Acer Predator Triton 14 Review: Fast Gaming and a Bright HDR Screen

The introduction of newer processors like Intel’s 14th-gen H sequence does not preclude laptops with the older Thirteenth-gen chips from being price shopping for, particularly as their costs drop. The Acer Predator Triton 14 is a good instance of this and will in all probability change into a whole lot as replacements trickle out and because it continues to get inexpensive.

There are two fashions of the Triton 14, each of which incorporate an Intel Core i7-13700H CPU and 16GB RAM. The entry mannequin (PT14-51-78B4) is nominally $1,500 however discounted to only beneath $1,200 in the meanwhile and comes geared up with a 512GB SSD, GeForce RTX 4050 GPU and 1,900×1,200 165Hz show. I’ve seen it as little as $850, although, which is a nice worth for it. The higher-end mannequin I examined bumps that as much as a 1TB SSD, RTX 4070 GPU and 2,560×1,6000 mini LED display with a dynamically switchable 125Hz/250Hz refresh price and DisplayHDR 600 certification. It lists for about $2,000 however is presently going for to $1,600. That’s a good worth for what you get.

The laptop computer’s design does not stand out from the group as particularly good or dangerous. It’s acquired a comparatively chunky profile for a 14-inch, however the lid opens out to virtually flat; the total vary of obtuse angles offers you a lot of leeway when looking for a good angle in your lap, for example. The keyboard journey feels a little shallow however responsive, and the intense, per-key RGB lighting may be a little bit of a ache to configure — Acer’s PredatorSense software program has important monitoring, energy configuration and lighting controls, but it surely might use a facelift.   

There are not any devoted macro keys, unsurprising given the dimensions of the laptop computer, however it will be good if the software program gave you the flexibility to rebind no less than a number of the commonplace keys, just like the media playback controls down the fitting aspect. And in case you’re a large person of the arrow keys, it’s possible you’ll need to search for one thing that does not have embedded ones. But there’s a devoted button to cycle amongst energy profiles (Quiet, Balanced, Performance and Turbo) or toggle Turbo. The Triton can get loud and a bit sizzling in locations, just like the wrist relaxation space. 

The touchpad is a bit small however serviceable, with an old school embedded fingerprint reader. Though it has a 1080p webcam, it is fairly mediocre.

I’ve by no means been a fan of the kind of port and energy connection structure the laptop computer makes use of; the vents on the perimeters push the connectors to the center of the perimeters — I hate it when the facility connector is in the midst of the aspect, as a result of it will get in my manner, and I’d have preferred a second USB-C port, even when it wasn’t Thunderbolt.

It helps Nvidia’s Advanced Optimus, which implies you’ll be able to power it to completely use the discrete GPU with out rebooting by way of the Nvidia driver.   

Performance and display

Acer does not provide any color- or game-specific shade profiles for the show, and it isn’t terribly correct, but it surely fares nicely sufficient for gaming and general-purpose use. The gamma measures 2.0 reasonably than 2.2, however that brings out the element in darkish areas, which works for gaming. Contrast measures excessive as a result of black is superb, however these too-bright shadow areas might make it appear decrease distinction since you’re served up a lot extra darkish areas by video games, the online and purposes than zero blacks.

It does hit the frequent 6500K white level, which I discover may be hit and miss with mini LED backlights, which is good. It will get as brilliant as required by the DHDR 600 spec. HDR has the identical too-bright shadow areas, which implies video does not look as nice as you’d count on, but it surely’s nonetheless excellent. 

The display has a excessive refresh price of 250Hz — you’ll be able to truly set it to 125Hz, 250Hz or to dynamically swap between the 2 (along with a 60Hz setting) in SDR; in HDR you do not have the 125Hz possibility It’s not variable refresh, however you should utilize G-Sync to manage it if you need that. I did see some flicker at each refresh charges, so in case you’re delicate to that, I recommend you keep away from mini LED.

Laptops with newer-generation CPUs might ship higher efficiency however not considerably since Intel’s H sequence processors haven’t any main know-how modifications from Thirteenth to 14th generations. It fares nicely, outperforming some bigger fashions; it helps that the GPU can run at as a lot as 105 watts, on the larger finish of the RTX 4070’s scale.

There’s a large efficiency drop when working on battery, which is not unusual however one thing to be ready for. And its battery life is not nice.

The 2023 Predator Triton 14 is not the glitziest gaming laptop computer, but when you will discover it at a good worth because the 14th-gen fashions come to market, it may be a nice deal.