Acer predator triton 500 review in Spanish (full analysis)

The Acer Predator Triton 500 is with us and it is the second laptop that Acer has recently launched in addition to the powerful Triton 900. And in this case we have an ultrabook of about 2, 500 euros, which has an entire Nvidia RTX 2080, Intel Core processor . i7-8750H with a 15.6-inch screen with 144 Hz ideal for gaming.

It may be one of the most complete gaming ultrabooks, and in this review we will check it, so do not go, because there is a lot of fabric to cut.

Before we begin, we appreciate Acer's trust in lending us this product for our analysis.

Acer Predator Triton 500 technical characteristics

Unboxing and Design

As we say, this Acer Predator Triton 500 was the second model recently launched by Acer along with the Acer Predator Triton 900, a convertible gaming laptop that just a few days ago we tested in Professional Review. This time we have a team, also gaming, but cheaper and thinner and not less powerful, and also with surprisingly good cooling.

As always, we will start with the presentation of this Acer Predator Triton 500, which has come to us in a very thick cardboard box and suitcase type as usual. Throughout the exterior area we have a nice color scheme in gray, black and neon blue for letters and effects. In it we see a photo of the laptop as well as technical information on the back.

Inside this box, we have another smaller type of case with rigid cardboard that stores the laptop inside. Next to it and in a separate box, we will have the external power supply and the corresponding cable, and this consists of a bundle. Really a presentation at the height of the circumstances and with a lot of protection so that nothing happens to the team.

Still closed, we see a design that leaves no doubt that it is an Acer product. We say this because this new generation has those distinctive completely smooth and sober lines with angled finishes on the front. On the upper face we have a large Predator logo that also has electric blue LED lighting. The entire laptop is finished in aluminum and glossy black, really Premium, although it is a fingerprint magnet.

Acer Predator Triton 500 has a 15.6-inch screen, although the measurements are much wider. With a total of 3 58.5 mm width, 255 mm depth and 17.9 mm thickness. So we can say that it is a really thin ultrabook and not too wide, although clearly very high. The weight also rises to 2 Kg with the included battery.

We opened it without too much effort, in fact, its hinges are quite tender compared to other notebooks that we have recently tested. In the interior area we have the same aluminum finishes and that glossy gray or black with a clearly defined area for the keyboard. It has a small sag to place the keyboard at the same height as the rest of the touchpad and cooling zones.

The area is quite wide both above and below, although we have a TKL configuration with a central touchpad. The screen frames are quite tight, with 10 mm in the upper area, 7 mm in the lateral areas and very wide at the bottom, with about 33 mm. The cover that holds the panel is about 6mm thick, and features moderate twist, so be sure to open the cover by pulling on the center area to avoid damaging the IPS panel.

The hinge area is quite traditional, located at the ends of the equipment and that allows us at a maximum angle of 180 degrees. We see the system as very successful, reliable and discreet, being aesthetically very good with the whole of the laptop, which stands out for giving the feeling of hardness.

In the upper area of ​​the keyboard we have a die-cut band that acts as an air absorption to improve cooling. Please note that the speakers are not located in this area, but on the sides of the front area.

Before going to see the connections and sides, we turn the Acer Predator Triton 500 to find a cover also made of aluminum with a fairly wide area of ​​air absorption grilles and rubber rear legs that separate it from the ground for a few 4mm which is not bad. This of course will help better cooling.

The front side area only stands out for being very simple, with flat edges and those sides at an open angle. A bezel has also been left at the bottom to separate the screen cover from the rest of the equipment, and thus facilitate its opening.

The rear area, meanwhile, has two huge grilles for expelling hot air. Copper sinks with a large volume of fins and painted in electric blue are clearly appreciated, enhancing the aesthetics of the equipment. This configuration is going to be very important to capture the heat from the heatpipes and send it more effectively to the environment.

This time we will start by citing the connectors and ports located on the left side of the Acer Predator Triton 500. We will see in this case the 19.5V to 9.23A (180W) power connector, despite the fact that we are used to having 230 W in notebooks with RTX 2080. Next, there is an RJ-45 connector that provides a 2.5 Gbps connection, which fits just the width of the computer, good work from Acer. Next we will have a USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A port , an HDMI 2.0 connector and two 3.5mm Jack connectors for audio output and microphone input independently.

