Acer Predator Triton 17X review: A 17-inch gaming powerhouse

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3599.99

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Acer’s 2023 Predator 17X makes a daring assertion from the second you flip it on.

A futuristic sound hits your ears a number of seconds after booting, adopted by a blue flashing RGB gentle show that dances across the keyboard keys and at last ends in a rainbow RGB configuration. While all that razzle dazzle is only for present, it completely suits the invoice on Acer’s strongest gaming laptop computer, which advantages from the formidable mixture of an Intel i9-13900HX CPU and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 GPU.

The Predator Triton 17X is Acer’s newest successor to the Acer Triton 700 – a forebear which was one of many first really slim and highly effective 17-inch gaming laptops. This new model sports activities a bunch of drool worthy options, none as attractive as its 240Hz QHD+ mini-LED show. In a nutshell, it’s highly effective, but additionally very sensible; it optimizes visuals with its show’s tall 16:10 facet ratio, has a helpful array of ports, and boasts one in all most compact chassis of any 17-inch or bigger laptops that I’ve reviewed this yr. Read on to search out out extra.

Looking for extra choices? Check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best gaming laptops accessible proper now.

Acer Predator Triton 17X: Specifications

The Triton 17X comes with an Intel Core i9-13900HX processor and Nvidia RTX 4090 GPU as customary. Acer’s web site at present exhibits two seemingly equivalent variations of the Acer Predator Triton 17X with completely different mannequin numbers, each that includes 2TB SSD storage and 64GB RAM, however one mannequin prices $200 extra. It’s not clear why that’s the case, aside from you should purchase the cheaper model for $3599.99 from the retailer Micro Center. The specs of our evaluate unit are as follows:

• CPU: Intel i9-13900HX
• RAM: 32GB DDR 5 / 5600MHz
• GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090
• Display: 17-inch QHD+ (2560 x 1600) mini-LED, 3ms response, 250Hz refresh fee, 100 % DCI-P3 shade gamut, Nvidia G-Sync, HDR 1000
• Storage: 1TB Gen 4 PCIe NVMe SSD
• Ports: 2 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, 2 x Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C), HDMI 2.1, SD card reader, 3.5 mm combo audio Jack, 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port, Kensington lock
• Networking: Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.3
• Weight: 6.61lbs (2.99kg)
• Dimensions: 14.97 x 11.0 x 0.86 inches
• Battery capability: 99.9Whr
• Price: $3,599.99 for a configuration with 64GB RAM and 2TB SSD at Acer

Acer Predator Triton 17X: Design and construct

If laptops had been tanks, the Acer’s Predator Triton 17X could be proper up there with the most important, hardest and meanest you possibly can discover – it’s an impressively giant laptop computer however that makes it enjoyable to make use of.

The enjoyable revolves across the Triton’s big slab-like chassis which is CNC-milled from a single block of aluminum. The metallic is apparent within the construct, and it feels exceptionally powerful across the base – you may mash all day on it and deal with it harshly and it is going to be fully unchanged. You’d be actually exhausting pressed getting any flex from the lid both.

That brings me to a giant level I’d prefer to make about this laptop computer’s design: in nearly each manner – not simply its distinctive robustness – it jogs my memory of a Razer Blade laptop computer. It’s exhausting to miss options like its all-black rectangular form, sharp angles, skinny bezels and tall show with 16:10 facet ratio – which all convey that impression.

This form of design is a brand new route for Acer’s 17X which has historically loved much more out-there designs. Indeed, some customers might have wished to see a return of the gamer-centric model we noticed within the 2016 Acer Predator Triton 17X again once more on this yr’s mannequin, which boasted a minimize out lid, clear WASDF and arrow keys and a trackpad that skewed loads to the left of the laptop computer’s middle.

Yet it’s exhausting to withstand the blatant unadulterated utility of this new mannequin. The giant rectangular show with ultra-thin bezels supplies a lot area for viewing. I discovered the centralized trackpad immeasurably simpler than earlier iterations for gaming too, there being much less of that hand/mind confusion I generally get when trackpads are moved too far to the left.

The laptop computer’s sheer dimension doesn’t retract from that practicality both. It’s nonetheless undoubtedly a desktop substitute, however it’s one of many extra compact and maneuverable ones I’ve used this yr. It measures 14.97 x 11.0 x 0.86 inches, which makes it surprisingly extra compact and a complete lot simpler to select up than its essential rival the MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V.

