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Acer Predator Helios 18 AI: Two-minute review

The Acer Predator Helios 18 AI is a top-tier gaming laptop with a phenomenal spec that’s sure to whet the appetites of even casual gamers. Despite what lurks inside, its exterior is remarkably restrained. At 18 inches, it's obviously very large, but the black finish and lack of branding keep its profile reasonably low. However, that large rear protrusion and ostentatious RGB lighting give away its intentions.

I think Acer has done well to keep the Predator Helios 18 AI as slender as possible. Of course, this is all relative given the size of laptop we’re dealing with here, but it’s impressively thin for the most part, although it thickens at the rear.

Build quality is also excellent, equaling the best gaming laptops in this regard. Premium materials are employed everywhere, and the hinge for the lid is smooth and easy to operate, while offering plenty of stability once set.

The keyboard is tactile and snappy, and the generous spacing of the keys makes it easy to type and game on the Predator Helios 18 AI. The number pad somewhat compromises the layout, though, with the space bar paying the highest price; it’s a little too short for my liking.

On the other hand, the large trackpad does a fine job of not interfering while using the keyboard, with accidental contact failing to register in my experience. It’s also very smooth and accurate, should you wish to use it over one of the best gaming mice.

Considering its mighty spec, the Predator Helios 18 AI performs as well as you might expect. Cyberpunk 2077 and Doom: The Dark Ages ran with aplomb, each delivering fps figures in the hundreds with maximum graphics settings, including those for ray tracing.

(Image credit: Future)

You will have to endure constant fan noise when gaming, but thankfully this isn’t egregious when the default Balanced mode is selected in the Predator Sense app. The Predator Helios 18 AI also generates a fair amount of heat, which can spread to the sides and the keyboard after a while. Again, though, this isn’t bad enough to cause an issue.

The biggest price you’ll have to pay for all this performance is… well, the price. Starting at $3,000, the Predator Helios 18 AI is incredibly expensive. I struggle to think who’ll need such a large and powerful laptop, and be willing to pay this much for one.

Of course, the entire gaming laptop market is a premium one, but there are better value alternatives out there if you don’t need an 18-inch display and triple-digit frame rates, such as the excellent Razer Blade 16 (2025) or the MSI Katana 15 (2023), the latter of which we think is currently the best budget gaming laptop around.

Acer Predator Helios 18 AI review: Price & Availability

• Starts from $2,999.99 / £3,499.99 / AU$7,299
• Hugely expensive
• Better value alternatives

The Predator Helios 18 AI starts from $2,999.99 / £3,499.99 / AU$7,299 and is available now. It comes with spare WASD and arrow keys, as well as a thermal pad upgrade kit for the RAM.

You don’t need me to tell you what an eye-watering sum this is. It’s understandable considering the spec, and my review unit was even more outlandish, equipped with a 3840 x 2400 display and 192GB of RAM(!).

Prices are similar to the Razer Blade, which performs similarly too. If you want something that’s even better value, the MSI Katana 15 (2023) is, in our view, one of the best budget gaming laptops around, if you’re happy to game at 1080p.

• Value: 2.5 / 5

Acer Predator Helios 18 AI review: SpecsAcer Predator Helios 18 AI Specs

Acer Predator Helios 18 AI Base Config

Acer Predator Helios 18 AI Review Config

Price

$2,999.99 / £3,499.99 / AU$7299

TBC

CPU

Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX (24 Cores), 2.70 GHz

Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX (24 Cores), 2.70 GHz

GPU

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 (16GB)

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 (24GB)

RAM

64GB DDR5

192GB DDR5

Storage

2TB PCIe NVMe SED SSD

2TB PCIe NVMe SED SSD

Display

18-inch WQXGA (2560 x 1600), 16:10 ComfyView (Matte), 250Hz, IPS

18-inch WQUXGA (3840 x 2400), 16:10 ComfyView (Matte), 250Hz, IPS

Ports and Connectivity

3 x USB-A, 2 x USB-C, 1 x RJ-45, 1 x SD card, 1 x HDMI, 1 x 3.5mm audio in/out; Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4

3 x USB-A, 2 x USB-C, 1 x RJ-45, 1 x SD card, 1 x HDMI, 1 x 3.5mm audio in/out; Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4

Battery

99Wh

99Wh

Dimensions

401 x 308 x 29.6mm

401 x 308 x 29.6mm

Weight

3.5kg / 7.7lbs

3.5kg / 7.7lbs

Acer Predator Helios 18 AI review: Design

(Image credit: Future)

• Large but surprisingly thin
• Relatively understated
• Excellent build quality

Given its large display size, the Predator Helios 18 AI is a reasonably understated gaming laptop. The rear bulge that extends beyond the lid hinge gives it some distinction, and the RGB lighting can light up the whole unit like a Christmas tree if you want it to (the bar that runs along the front edge and wraps around the side is especially striking). But switch this off and you’ll struggle to tell it apart from the best business laptops.

