Acer Readies Predator Helios 500 Variant with Ryzen 7 2700 and RX Vega 56

btarunr · May 28, 2018

Acer is preparing one of the first few premium gaming notebooks to pack a combination of AMD Ryzen 7 2700 8-core processor and Radeon RX Vega 56 graphics. Unlike the Intel+NVIDIA original, this Predator Helios variant makes use of desktop-on-mobile processors, as do most desktop-replacement notebooks and portable workstations. The variant benefits from the low TDP and high energy efficiency of the Ryzen 7 2700, and runs it at its stock speeds. This is no small feat, because the Intel+NVIDIA option of the notebook packs a Core i9-8950HK (6-core/12-thread) "Coffee Lake" processor with 45W rated TDP.

The Radeon RX Vega 56 is the other surprising component choice here, considering that the notebook's 17.3-inch display only has Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution, which can be hauled by an RX 580, even at higher refresh-rate, and FreeSync thrown in. The Intel+NVIDIA model's GPU option is the GeForce GTX 1070 (which is slower than the RX Vega 56). Other components include 16 GB of dual-channel DDR4 memory, 256 GB NVMe SSD storage, 1 TB of HDD storage, and Killer Doubleshot Pro networking.

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Vya Domus · May 28, 2018

Color me impressed. Never though I would see one of these inside a laptop, a desktop Vega 56 is a 210W TDP part I'm sure this one is underclocked and undervolted but it must still use a fair bit of power and also generate a lot of heat.

As much as I liked AMD never did I think I would see anytime soon a comeback in the high end laptop space in both CPUs and GPUs.

DeathtoGnomes · May 28, 2018

is undervolting the v56 possible?

Vya Domus · May 28, 2018

DeathtoGnomes said:
is undervolting the v56 possible?

Undervolting is in fact one of the most effective methods to overclock these cards , I don't see why AMD wouldn't do it with this. They would pretty much be forced to do it, actually.

Shamalamadingdong · May 28, 2018

This will undoubtedly be at reduced TDPs similar to Nvidia's Max-Q.
That means lower voltage and lower clock speeds.

therealmeep · May 28, 2018

I am far more impressed with the 2700 being in this, because this may well have a desktop socket on it lending to having potential zen 2 chips, not to mention this being a full on desktop replacement. May have to pick this bad boy up and stuff it full of ram to have a portable virtualization beast.

Darmok N Jalad · May 28, 2018

Vya Domus said:
Color me impressed. Never though I would see one of these inside a laptop, a desktop Vega 56 is a 210W TDP part I'm sure this one is underclocked and undervolted but it must still use a fair bit of power and also generate a lot of heat.

As much as I liked AMD never did I think I would see anytime soon a comeback in the high end laptop space in both CPUs and GPUs.

I’m sure it’s something tuned like the Radeon Pro Vega 56 found in the iMac Pro. That system uses a 500W PSU, and there’s up to an 18 core Xeon on the other side of the motherboard and the rest of the system to power. Maybe they can get it down to 100W or so?

GhostRyder · May 28, 2018

Vya Domus said:
Color me impressed. Never though I would see one of these inside a laptop, a desktop Vega 56 is a 210W TDP part I'm sure this one is underclocked and undervolted but it must still use a fair bit of power and also generate a lot of heat.

As much as I liked AMD never did I think I would see anytime soon a comeback in the high end laptop space in both CPUs and GPUs.

I don't think I expected to see one either but for a different reason. Far as power concerned its not going to be much different from the GTX 1080 laptop variant I am sure based on the desktop comparisons of both cards (Which is a rough 30-50 watts depending on variant). I would be interested to see how hot the Acer gets and how loud the fans will get however with this card and processor combo.

Nephilim666 · May 29, 2018

I would have been all over this if it were 1440p

Fluffmeister · May 29, 2018

Ultimately who really cares, Vega 56 @ $399 please, these abominations need not take supply from beloved gaming friends.

eidairaman1 · May 29, 2018

GhostRyder said:
I don't think I expected to see one either but for a different reason. Far as power concerned its not going to be much different from the GTX 1080 laptop variant I am sure based on the desktop comparisons of both cards (Which is a rough 30-50 watts depending on variant). I would be interested to see how hot the Acer gets and how loud the fans will get however with this card and processor combo.

It would be like my XPS Gen 1 Laptop other than thickness.

DeathtoGnomes · May 29, 2018

Vya Domus said:
Undervolting is in fact one of the most effective methods to overclock these cards , I don't see why AMD wouldn't do it with this. They would pretty much be forced to do it, actually.

I know you can undervolt discreet cards. Assume nothing, your guess is as good as mine here.

