Acer Helios 300 and Nitro 5 are great gaming laptops, but what are the differences and which one should you get? This post will help you decide which one is right for you?
 |  |
|---|---|
| Helios 300 | Nitro 5 |
| BUY NOW | BUY NOW |
| PROS | PROS |
| Lots of power. Affordable price. 144Hz refresh rate. Decent battery life. | User controllable fans. Good battery life. Decent gaming performance for price. |
| CONS | CONS |
| Gets too hot. Loud fans. Lackluster sound. | Too much travel on trackpad. Thick display bezel. Speakers produce painful highs. |
SPECIFICATIONS
| MODEL | HELIOS 300 | NITRO 5 |
| Brand | Acer | Acer |
| Series | Predator | Predator |
| Model | Helios 300 | NITRO 5 |
| QUICK INFO | HELIOS 300 | NITRO 5 |
| Color | Black | Black |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Home 64-bit | Windows 10 Home |
| CPU | Intel Core i7-9750H 2.60 GHz | Intel Core i5-8300H |
| Screen | 15.6″ 144 Hz IPS | 15.6″ FHD Display |
| Memory | 16 GB DDR4 | 8 GB DDR4 |
| Storage | 512 GB PCIe SSD | 1 TB |
| Graphics Card | GeForce RTX 2060 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 |
| Video Memory | 6 GB GDDR6 | 4 GB |
| Dimensions (W x D x H) | 14.23″ x 10.01″ x 0.90″ | 10.5″ x 15.4″ x 1.05″ |
| Weight | 5.07 lbs. | 5.95 lbs |
| CPU | HELIOS 300 | NITRO 5 |
| CPU Type | Intel Core i7 9th Gen | Intel Core i5 8th Gen |
| CPU Speed | 9750H (2.60 GHz) | 8300H (2.30 GHz) |
| Number of Cores | 6-core Processor | Quad-core Processor |
| Core Name | Coffee Lake | |
| Turbo Frequency | Up to 4.50 GHz | 4.0GHz |
| CPU L3 Cache | 12 MB | |
| CHIPSET | HELIOS 300 | NITRO 5 |
| Chipset | ||
| DISPLAY | HELIOS 300 | NITRO 5 |
| Screen Size | 15.6″ | 15.6″ |
| Touchscreen | No | No |
| Wide Screen Support | Yes | Yes |
| Display Type | Full HD | Full HD |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 1920 x 1080 |
| Panel | IPS | |
| Refresh Rate | 144 Hz | |
| LCD Features | 144 Hz 3 ms 300 nits IPS 72% NTSC | In-plane Switching (IPS) Technology |
| OPERATING SYSTEM | HELIOS 300 | NITRO 5 |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Home 64-bit | Windows 10 Home |
| GRAPHICS | HELIOS 300 | NITRO 5 |
| GPU/VPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 |
| Video Memory | 6 GB | 4 GB |
| Graphic Type | Dedicated Card | Dedicated Card |
| STORAGE | HELIOS 300 | NITRO 5 |
| SSD | 512 GB | 1 TB HDD |
| MEMORY | HELIOS 300 | NITRO 5 |
| Memory | 16 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory Speed | DDR4 2666 | DDR4 2400 |
| Memory Spec | 8 GB x 2 | 8 GB x 1 |
| Memory Slot (Total) | 2 | 2 |
| Memory Slot (Available) | 0 | 1 |
| Max Memory Supported | 32 GB | 64 GB |
| OPTICAL DRIVE | HELIOS 300 | NITRO 5 |
| Optical Drive Type | No | |
| COMMUNICATIONS | HELIOS 300 | NITRO 5 |
| LAN | Killer Ethernet E2500 | 10/100/1000Mbps |
| WLAN | Killer Double Shot Pro Wireless-AC 1550 802.11ac WiFi featuring 2×2 MU-MIMO technology (Dual-Band 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.0 | Bluetooth 4.2 |
| PORTS | HELIOS 300 | NITRO 5 |
| USB | 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C (up to 10 Gbps) 3 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A (One with Power-off Charging) | 1x USB-C 3.1 Gen 1, 1x USB 3.1 Gen 1, 2x USB 2.0 |
| Video Port | 1 x Mini DisplayPort | 1x HDMI |
| HDMI | 1 x HDMI 2.0 | 1 x HDMI |
| Audio Ports | 1 x Headphone/Microphone Combo Jack | 1 x Headphone/Microphone Combo Jack |
| AUDIO | HELIOS 300 | NITRO 5 |
| Audio | Waves MaxxAudio sound technology Acer TrueHarmony Technology Acer Purified.Voice technology with two built-in microphones | Integrated Sound card |
| Speaker | Two Built-in Stereo Speakers | Integrated Stereo Speakers |
