Some laptop makers try too hard to stand out. The Predator Triton 900 is a machine that I found to be useless. The SpatiaLabs glasses-free 3D technology will be coming to gaming laptops. Ambitious swings are nice, but I prefer notebooks that are subtle about their gaming prowess. After testing out the Predator Triton 500 SE for a week, I have learned that it can be done. The sleek metallic frame of the Triton 500 SE makes it look like it's in an office or lecture hall. There isn't much need for garish LEDs or other obnoxious case bling. It is ready to get to work. It's not the only subtle gaming notebook around, but competitors like the Razer Blade cost more than the Triton. The 16-inch screen of the Triton 500 SE makes it different from other productivity laptops. It has a 16:10 aspect ratio, which makes it slightly taller than typical widescreen displays, and is more useful for dealing with documents. The review unit shipped with the WQXGA model is the ideal balance between sharpness and smooth refresh, and it runs at 2,560 by 1,600. It has a relatively high brightness of 500 nits and full coverage of the DCI-P3 gamut. The screen is a big reason why the Triton is a hefty 5.3 pounds, but it is still better than most 17-inch gaming notebooks. The display is powered by Intel's 12th-gen processors and the latest version of the RTX 3080 Ti from NVIDIA. The unit we received had a top-end Core i9 12900H, 32GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and a 1 terabytes of NVMe storage. I reviewed the Triton 500 SE because of that configuration. I wondered if this notebook could actually satisfy people. Turns out, yes. At ultra graphics settings, the game reached a solid 85 frames per second. I was surprised at how good the game felt on a 16-inch display, even though I missed the high definition and expansive view I have grown used to on the Alienware QD-OLED ultrawide monitor. It sometimes felt like I was about to dive headfirst into the maps, thanks to the taller 16:10 aspect ratio. That could be a sign that I need to make my desk more comfortable for laptops. I lowered the game's graphics settings as the display shined. I am still not sold on the high refresh rate, but it is nice to see laptop makers pushing for more realistic games. The built-in overclocking capabilities of the Triton 500 SE will likely be appreciated by gearheads. It is easy to modify clock speeds and thermal profiles. I was happy to have a simple button on the keyboard. The fans are revved up all the way. It usually increased performance by 8 to 10 percent in the benchmarks I ran. Is it the big downside? It is so loud that you would probably not want to use it without headphones. The performance of the Triton 500 SE was almost identical to that of the Blade 15. In PCMark 10 and Geekbench 5's Compute test, the Razer was in front. In others, including Cinebench R23 and 3DMark's Port Royal ray tracing benchmark, the Triton held a commanding lead. The review unit has a slightly faster 12th-gen processor. Hit that switch and the numbers go up even more.
Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
PCMark 10 | TimeSpy Extreme has a 3DMark. | Geekbench 5. | The ATTO is the top reads and writes. | |
The Intel i9-12900H and the NVIDIA RTX 3080 Ti are included in the Acer Predator Triton 500 SE. | 6,779 were counted. | 4,887 people. | 1,760/1,380. | There are 6.4 and 4.9 gigabytes of data. |
The Intel i7-12800H and the NVIDIA RTX 3080 Ti are part of the Razer Blade 15. | 7,085. | 4,798 | 1,797,912 | 4.32 gigabyte/s and 6.45 gigabyte/s |
The G14 is a variant of the ASUS Zephyrus. | 7,170. | 3,822. | There were 1,543 entries. | There are 3.5 and 4 gigabytes of data. |
The Zephyrus G15 is powered by theAMD Ryzen 9 5900HS and theNVIDIA RTX 3080 Max-Q. | 6,884. | 4,530 people. | 1,426/7,26 | There are 3.3 gigabyte/s and 2.85 gigabyte/s. |
The Advanced Optimus feature, which swaps the Triton'sGPU between integrated and discrete graphics, worked perfectly throughout my testing. I didn't see any of the performance problems that occurred with older Optimus machines, where the integrated graphics had to be squeezed through. There is a MUX switch that will allow you to change between the two graphics cards without restarting the system.
After playing several games for a few hours, the Triton 500 SE was relatively cool. Under load, theCPU hovered around 78 Celsius, while theGPU hit 83 Celsius. I was testing in my basement and it was not hot to the touch. The fan noise was not as loud as I would expect with the default performance settings, but it was still pretty annoying.
It is a shame that some of the Triton 500 SE's hardware holds it back. The keyboard is good for gaming, but I would like more feedback for long typing sessions. The clicking mechanism felt stiff and bad at right clicks, even though I appreciated the large and smooth trackpad. I am not a fan of having a fingerprint sensor on the trackpad, as it can get in the way while I am using it. Throw in a Windows HelloWebcam if you stick that sensor on the power button. I would like to see Acer bundle more than just a pair of speakers, since many more drivers are being crammed into their notebooks.
I suppose we have grown used to the lack of battery life in powerful gaming laptops. In our benchmark, the Triton 500 SE lasted five hours and twenty-five minutes. That is 17 minutes less than the blade. It usually lasts around five hours before I need a refill. That is usually the case for gaming laptops with large screens. You will never want to be too far away from a power plug.
I think most people would want to keep their computers plugged in. All of the ports you would need to make it a true workstation were included. The headphone jack is something more laptop makers are doing these days.
The most recent Blade 17 is $400 less than the most recent Predator 500 SE, which starts at $2,300. If you want all of the hardware from our review unit, you'll have to pay $3,000. If you can live with last year's 11th-gen Intel chips, you can find older Triton 500 SE models for $2,000 and under. The performance difference is huge, so we recommend doing whatever it takes to get a 12th-gen chip.
The Triton 500 SE proves that Acer is more than just a gaming company. After being known for producing cheap and unsophisticated laptops for years, it's nice to see that Acer can make a refined gaming notebook.
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