Acer Predator Helios 500 17 AMD Review

This 17 inch Helios 500 model we’re reviewing (PH517–61-R0GX) is not just outfitted to include RGB light that spans beyond the keyboard all way to the touchpad and its speakers also let out the sound of a swooping roar each time you turn the device on, letting you know that the Predator has arrived.

Feb 9, 2023 - 21:56 Updated: Jun 7, 2023 - 14:20

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When you turn on the “big blue” Acer Predator Helios 500 17 AMD, you’ll be going to be playing some serious games. This 17 inch Helios 500 model we’re reviewing (PH517–61-R0GX) is not just outfitted to include RGB light that spans beyond the keyboard all way to the touchpad and its speakers also let out the sound of a swooping roar each time you turn the device on, letting you know that the Predator has arrived.

This beast is a far cry of the typical svelte Max-Q gaming laptops such as the ROG Zephyrus G15 by Asus. It is large and heavy, with a design that allows it to reach its maximum performance through an impressive combination of temperatures and full graphics silicon. It comes with the second-gen Ryzen desktop processor as well as Vega 56 graphics to provide excellent performance in games and other productivity tasks.

Acer Predator Helios 500 17 AMD Specs

AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 8 GB HBM2

AMD Ryzen 7 2nd Gen 2700 (3.20GHz)

16GB Memory 256 GB SSD

17.3'’ 1920 x 1080 IPS Display, FreeSync, 144 Hz Refresh Rate, 72% NTSC

16.85'”x 11.73' 1.73'’ 1.52 1. 9.37 937 lbs.

1 x DisplayPort 1 x HDMI 2.0

2 2 USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C (up up to 10 Gbps ), DisplayPort in conjunction with USB Type-C and USB Charging)

Design

You now have a huge gaming laptop that does not look like other laptops. Gaming laptops typically come in black and red, however it’s different with the Acer Predator Helios 500 17 AMD is clad in an all-black chassis, with a touch of blue around the edges, and it comes with AeroBlade 3D fans to cool. Apart from the distinctive blue hue, the rest of the laptop appears to be standard gaming.

Its chassis has been cut from plastic, which we find odd considering that other laptops such as those like the Razer Blade 15 or the Asus ROG Zephyrus S have metallic bodies. If a laptop is priced over $1000, we anticipate a metal body but that’s not exactly the case here. Not any deal-maker either.

As we’ve mentioned previously, it’s true that the Predator Helios 500 PH517–61-R0GX is quite large, measuring 1.5 by 16.9 by 11.7 inches (HWD) however, it’s in the same dimensional range as other gaming laptops with 17 inches. Compared: the 17-inch Alienware 17 R5 (1.18-by-16.7-by-13.1 inches) is slightly thicker and heavier weighing almost a pound over the Helios 500’s 8.82 pounds.