Acer sets loose its Predators of summer

Acer, known for its pricey, powerful gaming systems -- take its flagship Predator 21X, for example -- has ventured into new price territory with the launch of the budget Nitro 5 and the midrange Helios 300. And, of course, there's the usual high-end release intended to please the power user, in this case, the Triton 700 overclockable thin-and-light. They'll all be ready by the time folks start heading back to school.

Triton 700

Acer claims its new 15.6-inch aluminum-clad thin-and-light notebook delivers "compromise-free gaming," thanks to dual fans (AeroBlade 3D, natch) that allow for current, fast, overclockable components. It certainly has some interesting design choices, such as the transparent Gorilla Glass touchpad that sits above the keyboard. On one hand, when you've got the mouse connected you don't really need it, and you've got the keyboard where you do; on the other hand, when you're not gaming, and don't have a mouse, it's a pretty awkward location. And while Acer boasts about how thin it is, it's not really that light -- only 3.2 oz/0.1 kg lighter than the Helios 300 15.6-inch model. But it does have mechanical keys, which I can always get behind. Plus, it supports G-Sync.

Nitro 5

It's just weird: Acer announced this during its press event, but left it out of its press materials, so we're pretty thin on the details. It joins the Dell Inspiron 15 7000 and a host of other models that incorporate the recent lower-cost Nvidia GeForce 1050/1050 Ti series of GPUs for more affordable gaming systems. It almost seems like a rebranding of the Aspire VX series; the current Aspire VX 15 incorporates the 1050 models as well. It does have some Predator features over that, though, including Acer's Coolboost technology, which allows you to control the fan speed and therefore mediate noise; Dolby Audio Premium with Acer TrueHarmony (which was introduced in the Swift 7); and a PCIe SSD drive. Without price, specs or even a clear photo of it, it's impossible to comment on this model, though it's supposedly shipping in July of this year.

Helios 300

This price/performance-balanced middle child is distinguished by its use of Acer's updated Aeroblade 3D fans; the second generation has an axial fin, which Acer claims improves airflow by 35 percent. It's similar to the GTX 1060-class of Predator 15 and 17 models with respect to specs, but with a less flashy design, fewer connectors and lower prices.