Acer via eBay has
Acer Predator Helios 16 Laptop (Certified Refurbished, PH16-71-93FR) on sale for
$1455.99 after 9% in-cart discount.
Shipping is free.
Thanks to community member
Dr.Wajahat for finding this deal.
Specs: - Intel Core i9-13900HX 24-cores, 32-threads (3.9GHz Base / 5.4GHz Boost) Processor
- 16" (2560 x 1600) 240Hz NVIDIA G-SYNC IPS LCD Display
- 16GB DDR5 SDRAM RAM
- 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive
- NVDIA GeForce RTX 4080 12GB GDDR6 Graphics
- WiFi 6E IEEE 802.11ax + Bluetooth 5.2
- RGB Backlit Keyboard
- Windows 11 Home
- Ports:
- 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C
- 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A
- 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A
- 1x HDMI 2.1 with HDCP Support
- 1x RJ-45
- Includes a 2-year warranty serviced by Allstate.
Top Comments
I added windows 11 pro to it, bought a 2tb 980 nvme to expand it (refurbished from best buy) and an additional 32x2 crucial set of ram sticks to come that match. it's not light, the power supply is really a big brick, but it's not that bad at all overall.
Installing windows 11 pro was a challenge as there are two things to setup to do so from scratch, one being turning the touch pad to PS2 in bios settings and then the storage setting on the main page of bios (press F2 as the laptop turns on to enter bios)
MAIN PAGE VMD change to OFF so normal windows 11 usb install (23H2 as of writing this) can see your nvme drive and controller to install windows. remember this will erase the software and settings that they put on at the factory. To install, you can just choose each partition and delete them until it is all unused space and then install.
Download the newest versions of all the software on that page. the user manual is at the bottom just scroll down.
this is the software support and bios
https://www.acer.com/us-en/suppor.../downloads update to 1.16 page. PH16-71-93FR is the model
Once your install is good, install the network, chipset and other drivers you downloaded. you will see in each package how to do that. Remember once it starts to see your wifi or lan cable if you connect with that, let windows do some updates. Then change your bios setting to 12C HID for the cool gesture abilities of the touchpad in windows.
Finally, Adobe users, especially photoshop, after effects and premiere, etc. GPU rendering doesn't automatically choose the 4080 gpu in this and the mux switching can be done in bios as well.
https://community.acer.
How to enable Discrete GPU only in PredatorSense
Open the PredatorSense application and click on the settings icon in the upper right corner.
Select the Discrete GPU only option and move the slider to the right to enable.
Close PredatorSense application and restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
How to optimize GPU setting in the CMOS Setup
Power your computer completely off by holding the power key down for 5 seconds.
Power your computer on and press the F2 key as soon as the Acer logo appears to enter the CMOS setup.
Use the arrow keys to select the Advanced tab.
If the field Display mode is not visible, then press the keys Ctrl + S to access hidden features.
Use the arrow keys to confirm the display mode is set to NVIDIA GPU Only.
Select the Exit tab.
Select Exit Saving Changes.
I just wished they'd make an option PSU upgrade for these machines. I'd happily pay a bit more to upgrade the PSU to something that can fully power the device indefinitely.
60 Comments
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I just wished they'd make an option PSU upgrade for these machines. I'd happily pay a bit more to upgrade the PSU to something that can fully power the device indefinitely.
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I just wished they'd make an option PSU upgrade for these machines. I'd happily pay a bit more to upgrade the PSU to something that can fully power the device indefinitely.
"The large and heavy Chicony power supply is rated at 330 W and should be able to supply the Predator with enough power at all times, even in demanding scenarios."
https://www.notebookche
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The 165hz/500nit/100%srgb screen is amazing in person, the 240hz/500nit screen should be 100%DCI-P3., and should be even more indescribably beautiful, unless you lose the backlight bleed lottery. My old system's screen was 1080p/144hz/300nit/100%srgb, and the predator helios 16 165hz just demolishes it in quality.
