Slickdeals is community-supported.  We may get paid by brands for deals, including promoted items.
Heads up, this deal has expired. Want to create a deal alert for this item?
expired Posted by TenderWalrus157 • Nov 17, 2022
expired Posted by TenderWalrus157 • Nov 17, 2022

Acer Predator Helios 300: i7-12700H, 15.6" 165Hz, RTX 3060, 16GB DDR5, 512GB SSD

+ Free Shipping

$1,000

$1,500

33% off
Best Buy
122 Comments 30,240 Views
Visit Best Buy
Good Deal
Save
Share
Deal Details
Best Buy has Acer Predator Helios 300 Laptop (2022, PH315-55-70ZV) for $999.99. Shipping is free or choose curbside pickup where stock permits.

Thanks to Community Member TenderWalrus157 for finding this deal.

Specs:
  • Intel Core i7-12700H (6P+8E)/20T 2.3 GHz (4.7 GHz Turbo, 20MB Cache)
  • 15.6" 1080p IPS 165Hz 300-nits 3ms Display, 100% sRGB
  • 16GB (8GBx2) DDR5 4800MHz RAM
  • 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive + Empty M.2 Slot
  • RTX 3060 6GB GDDR6 Graphics, 115W TGP, 130W /w Dynamic Boost, MUX Switch
  • 4-Zone RGB Backlit Keyboard
  • 1080p Webcam
  • Killer AX1675i Wi-Fi 6E 2x2 + Bluetooth 5.2 + Killer E2600 Lan
  • Windows 11 Home
  • Ports:
    • 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A 10 Gbps
    • 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A (Power Off Charging)
    • 1x USB Type-C with Thunderbolt 4 (DisplayPort 1.4, Power Delivery 100W, USB Charging 15W)
    • 1x HDMI 2.1
    • 1x Mini DisplayPort 1.4
    • 1x RJ-45
    • 1x Audio Combo Jack
    • 1x Power Pin Port
    • 4 Cell Li-Ion Battery
  • 5.73 lbs

Editor's Notes

Written by johnny_miller | Staff
  • About this deal:
  • About this product:
    • 1-year warranty
  • About this store:
    • Best Buy return policy here

Original Post

Written by TenderWalrus157
Product Info
Community Notes
About the Poster
Deal Details
Product Info
Community Notes
About the Poster
Best Buy has Acer Predator Helios 300 Laptop (2022, PH315-55-70ZV) for $999.99. Shipping is free or choose curbside pickup where stock permits.

Thanks to Community Member TenderWalrus157 for finding this deal.

Specs:
  • Intel Core i7-12700H (6P+8E)/20T 2.3 GHz (4.7 GHz Turbo, 20MB Cache)
  • 15.6" 1080p IPS 165Hz 300-nits 3ms Display, 100% sRGB
  • 16GB (8GBx2) DDR5 4800MHz RAM
  • 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive + Empty M.2 Slot
  • RTX 3060 6GB GDDR6 Graphics, 115W TGP, 130W /w Dynamic Boost, MUX Switch
  • 4-Zone RGB Backlit Keyboard
  • 1080p Webcam
  • Killer AX1675i Wi-Fi 6E 2x2 + Bluetooth 5.2 + Killer E2600 Lan
  • Windows 11 Home
  • Ports:
    • 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A 10 Gbps
    • 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A (Power Off Charging)
    • 1x USB Type-C with Thunderbolt 4 (DisplayPort 1.4, Power Delivery 100W, USB Charging 15W)
    • 1x HDMI 2.1
    • 1x Mini DisplayPort 1.4
    • 1x RJ-45
    • 1x Audio Combo Jack
    • 1x Power Pin Port
    • 4 Cell Li-Ion Battery
  • 5.73 lbs

Editor's Notes

Written by johnny_miller | Staff
  • About this deal:
  • About this product:
    • 1-year warranty
  • About this store:
    • Best Buy return policy here

