Acer Predator Helios 500 (Ryzen+Vega) $1299

Acer Predator Helios 500 @ Amazon:
Amazon.com: Acer Predator Helios 500 PH517-61-R0GX Gaming Laptop, AMD Ryzen 7 2700 Desktop Processor, AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 Graphics, 17.3" Full HD 144Hz Radeon FreeSync Display, 16GB DDR4, 256GB PCIe NVMe SSD: Computers & Accessories

 

Doesnt show up for me, possibly expired.

New and used also doesnt present any for 1300

 

I managed to purchase this from Amazon for advertised price of US$1299. Have also purchased 16GB of Hynix 2400Khz RAM, a Seagate Firecuda 2TB 2.5in HDD and Adata XPG SX8200 Pro 1TB SSD NVME Card for an additional US$250, so have a well specs'ed laptop for US$1550, which is about what Amazon is asking again for this model give or take US$50-100.

 

It's a great price for everything you get. Just keep in mind that this machine only supports NVMe on one of it's M.2 slots, so you have to remove the included 256GB NVMe SSD to install your upgrade.

 

Totally aware its only got one M.2 NVME slot, now filled with the 256 SSD drive, which I'm swapping out with the Data 1TB one and putting a clean instal Windows 10 Enterprise on it - won't do upgrades until all kit arrives but can state honestly that the Laptop is massive, maybe too big for my kid - really surprised at the size and this despite using a 17in Apple laptop!

 

Quick enquiry, can I run Mac OS on this beast in emulator mode?

 

Yes, Mojave runs native using the clover kernel hotpatch methods. It runs as well as a B450 Ryzen desktop other than the built in ps2 keyboard is only detected by the community driver about 20% of the time. Hopefully the 10.14.6 TSC patches help this issue but I will not know for sure until I get the machine back from Acer for repair.

 

This interests me greatly, given I'm a longtime Apple user unhappy with the way Apple has been going for quite a few years, so would like to see if I can load a Mac OS and get it working - can do this on the second SSD slot.
I'm not too interested in upping the speed of this beast, rather, just want a well specced, reliable Laptop that will last two-three years - had I realised on big this unit was I may have opted for the 15in Predator, alas, don't think they had a AMD option.

 

Just a heads up the helios 500 Ryzen is still 1300

 

So so tempting at $1.3k!

 

were you guys able to upgrade to latest zen2? 8 cores 3700x you'd get a very decent performance boost and extend your battery life. the new cpu uses about 25% less power than 2700 while performing better, 15% IPC.

 

Geez man, you know they can't do that, why rub it in?

Let them enjoy their new laptop's as is and we'll all wait for new laptop releases to allow upgrades to newer technologies.

At $1299 the laptop is a great performing laptop and can last someone many years.

Few people need or want to waste time chasing a few percentage points faster hardware every few days, they are happy with what they have and enjoy it for years, until they need to upgrade it - not just because something faster comes out a few months later.

 

i asked because i dont know. i didnt bother to check laptop OEM's website to see if they release updated bios or what not. i did hear some people talking about these oem came out with bio releases to support zen2 so i assumed it exist.

now that i think about it, oem going bga is to force people buy brand new laptop, 90% chance they wont bother with bios and force peopel buy brand new lmao.

 

Really? You've been active in this and all of the other Ryzen laptop threads for over a year, how could you not know they are not providing firmware updates to enable upgrading the CPU's???

 

not active, sometimes i pop in to do some msg and reply, i dont follow it extensively. how i browse forum is different than how u browse, now we know LOL.

if only prema can help them, im sure they'd have a bios work with zen2 by now.

 

Do you guys recommend this laptop for gaming and conducting work as an insurance adjuster

 

Acer build's are pretty solid so you can depend on it for normal use, but your use might be a bit too much over time.

Don't you need a device with some rugged features? It's going to get moved in and out of the vehicle and in and out of unfamilar settings often, so I'd pick a rugged + light device - this one isn't too heavy but it's not light.

What about a Panasonic Toughbook? They look bulky but have lighter models, like the new Toughbook 55:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...-55-designed-for-the-mobile-workforce.830345/

That's not for AAA gaming, you could do web gaming and lighter games that the built in iGPU can handle, or upgrade to the discrete GPU module but not sure how that model Radeon GPU performs in games. Maybe wait for hands-on testing and reviews?

 

The weight itself wouldnt bother me. I'm a big guy. However i wanted something with kick to play on the side. Maybe something made by clevo with a rtx 2060 or levono 740?

 

Acer and Lenovo in my experience are built more solidly, and it's not so much the weight it's the wear of moving it about so much each day, laptops are more fragile than you would expect with internals busting loose if dropped even if externally they look ok, and the externals are fragile too and will crack / bust easily too.

If you have kids around the laptop that's another consideration - I've seen a friend go through 3 screens in a row with his daughters running around the kitchen table knocking it off. A rugged built laptop wouldn't have been so fragile and cost less in total than his laptop + screen replacements.

If you have a good case and good handling skills you might never drop it, but someone else can "help" and move it poorly and drop it, or it can slide off a hood or seat, etc.

The Lenovo or Clevo wouldn't be a step up in ruggedness from the Acer Helios 500 anyway... that's why I went right to the Panasonic Toughbook for ruggedness as I've heard it's a favorite of insurance adjusters.

You could do what I do and dual carry (or triple carry +) and bag the gaming laptop separately to avoid problems.

Lock it up in the vehicle comes to mind, but then again my recommendation is to never leave a laptop in the vehicle as there are people with skills and motivation just waiting for someone's lapse in judgement to take their laptop out of the vehicle.

I'd leave the gaming laptop at home and carry a light rugged device for the job, besides no matter the gaming laptop styling it won't look as professional as a rugged laptop that customers would expect.

For working as a Programmer / Systems person carrying a gaming laptop to work isn't quite as bad as we are all of a kind.

Whereas the general public is less understanding, more judgmental, and like to complain, something to consider.

 

Thank you for the feed back. I see your points and agree. I guess I could carry to or have one for home.

 

Maybe you can consider a mobile workstation if its in your budget? The Precision / Thinkpad / Zbook lines are pretty durable and can have accidental damage added on to their support plans. My friend carted his Precision between multiple oil rig sites each day for 3 years and it held up just fine.

I own the Helios and its a full plastic build - certainly fine if you are using at home or an office as a stationary DTR but if you are moving it around a lot it will definitely wear out faster than others. Certain things like the power jack are soldered to the mainboard, so if it breaks it means shipping the machine in to their service center and about a three week turn around time.

Oh and feel free to post your own thread to the WNSIB forum for more suggestions. Everyone's situation is a little different and its easier to offer help with the full picture.

 

Thanks a lot I truly appreciate the response. I guess for now I'm going to look into getting a sturdy or laptop suggested by an individual above and perhaps one for gaming

 

+1 for a mobile workstation type machine.

I have an eight year old Precision that's traveled to Europe and a bunch of other places, and to work and home with me daily. I ended up choosing this over the comparable Lenovo at the time because it had two cooling fans as opposed to just one.

 

I appreciate the feedback are you able to provide a link to one that you recommend

 

It's going to come down to your priorities. It's always a tradeoff in terms of price/size/weight/serviceability/etc.

I would say start by taking a look at the Dell Precision line, or the ThinkPad W series.