On the right side we will find the other ports, since in this model we will not have anything in the back area. So there are two USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A ports, a Mini DisplayPort 1.4 connector and a USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C port that in this case does have a Thunderbolt 3 interface at 40 Gb / s, with their respective 100W load. The Kensington slot for universal locks couldn't be missing either.

In addition, on both sides we also have large air vents and also with the blue heatsinks in sight. Something that we are missing without a doubt is a card reader, very necessary in this type of equipment and that also takes up very little space.

Display and calibration

Acer has always accustomed us to mounting screens of great performance and quality in their equipment, and this time it has also been so. Acer Predator Triton 500 installs a screen with a 15.6-inch IPS panel that will provide us with a Full HD resolution, ideal for these teams. And it is not everything, since it also has the most gaming features, with a refresh rate of 144 Hz and a response time of 3 ms.

The only thing we have missed is the Nvidia G-Sync or AMD FreeSync dynamic refresh technology, although the fluidity is perfect from the first moment you open the laptop and install the graphics card drivers. The viewing angles do not have any secrets either, they will always be 178 degrees and this panel complies with them more than enough. Bleeding has not appeared in this unit either, so the quality control process seems to be as expected.

Regarding color certifications, we do not have data from the manufacturer in this regard, so it would be best if we use our Colormunki Display colorimeter to verify how well calibrated this factory screen comes. First of all, we must say that from the outset, we observe how the blue color stands out from the others, so the absence of warmer tones is clearly noticeable.

To begin, let's look at the deltaE brightness, contrast, and calibration results that we have obtained.

The brightness uniformity at maximum level is greater than 300 nits (cd / m ²) throughout the panel, much stronger in the central and lower area. It has quite homogeneous levels except for the upper corners, but we can say that it is very good. Similarly, the values ​​we have obtained for contrast, place it on a screen of approximately 1, 300: 1, which for IPS are quite high values.

Finally, the DeltaE calibration presents values ​​above what is considered ideal, although in many cases very close to 3 or 4, which is not a bad measurement. Again here you have to take into account the reference palette and the level of brightness chosen. We also observe that the tendency to bluish tones influences the comparison of warmer colors.

We will quickly see the calibration curves obtained compared to those considered ideal located in dashed line. Starting with the black and white scale, we see really good results, being practically in the ideal line in both cases along the gray scale.

On the other hand, we see that RGB color levels clearly put blue above 100% and quite far from red and green. This coincides with the color temperature, which is far from the ideal D65 point (6500 Kelvin) for less eye strain and for professional design. In this sense, this screen would need a new calibration to further adjust these blue levels.

We finish by analyzing the CIE diagrams of the two main color spaces for graphic and video design, i.e. sRGB and DCI-P3. The sRGB color space is practically fully met, with a slight variation in shades of green, perhaps best adjusted after calibration. For its part, this panel of the Acer Predator Triton 500 is below the DCI-P3 space, surely around 80%.

Web camera, microphone and sound

After seeing which screen needs a slight calibration in the blue tones, we are going to see in more detail the benefits that this Acer Predator Triton 500 offers us in terms of sound and image capture.

The webcam that Acer has chosen for this laptop consists of a normal and ordinary sensor with HD resolution. It will be able to capture photos at a resolution of 1280x720p (0.9 MP) and also capture video at this same resolution and 30 FPS.

We also do not have much to say differently than other models, what is interesting is that, for example, the Triton 900 at least gives us the possibility to record and capture in Full HD resolution, and this would be the right thing for this model. As always, the image quality will be just enough to maintain a video conference with a minimum of quality as long as we have a good level of light in the room.

The microphone, as always, is also a standard one that mounts most laptops, a double configuration on each side of the camera to record in perfect stereo and unidirectional pattern. The audio quality is good for basic tasks like video chats, although not for professional recording or quality streaming, that is clear. It captures the sound from quite a distance and even softly muffling, so in this sense more than enough quality.