Original Post

Written by TenderWalrus157

Community Voting

Deal Score
+38
Good Deal
Visit Best Buy

Price Intelligence

Model: Acer - Predator Helios 300-15.6" FHD IPS 165Hz Gaming Laptop- Intel Core i7-12700H- NVIDIA GeForceRTX 3060-512GB PCIe Gen 4 SSD

Deal History 

Sort: Most Recent
Post Date Sold By Sale Price Activity
11/04/22Best Buy$1,000 frontpage
95

Leave a Comment

Unregistered (You)

Top Comments

lesterhung
2785 Posts
213 Reputation
The empty m.2 slot is not really 100% usable. There's a cable beneath it that gets in the way. You can force install it, but the your ssd stick will be slightly bent
thefirebirdman
8 Posts
18 Reputation
I'm passing on this one because I want something with at least a 3070 or 3080. Currently running a Triton 300 with a 2070.

If you're interested in feedback on Acer Predator in general I own 4 of them. 1 each for myself, wife and 2 high school age kids. I use an Acer Predator Triton 300 that is about 2 years old now and the other 3 are all Predator Helios 300s all bought at different times and all bought at around the same price point (~$1100 - ~1200).

Addressing some of the comments here. My biggest complaint is definitely the battery life. The 7-8 hours you see in most reviews is laughable. Right after buying my Triton 300 I compared it with my wife's Helios 300 which was about a year old at the time and the battery life was the same. Just sitting on my desk with no applications open and running (certainly no gaming) just Windows and whatever apps are in Startup I could only get about 1.75 hours to 2 hours before it dipped below 10% and it started to issue warnings. So yeah the battery life is garbage, even when you're not gaming.

Also, the Turbo mode button is cool but after a few months I found it would only work when the PredatorSense (included by default) application was open and running in an active window. Pretty minor annoyance.

One final complaint. All of the older laptops have the port for the power cord on the side whereas for my Triton 300 they FINALLY moved it to the back. It's really just an annoyance but for me it was a major annoyance till they changed the design.

As for support we've really had no problems with any of these Predators. 1 year after buying my Triton 300 I noticed battery life had dropped down to 30-45 minutes. I contacted support and they sent me a new battery. Was pretty much no hassle. With 4 of these Predators in the house for the last 4-5 years or so that is the only time I have contacted support and it was easy and hassle free. I know that will not be everyone's experience so Interpret that how you will.

As for other problems my son's Helios 300 developed a noisy fan somewhere in the 2-3 years old mark (beyond support) but it's just the one fan, the PC has continued to function properly, even cooling properly, and none of the fans in any of the other 3 have had any issues. I plan to replace it myself.

As for the noise, you cannot hear the fans when the laptop is NOT over-clocked. However, they are noisy when over-clocked or when put into "Turbo" mode but for me it's just a minor annoyance. Once I start gaming and focusing on the game, I forget all about it but that's me. For others it may be something you can't not hear so YMMV.

As for bad quality, very surprised by the negative comments. Most Youtube reviews I have watched over the years gave positive marks for the build quality given the price point which I completely agree with across the board. I genuinely feel I got a quality laptop for the $$$ spent. I have zero issues with build quality. And where upgrades are concerned, I have increased the RAM and added additional SSDs in every one of these laptops and have had zero issues.

Hope that helps!!

121 Comments

Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.

Nov 17, 2022
2,785 Posts
Joined Aug 2006
Nov 17, 2022
lesterhung
Nov 17, 2022
2,785 Posts