System Name	RBMK-1000
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
Motherboard	ASUS ROG Strix B450-E Gaming
Cooling	DeepCool Gammax L240 V2
Memory	2x 8GB G.Skill Sniper X
Video Card(s)	Palit GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GameRock
Storage	Western Digital Black NVMe 512GB
Display(s)	BenQ 1440p 60 Hz 27-inch
Case	Corsair Carbide 100R
Audio Device(s)	ASUS SupremeFX S1220A
Power Supply	Cooler Master MWE Gold 650W
Mouse	ASUS ROG Strix Impact
Keyboard	Gamdias Hermes E2
Software	Windows 11 Pro

System Name	Good enough
Processor	AMD Ryzen R9 7900 - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora Edge
Motherboard	ASRock B650 Pro RS
Cooling	2x 360mm NexXxoS ST30 X-Flow, 1x 360mm NexXxoS ST30, 1x 240mm NexXxoS ST30
Memory	32GB - FURY Beast RGB 5600 Mhz
Video Card(s)	Sapphire RX 7900 XT - Alphacool Eisblock Aurora
Storage	1x Kingston KC3000 1TB 1x Kingston A2000 1TB, 1x Samsung 850 EVO 250GB , 1x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB
Display(s)	LG UltraGear 32GN650-B + 4K Samsung TV
Case	Phanteks NV7
Power Supply	GPS-750C

System Name	Dumbass
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7800X3D
Motherboard	ASUS TUF gaming B650
Cooling	Artic Liquid Freezer 2 - 420mm
Memory	G.Skill Sniper 32gb DDR5 6000
Video Card(s)	GreenTeam 4070 ti super 16gb
Storage	Samsung EVO 500gb & 1Tb, 2tb HDD, 500gb WD Black
Display(s)	1x Nixeus NX_EDG27, 2x Dell S2440L (16:9)
Case	Phanteks Enthoo Primo w/8 140mm SP Fans
Audio Device(s)	onboard (realtek?) - SPKRS:Logitech Z623 200w 2.1
Power Supply	Corsair HX1000i
Mouse	Steeseries Esports Wireless
Keyboard	Corsair K100
Software	windows 10 H
Benchmark Scores	https://i.imgur.com/aoz3vWY.jpg?2

System Name	Good enough
Processor	AMD Ryzen R9 7900 - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora Edge
Motherboard	ASRock B650 Pro RS
Cooling	2x 360mm NexXxoS ST30 X-Flow, 1x 360mm NexXxoS ST30, 1x 240mm NexXxoS ST30
Memory	32GB - FURY Beast RGB 5600 Mhz
Video Card(s)	Sapphire RX 7900 XT - Alphacool Eisblock Aurora
Storage	1x Kingston KC3000 1TB 1x Kingston A2000 1TB, 1x Samsung 850 EVO 250GB , 1x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB
Display(s)	LG UltraGear 32GN650-B + 4K Samsung TV
Case	Phanteks NV7
Power Supply	GPS-750C

System Name	Burning a hole through my wallet
Processor	3700X
Motherboard	Maximus 8 Hero
Cooling	Custom loop (EK Extreme 360 Rad, Supremacy evo w/AM4 bracket)
Memory	2x16 Corsair Vengeance Pro RGB @3200MHz
Video Card(s)	EVGA 2080s hybrid
Storage	960 Evo, 660p, P1, BX500, 2XWD Black, Ironwolf Proo
Display(s)	Predator 27" 4k 144hz HDR
Case	NZXT h700i
Power Supply	EVGA G3 850
Mouse	Logitech G502 hero
Keyboard	Drop ALT W/holypanda switches
Software	Win 10 Pro 64, Ubuntu 20.04, Manjaro (latest)

Acer Readies Predator Helios 500 Variant with Ryzen 7 2700 and RX Vega 56

btarunr

Editor & Senior Moderator

Vya Domus

DeathtoGnomes

Vya Domus

Shamalamadingdong

therealmeep

Darmok N Jalad

GhostRyder

Nephilim666

Fluffmeister

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman

DeathtoGnomes

System Name	Budget Box
Processor	Xeon E5-2667v2
Motherboard	ASUS P9X79 Pro
Cooling	Some cheap tower cooler, I dunno
Memory	32GB 1866-DDR3 ECC
Video Card(s)	XFX RX 5600XT
Storage	WD NVME 1GB
Display(s)	ASUS Pro Art 27"
Case	Antec P7 Neo

System Name	SnowFire / The Reinforcer
Processor	i7 10700K 5.1ghz (24/7) / 2x Xeon E52650v2
Motherboard	Asus Strix Z490 / Dell Dual Socket (R720)
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Storage	Samsung 970 1tb NVME and 2tb HDD x4 RAID 5 / 300gb x8 RAID 5
Display(s)	Acer XG270HU, Samsung G7 Odyssey (1440p 240hz)
Case	Thermaltake Cube / Dell Poweredge R720 Rack Mount Case
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Power Supply	Rosewill Lightning 1300Watt / Dell Stock 750 / Brick
Mouse	Logitech G5
Keyboard	Logitech G19S
Software	Windows 11 Pro / Windows Server 2016

Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
Motherboard	MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK
Cooling	AMD Wraith Prism
Memory	Team Group Dark Pro 8Pack Edition 3600Mhz CL16
Video Card(s)	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 FE
Storage	Kingston A2000 1TB + Seagate HDD workhorse
Display(s)	Samsung 50" QN94A Neo QLED
Case	Antec 1200
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus GX-850
Mouse	Razer Deathadder Chroma
Keyboard	Logitech UltraX
Software	Windows 11

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Processor	AMD FX 8350@ 5.0GHz
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Video Card(s)	AMD Radeon 290 Sapphire Vapor-X
Storage	Samsung 840 Pro 256GB, WD Velociraptor 1TB
Display(s)	NEC Multisync LCD 1700V (Display Port Adapter)
Case	AeroCool Xpredator Evil Blue Edition
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Mouse	Roccat Kone XTD
Keyboard	Roccat Ryos MK Pro
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