The Razer Blade 18 and Asus Strix Scar 18, being each 18-inch laptops, are understandably larger and much more unwieldy – sure that’s the place the 17X shines – it’s large, however not too large.

The most spectacular of the three dimensions for me, nonetheless, is the Triton’s mere 0.86-inch thickness. Any laptop computer that manages to get away with lower than an inch thickness is spectacular in my ebook.

But for a 17-inch laptop computer to be one tenth of an inch slimmer than a 16-inch laptop computer just like the Razer Blade 16 – now that’s much more spectacular. Alienware’s X16 is notably slimmer nonetheless, however it does undergo from overheating, which leads me to suppose Acer has actually hit a candy spot of thickness with the 17X.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

Speaking of warmth, the Triton 17X’s cooling {hardware} did a nice job protecting a lid on overheating. It features a vapor chamber and Tri Fan System that features fifth technology Aeroblade 3D fan know-how. The cooling system additionally boasts rapid-cooling Liquid Metal Thermal Grease. There’s no scarcity of air vents dotted across the again and sides of the laptop computer both.

To model, and regardless of my comparisons to Razer laptops, the Triton 17X nonetheless excludes loads of Acer aptitude. For me that meant the predator brand on the highest of the lid and the RGB micro etched predator brand on the best hand of the laptop computer’s base.

These are each discreet, the form of element you’d simply get away with in work conferences should you dare to cart the laptop computer to work. Still, the Triton is fairly hefty, weighing in at 6.61 kilos, so that you won’t need to try this too typically.

Acer Predator Triton 17X: Keyboard

Keyboards in gaming desktops of this dimension have to be a bit of extra refined than in most 13-to-16-inch laptops, if solely to validate the selection of shopping for one over a relatively cheap gaming desktop. Thankfully the 17X’s keyboard is a minimize above most.

For starters, it’s giant and spacious with ample room for each your palms to stretch out. The keyboard has a beneficiant number of choices to select from, together with some actually helpful scorching keys that saved me a ton of time fussing about in menus. Two worthy mentions are a Mode key that switches the laptop computer between Eco, Balanced and Turbo laptop computer Modes and key that opens up the PredatorSense utility app the place you can also make these and different settings adjustments your self.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

The Per-Key lit RGB keys aren’t the biggest I’ve seen in a 17-inch laptop computer, however they’re large enough to get the job carried out. They’re noticeably bouncier than within the Razer Blade 18 and the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18, which I discovered makes for a much less fatiguing typing expertise.

You can program the RGB key lighting precisely the way you prefer it in PredatorSense, which supplies you as much as 16.7 million colours to play with. There are some very cool dynamic gentle patterns to take pleasure in too. If fine-tuning macros is your jam, that is positively one keyboard you are able to do that on.

Acer Predator Triton 17X: Connectivity

Acer appears to be making all the best strikes on the subject of connectivity. Back once I reviewed the Acer Helios Neo 16, I used to be impressed to see it undercut most different 16-inch laptops in worth but backed up with at least 5 USB ports, two of which had been the very helpful Thunderbolt 4 sort.

The 17X too follows that development. You get 4 USB ports all up, together with 2 x USB-A Gen 2 ports and a pair of x Thunderbolt 4 ports – a mix which proved sufficient for my gaming peripherals wants. Having Thunderbolts in fact means the 17X has a number of show choices – however you additionally get the luxurious of a HDMI 2.1 port.

Setting up video games with associates was tremendous straightforward because of low latency Wi-Fi 6E connectivity and an old-school Ethernet port. But the icing on the cake for me was the SD card reader. As an avid photographer, it simply made life loads simpler – positive I might do with out one and carry round a type of adapters, however nothing beats with the ability to plug my playing cards straight into my laptop computer to save lots of time – particularly once I’m often filling them up.

Acer Predator Triton 17X: Display and audio

Earlier this yr we noticed the 17-inch MSI GT77 HX 13V ship with a 4K mini-LED show with a 144Hz refresh fee. The Acer Predator Triton 17X has a QHD+ (2560 x 1600) mini-LED show with 240Hz refresh fee, which is a step down in decision from the MSI, however a step up in refresh fee velocity. This combo feels excellent for gaming – it dished up good movement readability with crisp element in my playtesting, helped alongside by Nvidia G-Sync.