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank lesterhung

The empty m.2 slot is not really 100% usable. There's a cable beneath it that gets in the way. You can force install it, but the your ssd stick will be slightly bent
5
1
Nov 17, 2022
253 Posts
Joined Nov 2015
Nov 17, 2022
davepergola
Nov 17, 2022
253 Posts
Quote from lesterhung :
The empty m.2 slot is not really 100% usable. There's a cable beneath it that gets in the way. You can force install it, but the your ssd stick will be slightly bent
I was planning on opening my new Helios this weekend - any idea if there is a specific m2 HDD that will fit in there? Or is it just a bad design?
Nov 17, 2022
2,785 Posts
Joined Aug 2006
Nov 17, 2022
lesterhung
Nov 17, 2022
2,785 Posts
Quote from davepergola :
I was planning on opening my new Helios this weekend - any idea if there is a specific m2 HDD that will fit in there? Or is it just a bad design?
it only have the screw hole for 2280 size. If you use 2280, SSD will be bent.
you can technically install a 2240 and you won't have a bent SSD, and use tape to secure it.
Nov 17, 2022
4 Posts
Joined Nov 2016
Nov 17, 2022
knightridrr
Nov 17, 2022
4 Posts
Quote from lesterhung :
The empty m.2 slot is not really 100% usable. There's a cable beneath it that gets in the way. You can force install it, but the your ssd stick will be slightly bent
Is this true for every capacity or 2tb drives only? I think you can install 1tb ssd without any problem.
Nov 17, 2022
2,785 Posts
Joined Aug 2006
Nov 17, 2022
lesterhung
Nov 17, 2022
2,785 Posts
Quote from knightridrr :
Is this true for every capacity or 2tb drives only? I think you can install 1tb ssd without any problem.
Have nothing to do with capacity. It is the length of the SSD.
Nov 17, 2022
399 Posts
Joined Nov 2009
Nov 17, 2022
duhFooL
Nov 17, 2022
399 Posts
Quote from lesterhung :
Have nothing to do with capacity. It is the length of the SSD.
Then it's a bad design.
Damn, was looking for a replacement.
Guess I will keep looking.
Nov 17, 2022
2,785 Posts
Joined Aug 2006
Nov 17, 2022
lesterhung
Nov 17, 2022
2,785 Posts
Quote from duhFooL :
Then it's a bad design.
Damn, was looking for a replacement.
Guess I will keep looking.
Yes it's stupid. Even one sided SSD can't fit. It is due to a stupid cable that is slightly too long and got in the way. All they could have done is to use a correct length cable to connect to the io daughter board

Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.

Nov 17, 2022
195 Posts
Joined Dec 2007
Nov 17, 2022
falafel23
Nov 17, 2022
195 Posts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB8KURXwpPg

This guy didn't seem to have much trouble... maybe they're not using consistent cable lengths?

