Planning to buy a new laptop - Acer Predator Helios Neo 16S AI vs Alienware i7/i9, looking for community feedback

I have a question I am looking on purchasing a new laptop as I am more familiar with home built desktops and also Dell Alienware tec. I have some really bad customer service of late from dell and also quality issues and foremost prices. I am looking at the Acer - Predator Helios Neo 16S AI and wanted to see what some of the community thoughts as I was looking at one of the I7 or I9 Alienware aroura 16x. I am planning on purchasing the Acer unit from BestBuy due to membership benefits nothing bad about Acer just deals are deals.

I am familiar with the different brands of manufactures of computers and supporting equipment but the knowledge I have are from a few years ago and man things have changed.

Generally, the games I will be playing will be mainly RTS games and not limited to the Anno line up including the new one coming soon. I dont play alot of shooters and online only based games on pc as I have game consoles for that.

Again, any insight will be apricated and thank you for reading and understanding.

Accepted answers

Puraw

Hi Sauron121

As pricing is your foremost concern, Acer remains one of the most competitive choices on the market. Beyond affordability, Acer also offers worldwide support, with the Acer Community ranking among the most active and technically helpful forums in the industry.

From a technical standpoint, Acer may trail slightly behind Dell and Asus in the very high‑end laptop segment, but the competition is intense and the gap continues to narrow with each generation.

I cannot comment on desktops, but I can share personal experience: I currently own three Acer laptops, the most recent being the Predator Helios Neo 16 (PHN16‑71), alongside one Asus 16‑inch OLED model from 2023. This mix has given me a good perspective on value versus premium positioning across brands.

StevenGen

For RTS gaming it depends on your budget, but if you are looking at the Alienware Aroura 16x range of pricing then look at the Acer Predator Neo range of laptops like these two below:

PHN16S-71-70J3 with the 16" WQXGA (2560 x 1600) 16:10 screen / Intel Ultra 7 255HX CPU / RTX5060 / 32 GB, DDR5 SDRAM / 1TB SSD
Or if you want to go to an 18" WQXGA (2560 x 1600) 16:10 screen the PH18-73-96YC with the Intel Ultra 9 275HX CPU / RTX5080 / 96 GB, DDR5 SDRAM / 2 TB SSD

The Predator Helios PH18-73-xxxx models with the Intel Ultra 9 275HX cpu that its max ram speed is designed by Intel to run at DDR5-6400MT/s, that in this laptop and from what community members have been complaining about, is that this laptops ram is only running at DDR5-4400MT/s speed even with the last Acer bios version 1.09, so be aware that there should be a bios update from Acer for the ram to run at the Intel designed max speed. Good luck and hope this helps you out.

If this answers your question and solved your query please "Click on Yes" or "Click on Like" if you find my answer useful👍

All comments

Puraw

Hi Sauron121

As pricing is your foremost concern, Acer remains one of the most competitive choices on the market. Beyond affordability, Acer also offers worldwide support, with the Acer Community ranking among the most active and technically helpful forums in the industry.

From a technical standpoint, Acer may trail slightly behind Dell and Asus in the very high‑end laptop segment, but the competition is intense and the gap continues to narrow with each generation.

I cannot comment on desktops, but I can share personal experience: I currently own three Acer laptops, the most recent being the Predator Helios Neo 16 (PHN16‑71), alongside one Asus 16‑inch OLED model from 2023. This mix has given me a good perspective on value versus premium positioning across brands.

StevenGen

For RTS gaming it depends on your budget, but if you are looking at the Alienware Aroura 16x range of pricing then look at the Acer Predator Neo range of laptops like these two below:

PHN16S-71-70J3 with the 16" WQXGA (2560 x 1600) 16:10 screen / Intel Ultra 7 255HX CPU / RTX5060 / 32 GB, DDR5 SDRAM / 1TB SSD
Or if you want to go to an 18" WQXGA (2560 x 1600) 16:10 screen the PH18-73-96YC with the Intel Ultra 9 275HX CPU / RTX5080 / 96 GB, DDR5 SDRAM / 2 TB SSD

The Predator Helios PH18-73-xxxx models with the Intel Ultra 9 275HX cpu that its max ram speed is designed by Intel to run at DDR5-6400MT/s, that in this laptop and from what community members have been complaining about, is that this laptops ram is only running at DDR5-4400MT/s speed even with the last Acer bios version 1.09, so be aware that there should be a bios update from Acer for the ram to run at the Intel designed max speed. Good luck and hope this helps you out.

If this answers your question and solved your query please "Click on Yes" or "Click on Like" if you find my answer useful👍

Sauron121

thank you all for the information and the time to send me the information as I am still looking and learning the specs of this and the other acer gaming units. I am still deciding on the unit's path to go without breaking the bank and yea dell and Alienware left a bad taste from the point of customer service and the whole dell credit company change that has not been resolved since Jan 2024 (sorry long story). I welcome anymore feedback.

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