It’s quite bulky, although I think the Predator Helios 18 AI does an admirable job of keeping its dimensions contained considering the beastly components that lay within. The front end is reasonably thin, but thickens as it moves towards the back. This increased size does allow for larger vent openings, though, so it’s a worthy sacrifice to improve cooling performance.

The overall build quality is hard to fault. All the materials that are used look and feel premium and durable. The lid is also impressively smooth to operate yet remains sufficiently stable when set in position.

Underneath you’ll find three feet that run across the width of the Predator Helios 18 AI, and they provide plenty of grip on desktop surfaces. They also raise the chassis from the surface by a significant degree, again allowing for improved ventilation.

There are plenty of ports on the Predator Helios 18 AI. On the left, you’ll find an ethernet and a USB-A port, as well as an SD card slot and a 3.5mm audio in/ out jack. On the right are two more USB-A ports, which is a sensible location considering this is where you’ll likely be connecting external peripherals.

On the rear are two USB-C ports, an HDMI port, and a large power cable port. As you would imagine, the power supply is large, but unfortunately the cable running from the brick to the jack end is quite short. Owing to my setup, this meant I had to keep the brick on my desk rather than placing it on the floor, which was quite the inconvenience.

• Design: 4 / 5

Acer Predator Helios 18 AI review: Performance

(Image credit: Future)

• Fantastic AAA performance
• Vibrant and sharp display
• Some fan noise and heat

Gaming with the Predator Helios 18 AI didn’t get off to a particularly auspicious start. When I ran Cyberpunk 2077 for the first time, the game’s benchmark function recorded a disappointing 42fps, with the maximum 3840 x 2400 resolution and Ray Tracing: Ultra preset selected.

Some tinkering with the graphics settings resulted in modest improvements to performance, but it wasn’t until after restarting the game a couple of times that things suddenly improved: I started getting about 100fps, even in busy in-game environments, without lowering the resolution or any other graphical settings.

Similar figures were achieved when I played Doom: The Dark Ages, although I did have to change the DLSS mode from Auto to Ultra Performance to get there. Thankfully, this made no discernible difference to the image quality.

And on that front, both games looked fantastic on the WQUXGA display. Colors were accurate and vibrant, if very slightly washed-out. This is a common issue on many IPS displays, but here the effect did little to detract from the awesomeness of the visuals.

The ultra-high 3840 x 2400 resolution in my review unit offered incredible levels of sharpness, while the high response times resulted in super-smooth gameplay. It’s also capable of very high brightness levels, which helps to keep pesky reflections at bay.

(Image credit: Future)Acer Predator Helios 18 AI Benchmarks

Here's how the Acer Predator Helios 18 AI performed in our series of benchmark tests:

Geekbench 6.2:
Single - 2,803
Multi - 16,720
Cinebench R24:
Single - 125 13.89x
Multi - 1,728
3DMark:
Fire Strike - 36,158
Time Spy - 17,341
Port Royal - 12,994
Night Raid - 60,951
PCMark10:
8,885
Cyberpunk 2077:
1080p Low - 469fps
1080p Ultra - 361fps
1080p Ray Tracing: Overdrive - 128fps
Battery test:
Movie playback - 3 hours and 2 minutes
PCMark10 (Gaming) - 1 hour 27 minutes

Fan noise is constant when gaming on the Predator Helios 18 AI, but I didn’t find it distractingly loud. The volume increases considerably if you set the Predator Sense profile to Performance mode, though – then you’ll really need one of the best PC gaming headsets to drown out the noise.

The Predator Helios 18 AI does a good job of keeping temperatures down. Its underside doesn’t get too hot, although over time heat leaks out of both sides, which can be a little distracting for your mouse hand. After a couple of hours of gaming, I noticed the bottom of the keyboard became quite hot, too, especially around the space bar.

It wasn’t hot enough to make using the keyboard a problem, though. And what’s more, the keyboard on the Predator Helios 18 AI is great to game with. The keys are clicky but damped enough to make them tactile.

