Acer Predator Helios Neo 16S AI Review

If Knight Rider were a laptop...

In a fitness-focused world, it makes sense that Acer made the Helios Neo as thin as it did. There’s a lot going on in its 18.9mm design, including packing a whoppingly-powerful Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 (laptop) GPU in there, somehow, which we got to take for a significant review spin recently. The slim design does feel like it impacts the power under the hood a little, but we suspect down the track those kinks will be ironed out, and we were simply, continuously blown away by what we could play and the fidelity and responsiveness we could get out of certain games on a machine so slim, and so sleek.

Before we get to the layman gamer review proper (our MO here), for any of the geek maesters out there, here’s a basic, basic spec rundown:

  • Up to Intel Core Ultra 9 Processor 386H
  • Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 “laptop” GPU
  • 18.9mm chassis
  • Up to 16” 16:10 OLED display, 165Hz, WQXGA 2560 x 1600, 1ms, 500 nits, DCI-P3 100%
  • AeroBlade fan (5th Gen)

In addition to gaming, Acer is spruiking this machine also as a “creator-class” performer for design, production and more, which actually stands true given its ultra-portable nature, though its battery life belied the intent somewhat, which we’ll get to in a bit. But, across the board we were very happy with everything we got. The screen is simply divine, and while no person in their right mind is likely to use the system’s built-in speakers in an open forum or public setting -- DTS X: Ultra Audio, mind -- we found that serviceable, too.

On the whole, its sleek design (very, very modern), surprisingly light weight (at 2.3kg) and the fact it fit nicely into our remote work backpack made this an obvious choice for any future gaming/creator laptop purchase ‘recommends’ to friends, family, strangers and pets (in our case, pugs). In all, we genuinely had a great experience with the machine and at a starting price of around $1600 AUD, it’s right up there and a very good option against modern consoles with just a slight mark up, but far better performance (and an endless Steam, Epic, Battle.net etc library).

So let’s start at gaming...

If Knight Rider were a laptop...

Author: Stephen Farrelly
Date: October 02, 2026

Serviceable AI

We’re a bit lucky here because we’ve seen and experienced the advent and growth of AI-powered visual upscaling in panels over our own journey. But even across 4K and 8K screens we haven’t really experienced anything so clear and performative as this. The Helios’ screen, which is as the specs above say: up to 16” 16:10 OLED display, 165Hz, WQXGA 2560 x 1600, 1ms, 500 nits, DCI-P3, is arguably one of the best in the gaming and creator laptop space right now and will remain top of its class for quite some time, adding to the overall concept of a ‘future-proofed’ portable setup for your needs.

"We mean, compared to playing CD Projekt RED’s title on Xbox Series X|S at 30FPS to ensure Ray-tracing, that we can hit 100FPS on this machine and get sharper results with even more… it’s not even a competition..."

Specifically, what makes it stand out so much is the huge 240Hz refresh that Acer has allowed it to output. Other devices of a similar nature will tend to go lower to help preserve battery life, but Acer wants the Helios to be the beast it purports and one of the games we ran through it was Witchfire, which supports a frame-rate limit that specifically matched the 240Hz we played at and can say, definitively, we saw an immediate improvement in our gameplay. We normally play off a dedicated desktop with MSi MAG27 monitors and play this game at 180FPS/180Hz, so we genuinely saw -- and felt -- an improvement. And while such a jump can be seen as rudimentary, we need to remind you that this was all available in a portable device, and felt like a game-changer.

Despite this not outputting in 4K being a 16” monitor, pixels come in higher density, which adds to the “pop” we’ve fallen in love with, helping power colour accuracy, brightness and that touted refresh rate. 

Additionally, all of Nvidia’s bells and whistles are available for feature-heavy titles like Cyberpunk 2077 such as G-Sync to ensure absolutely zero screen-tearing (at least in everything we tested), while the powerful 5070 afforded us native DLSS 4, AI-powered upscaling, Ray-tracing and everything else you’d expect from a high-end Nvidia option. We mean, compared to playing CD Projekt RED’s title on Xbox Series X|S at 30FPS to ensure Ray-tracing, that we can hit 100FPS on this machine and get sharper results with even more… it’s not even a competition and helps make the Helios a great purchase for those unsure on custom builds or incremental-to-the-wattage tweaks.

