Acer Predator Triton 500 SE review: A refined powerhouse for work and play

Acer is a kind of laptop computer makers that often tries too arduous to face out. Think about the Predator Triton 900, a wild machine with a 360-degree swiveling display screen that I discovered to be principally ineffective. Earlier this month, Acer additionally introduced plans to deliver its SpatiaLabs glasses-free 3D expertise to gaming laptops. Formidable swings are good and all, however today I am extra all in favour of notebooks which can be delicate about their gaming prowess. And after testing out the Predator Triton 500 SE for the previous week, I’ve realized that Acer can pull that off fairly nicely.

The Triton 500 SE packs the entire energy you’d need from a big gaming pocket book, in a smooth metallic body that would not look misplaced in a stuffy workplace or lecture corridor. There’s no use for garish LEDs (aside from the keyboard backlight, which you’ll be able to all the time flip off), or different obnoxious case bling. It is able to get all the way down to work. And positive, it is not the one delicate gaming pocket book round, however rivals just like the Razer Blade value greater than the Triton’s $2,300 beginning worth.

What separates the Triton 500 SE out of your typical productiveness laptop computer, other than the highly effective {hardware}, is its wonderful 16-inch display screen. It has a 16:10 facet ratio, making it barely taller than typical widescreen shows and extra helpful for coping with paperwork. Our assessment unit shipped with the 240Hz WQXGA mannequin (operating at 2,560 by 1,600 pixels) which, in my e book, is the best steadiness between sharpness and silky easy refresh. There is not any HDR assist, however at the very least it affords a comparatively excessive brightness of 500 nits, in addition to full protection of the DCI-P3 gamut. And whereas the display screen is a giant motive the Triton is a hefty 5.3 kilos, that is nonetheless higher than most 17-inch gaming notebooks (the Razer Blade 17 clocks in at 5.5 kilos).

Powering that wonderful show is Intel’s Twelfth-gen processors and NVIDIA’s newest RTX 30-series GPUs, all the way in which as much as the droolworthy RTX 3080 Ti. The unit we obtained featured that GPU in addition to Intel’s top-end Core i9 12900H, 32GB of LPDDR5 RAM and a speedy 1TB NVMe SSD. To be sincere, it was that configuration that impressed me to assessment the Triton 500 SE within the first place. I questioned, can this unassuming pocket book truly fulfill players? Seems, sure.

Halo Infinite, for instance, reached a stable 85fps on the Triton’s native decision at extremely graphics settings. Whereas I missed the HDR and expansive view I’ve grown used to on the Alienware QD-OLED ultrawide monitor, I used to be stunned at simply how immersive the sport felt on a 16-inch show. You may thank the taller 16:10 facet ratio for that – it generally felt like I used to be about to dive headfirst into Halo Infinite’s maps. (That may be an indication that I must make my desk a bit extra ergonomic for laptops.) The 240Hz show additionally shined as I lowered the sport’s graphics settings to succeed in increased framerates. I am nonetheless not totally bought on such a excessive refresh price, nevertheless it’s good to see laptop computer makers pushing for smoother and extra real looking gameplay.

Gearheads will seemingly admire the Triton 500 SE’s built-in overclocking capabilities. Acer’s software program makes it straightforward to tweak clock speeds and thermal profiles. Personally, although, I used to be simply glad to have a easy “Turbo” button on the keyboard. It revs up the followers all the way in which and mechanically overclocks the system. In Halo Infinite and the entire benchmarks I ran, it usually led to eight to 10 % improve in efficiency. The large draw back? It is so loud you most likely would not need to use it with out headphones.

Even with out overclocking, the Triton 500 SE annihilated the entire benchmarks we threw at it, delivering efficiency principally on-par with the Razer Blade 15. There have been just a few cases the place the Razer edged forward, like in PCMark 10 and Geekbench 5’s Compute check (which principally stresses the GPU). However in others, together with Cinebench R23 and 3DMark’s Port Royal ray tracing benchmark, the Triton held a commanding lead. Partially, that is resulting from our assessment unit having a barely quicker Twelfth-gen processor. Hit that Turbo swap and the Triton’s numbers soar even increased.

NVIDIA’s Superior Optimus characteristic, which intelligently swaps the Triton’s GPU between built-in and discrete graphics, additionally labored flawlessly all through my testing. I did not see any of the efficiency bottlenecking that occurred with older Optimus machines, the place discrete GPUs needed to be squeezed by way of built-in graphics. There’s additionally a MUX swap that permits you to manually change between each GPUs with out rebooting the complete system.

After benchmarking and enjoying a number of video games for just a few hours, the Triton 500 SE remained comparatively cool. The CPU usually hovered round 78 Celsius below load, whereas the GPU hit 83 Celsius. It by no means felt sizzling to the contact, although it is value noting that I used to be testing in my chill basement. Fan noise was about what I would count on with the Triton’s default efficiency settings – audible, however not almost as irritating as cranking them up all the way in which with the Turbo button.

However though Acer acquired cooling and general efficiency proper, it is a disgrace that among the Triton 500 SE’s {hardware} holds it again. The keyboard is ok for gaming, however I’d like extra suggestions for prolonged typing classes. And whereas I appreciated the massive and easy trackpad, the precise clicking mechanism felt stiff – it was notably unhealthy at registering proper clicks. I am additionally not a fan of getting a fingerprint sensor proper on the trackpad, because it usually will get in the way in which whereas I am swiping round. Simply stick that sensor on the ability button, or throw in a Home windows Whats up webcam already! I would additionally prefer to see Acer bundle greater than only a pair of tinny stereo audio system, particularly since Razer, Dell and others are cramming many extra drivers into their notebooks.

Battery life is one other disappointment, although I suppose we have grown used to that in highly effective gaming laptops. The Triton 500 SE lasted 5 hours and twenty-five minutes in our benchmark, which includes looping an HD video. That is 17 minutes lower than the Razer Blade 15. Throughout my typical workday, it normally lasted round 5 hours earlier than needing a recharge. Sadly, that is typical for gaming laptops with massive screens. You may by no means need to be too removed from an influence plug.

Nonetheless, I’d think about most individuals would need to preserve their workstations plugged in for the most effective efficiency. Acer additionally included the entire ports you’d must make it a real workstation, together with two USB 3.2 Kind A connections, twin USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI, Ethernet and an SD card slot. And fortunately Acer didn’t do away with the headphone jack, one thing extra laptop computer makers are doing today.

The Acer Predator Triton 500 SE begins at $2,300, which is $200 lower than the Razer Blade 15 with Twelfth-gen Intel chips and $400 lower than the newest Blade 17. Be ready to shell out $3,000 if you need the entire {hardware} from our assessment unit (nonetheless cheaper than comparable machines from Razer and others). However if you happen to can dwell with final yr’s Eleventh-gen Intel chips, you may also discover older Triton 500 SE fashions for $2,000 and below. We might advocate doing no matter it takes to get a Twelfth-gen chip, although, because the efficiency distinction is large.

If something, the Triton 500 SE proves that Acer is doing extra than simply chasing gaming gimmicks. After being recognized for producing low cost and unsophisticated laptops for years, it’s good to see that Acer could make a refined gaming pocket book with none pointless bling.