Acer Predator Helios Neo (18-inch, 2023)

Ultimate portable gaming power ; Mighty Nvidia GeForce GTX 4090 GPU ; Dual SSDs in RAID 0

Premium price ; Side and rear port locations could be improved ; Runs loud and hot

While the Neo 18 is one of the best gaming laptops we've tested, our admiration is somewhat tempered by its hefty price tag.

Solid, attractive design for the price ; Enjoyable keyboard and touchpad ; Strong CPU and GPU performance ; Plenty of connectivity

Heavy and thick, even for an 18-inch laptop ; Modest 1200p, 165Hz display ; Port placement could be improved ; Short battery life

Want a lot of performance for $1,500? Acer’s gigantic Helios Neo 18 is a good bet.

Fun design ; Big, bright display ; Comfortable keyboard ; Powerful performance and graphics

Display isn’t as colorful as 16-inch model ; Mixed audio ; Short battery life

The Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 is one of the few 18-inch gaming laptops in the affordable range, and it still outperforms and outshines many of its competitors.

alright build and design, once you peel off the stickers ; good inputs and IO ; beautiful IPS matte display ; plenty powerful in mixed loads and games ; versatile Balanced mode, quiet and performant ; the most affordable 18-inch laptop out there

fairly large and heavy even for an 18-inch laptop ; not as fast as other i9 HX models in sustained CPU loads ; high CPU/GPU temperatures in games with the laptop flat on the desk ; mediocre audio and camera