The keyboard is great to type on. It's neither noisy nor mushy. Not a lot of flex. I miss having discrete home/end keys, but switching between cursor control and numpad isn't too horrible. The backlighting is amazing. Nice and bright. Great for use in low light. It's per key, the WASD keys look exactly like the rest - pretty, not garish, and there are some neat effects that can be set. I have the rear light bar turned off, but there is some control over that as well.
The sound is actually serviceable, and pleasant, unlike a lot of laptops.
It is chunky compared to thinner laptops, but my model doesn't get uncomfortable to use even when the CPU/GPU are pushing north of 80c. This model has higher-tier CPU/GPU and ram that clocks to 5600, so it probably has a higher base heat. Cooling should still work well.
I'm not really doing anything too hardcore with regards to gaming... I've been using balanced mode, and playing mostly Fallout 76, Fortnite, State of Decay 2, Minecraft. These games are running buttery smooth with max settings at 2560x1600. Fans aren't annoying, and I use earbuds more from habit and to keep from intruding on the family.
It's heavy, and feels very well built... like a cross between a tank and a supercar. You could physically murder people by hitting them with this. The power brick could also be a hand to hand weapon. I did not find any specs for USB-C charging, but the two TB4 ports should support 100w charging at least - that's part of the TB4 standard.
The big downside is the software. It's not great. It's also not very intuitive - and I'm coming from an older Acer. It would be great to be able to set power limits for the CPU and GPU, and set fan curves to get more precise control over how the system runs... but at least it works. Some older posts I found while looking for others' experience said that the PredatorSense software didn't work or did weird things and there are videos of trying to set RGB settings not working... but I haven't seen any oddness in the first 15 days I've had this system.
If you're not scared off by the heft of the device, it's a really good choice. The price for the quality of components in this particular deal is pretty amazing.
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I added windows 11 pro to it, bought a 2tb 980 nvme to expand it (refurbished from best buy) and an additional 32x2 crucial set of ram sticks to come that match. it's not light, the power supply is really a big brick, but it's not that bad at all overall.
Installing windows 11 pro was a challenge as there are two things to setup to do so from scratch, one being turning the touch pad to PS2 in bios settings and then the storage setting on the main page of bios (press F2 as the laptop turns on to enter bios)
MAIN PAGE VMD change to OFF so normal windows 11 usb install (23H2 as of writing this) can see your nvme drive and controller to install windows. remember this will erase the software and settings that they put on at the factory. To install, you can just choose each partition and delete them until it is all unused space and then install.
Download the newest versions of all the software on that page. the user manual is at the bottom just scroll down.
this is the software support and bios
https://www.acer.com/us-en/suppor.../downloads update to 1.16 page. PH16-71-93FR is the model
Once your install is good, install the network, chipset and other drivers you downloaded. you will see in each package how to do that. Remember once it starts to see your wifi or lan cable if you connect with that, let windows do some updates. Then change your bios setting to 12C HID for the cool gesture abilities of the touchpad in windows.
Finally, Adobe users, especially photoshop, after effects and premiere, etc. GPU rendering doesn't automatically choose the 4080 gpu in this and the mux switching can be done in bios as well.
https://community.acer.
How to enable Discrete GPU only in PredatorSense
Open the PredatorSense application and click on the settings icon in the upper right corner.
Select the Discrete GPU only option and move the slider to the right to enable.
Close PredatorSense application and restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
How to optimize GPU setting in the CMOS Setup
Power your computer completely off by holding the power key down for 5 seconds.
Power your computer on and press the F2 key as soon as the Acer logo appears to enter the CMOS setup.
Use the arrow keys to select the Advanced tab.
If the field Display mode is not visible, then press the keys Ctrl + S to access hidden features.
Use the arrow keys to confirm the display mode is set to NVIDIA GPU Only.
Select the Exit tab.
Select Exit Saving Changes.