The Predator Triton 500 SE is Acer’s “tip of the spear” high-performance laptop computer within the 15-16 inch market and is actually an even bigger, higher-speed model of the Triton 300 SE (2021) we just lately reviewed.
The Predator Triton 500 SE is a comparatively skinny & gentle laptop computer designed to supply excellent “absolute performance” and elevated mobility. Yet, you would additionally use it as a desktop alternative. It is extra highly effective than most desktop computer systems in the marketplace, particularly in its GeForce RTX 3080 incarnation.
Predator Triton 500 SE Specs Highlights
The particular unit we’re testing is the Acer Predator Triton 500 SE model PT516-51s-92CB, with an Intel Core i9-11900H CPU, 2x16GB RAM, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, and 1TB of SSD storage put in as two 512GB in RAID0 configuration. This configuration sells for about $2699.99 (via Best Buy) as configured.
That mentioned, the laptop computer is designed to be expanded much more and will settle for 4TB of SSD (2x 2TB) and 64GB of RAM (2x 32GB SODIMM). This flexibility hints that Creative customers ought to take note of this laptop computer as a result of “pure gaming” doesn’t sometimes require that a lot reminiscence and disk sources.
Industrial Design
Although that is technically a “Gaming” laptop computer, the design language is just not over-the-top “gaming” In the sense that it’s not an RGB rainbow that screams, “I’m a hardcore gamer.” The design is barely aggressive but additionally discrete sufficient to slot in a company boardroom whereas doubtlessly excelling at Creative duties along with operating the most recent video games.
The Predator Triton 300 SE makes use of the identical design language as the five hundred SE, which makes a number of sense. You discover the identical brushed steel “cross-hatching” design on the show cowl, and the cooling airflow goes from the facet (consumption) to the again (exhaust) with out counting on the underside for air consumption, which is excellent.
The laptop computer is comparatively skinny (19.8 mm) in relation to its efficiency and weighs 5.29 Lbs, however remember that the Triton 500 SE is a 16-inch laptop computer. Our Performance/Lbs numbers will shed extra gentle on that later. The 230W Power Brick is massive and heavy, however that’s very regular for this sort of computing energy.
Keyboard and Trackpad
The key journey is a bit shallow, and I’d estimate it to round ~1mm, so it’s not MacBook-shallow, however a lot shallower than 1.3mm, which is what you discover on many giant laptops. It won’t be my favourite keyboard, however I believe it’s okay, and I don’t anticipate individuals to complain. If you write so much, you may wish to strive it in a Best Buy retailer.
The keys are backlit with a 3-zones RGB lighting system, so it’s not “per-key” RGB. I’m not that choosy with the lighting configuration, however in case you’re used to having per-key coloration schemes, you have to be conscious of this.
The trackpad floor is product of glass and subsequently feels super-smooth. It’s clicky once you press it, and I like the way it works. At the higher left of the trackpad, there’s a fingerprint sensor that appears a bit old-school however performs its perform with no hitch.
Ports
There are a number of ports on this laptop computer, and for its measurement, it’s not very shocking. As a desktop alternative, most individuals would most likely have sufficient ports, and in case you’re semi-mobile, I’d suggest taking a look at Thunderbolt docks since there are a few TB4 ports right here.
In a pinch, you possibly can cost your laptop computer through TB4 at as much as 100W – not fairly the total energy, however sufficient to get by. The presence of a full-size SD Card (7.0) reader is one other signal that Creative customers are one of many goal audiences of the Predator Triton 500 SE. If you movie in 4K, you’ll recognize the switch velocity.
Upgradability
Despite being skinny, this laptop computer can be upgradeable the place it issues. The RAM and SSD slots usually are not super-easy to entry (you need to take away the motherboard), however it’s potential, and you would push the RAM to 64GB (2×32) and the SSD storage to 4TB (2×2 PCIe 4.0), and do that at a decrease price in case you wait till it is advisable to.
Portability
For of us who wish to play at their associates’ place, the portability of this gaming laptop computer is unbelievable. It packs a number of efficiency for its weight and can make transportation a lot simpler, particularly in case you use public transportation (+backpack).
Sound high quality
The sound high quality is evident, and the DTS-X Ultra spatialization is nice. However, the bottom-firing audio system usually are not as highly effective because the top-firing ones, and that clean house on the left+proper of the keyboard might be prime actual property for extra highly effective audio system.
Gamers may desire headphones for optimum encompass sound, however I really feel like this laptop computer may benefit from a greater speaker setup for motion pictures.
16-inch WXGA Display (2560×1600)
I used to be agreeably shocked by the excessive 500 NITs brightness as a result of many gaming laptop computer designs assume that players will use their computer systems in a dimly lit room. This laptop computer’s glorious coloration accuracy (100% sRGB) can be very welcome and never at all times a given within the gaming laptop computer market. The 3ms latency may be very low and quick sufficient for our show’s 165Hz most refresh charge.