The main sound system of the Acer Predator Triton 500 includes two side speakers that will give us a high quality stereo sound and a considerable enough volume to be of 2W power. Of course we will not have a high level of bass, since it does not have a subwoofer, but they are noticeable when we turn it to the maximum. The sound card consists of a Realtek chip.

The system includes the WAVES NX 3D SOUND application, which basically provides us with an equalizer with a wide frequency spectrum and custom profiles. But this will interest us when we have headphones connected to the 3.5 mm Jack, since it also includes the possibility of generating 7.1 surround sound using software for the headphones.

Keyboard and touchpad

Now we turn to see in more detail the keyboard and touchpad of the Acer Predator Triton 500.

Starting with the keyboard, to personal taste I see it very good, it consists of a keyboard in TKL configuration, that is, without a numerical pad on the right side, and operated by a chiclet-type membrane. This membrane is presented with a quite padded touch, with little hardness and a travel of about 2 mm on its island-type keys. The configuration that has come to us is the UK without the letter Ñ, although of course we can add the distribution we want.

It is true that it is a gaming-oriented keyboard precisely for these features, but it is quite pleasant to write, the characters are well marked and the access to the keys is good when we get used to it, although we can say that they are quite separated from each other. In our checks, we can determine that you do not have an AntiGhosting N-Key system.

This keyboard also has RGB LED lighting and various effects available from the PredatorSense program also pre-installed at the factory. We will not be able to configure the lighting of each key independently, but we will have various effects and animations available and the possibility of changing the color in three different areas. An interesting detail is that the arrow keys and the WASD are transparent, in order to generate more light than the rest. We have a " Turbo " button to maximize the cooling system and also the equipment's power button, located in the upper right area.

Now let's move on to talk a bit about the touchpad. It consists of a standard size 105 x 65 mm touch panel. The side area is delimited by a polished aluminum beveled edge that gives it a very Premium look. Again, we will have a panel that includes the buttons in the lower area with a fairly quick and relatively soft click.

The panel does not present any slack nor does it feel that it has fallen off the installation frame, something very positive and that shows careful design. What is not as careful is its sensitivity, the panel does not respond as quickly as we would like and at the beginning of the movements it likes to detect finger movement a bit, something that is very noticeable when doing homework tasks. precision, and this is a negative point.

Network connectivity

We leave behind the visible or at least tangible hardware to fully enter the internal characteristics, and as always, we will start with the connectivity section, which in this case has a few positive surprises.

Despite the fact that the Acer Predator Triton 500 is a laptop only 17.9 mm thick, it has an RJ-45 Ethernet connector that provides us with a wired network speed of no less than 2, 500 Mbps thanks to the implementation of a Intel Killer E3000 chip, which is just what we have sometimes asked for in other high-end notebooks. Thank you Acer for meeting expectations.

Regarding wireless network connectivity, we have an already familiar configuration. The Intel Killer Wireless-AC 1550i (9560NGW) chip has been used , which will provide us with a bandwidth of 1.73 Gbps, 2 × 2 MU-MIMO at a frequency of 160 MHz. The same configuration has Bluetooth 5.0 + LE connectivity. We must report that the Killer range already has an AX1650 chip with Wi-Fi 6, but we have not yet seen it in any new generation laptop.

Nor could the Killer Control Center software be missing, which also comes pre-installed natively on the computer. Its function will be to manage this network connectivity in an advanced way. We will be able to see the data transfer rate and bandwidth consumption of the applications, analyze the least saturated channels of our Wi-Fi router and other interesting configurations such as the GameFast accelerator optimized for games.

Technical characteristics and hardware

Let's see the rest of the internal features of the Acer Predator Triton 500 in our version which is the PT515-51 70K0, so for this we have opened the rear area of ​​the laptop, although we have found fewer visible components than we would like. This means that, in order to expand it, we will also have to dismantle it from the upper area.

Starting with the graphics card, we have the most powerful configuration available, and it is none other than an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q. It is a Turing GPU that has 2944 CUDA Cores together with 368 Tensor and 37 RT that will be able to offer the best in terms of ray tracing and DLSS in real time for laptops. Inside it is a total of 8 GB of GDDR6 memory at 14 Gbps with a 256-bit bus width at a speed of 384 GB / s. The numbers are, so the next thing will be to see the gaming performance that it will offer us in a laptop as thin as this one.

