Plays 1080p games smoothly ; Core i7 processor ; Good-looking design ; Surprisingly lengthy battery life

Keyboard has familiar chiclet foibles ; Trackpad is too soft ; Mediocre build quality

Despite its size and design, the Acer is relatively affordable. The Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 1050 Ti featured here is one of the more modest GPUs from the mobile Pascal roster, offering 768 stream processors, 4GB of memory and a 1,493MHz core clock. That’s...

Lots of power ; Affordable price ; 144Hz refresh rate ; Decent battery life

Gets too hot ; Loud fans ; Lackluster sound

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.

The Nvidia 1060 graphics card is overclockable, and cooling is assisted by a patented superthin fan. For a 17-inch VR-ready gaming laptop, the price is very reasonable.

You can find the same GPU in 15-inch systems that cost less. The screen is only standard 1,920x1,080 resolution and doesn't really pop. The part-plastic body is a yawn.

You can find similar components for less, but Acer packs a lot of unique features -- and a big screen -- into the midpriced Predator Helios 300.

Cool game-centric design ; Great battery life for a gaming laptop ; Solid CPU and GPU performance ; Three set GPU speeds

Nasty gap between screen and base ; Speakers mounted on the bottom

On a whole, this is a great gaming machine for $1,300. There’s plenty to love at this price point, including means to overclock the GTX 1060 for increased performance. It’s attractive and easy to carry, and the battery is insanely good for a laptop...

144Hz screen ; Strong gaming performance ; More affordable price point

Gaudy, plastic design ; No DisplayPort ; Not-so-great battery life

Just make sure to always bring the charging brick with you, because the Helios 300 isn’t a $2,000 road warrior. It’s an affordable gaming laptop — and a damn good one at that.

Great 1080p gaming performance ; Powerful hardware for the price ; Comfortable design ; Easy to upgrade storage and RAM

Dim display ; Only 256GB storage capacity ; Lid is a fingerprint magnet

The screen isn’t dark enough to dissuade, though, and it’s the only semi-issue of note in the Acer Predator Helios 300. This is a great notebook.

Easily upgradable; Strong performance; Vivid display ; Uncomfortable touchpad; Give in the lid ; The Acer Predator Helios 300 is a powerful, relatively affordable machine with easily upgradable parts.

Uncomfortable touchpad; Give in the lid ; The Acer Predator Helios 300 is a powerful, relatively affordable machine with easily upgradable parts.

The Acer Predator Helios 300 is a powerful, relatively affordable machine with easily upgradable parts.