In fact, it’s as plug-and-play a newcomer to the PC field needs. For example, Cyberpunk 2077 will run as smoothly as CDPR intended at that 100FPS with Ray-tracing and DLSS, but if you are into the competitive side of things, the Helios will also run Counter-Strike (that old classic) at a more-than-serviceable 200FPS+, catering to all facets of the gaming sphere.

And with all of this it was whisper quiet, whether across the earlier-mentioned Witchfire or the aforementioned Cyberpunk 2077, alongside Crimson Desert and Atomic Heart (other big games we tested) -- we simply had the smoothest of experiences across the board.

Create on-the-go (at a Cost of Time)

The other aspect of the laptop is its ability to use its powerful hardware and heavily-touted AI aspects for content creation, especially on performance-draining programs such as Adobe Creative Suite (specifically when running the likes of Premier and Photoshop side-by-side for various types of integration). Our in-house go-to is Wondershare’s Filmora which itself can be a drain on resources, but we found that all 4K-capped content was natively streamable in real-time as we cut and edited elements while dragging in other aspects such as audio and image without any real issues.

"With basic apps running in the background such as email and Firefox, we didn’t notice a drop in performance, however, at the highest end only got about 90 minutes of battery while working with any type of creator suite..."

We naturally trialled this unplugged from the wall to see how the machine’s battery held up, and even with basic apps running in the background such as email and Firefox, we didn’t notice a drop in performance, however, at the highest end only got about 90 minutes of battery while working with any type of creator suite and the respective assets required for content. 

Gaming, depending on what it is you’re actually playing, can drain that even faster. 

Right now, we’d say it’s the one thing letting the machine down and there’s not much else that is, because overall, especially with that display, it’s a dream to use due in large part to how responsive, fast and whisper quiet it is. Some channels have complained about the lack of cooling meaning you don’t get as much out of some of the high-end components inside, but everything we played and tested, and created, worked fine and the 5070 performed as expected, so it could be that this particular model also has varying specs region-to-region and we just got lucky here in Australia.

Affordable in the Grand Scheme

On top of the functionality above, it’s also worth noting you can change memory in this thing under the hood, and it features almost every port under the sun to accommodate years and years of new ways to store, connect and transfer data and content across myriad machines and technologies. On that front, we think this is an entirely future -- and retro -- focused design and Acer should be applauded for thinking of everyone.

"From a perspective of personalisation it’s hard to relay entirely what you’re going to come across based on your needs and what you run in parallel, but from our time with it and with its accessibility, design and overall ease to use, we just didn’t find issue..."

We haven’t spoken too much of the Intel Core Ultra 9 processor, which is effectively driving everything, but that’s because we barely had a dip in performance, meaning it was doing its job and then some. We need to point out we get these units for only around a week to a month or so for review, so from a perspective of personalisation it’s hard to relay entirely what you’re going to come across based on your needs and what you run in parallel, but from our time with it and with its accessibility, design and overall ease to use, we just didn’t find issue beyond a slightly less-than-optimal battery performance than we’d like.

And we do work remotely, a lot -- so it was a standout.

Still, how the OLED screen jumps at you with its incredible blacks and popping colours alongside upscaled visuals, across the board (thanks to the machine’s overall architecture), makes it difficult to overlook. 

If you’re happy to also make sure you bring the system’s power supply with you, this is a must-have for on-the-go gaming, content creation, work or all three combined.

What’s Boss?

  • The OLED screen the Helios houses is divine
  • 50-Series Nvidia cards in a unit like this are a plus (and a must)
  • Great for both gaming and content creation/design
  • Super-sleek design that is eye-catching
  • Lightweight, too
  • Can also be upgraded with internal hardware such as storage

Not Boss Enough?

  • As we've spoken about, that battery life isn't entirely as advertised
  • The 240H 'always on' aspect might not appeal to some
  • Cooling, while great, doesn't allow the system to tap into peak performance, which can hopefully be addressed down the track

Want the latest in the PC world without having to build from scratch and learn crazy numbers? Also, want one of the best displays going around? Maybe the Helios Neo 16 S AI is for you...

Learn about our reviews

About the Author

Written By Stephen Farrelly
Stephen Farrelly is a veteran journalist and editor with more than two decades experience in the worlds of gaming, entertainment, lifestyle and sport. He is a proud pug dad, loves art in all forms (particularly street and tattoo culture), and is the director of Swear Jar Editorial and Media Pty Ltd, this site's owner and publisher. When not dispensing words, he's also dispensing boutique beers as a taproom fixture at Bracket Brewing in Marrickville, NSW...
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