They’re a little on the small side (although they’re generously spaced apart), owing to the inclusion of the aforementioned number pad. This compromises the layout somewhat – especially the space bar, which isn’t as long as I would’ve liked, and therefore somewhat awkward to hit with my left thumb.

The trackpad on the Predator Helios 18 AI is large and very smooth, making it easy to use. Mercifully, it also appears unaffected by contact with the sides of your palms, meaning it won’t accidentally register movements while your hands lean over it to use the keyboard.

• Performance: 5 / 5

Acer Predator Helios 18 AI review: Battery Life

(Image credit: Future)

• Large 99Wh capacity
• Underwhelming longevity
• Quick to charge

The battery life of the Predator Helios 18 AI isn't particularly impressive. Despite its 99Wh capacity, it lasted just under 90 minutes PCMark10's battery test for gaming scenarios.

This makes it considerably worse than the Razer Blade 16 (2025), which managed about an hour more, but much better than the MSI Katana 15 (2023), which didn’t even last one hour.

Charging the Predator Helios 18 AI back up to full is a surprisingly quick process, though – and given the size of the power brick, you would hope it would be.

• Battery Life: 3.5 / 5

Should I buy the Predator Helios 18 AI?Acer Predator Helios 18 AI Scorecard

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

The Predator Helios 18 AI is incredibly expensive, and only worth it if you need the absolute best gaming performance in laptop form.

2.5 / 5

Design

The Predator Helios 18 AI is very large, but is admirably thin considering what’s inside. It’s brilliantly made, too, and the RGB lighting is tastefully vibrant.

4 / 5

Performance

My review unit had an RTX 5090 and an Intel Core Ultra 9, so naturally its performance is out of this world. The display is excellent, too.

5 / 5

Battery Life

The Predator Helios 18 AI can't last an especially long time, but at least it's capable of replenishing quickly.

3.5 / 5

Total

There’s no denying this is a ferocious gaming machine; you can’t really ask for more from a gaming laptop. But the astronomical price puts it beyond the reach of many gamers, and there are many better value propositions out there.

3.5 / 5

Buy it if...

You want the best portable performance
With Nvidia RTX 5000 series GPUs available, the Predator Helios 18 AI can achieve astonishing fps figures, while the CPU and configurable RAM are equally capable components.

You want a large display
At 18 inches, the screen is more than big enough for laptop gaming, and renders AAA titles in all their glory.

Don't buy it if...

You want to save money
You’ll need plenty of cash to buy even the base model, and there are better value options out there.

You want a truly portable device
You’ll want something much smaller and lighter than the Acer Predator Helios 18 AI if you’re constantly on the go.

Acer Predator Helios 18 AI review: Also Consider

Razer Blade 16 (2025)
We were already big fans of the Razer Blade 14 from 2024, but the Blade 16 (2025) surpasses it in many ways. Like the Predator Helios 18 AI, it too can be equipped with an RTX 5090, and is built to a similarly high standard. It’s a shame there’s no 4K option this time round, though, and it’s still about as expensive as the Predator Helios 18 AI. Read our full Razer Blade 16 (2025) review.

MSI Katana 15 (2023)
Our current pick as the best gaming laptop for those on a budget, the MSI Katana 15 (2023) gets the balance right between price and performance, impressing us with its 1080p gaming. The trackpad and battery life might be weak points, but these are areas in gaming laptops where we’re willing to forgive shortcomings. As your first foray into the sector, it’s a great place to start. Read our full MSI Katana 15 (2023) review.

How I tested the Predator Helios 18 AI

• Tested for a few days
• Played AAA games
• Extensive PC gaming experience

I tested the Predator Helios 18 AI for a few days, during which time I played games such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Doom: The Dark Ages, both AAA titles that provide stern tests for rigs owing to their demanding, cutting-edge graphics.

I also ran TechRadar’s series of benchmarking tests, including a battery test where I played a movie on a continuous loop until the Predator Helios 18 AI shut down.

I have been PC gaming for over a decade, and during that time I have experienced a number of systems and components. I have also reviewed laptops previously, as well as copious amounts of gaming hardware.

• First reviewed: July 2025
• Read more about how we test

The Trump administration's overhaul of the U.S. asylum and refugee systems has taken a toll on people fleeing religious persecution, including many Christians.

(Image credit: Andres Kudacki)

In a new book, writer Suleika Jaouad explains why journaling is a form of alchemy — and offers tips on how to reignite your practice if you're feeling stuck, bored or uninspired by your own writing.