The CPU that we have installed in the Acer Predator Triton 500 is also an old known one, and which is also the same that the Acer Predator Triton 900 installs. The Intel Core i7-8750H is undoubtedly the most used processor in gaming laptops up to the output of the i7-9750H that we ourselves have made a performance comparison. Well, it is an 8th generation processor that has 6 cores and 12 threads due to Hyper Threading technology at a frequency of 2.2 GHz base and 4.1 GHz in Turbo Boost 2.0 mode. It is built under the 14nm manufacturing process.

The motherboard on which this processor is soldered, has the high-end HM370 chipset. The memory configuration of this specification is 32 GB DDR4 at 2666 MHz, which is installed by means of two 16 GB modules in Dual Channel.

Finally, the storage system consists of a 512 GB RAID 0 configuration SSD. It is installed on an M.2 slot in the NVMe PCIe x4 interface that will provide us with a performance close to 3, 500 MB / s in sequential reading and 3, 000 MB / s in writing. The idea of ​​RAID 0 is exactly the right one, but the storage capacity should have been at least 1 TB, although we have a second M.2 to expand. The available space was not enough to install 2.5-inch drives.

Refrigeration system

A negative aspect of the distribution of components is that it would be necessary to completely disassemble the laptop in order to install or view the hardware and cooling.

The system has its own name, Aeroblade 3D, in its fourth generation, so we hope it works well. We will only have visible the three turbine-type fans included in the system, which have a total of 51 ultra-thin blades with an optimized design to generate more air flow and less noise.

Two of them will be responsible for expelling heat from the GPU with maximum speeds of 6300 and 6600 RPM, located in the right area. While another 4700 RPM will be responsible for expelling heat from the CPU in the left area. From the same keyboard we will have a button to maximize the RPM of the fans. In addition, it has a total of two heatpipes that cover CPU and GPU, along with another extra for heat distribution and another for the VRM area.

The system has left us pleasantly surprised, both for its efficiency in cooling and for how quiet it is by having small fans. In fact, we have obtained a stock temperature of about 49 degrees and 88 degrees in stress and without thermal throttling.

Battery and autonomy

The battery that has been installed in this Acer Predator Triton 500 is four cells and 5400 mAh at a power of 82.08 Wh. It really is a pretty good setup for a gaming laptop, as we see, it takes up the entire width of the laptop.

The duration that we have been able to obtain with it, with a standard saving energy profile, 50% brightness, and watching multimedia content through Wi-Fi, has been approximately 3 hours and 50 minutes approximately. It is a fairly acceptable figure if we consider the hardware that is stored inside, although it is not stratospheric either.

The external power supply throws a total of 180W in direct current under a proprietary and not Type-C connector. A positive thing is that having a Thunderbolt 3 connection, we will have a total of 100W of charge available through it, with a compatible connector.

Acer Predator Sense software

Finally, let's take a brief look at the brand's available software natively. It has a total of 7 sections and a clean and aesthetically very careful interface. As for functions, we can manage the lighting of the three areas of the keyboard, make a small overclocking of up to 300 MHz to the graphics card, customize the profile of the fans, among other things.

It is also possible to monitor temperatures and CPU and GPU load and customize the hardware settings depending on the games we have loaded and their profiles in the sixth section. It is a software that gives us enough game and a good complement to this equipment for performance control.

Performance tests and games

Let's start with the test battery, where we will check the overall performance of this equipment in a synthetic and real way.

SSD performance

The storage configuration consists of a RAID 0 of 512 GB SSD, and to measure the performance we have used the CristalDiskMark 6.0.2 software and Atto Disk Benchmark 4.0.

As usual, in CristalDisk the values ​​are always somewhat higher due to the different benchmark method used. In any case, we will obtain a spectacular performance of practically 3, 500 MB / s in sequential reading and 3, 000 MB / s in writing. Similarly, the read and write rates of larger blocks is very good and comfortably exceed 2, 500 and 3, 000 MB / s. This is undoubtedly the advantage of having a configuration in RAID 0.