| OUTPUT DEVICE | HELIOS 300 | NITRO 5 |
| Virtual Reality Ready | Yes | |
| INPUT DEVICE | HELIOS 300 | NITRO 5 |
| Touchpad | Precision Touchpad (supporting Windows Modern Touchpad gestures) | Yes |
| Keyboard | 4-Zone RGB Backlit Keyboard | Backlit with number pad |
| Backlit Keyboard | Backlit | Backlit |
| Webcam | HD Webcam (1280 x 720) supporting Super High Dynamic Range (SHDR) | Yes |
| Card Reader | 3-in-1 | |
| GENERAL | HELIOS 300 | NITRO 5 |
| Style | Standard | Heavy |
| Type | Gaming & Entertainment | Gaming & Entertainment |
| Usage | Consumer | Consumer |
| POWER | HELIOS 300 | NITRO 5 |
| AC Adapter | Lithium Ion | 135-watt AC adapter |
| Battery | Up to 6 hours | Up to 5 hours |
| DIMENSIONS & WEIGHT | HELIOS 300 | NITRO 5 |
| Dimensions (W x D x H) | 14.23″ x 10.01″ x 0.90″ | 10.5″ x 15.4″ x 1.05″ |
| Weight | 5.07 lbs. | 5.95 lbs |
DESIGN
Helios 300:
The design of helios 300 has a very traditional and modern look. The body of the Predator is built with black metal and on most of its surfaces it is treated with a matte finish. The Lid has a brushed effect.
The laptop design is combined with red accents. Even on the keyboard and touchpad, it has red lines which looks pretty.
The Build Quality is an area where the Predator falls slightly. The metal of the machine base is too thin that it can be easily depressed. The Screen flex was also not too good.
Nitro 5:
I really like the build quality. This thing looks less gamer, than the average cheap gaming laptop, so it has a red strip down here But it’s not that bright cherry red, it’s more like a muted metallic burgundy color. But I think it’s a lot better than a lot of gaming laptops and Everything else on the top at least is black, even that Acer logo is just simple black.
KEYBOARD & TOUCHPAD
Helios 300:
Helios 300 has dedicated key to open the control center app and turbo button to boost the performance. This feature is the main highlight of the keyboard. The keyboard offers a deep 1.7mm of travel. It is comfortable and have good spacing.
The touchpad is Windows Precision drivers, so you can take advantage of the gesture controls and overall the tracking is good. The surface is smooth and it have the same clinking mechanism under the touchpad.
Nitro 5:
The keyboard and the trackpad are also both good. The keyboard is comfortable to use, nice layout. The one thing That’s a little bit weird on the layout is that the Shift and the Up arrow are really close together now I personally didn’t have any issues using it but I think it’ll depend on how your Keyboard habits are.
Trackpad is also really good, Windows Precision drivers Acer has totally gone into the whole Windows Precision driver thing They don’t use anymore Elan or Synaptics drivers from what I’ve seen recently, so that’s really nice.
DISPLAY
Helios 300:
The display in Helios 300 is 1080p 144Hz IPS pannel with 7ms response time. The G-Sync is not available here, but the display is fairly smooth and fast enough for gaming nowdays. The color accuracy is very good. It’s calibrated perfectly and colors look more real. It can reproduce 97% of sRGB color gamut, 75% of AdobeRGB and the brightness is 315 nits.
Nitro 5:
I like the screen, it’s not amazing. It’s an IPS screen, and it looks not bad. I mean it’s a $900 gaming laptop You’re not gonna get 4K color accurate screens at this price, so yeah I’m happy with the screen.
WEIGHT & DIMENSIONS
In terms of weight my Helios 300 was a little heavier, but it’s not a fair comparison as it had a 2.5 inch drive installed. With the 180 watt power brick and cables for charging included the Helios was only a little over 80g more, so without that drive it’s probably a bit lighter.