The excessive show high quality hints that non-gamers are additionally potential consumers of this highly effective laptop computer, and Acer may need performed it masterfully right here.
Our unit got here with an NVIDIA G-Sync sticker on the monitor, however remember that it’s as a result of solely GeForce RTX 3070 and 3080 SKUs options with G-Sync, not like the sooner 3060 models. If you need G-Sync, just remember to’re getting a mannequin that helps it.
Acer additionally has an upcoming mini-LED show choice with an insane 1250 NITs brightness that will be fairly superb to have in case you are in a vibrant setting (film studios, open air).
And lastly, there’s additionally a 240Hz show choice for these after absolutely the highest refresh charge, akin to aggressive gamers.
Now, some Creative customers may require 3K or 4K decision shows. For that, the Acer ConceptD collection is what they need to search for – or an exterior monitor.
Performance
The Intel Core i9-11900H CPU choice paired with a 110W GeForce RTX 3080 makes this {hardware} platform extraordinarily attention-grabbing as some opponents may max out with an i7-11800H as an alternative.
Interestingly, each the “performance per Lbs” and the “performance per dollar-spent” are very excessive. You’re getting what you pay for, and also you’re getting a number of efficiency for each pound you carry round. In truth, on a per-weight foundation, the Triton 500 SE performs higher than its lighter 300 SE cousin, however the 300 SE has higher graphics “per dollar.”
The comparability with the Lenovo ThinkPad P15 Gen2 reveals how cost-effective a gaming laptop computer may be in comparison with a full-on workstation. That mentioned, the P15’s RTX A5000 GPU has CAD-certified drivers and different enterprise options that aren’t actually comparable. In the tip, these are completely totally different markets, however from a computing viewpoint, gaming laptops are very comparable.
PredatorSense is a preloaded Acer utility to watch and management this laptop computer’s cooling, efficiency modes, and gaming settings. I discover it fairly easy to make use of and seen that workstations typically lack such controls.
Like every other gaming laptop computer, the followers will get very noisy (61Db) in case you use the “Extreme” efficiency mode in Acer’s PredatorSense management panel. I’d use it in “Default” mode to get a 51 Db most noise stage and go away solely a small proportion of efficiency on the desk. The 10 Decibels of further noise solely decrease the temperature by a couple of levels celsius.
When the laptop computer runs at most velocity, it might probably get sizzling, and that’s most likely not once you need it in your lap. The heart of the keyboard space may attain as excessive as ~48C, however the thermal controls will stop it from rising greater than that.
The SSD storage efficiency is exceptional, and that’s as a result of RAID0 configuration. The 1TB of our unit is 2x 512GB. RAID0 aggregates the bandwidth of each storage units right into a logical pushed, which explains what we see within the numbers.
Game loading or video output is likely to be positively impacted. And that’s a motive why the five hundred SE storage performs practically 2X higher than its 300 SE cousin within the “Creative” benchmarks. This might translate into implausible productiveness positive factors.
Predator Triton 500 SE Battery Life
I anticipate most individuals to make use of this laptop computer as a desktop alternative, however since it’s skinny and comparatively gentle, having a 99Wh battery capability and a 230W adapter is undoubtedly a plus.
This SKU has superior (NVIDIA) Optimus and auto-switches between built-in and discrete GPU relying on the utilization. That mentioned, I needed to manually swap the LCD show from “default” to “Optimus” within the NVIDIA management panel.
The 4 hours and eighteen minutes of battery life within the battery check (productiveness apps, “best battery” settings) are lower than what we anticipated for this check. It looks like Acer is utilizing a higher-performance battery profile even within the “best battery mode”, however I hope this might be tuned in a future firmware replace.
The battery cost velocity is comparatively gradual in comparison with the Triton 300 SE and different highly effective laptops such because the Lenovo ThinkPad P15 Gen2 workstation. This means you possibly can’t shortly “top off” the laptop computer and go, so if that’s a scenario you end up in typically, contemplate it. That mentioned, the five hundred SE cost velocity may be very similar to mainstream laptops just like the ThinkPad X1 Carbon.
Conclusion
The Predator Triton 500 SE is definitely the “tip of the spear” gaming laptop computer in Acer’s lineup, and this mannequin is especially quick, each for Gaming and Creative functions.
This twin polyvalence is an actual energy for this laptop computer as many “Gaming-only” laptops won’t have such high-performance show or storage choices that Creative customers must do their finest work.
The glorious expandability of storage (4TB) and RAM (64GB) capability might even enhance its potential helpful lifespan or resale worth. A low max-RAM capability might be a bottleneck in case you cope with super-high decision content material (4K, 8K video enhancing).
In conclusion, the Acer Predator Triton 500 SE is a terrific high-performance laptop computer with large computing energy for graphics functions, backed by an environment friendly cooling system. It is worthy of your consideration.
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