Acer Predator Triton 500 SE (2022) Review

About the Acer Predator Triton 500 SE

Here are the specs of the laptop we tested:

• Processor: Intel Core i9-12900H
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti
• RAM: 32GB DDR5 RAM
• Storage: 1TB NVMe SSD
• Display: 240Hz 2560 x 1600p 100% DCI-P3 LCD display
• Ports: 2 x Thunderbolt 4, 2 x USB-A 3.2, 1 x HDMI 2.1, 1 x Ethernet, 1 x SD card reader 7.0, 1 x Headphones
• Wireless connectivity: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2
• Webcam: 720p
• Battery: 99 Whr lithium-ion cells, 230W power supply
• Weight: 5.29 pounds
• Size: 14.1 x 10.3 x 0.78 inches
• Warranty: 1-year limited warranty
  

The Predator Triton 500 SE comes in multiple configurations, with CPU options from Intel Core i7-11700H to Intel Core i9-12900H, GPU options from Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 to 3080 Ti, SSD storage options from 512GB to 2TB, and 16GB or 32GB memory. The cheapest model costs $1,749 while the most expensive model costs $3,499. Our model cost $2,999.

What we like

Its processor is as powerful as a tractor

It’s no surprise that this flagship laptop is a leader in performance. When it comes to processing power in a laptop, the Triton 500 SE’s Intel Core i9-12900H processor has no equal. It’s the highest-scoring laptop we’ve tested so far in benchmarks, edging out the MSI Raider GE76’s Intel Core i9-11980HK and the Razer Blade 14’s Ryzen 9 6900HX. In Cinebench, for instance, the Triton 500 SE scored 15276 points, a whopping 29% faster than the Raider GE76 and 26% faster than the Blade 14. It’s the same with Geekbench 5; The Triton 500 SE is significantly faster than the other two for both multicore and single-core tests.

The stellar benchmark scores carry over to the real world, too. When we rendered a 3D car scene in Blender, the processor only took two minutes 28 seconds. Meanwhile, the Razer Blade 14’s processor was a full minute slower. The Triton 500 SE’s processor beats high-end desktop CPUs like the MSI Aegis ZS’s AMD Ryzen 5 5600X, which is almost 20 seconds slower at two minutes 44 seconds.

Such a fast processor is great for CPU-intensive games like Total War: Warhammer III and other strategy games, but it’s also essential for professional work that relies on this power. Unoptimized scenes in Unity, tricky sculpts in 3DSMax, raw 8K footage in Premiere, and liquid physics simulations in Matlab all run much smoother when the processor is as beefed up as the Triton 500 SE’s Intel Core i9 processor.

Incredible gaming performance

The Triton 500 SE has an RTX 3080 Ti, Nvidia’s flagship mobile graphics card, so it’s no surprise to see the frames fly by on the screen. It doesn’t take the crown for the highest benchmark scores (that still belongs to the Asus ROG Strix 15 AMD Advantage), but it trounces the rest of the competition in real-world performance.

On its highest 1080p graphics settings, Shadow of the Tomb Raider ran at 116 frames per second (fps). Meanwhile, Cyberpunk 2077 ran at 75 fps on the 1080p Ultra preset and at 58 fps with ray tracing enabled. A couple of laptops can trade blows with performance on older games like Shadow of the Tomb Raider, but the Triton 500 SE has much better ray tracing performance than the competition.

If you’re more interested in esports, first-person shooters, or other games where high refresh rates are crucial, you’ll be able to take advantage of the Triton 500 SE’s 240Hz display. In Overwatch, the game ran at 157 fps on 1080p ultra graphics, while in Final Fantasy XIV, the game ran at 115 fps on 1080p max graphics in a crowded city plaza.

It looks and feels elegant

While some laptops can struggle to find the compromise between a thin chassis and making sure the components have enough room to breathe, Acer managed to find a balance with its Triton 500 SE. The gunmetal gray coating of its all-metal chassis is gorgeous and fingerprint-resistant. Its thin profile makes it easy to toss into your bag, too. The Predator logo is tucked away in a corner, so it won’t draw as much attention in a crowded room. Even the speaker grille looks cool, with a wave pattern that’s fun to stare at.

The trackpad is fantastic, too. It’s as smooth as a MacBook’s trackpad, and it’s ginormous. The acceleration and speed on it feel flawless. In the top left corner, there’s a fingerprint scanner tucked away. Meanwhile, the keyboard consists of thin, quiet chiclets that feel crisp when you actuate them. It’s nothing outstanding, but there’s nothing that feels obnoxious about it, either.

Great display for gaming

This is a display that puts gaming performance first. It doesn’t have the incredible contrast of an OLED display, but its 520 nits of brightness and 100% DCI-P3 color gamut put it among the better screens we’ve seen on a gaming laptop. (Most gaming laptops struggle with dim screens and muddy colors that cover around 60% of the P3 gamut.)

The 1600p display is super smooth with a 240Hz refresh rate and easy on the eyes for long game sessions. Games look gorgeous with vivacious colors and bright whites, too. While its relatively low contrast isn’t suited for serious film or photo editing, the screen is good enough for rough mockups or touch-ups to color-sensitive work.

What we don’t like

Battery life is middling

We run our battery test to simulate its usage on an average day of work or class. We set the laptop to 200 nits of brightness (a comfortable brightness in a well-lit office) and let the fully charged battery drain out completely by cycling through a variety of popular web pages. The Triton 500 SE’s five hours and 38 minutes of battery life isn’t abhorrent, but it certainly isn’t impressive when we’ve seen gaming laptops last eight or nine hours recently. At least it’s an improvement over the Predator Triton 300’s two-and-a-half-hour battery life.

Its audio is not up to par

This laptop’s audio isn’t the worst sound you’ll hear in your life, but it’s disappointing for the laptop’s high price. The sound is quiet even at max volume, and it’s devoid of lows, giving it an empty-feeling quality. On the plus side, the mids and highs are clear, and voices are emphasized in the sound. Gamers should stick to headphones or gaming headsets for better spatial awareness and subtle audio cues, but the audio is fine for casual movie viewing when you’re bored.

Should you buy it?

Yes, its menacing power in such a small body is a treat

The Predator Triton 500 SE tries to do it all, and it delivers on every front. Its flagship processor is a best-in-class performer, its 1600p display is fast and vivid, and its body is thin and relatively light. For $2,999, this laptop offers everything you’d expect from such a premium product.

However, its audio is incredibly quiet, and its five-and-a-half-hour battery life could be better. There are some excellent alternatives out there, although none offer quite as much power as the Triton 500 SE. The Razer Blade 14 is even more portable, has an eight-hour battery life, and is a couple of hundred dollars cheaper than the Triton 500 SE, but it does have slightly worse performance.

The Lenovo Legion 5 Pro has most of the performance of the Triton 500 SE, and it’s almost a couple thousand dollars less than the $2,999 beast we reviewed. If you can live without ray tracing, the Asus ROG Strix 15 AMD Advantage and MSI Delta 15 are also worth a look.

This is not a laptop made with the best performance per dollar in mind—it’s the best performance possible in a small body, and its steep price tag is worth it if you need the best laptop money can buy. The Triton 500 SE doesn’t sacrifice beauty or a good laptop experience for raw framerates, meaning you can enjoy incredible gaming on the go without having your pack weighed down by a bulky PC.

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Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.