EDIT: Or it might just be different with the (older) model he's working with in the video
Last edited by falafel23 November 17, 2022 at 04:53 AM.
Nov 17, 2022
1,847 Posts
Joined Jan 2010
Nov 17, 2022
Dicka24
Nov 17, 2022
1,847 Posts
Nice, it's back in stock and at the discounted price. I was going to order that Legion 5 Pro with the 3060, but now I'm not sure which is best. Does anyone in here have any experience with returning laptops to Bestbuy and/or Walmart? Is it as simple as packing it back up and bringing it in to the store for a full refund? Niether of the two units I'm contemplating are on display anywhere so I'm considering buying both to test out, and returning the one I prefer least.
Nov 17, 2022
19 Posts
Joined Dec 2019
Nov 17, 2022
OrangePlastic3378
Nov 17, 2022
19 Posts
Quote from Dicka24 :
Nice, it's back in stock and at the discounted price. I was going to order that Legion 5 Pro with the 3060, but now I'm not sure which is best. Does anyone in here have any experience with returning laptops to Bestbuy and/or Walmart? Is it as simple as packing it back up and bringing it in to the store for a full refund? Niether of the two units I'm contemplating are on display anywhere so I'm considering buying both to test out, and returning the one I prefer least.
I have returned a couple laptops to Best Buy recently. I do have a Best Buy card so that may be making it easier but I just walk up to customer service, they make sure it is in the box, then I have my money back in a couple days. Walmart is close to the same experience. I almost exclusively buy from Best Buy because of this.
Nov 17, 2022
1,847 Posts
Joined Jan 2010
Nov 17, 2022
Dicka24
Nov 17, 2022
1,847 Posts
Quote from OrangePlastic3378 :
I have returned a couple laptops to Best Buy recently. I do have a Best Buy card so that may be making it easier but I just walk up to customer service, they make sure it is in the box, then I have my money back in a couple days. Walmart is close to the same experience. I almost exclusively buy from Best Buy because of this.
Hey bud, thanks for the reply. I wish these were on display locally so I wouldn't have to consider buying both to check out. With something that costs $1k+, that I'll be using for years, I just like to be sure I made the right choice.
Nov 17, 2022
19 Posts
Joined Dec 2019
Nov 17, 2022
OrangePlastic3378
Nov 17, 2022
19 Posts
Quote from Dicka24 :
Hey bud, thanks for the reply. I wish these were on display locally so I wouldn't have to consider buying both to check out. With something that costs $1k+, that I'll be using for years, I just like to be sure I made the right choice.
Don't forget in Best Buy sometimes they have the model "open box" the price may not be better due to Black Friday pricing but generally they will let you put your hands on the device.
Nov 17, 2022
179 Posts
Joined May 2018
Nov 17, 2022
GingerBear
Nov 17, 2022
179 Posts
Quote from Dicka24 :
Nice, it's back in stock and at the discounted price. I was going to order that Legion 5 Pro with the 3060, but now I'm not sure which is best. Does anyone in here have any experience with returning laptops to Bestbuy and/or Walmart? Is it as simple as packing it back up and bringing it in to the store for a full refund? Niether of the two units I'm contemplating are on display anywhere so I'm considering buying both to test out, and returning the one I prefer least.
Acer has poor build quality and terrible support. Lenovo has much better build quality and support actually exists. Keep that in mind when comparing the two. I'd buy a Lenovo over any other major brand, followed by Asus. For me Acer is ranked probably last of major companies, behind Gigabyte. Dell and HP have middle of the road quality but the best support network for consumer laptops.

Obviously Apple would take the top spot if you were talking any laptops, and Toshiba ranks high as well but that's really more for businesses. Microsoft surfaces are decent, but that's kinda niche.
1
Nov 17, 2022
44 Posts
Joined Jul 2020
Nov 17, 2022
EfficientRose6555
Nov 17, 2022
44 Posts
Quote from GingerBear :
Acer has poor build quality and terrible support. Lenovo has much better build quality and support actually exists. Keep that in mind when comparing the two. I'd buy a Lenovo over any other major brand, followed by Asus. For me Acer is ranked probably last of major companies, behind Gigabyte. Dell and HP have middle of the road quality but the best support network for consumer laptops.

Obviously Apple would take the top spot if you were talking any laptops, and Toshiba ranks high as well but that's really more for businesses. Microsoft surfaces are decent, but that's kinda niche.
Funny enough I was between the Acer Predator and a laptop from Gigabyte. Could you expand on why you believe/know either of the companies have poor build quality or any experience with their customer service? I'm interested to hear any personal experiences. Thank you

Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.

Nov 17, 2022
3,952 Posts
Joined Sep 2007
Nov 17, 2022
Interface
Nov 17, 2022
3,952 Posts
Have this Acer laptop with the 11th gen core i7 / 16 Gb DDR4 instead of the 12th gen / DDR5 version at Best Buy. As far as adding a 2nd M2 drive, I did not have that problem nor do i have a bent M2 drive. Maybe its a design flaw in the 2022 model, not sure. The laptop is fantastic from picture quality to sound to design..

As far as build quality goes, would rank them in this order from best to worst.
Lenovo
Acer
MSI
Asus
Gigabyte
HP
Dell

Keep in mind, Walmart does have the Legion 5 for $1100 if you want to get a Lenovo.
2

Leave a Comment

Unregistered (You)

Popular Deals

View All

Trending Deals

View All