• Future Games Show will be back at Gamescom this year
• This year's hosts are actors Maggie Robertson and David Hayter
• Tune in live on August 20 for more than 50 trailers and announcements

Future Games Show at Gamescom is returning this year for another showcase packed with game trailers and world premieres.

This year, the show will be hosted by actors Maggie Robertson (Lady Dimitrescu, Resident Evil Village) and David Hayter (Solid Snake, Metal Gear Solid). You'll be able to tune into the show live on August 20 at 1am PDT / 2pm EDT / 7pm BST / 8pm CEST.

Future Games Show will go live at the above times on a variety of social channels, including Twitch, YouTube, X / Twitter, TikTok, as well as with our friends over at GamesRadar.

Viewers can expect announcements and trailers for more than 50 upcoming games, many of which will be world premieres. Developers and publishers featured will include Bandai Namco Entertainment, Capcom, EA, and Nacon. And if there are any games you're looking forward to in particular this year, you just might be in luck, as the show is set to feature some "stealth demo drops."

On returning to the Future Games Show fold, Robertson said: “I’m thrilled to be joining David Hayter to co-host the Future Games Show at Gamescom on August 20! It’s always such a joy to celebrate the creativity and passion behind the games we love and this showcase is packed with exclusive reveals, dev interviews, and all the latest news on gaming. Can’t wait to see you there!”

Hayter added: “Yes! I'll be returning to the Future Games Show at Gamescom on August 20 with Maggie Robertson. I've had a sneak peek and the show is packed with world premieres, new trailers and deep dives into some incredible games. Join us on August 20!”

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If you enjoy diverse content like me, torrenting is an easy way to access it. It involves exchanging files via the BitTorrent protocol and can be done via torrent clients. I’ve embarked on a mission to test many torrenting clients to help users choose the best ones. Today, I’m focusing on qBittorrent, a prominent app in the torrenting community.

qBittorrent is a free and open source torrent client, and compatible with the most popular desktop operating systems. I tested it extensively to provide an honest opinion. Read on to learn about its features, user-friendliness, security, and other vital factors.

qBittorrent: Versions

qBittorrent is compatible with the three most popular PC operating systems; Windows, macOS, and Linux. I use a macOS PC and easily downloaded qBittorrent from the official website. You can also do this for the Windows and Linux versions.

However, I noticed that qBittorrent does not have an Android app. I like torrenting clients with Android apps that let me control my PC’s torrenting activities from a smartphone.

I didn’t expect iOS compatibility, as Apple famously doesn’t allow torrenting apps to appear in its App Store.

(Image credit: Future)qBittorrent: Features

qBittorrent has the typical features of a torrenting app. To download content, I needed to get the .torrent file from an external source. This file contains the metadata of the relevant content to be downloaded, and qBittorrent reads the information to kickstart the download.

If you don’t have the .torrent file, you can provide the magnet link for the relevant content. A magnet link is a hyperlink containing the same metadata as the .torrent file. I pasted multiple links into qBittorrent, and it downloaded the required content without hassle.

I also downloaded content via RSS feeds. This feature lets users subscribe to a specific RSS feed and automatically download new torrents added to the feed. For example, if you subscribe to an RSS feed of your favorite series, you can automatically download all new episodes.

I like that qBittorrent allows plugins that provide extra functionality. My favorite is the search plugin that lets you find torrent files within the app. Instead of spending time discovering and downloading these .torrent files on external websites, I did that directly on qBittorrent, enabling much faster downloads.

There’s no single search plugin for qBittorrent. Instead, the app is compatible with numerous unofficial plugins built for torrenting clients. Installing a search plugin was a noticeably simple process.

(Image credit: Future)

Torrenting works when users exchange files via the BitTorrent communications protocol. When you download specific content on qBittorrent, you automatically become a seeder uploading that content for other users to download. This process of simultaneous downloads and uploads enables users to freely access content via qBittorrent and other torrenting clients.

Whenever I use a torrenting client, I always seek to limit my upload speeds to conserve bandwidth. qBittorrent makes this easy. You can limit the upload speed to any level you’re comfortable with, ensuring you upload files for other users without consuming excessive bandwidth.

I appreciated that qBittorrent gave me significant control over my torrenting activities. For instance, I could queue torrents and prioritize specific downloads over others. I could also select specific files within a torrent instead of downloading the whole package. For example, this feature comes in handy if you have a software package missing a few crucial files. You can download just the missing parts instead of re-downloading the software package and wasting bandwidth.

This torrenting client supports IP filtering for security purposes. Users can upload blocklists and prevent any IP on that list from sharing files with their PC. This feature protects you from interacting with malicious actors sharing malware via torrenting clients.