Being a mini-LED the show has 1000 native dimming zones and is exceptionally vibrant – I measured a most brightness of 889 nits in SDR mode, which was virtually sufficient to warrant me sporting ray bans. The Triton 17X additionally has a few of the finest distinction I’ve seen in a laptop computer panel of this dimension, with darks showing deep and commanding, even in direction of the periphery of the show.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

Switching on HDR proved the 17X’s show can nonetheless simply be considered in Windows. Even although it ramps up the brightness, the show retains a comparatively pure shade with out the crimson or blue hues you typically see with HDR. Color saturation can be worthy of reward – I measured 99.2 % DCI-P3 shade gamut, which matches Acer’s claims all the way down to lower than 0.8 % deviation.

For audio, the Triton 7X boasts six audio system, all of which level at you the listener, reasonably than to the desktop under. They produce a decent ensemble of tones – from commanding bass tones proper by way of to clear and outlined highs. Acer has devoted a good quantity of the highest strip of the keyboard to speaker grilles and it actually makes a distinction judging by the pristine readability sound I bought reverberating again at me.

Acer Predator Triton 17X: CPU efficiency

The Acer Predator Triton 17X’s i9-13900HX CPU belongs to Intel’s cellular HX Series of processors and its basically an Intel i9-13900Okay desktop processor crammed right into a laptop computer. In different phrases, it’s about as shut as you will get to critical desktop gaming silicon in a laptop computer.

This no-nonsense chip options 8 Performance Cores and 16 Efficient cores with a complete of 32 threads. Together the cores function at a mixed most turbo frequency of 5.40GHz. As far as energy for gaming is anxious, this processor is ‘leet’ – that’s, so long as it’s in a laptop computer that may harness its super energy.

To gauge the Triton 17X’s means to do exactly that, I ran our common duo of PCWorld CPU assessments and in contrast the outcomes towards a number of rivals from our charts. These had been all gaming giants in their very own proper – the crème del a crème of enormous gaming laptops that included the Razer Blade 18, Asus ROG Strix 18 and the MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V.

Almost all of my comparisons boasted comparable 13th technology Intel i9 CPUs and had been the form of premium laptops players must dig deep to afford – however having carried out so, they’d additionally count on extraordinarily high-level efficiency – similar to I used to be anticipating from my evaluate unit.

First up I ran Maxon’s Cinebench Multi-Threaded benchmark. This take a look at flexes all of the cores of a laptop computer’s CPU to present a sign of how properly it performs in load-heavy CPU duties. Here, our outcomes present the 17X’s i9-13900HX CPU is an impressive performer. It positioned among the many three prime laptops within the subject, proving it has loads of muscle for AAA gaming.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

While the Cinebench take a look at proves the 17X has the muscle, our bespoke PCWorld HandBrake take a look at is required to show it additionally has the legs to energy on by way of tough duties with out throttling efficiency. In this take a look at, I tasked the laptop computer to encode a 30GB MKV file to MP4 utilizing the Android Tablet preset, with a shorter length indicating a greater end result.

As you may see within the graph I generated, the Triton 17X saved a lid on thermal throttling to complete the take a look at in a really fast time of 611 seconds. This is an admirable end result that proves it could actually fairly simply chug on by way of tough duties to complete at breakneck velocity.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

These are each actually optimistic outcomes from the Triton 17X that proves the efficacy of its CPU for essentially the most demanding AAA video games. With solely a really small distinction in efficiency between the MSI GT 77 and the Triton 17X, I can confidently say this laptop computer’s CPU can commerce blows with a few of the finest within the enterprise.

Acer Predator Triton 17X: Gaming efficiency

Although Nvidia’s cellular RTX 4090 bears little resemblance to the desktop equal with the identical identify, it nonetheless enjoys prime canine positioning in Nvidia’s hierarchy of GPUs. This GPU options 304 Tensor Cores and 76 Ray Tracing Cores. Additionally, it boasts 9728 shader items – which is identical quantity as within the desktop RTX 4080 GPU.

My evaluate unit’s GPU was tuned to a formidable 175 watts Total Graphics Power (TGP), which is an amazing wallop of energy in anybody’s playbook. Still, I got down to see the way it might carry out in our PCWorld graphics assessments. The Razer Blade 18, Asus ROG Strix 18 and MSI Titan GT77 proved helpful comparisons but once more, since every sported the identical Nvidia RTX 4090 GPU as my evaluate unit.

