairly large and has an off-centre (to the left) design, which may annoy some lefties but makes it easier to use the numpad on the right.
It’s the typical all-in-one clickpad design you get with most laptops these days with two integrated buttons (i.e. the buttons are not separate). Pressing the F10 function key can activate/deactivate the trackpad if you’re using a mouse.
We had no issues with the trackpad, though it doesn’t feel quite as sturdy and well built as a glass one when you click on it.
Webcam & inbuilt microphone
The webcam is only 720p resolution but the image quality is reasonable in well-lit conditions, though the image quality became grainy in a lower light environment. It is capable of 720p/360p/480p video st 30FPS and has 50/60Hz flicker reduction technology.
The inbuilt mic isn’t the best, though no worse than your standard microphone for a gaming laptop in this price range.
Ports, sockets, and other features
The port coverage for the Acer Predator Helios 16 is pretty impressive:
You get one USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port on the left along with a microSD card reader, RJ-45 ethernet port, and the 3.5mm audio combo jack.
On the right you get two USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports, plus a Kensington Lock.
On the rear of the laptop there are two USB-C/Thundberbolt 4 ports which support 65W/20V power charging and DisplayPort output. There is also a HDMI 2.1 socket (capable of 120Hz 4K output), meaning you could theoretically have an additional three external displays attached to the laptop.
Screen
There are two display options for the Helios Neo 16, both of them with a 16:10 aspect ratio on a 16-inch IPS screen – either the 1920 x 1200 version, or the 2560 x 1600. Both options have a maximum refresh rate of 165Hz and a claimed 3ms response time. Both options have G-Sync and FreeSync, which is good to see.
We were sent the 1600p variant by Acer, so all the below tests relate to this version.
Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 color gamut
Acer claims that the display covers 100% of the sRGB spectrum. We tested these claims for all three color gamut presets and got the following results: 97.3% sRGB, 72.9% Adobe RGB, 75.1% DCI-P3 – so a respectable result overall (certainly good enough for gaming) but not quite 100% sRGB. Still, based on these results alone you could probably get away with some sRGB color-work in a non-professional context.
Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 color accuracy out of the box
As with every laptop screen, we tested various visual data points for accuracy. Ideal values for each measurement are as follows: 6500K (White point), 0/m² (Black point), infinity:1 (Contrast ratio), 0 (average deltaE*00), 2.2 (gamma). Average deltaE*00 variance is the true measure of color accuracy, and anything below 2.5 is what you want to aim for.The results were: 6400K (White point), 0.1018 cd/m² (Black point), 1193.3:1 (Contrast ratio), 1.61 (average deltaE*00), 2.16 (gamma). The average delta score (the main determinant of color accuracy) was very good, meaning the Acer Predator Helios 16 is certainly suitable for color accurate work in the sRGB space. The gamma result was also very good and the white point pretty good. The black point and contrast ratio were fairly mediocre, but certainly good enough for gaming.
Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 color accuracy following calibration
Although it’s often unnecessary on today’s premium laptops, which tend to come pre-calibrated before we get our hands on them, we like to see what a quick calibration can squeeze out of a display.
The results were: 6344K (White point), 0.1021 cd/m² (Black point), 1089.6:1 (Contrast ratio), 1.57 (average deltaE*00), 2.19 (gamma).
To summarise, calibration saw virtually no difference whatsoever, with a very slight improvement in gamma and average deltaE*00 at the expense of the white point and contrast – basically, not worth it.
Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 panel uniformity
Generally, any average color variation under 1.00 is good and shows up as green in the image above, though the average consumer won’t be able to tell much difference below 3.00. Visual editors who work with color however may have a keener eye.
The results we got on the Acer Predator Helios 16 were very impressive. All variation was below 1.00 average delta (in green) which means it is an ideal display for doing color-accurate work on.
Brightness
We finished off our color accuracy testing by running a luminance test. Acer claims a 500 nit peak brightness, but the results actually surpassed this.
We recorded a peak brightness of 532 cd/m² and a minimum of 22 cd/m² – which is very good for a gaming laptop – well above average, particularly at this price point. The max brightness is high enough that you can definitely use it outdoors on a sunny day, as long as direct sunlight isn’t shining on the screen.
When working on the laptop indoors during the daytime we’d recommend matching the brightness to 120 cd/m² which equates to a brightness setting of 24% under the brightness controls for this laptop.
Audio
Audio quality was above average by gaming laptop standards with decent peak volume and not much loss of quality on the higher volume settings. The sound was slightly tinny, but not too bad, with reasonable mid-tones. The sound was lacking in bass, but no worse than the vast majority of gaming laptops.
Headphone users also get the advantage of DTS: X Ultra Audio tech which improves audio accuracy as well as sound placement for first person shooters and the like, plus has different modes you can select that are best suited for different genres (Strategy, RPG, Shooter.)