Before downloading torrents, I always turn on a VPN for further security. A VPN routes your traffic through a secure remote server, preventing your ISP and other third-parties from monitoring your torrenting activities. I advise everyone to always use a VPN when torrenting.

My main complaint is that qBittorrent does not have an Android app that allows me to remotely control my torrenting activities. However, I was pleased that its remote control feature is available via a web interface.

The remote web interface is very similar to qBittorrent’s regular interface. You can use it to control your torrenting activities from another PC or smartphone, e.g., starting and pausing downloads on your home PC while at work. However, setting it up was complex, unlike Android apps where it’s usually straightforward.

qBittorrent: Interface and in-use

qBittorrent has a minimalistic interface that I enjoyed using. It’s not overtly modern yet not outdated. Features are arranged neatly on the left, configurations are accessible at the top, and the main dashboard lies on the right. Each feature incorporates a relevant icon that defines their functions. This uncluttered arrangement makes it easy to find any feature and tweak your desired configurations.

qBittorrent: Security

As mentioned, qBittorrent allowed me to block specific IP addresses from interacting with my device. This security feature is crucial because torrents are a common vector for introducing malware into unsuspecting devices.

qBittorrent has no ads and no history of negligent security practices. It’s a free tool maintained by volunteer developers, so there’s little incentive to sneak in adware for commercial purposes, which a handful of torrenting clients are guilty of.

Despite its standard encryption and other security features, I reiterate my advice to always turn on a VPN before using qBittorrent.

qBittorrent: Final verdict

qBittorrent is a free, user-friendly torrenting client I genuinely enjoy using. It’s not as feature-rich as some clients I’ve tested, but it performs its functions well. It’s an ideal torrenting tool for anyone seeking easy access to digital content.

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Sometimes in software development, things can sit on your to-do list for years – and it’s a technology-based disruption that pushes them to the top of your priorities.

Remember the move to mobile 15 years ago? All of a sudden, people were rushing to address things they should have already thought about in the web app age.

Customer experience, robust testing, programs that are truly fit for purpose and not just functional – the emergence of mobile highlighted many gaps that organizations had to fill. In 2025, AI and low code are the innovations having a profound impact on software development.

And one, perhaps under-acknowledged, consequence is a shift in how organizations approach risk management and regulatory compliance.

The decentralization of development

How enterprises develop and deliver technology – for both internal and external use – is changing. Where once technology development was a process led centrally by IT, today no-code platforms and AI tools are driving a shift to development teams fractalized across the organization.

This is incredibly exciting in many ways, as developers can be more responsive to business needs, collaborating directly with the people most aware of what customers, employees and partners require. But at the same time, it changes the business’ relationship with risk. In the old world, the IT professionals driving development had a holistic perspective of the security concerns, risk profiles and compliance requirements of the organization as a whole.

But now, distributed developers work on smaller pieces of the puzzle, which each present a range of risk management and governance questions. Enterprises are now being faced with managing the risk, as well as embracing the opportunity, of this democratization.

The age of adaptive governance

Risk is a complex question in the time of distributed development. Governance and risk mean different things, depending on where the technology sits in the business. Issues like whether applications are customer-facing, the sensitivity of data and how it’s stored and privacy considerations will each vary from case to case.

Delivering a mobile banking feature could raise all kinds of questions. How and where is customer data stored? Who has access? What will be in the hands of the customers, and what will be in the hands of employees? With so many interconnected issues, it could be easy to miss something crucial from a privacy, security or regulatory perspective.

It’s more important than ever that individual developer teams get to grips with the risk and compliance implications of their activities.

This creates a new role for risk managers and compliance officers. Rather than simply sitting centrally, these specialists need to be embedded in multidisciplinary technology delivery teams across the organization, sometimes referred to as “fusion teams”. There, they act as a front line for risk management, empowering development teams with the right guidance and oversight of their activities.

The smartest organizations are moving to a model of adaptive governance: risk management that’s appropriate for each scenario, and balances innovation with compliance. It’s here that fusion teams will really deliver. With a blend of experts from the business, software developers and UX specialists, teams can better understand the risk and compliance implications of their work – and proactively protect the organization.

The invisible shift

The shift to decentralized technology is nothing new. But low code and AI are catalyzing the parallel shift to a new risk management and compliance model. It may be less visible – but the consequences will be significant.

It’s important that everyone gets to grips with the age of adaptive governance, to ensure that distributed development can deliver on its promise, without compromising the business.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro