Acer makes a number of the best-selling gaming laptops in the marketplace, out of a mixture of low beginning costs and ubiquitous availability. Its Nitro collection, for instance, is nearly continually the best-selling gaming model on Amazon. Today, the corporate is updating two Nitro laptops with the newest CPUs and GPUs, and introducing a brand new, smaller Predator Helios Neo.

All three new fashions are pretty customary for Acer designs, boasting new “AI” tech…that doesn’t appear to really add a lot that you simply haven’t seen elsewhere like filtering out microphone background noise. Something tells me avid gamers will likely be extra excited by the free month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate that every one of them are packing.

Predator Helios Neo 14

The Predator Helios collection boasts Acer’s most bombastic, out-there designs and new tech. But the latest member of the household, the notably smaller Helios Neo 14, appears to be maintaining issues fairly button-down. Acer is making an enormous present of its “AI” powers because of the newest Intel Core processors (Ultra 9 185H on the highest finish, Ultra 5 125H on the bottom mannequin). But the end result of this NPU-packing platform appears to be the identical as each different new laptop computer this 12 months: noise discount and video name blurred backgrounds.

Perhaps extra fascinating to avid gamers is a brand new thermal setup. Acer describes this cooling system as a pair of “5th-gen AeroBlade 3D fan[s]” and “Vortex Flow technology” with liquid metallic grease and broad vector warmth pipes. Exactly how a lot that advantages the efficiency of the system is one thing we’ll must examine on a assessment unit.

The Predator Helios Neo 14 has typical gaming laptop computer appears, with an interesting matte black physique and a little bit of a bulge on the again for cooling. Note the properly blue Predator brand on the lid and a bevy of port choices on the edges squeezed in subsequent to the thermal openings. You get each USB-C and USB-A on the appropriate and the left, an ideal design for on a regular basis use. The proper aspect additionally boasts full-sized HDMI and a MicroSD card slot, whereas the left will get a headphone jack. That’s some severe connective energy — depart the USB-C dongle at dwelling.

Underneath that RGB keyboard is an Nvidia RTX 4050, 4060, or 4070 GPU, relying in your configuration, with as much as 32GB of DDR5 RAM and a terabyte of Gen 4 SSD storage. The battery is 76 watt-hours with a speedy 230-watt USB-C charger. Screen choices for the 14.5-inch IPS panel begin at 1920×1200 120Hz up and prime out at a near-4K 3072×1920 at 165Hz. You’ll be lugging round 1.9 kilograms or 4.19 kilos in your bag — not dangerous for a small gaming laptop computer — with a .82-inch-thick chassis.

The Predator Helios Neo 14 will begin at $1,799.99 when it hits North America in May. It’ll hit Europe, the Middle East, and Africa in June, beginning at 1,999 euro or equal.

Nitro 14

The Nitro collection additionally will get a brand new 14-inch mannequin, this one packing AMD on the processor aspect. The base mannequin will get a decent 6-core Ryzen 5 8645HS, however you’ll be able to step as much as an 8-core Ryzen 7 8845HS in case your finances will stretch. They’re paired with Nvidia RTX 3050, 4050, or 4060 graphics playing cards, “up to” 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, and the identical 76 watt-hour battery and 230w charger because the Helios above.

Screen decisions for the 14.5-inch IPS panel embody 1920×1200 and 2560×1600, each working at 120Hz. The webcam is notably slightly on the blurry aspect at 720p, and colours on the keyboard are restricted to 4 zones. The port structure and normal physique form is similar to the Predator Helios Neo 14, with slightly additional bling on the again panel. (Note that the “Nitro” brand is one half of the Predator brand, a neat contact.) It’s a bit heavier at 4.45 kilos.

The new Nitro 14 will begin at $1,299.99 when it launches in May in North America, and 1,199 euro on the subject of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa in June.

Nitro 16

This refreshed model of the 16-inch Nitro is available in each Intel and AMD flavors, topping out at a Core i7-14700HX CPU for the previous and a Ryzen 9 8945HS for the latter. The laptops appear practically similar in any other case, with the identical RTX 3050, 4050, and 4060 choices for graphics playing cards, and a most of 32GB of RAM and 2TB of storage.

The larger 16-inch IPS display is quicker on all fronts with a typical 165Hz panel, however you’ll be able to select between 1920×1200 or 2560×1600 decision. Despite the bigger physique house it has the identical 76 watt-hour battery as the opposite two laptops above. The ports are slightly completely different — double USB-A on the appropriate, full Ethernet, USB-A, headphone jack, and MicroSD on the left, with a barrel charger and two USB-C ports all the way in which on the again, plus a full HDMI port. (Why doesn’t the similarly-styled Nitro 14 have these again ports? No concept.)

The bigger actual property permits Acer to get a quantity pad on the keyboard, although the webcam stays underwhelming at 720p. With an even bigger physique you’re additionally carrying extra weight, 5.37 kilos for the AMD mannequin or a hair extra for Intel. The spec checklist says the AMD mannequin tops out at .89 inches thick, with the Intel model being slightly chunkier at 1.05 inches.

Whether you go along with Intel or AMD, the Acer Nitro 16 will begin at $1,399.99 in May for its North American debut. The Intel model involves Europe, the Middle East, and Africa in June beginning at 1,599 Euro, however there’s no indication of a wider launch for the AMD model.