CPU and GPU benchmark

We continue with the synthetic tests for CPU and GPU through the Cinebench R15, PCMark8 and 3Dmark programs in the Time Spy, Fire Strike and Fire Strike Ultra tests. We have also used to test the speed of the cache and RAM with Aida64 Engineering.

The results show without a doubt that the performance of this hardware is as good as in other similar equipment. It is true that the new models with Core i7-9750 improve these figures, but in this specific case, it is one of the highest scores that an ultrabook has recorded in our recent analyzes.

Gaming performance

As is logical, we will only test the Full HD resolution in the 6 titles that we have been using in recent times. Remember that from 50 FPS, the gaming experience will be very good. The settings used in each game will be as follows:

• Shadow of the Tomb Rider Alta + TAAFar Cry 5 Alta + TAADOOM Ultra + TAAFinal Fantasy XV Hight QualityDeux Ex Mankind Divided Alta + TAAMmeter Exodus Alta + RTX

Temperatures

In our tests on the thermal camera, we can see the distribution of the maximum temperatures obtained in the outer casing of the equipment. Being so extremely thin and having an opening at the top, we see that some of the heat also comes out of this area, due to natural convection and also has high temperatures in the keyboard area.

Acer Predator Triton 500	Repose	Maximum performance	Maximum performance + maximum cooling
CPU	49 ºC	88 ºC	82 ºC
GPU	43 ºC	74 ºC	71 ºC

These results have been obtained with the HWiNFO software and at an ambient temperature of 22 ^o C and after a stress process of approximately one hour with Aida 64 engineering. The cooling system of this ultrabook is shown to be really good, and it shows that even the thinnest computers can create an efficient system. Great design work to do, yes sir. In addition, at no time have we obtained Thremal Throttling, except on rare occasions and nuclei, but never continuously.

Final words and conclusion about Acer Predator Triton 500

Well we come to the end of this review, and the truth is that we have been very satisfied with the Acer Predator Triton 500 both in design and performance. We have a strong hardware with Core i7-8750H 6-core, Nvidia RTX 2080 8 GB and no less than 32 GB of RAM. The storage system in RAID 0 performs perfectly, but 512 GB is insufficient today.

The design is very elegant completely made of aluminum and a bright dark gray color that gives it a very Premium appearance while being minimalist. Aesthetic details on the sides and a very nice RGB backlit keyboard complete the job. Something that has fallen short of expectations is the touchpad, perhaps it is driver problems, but the truth is that it is not too sensitive or accurate.

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The section of the screen is also one of its main assets, IPS Full HD with 3 ms response and 144 Hz are, in our opinion, the ideal configuration. Of course, the color calibration is upgradeable and does not incorporate dynamic refresh technology.

Another point in favor is the cooling, 17.9 mm are not an obstacle to install an efficient system of 3 fans that prevents Thermal Throttling wonderfully, and it is also very quiet for the RPM we manage. Regarding autonomy, it is not a wonder, but acceptable, with 4 hours in normal use and 50% brightness despite this powerful hardware.

Well, Acer Predator Triton 500 in this specific specification, we will have it available in the market for a price of approximately 2, 500 euros, and a few euros less in the configuration of 16 GB of RAM. It is a price according to the requirements and what we are used to seeing in this range. For our part, an ultrabook gaming almost top range highly recommended.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ QUALITY IN CONSTRUCTION AND ULTRABOOK DESIGN	- DOES NOT HAVE AN SD CARD READER
+ EFFICIENT AND SILENT REFRIGERATION SYSTEM	- IMPROVABLE TOUCHPAD SENSITIVITY
+ GAMING CONFIGURATION WITH RTX 2080
+ IDEAL SCREEN FOR GAMING
+ NETWORK CONNECTIVITY WITH 2.5 GBPS LAN

The professional review team awards you the platinum medal and recommended product:

Acer Predator Triton 500

DESIGN - 92%

CONSTRUCTION - 92%

REFRIGERATION - 90%

PERFORMANCE - 91%

DISPLAY - 88%

91%