Acer Predator Helios 18 AI gaming laptop review

If you'd told me a few years ago that I'd be reviewing a laptop with 192 GB of RAM and an RTX 5090, I'd think you were pitching an episode of Black Mirror. Yet here sits the Acer Predator Helios 18 AI—a machine that bulldozes right through the line between desktop and laptop. If you're the kind of gamer or creator who treats "future-proof" as a dare, not a promise, this is your new toy.

Design-wise, the Predator is unmistakably "gamer"—and it's not shy about it. There's RGB everywhere: a bold rear shelf, a front LED bar, and extra lighting pulsing from the right corner of the keyboard deck. The keyboard is fully per-key RGB, and every light show is customizable in the Predator Sense software. It can be a lot, but at least the Helios isn't pretending to be a business notebook like the Razer Blade 16. The chassis is mostly matte black with blue accents, and while it's built like a tank, you'll notice the weight every time you move it. At nearly four kilos, this is not a laptop for laps—unless you're looking to simulate leg day at the gym.

Port selection is excellent. On the left, you get an audio jack, a speedy SD card reader, an RJ-45 Ethernet port, and a USB-A port for plug-and-play needs. The right side houses two USB-A Gen 2 ports with power delivery—perfect for charging devices or hooking up extra peripherals. Around the back, Acer's packed in the heavy hitters: dual Thunderbolt 4 ports for high-speed data and charging, a full-size HDMI 2.1 for 4K/120Hz output, and the barrel connector for power. This rear layout keeps your desk clean and cables out of the way, so whether you're running a multi-monitor battlestation or just want a tidy workspace, the Helios has you covered.

The 18-inch 4K Dual mode Mini-LED display is a showstopper—bright, crisp, and absolutely massive, with a 4K+ resolution of 3840 x 2400 and a 120 Hz refresh rate that makes even the most demanding esports types happy. What really sets it apart is the dual-mode nature: toggle between high-refresh 1080p 240 Hz for buttery-smooth gaming and or switch to 4K 120 Hz for productivity, cinematic content and single-player games.

I will say that I'm not a fan of having to reboot every time you activate dual mode though, I mean, is this 2005?

In SDR, the panel shines—colors are vibrant, blacks are satisfyingly deep, and there's so much real estate you can lose a couple of Chrome tabs in the corners and not notice for a week. But HDR in Windows is more complicated. Aggressive local dimming zones sometimes create a smoky haze, especially when bright highlights share space with dark backgrounds. In games, highlights and colors explode off the screen, but try reading white text on a black background and it's like chasing ghosts—letters fade into murky darkness.

The infamous halo effect is also far more noticeable in HDR than SDR: bright objects bleed a visible glow into dark areas, like a flashlight shining through fog. It's distracting in high-contrast scenes and makes HDR a mixed bag, even if the potential for jaw-dropping visuals is there. This is most definitely where you're going to feel you're missing an OLED panel.

For all its size, the speakers are a let-down. You'd expect a laptop this massive to pack some serious audio punch, but what you get is underwhelming—there's little to no bass, a flat soundstage, and the overall audio experience feels like an afterthought. Whether you're gaming, streaming, or just listening to music, you'll want to reach for a good headset or external speakers.

Under the hood, however, the Predator is an absolute monster. The RTX 5090 is the current king of mobile GPUs, and Acer's gone all-in with a 175 W TGP, so you're getting the full-fat experience. Pair that with Intel's latest Core Ultra 9 275HX and a jaw-dropping 192 GB of DDR5 RAM, and this thing doesn't just multitask—it multithinks.

Honestly, I can't think of any scenario where a gamer would ever need 192 GB of RAM, but that's the point: this machine is clearly aimed at more than just gamers. It's targeting serious professionals—content creators, engineers, or anyone running wild with virtual machines—who actually need that kind of headroom.

Acer even throws in extra thermal cooling pads for the RAM that power users can install themselves, just to squeeze out every last drop of performance. You could run a small business, stream, edit 8K video, and still alt-tab into Cyberpunk 2077 with ray tracing maxed out, all without breaking a sweat.

Performance is predictably outrageous. 4K gaming? Absolutely. AI workloads? Bring them on—if you're tinkering with large language models or running heavy AI inference locally, that absurd amount of RAM isn't just for show, it's a genuine asset. In my testing, the Helios 18 AI chewed through everything from Baldur's Gate 3 to Blender renders without so much as a stutter.

At its native 4K-ish resolution, the RTX 5090 delivers silky frame rates in just about every modern title, and when you crank up the ray tracing, frame generation keeps things feeling smooth even in the most demanding scenes. It's the kind of power that lets you max out settings, flick on every eye candy option, and still stay well above 60 fps—sometimes double or triple that, depending on the game and how aggressive you want to get with DLSS or Multi Frame Gen.

This is a laptop that genuinely lets you have it all and I can't stop grinning whenever I go into game settings and put everything on max and know it will run great.

The cooling system is up to the task, too, with a vapor chamber, multiple fans, and enough venting to make a wind tunnel jealous. Fan noise is definitely more than just white noise. It's not piercing, but when the laptop is under load, everyone in the room will know you're gaming or rendering. On the bright side, that airflow means the CPU and GPU stay impressively cool even during marathon sessions.

The keyboard is a step up from the usual Predator fare, with per-key RGB, good travel, and a satisfying thunk, though the trackpad is still just fine.

Battery life? You knew this was coming—it's not great.

With all that horsepower, you'll be lucky to get two hours of real-world use, and gaming will see that number drop even further. This is a device that expects to be plugged in, and the power brick is appropriately massive.

There are a few quirks. The sheer size means you'll need to clear some desk space, and while the display is gorgeous, it's not OLED—so if you're after those infinite blacks, you'll have to look elsewhere. The price is, as you'd expect, eye-watering—starting at $4,499, £4,999, and AUD $7,999. You're paying for bragging rights and bleeding-edge specs, and Acer knows it. But if you want the best, this is the kind of premium you sign up for.

Compared to the MSI Stealth 18 HX AI and Alienware 18 Area-51, the Predator Helios 18 AI holds its own. It's chunkier than the Stealth, less than the Alienware, but it delivers top-tier performance and a screen that delivers on real estate and resolution, if not quite on crispness and HDR. The Alienware might have a glitzier chassis, but the Predator's cooling and RAM capacity give strong support for productivity and longevity. Though it is worth noting the Alienware is still able to keep its processor more chilled even under heavy productivity loads.

And while the Stealth is a bit more understated, it can't match the Helios for raw horsepower or memory headroom.

Buy this if you want to game at 4K with all the sliders maxed, edit video like a pro, or run local ChatGPT instances on your machine. Don't buy it if you're hoping for portability or value—this is a luxury item for power users who want the absolute best and are willing to pay for it. Everyone else can settle for any one of the best gaming laptops that cost a fraction of the price and still leave you with enough for two of the best OLED gaming monitors and peripherals.

The verdict? The Acer Predator Helios 18 AI is a ludicrously powerful, unapologetically large, and surprisingly refined gaming laptop that does everything but make your coffee. If you've got the desk space, the budget, and the need for speed (and RAM), this is the beast to beat.