For an eagle eye view of the form of graphics energy the 17X might muster I ran UL’s 3DMark Time Spy 1.2 benchmark. This DirectX12 benchmark makes use of a weighted harmonic imply to calculate an total rating based mostly on GPU and CPU assessments, with the next total rating thought-about a greater end result.

Here the Triton 17X as soon as once more proved its mettle, outperforming the great majority of the sector of comparisons. Although, it’s value noting that it scored barely decrease than the MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V on this take a look at.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

On to the gaming benchmarks and within the Rise of the Tomb Raider benchmark, the Triton 17X trailed the Asus ROG Strix 18 solely barely, but it beat out all the remainder of the comparisons – together with the MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

For my second gaming benchmark I ran the Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark. In the outcomes (under) you may see that the 17X once more proved too good for a lot of the group of comparisons, apart from the Asus ROG Strix 18.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

These outcomes bide extraordinarily properly for the Triton 17X. With body charges reaching in extra of 200 FPS (frames per second) in RoTTR, the Triton 17X is the second quickest laptop computer in our PCWorld charts up to now – which greater than qualifies it as a efficiency juggernaut for working AAA video games.

The 3DMark Time Spy Overall benchmark end result can be extraordinarily encouraging – it signifies this laptop computer will rip by way of different graphics based mostly duties in addition to video games – like 3D modelling or video modifying and accomplish that sooner than most different gaming laptops accessible in the present day. All in all, this laptop computer can breeze by way of no matter graphics-based process you want it for.

How does the Acer Predator Triton 17X evaluate to rivals?

We’ve seen the outcomes of the above efficiency testing which exhibits the Triton 17X fares extraordinarily properly towards its three greatest rivals. To summarize, it seems the Asus ROG Strix 18 has a slight edge on the Triton 17X, however the Triton 17X can maintain its personal towards the MSI Titan GT77 13V and Razer Blade 18. But how does it maintain up on the subject of worth?

A seek for shut configurations in these laptops exhibits you may at present purchase an MSI Titan GT77 HX 13V with Intel i9-13980HX, RTX 4090 GPU with 64GB RAM for $4,699.99, whereas a Razer Blade 18 with i9-13950HX, RTX 4090 GPU and 32GB RAM ships for $4,499.99. Alternatively, an Asus ROG Strix 18 with i9-13980HX CPU, RTX 4090 GPU and 32GB RAM at present prices $,3,899.99.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

Since RAM and different {hardware} differ amongst these comparisons, they’re not precisely on an equal footing for worth. Yet the Triton 17X with its 64GB RAM remains to be the most affordable possibility within the bunch at $3,599.99. It is smaller than all three of those laptops, although, which once more it’s best to actually think about when taking a look at worth variations.

Acer Preator Triton 17X: Battery efficiency

Battery life in desktop substitute gaming laptops is never a lot chop, and regardless of its giant 99.9WHr battery, the Triton 17X doesn’t buck that development. To take a look at the battery life, I set a 4K Hollywood film to repeat in Microsoft’s Movies & TV app.

Before that, I setup the laptop computer for the take a look at by plugging in an affordable pair of headphones and turning the sound all the way down to 50 %. I additionally switched from Wi-Fi to Airplane Mode. Finally, I timed how lengthy it took the laptop computer to expire of juice. The end result? The Triton 17X lasted 4 and a half hours earlier than switching itself to Standby Mode.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

This suggests you may count on roughly 2 hours of battery life whereas gaming on the Triton 17X unplugged from an outlet. That simply means you’ll ideally need to hold it plugged in every time you may, to keep away from any undesirable interruptions to your gaming.

Acer Predator Triton 17X: Should you purchase it?

Although it sits between the bigger 18-inch and smaller 16-inch gaming laptops within the dimension division, the 17-inch Acer Triton 17X is clearly one of the vital highly effective gaming laptops you should purchase. And, whereas our benchmarking exhibits the Asus ROG Strix 18 does have a efficiency benefit over the Triton 17X, there’s nonetheless a ton of causes you would possibly select the Triton 17X over this laptop computer – two being the toughness of its chassis and its superior show.

If you’re on the lookout for a particularly highly effective desktop substitute that’s large, however not unwieldy, is completely maxed out with premium options, and is as powerful as nails, then the Acer Predator Triton 17X ought to be proper up there in your want checklist.