As for size differences the Nitro 5 is just a little bigger in every dimension, not really by a noticeable amount but the Helios 300 was thinner.
I/O
On the left both have a kensington lock, gigabit ethernet, and two USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A ports. The Nitro 5 also has a HDMI 2.0 output and USB 3 Type-C port, while the Helios has an air exhaust vent, power input, and 3.5mm audio combo jack.
On the right the Nitro 5 just has its 3.5mm audio combo jack, USB 2.0 Type-A port, power input and air vent, while the Helios 300 has a USB 3 Type-C port, no Thunderbolt in either machine, a third USB 3 Type-A port, mini DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0 outputs.
On the back both just have air exhaust vents, however the Nitro 5 only has fans on one side.
PERFORMANCE
Helios 300:
The Predator is insanely fast right out of the box thanks to efficient cooling system which allows to maintain the maximum 4GHz multi core clock speed for i7-9750H and 1.94GHz for GTX 1660Ti while gaming.
Nitro 5:
The RTX 2060 kicks ass, I was getting around 90 FPS on average for Apex legends on high settings. Achieving over 100 FPS is definitely possible if you tweak the settings or lower the quality. I didn’t experience any lag.
BATTERY
Helios 300:
As for the battery life i managed to use for 6 hours when browsing the web and doing light productivity work. When gaming battery died after 1.5 hour.
Nitro 5:
It’s a 48 watt hour battery, and I’m getting a little bit less than four hours of battery life And that’s with the screen at 250 nits. It’s so depending what you do. When Gaming the battery died before 1 hour.
WHICH ONE YOU SHOULD BUY?
In the end I think these are some decent improvements for 10% more money, at least with the same spec configs I’ve got here. If you just care about out of the box game performance, the Helios 300 is the better pick as you can just press the turbo button and forget about it. Otherwise you can save some money with the Nitro 5 and close the performance gap if you’re willing to undervolt and overclock yourself.
Expert Reviews For Helios 300:
By Techau
All things considered the Acer Predator Helios 300 would sit a lot better with me if it wasn’t as big, given I take laptops with me daily, whereas this feels more like a laptop designed to take to a LAN party once a month. If I’m investing in a laptop I…By Hothardware
Summed up, the Predator Helios 300 is a fast gaming laptop at a fair price, with some unique features to boot. It may not be the same exceptional value it was a year ago, but with the addition of a 144Hz display, it still stands out against other similarly equipped configurations.By TechRadar
Despite two glaring flaws, namely the cooling system and the speakers, this budget gaming laptop packs a punch. If you’re serious about gaming but have a limited budget, you’re going to want to pick this one up.By UltraBookReview
The Helios 300 is Acer’s mind-range gaming laptop built on Intel HQ processors and 1060 graphics. The excellent pricing and solid performance are its main selling points, alongside a nice keyboard, alright IO and a fairly good screen on this updated 2018 model. There are however still some aspects to improve, like the size of the battery, arguable design decisions and rather lackluster speakers.By PCWorld
The Acer Predator Helios 300 is a comfortable, no-nonsense gaming laptop that delivers a refreshing amount of bang for your buck.Expert Reviews For Nitro 5:
By CreativeBloq.com
AMD’s hardware delivers enough computing ability to handle most mainstream work tasks, and the Nitro 5 has good versatility elsewhere – but its low price means that compromises are…By PCWorld
It’s big and heavy, with so-so battery life and a fairly dim screen, but if you’re shopping for a gaming laptop that handle AAA titles without breaking the bank, the $750 Coffee Lake-powered Acer Nitro 5 delivers the goods.By TomsHardware
The Acer Nitro 5 strikes a great balance between price and performance. However, it can be heavy and unwieldy, and its looks aren’t for everyone.By CNET
Pure and simple, the Acer Nitro 5 is just a good deal with excellent mobile gaming performance for its wallet-friendly price.By IGN
At $899 the Nitro 5 is affordable and allows for decent gaming, even with AAA games. However, it’s not the best budget-friendly laptop I’ve used. I would recommend the Dell XPS 15 7000 Gaming laptop over the Nitro 5. It’s slightly more portable, boasts a GTX 1060 w/MaX-Q and doesn’t suffer from the weird Dolby Atmos issue.