Battery life
We conducted our standard battery two hours of full screen YouTube, then spent the rest of the time browsing the web and writing documents within GoogleDocs. We set the laptop to 24% brightness (the 120 cd/m² setting), with Quiet mode enabled within Predator Sense, plus Eco mode enabled, and battery saving settings switched on in Windows.
Wi-Fi was left on and used, but all keyboard RGB was turned off.
We got around 7 hours in this test – pretty good for a gaming laptop and sufficiently long to mean you could use the Helios Neo 16 as a general use / workplace machine alongside gaming.
Performance, noise & temperature
Noise
For the purpose of benchmarking we always set the power settings and fans to maximum, and good lord the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 has some loud fans when they’re turned up to the max. Realistically the only situation you’d want to use this in is when you’re in a room on your own, wearing headphones, playing a loud game – coz it will annoy everyone in the vicinity.
Turning the fans down from max makes them more manageable however, though this will cause a bit of a hit to performance. If you switch things to Quiet mode when you’re not gaming, the fans are pretty much silent – ideal for general web browsing and workplace use.
External temperature
The main body of the laptop remained perfectly cool under Quiet and Default modes during general usage (web browsing, watching videos etc.)
In Enthusiast and Overboost mode when gaming, there’s a small amount of warmth produced, but we’d say below average as far as gaming laptops go.
Internal temperature
Generally speaking the maximum and average GPU temps were pretty standard, and within acceptable limits, and the same is true for the average CPU temps, however for some reason (particularly considering it’s a GPU-intensive game) Doom Eternal pushed the maximum temps for the Intel Core i7-13700HX very high.
Max temps in the low to mid 90°Cs is where thermal throttling starts to take place for laptop CPUs, and the high 90°Cs is where degradation can occur to the CPU over time, reducing its performance. Overheating is a known issue with Intel 13th gen CPUs in general (both for desktop and laptop variants) – the CPU core multiplier, clock speed, and voltage are both higher than they were on the 12th gen, without much in the way of improvements to the cooling, hence more heat.
In any case we’d recommend on the games where this occurs to turn the settings down a bit, so as to improve the longevity of your machine (you can use an application like HWInfo to track it yourself).
Acer Predator Helios 16 benchmarks
This is the first RTX 4060 laptop we’ve tested and only the second RTX 40-series we’ve tested this year, and we have to say we’re pretty impressed at the performance, given the affordable price of this particular laptop. Now admittedly all our tests besides CS:GO were done with frame generation turned on (whether it be FSR or DLSS), but given the vast majority of users would want to utilise this we think it’s the best way to benchmark the games.
For Doom Eternal the FPS only dropped below 165 FPS (the effective cap of the 165Hz display) when on the native resolution at the higher settings, with Ray Tracing turned on, and even then an average of 127.1 FPS is very respectable. Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla is more demanding – not quite hitting an average 165 FPS even on medium settings at 1600p, but still managed a similarly strong average on the highest settings at 1600p. It should be noted that the 1% and 0.1% drops were very good on both – meaning a nice smooth experience. Far Cry 6 is a more CPU-intensive game, and as a result we only saw a difference in average FPS of around 16% at 1080p resolution between this laptop and the XMG Neo 17 E23 with RTX 4090 that we tested previously (with the XMG laptop having a more powerful i9-13900HX processor even), however on the highest settings at 1600p this increased to around 36%. Still – strong results for a more demanding game, and again the 1% and 0.1% results were quite impressive. As you’d expect from an older game like CS:GO, the average FPS at every setting was well above 165 FPS.
Final Word
The Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 with Intel Core i7-13700HX, Nvidia RTX 4060, and 165Hz 1600p display is a great mid-range gaming laptop available at a very enticing price. Although the build quality of the bezels leaves something to be desired, the power adapter is a bit heavy, and the webcam and mic is as mediocre as you’d expect from an affordable gaming laptop, these are pretty minor downsides compared to what you do get: terrific FPS performance in games for not too much money, plus a bright, fairly color-accurate high res screen (with G-Sync) that you can use outside, a good array of ports and a respectable max battery life of around 7 hours of general usage.
The biggest drawback of this laptop are the noisy fans when the Turbo mode preset is engaged, however with some tweaking in the onboard software you can find an acceptable middle ground between in-game performance and a manageable decibel level. Bear in mind though that the the high CPU temps on the Intel 13th gen processor (not just limited to this laptop) mean you may not always want to run some games on max settings to reduce wear on your machine’s components (or just buy a laptop cooling pad). Outside of gaming, when Quiet or Default mode are enabled, the laptop is perfectly quiet.
You can currently pick up one of these devices for less than $1,600 and we’d say that this is a very reasonable price indeed – definitely worth a buy.
Acer Predator Helios Neo 16
