Acer Predator Triton 700 review: A stunning gaming laptop with a terrible touchpad - dillowleguiry

Brad Chacos/IDG

At a Glance

Expert's Valuation

Pros

Very thin and light for a gaming laptop
Sleek, gorgeous invention
Superb gaming performance

Cons

Dismal battery life-time
Wicked, awkwardly placed touchpad
GTX 1080 Max-Q performs more like a GTX 1070

Our Verdict

The Acer Predator Triton 700 is one of the most impressive gaming laptops ever, which makes its knockout flaws even more than disappointing.

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Laptops like the Genus Acer Predatory animal Titan 700 flat-out didn't subsist mere months ago. They couldn't.

Powerful gaming notebooks always demanded sacrifice, in the form of the posterior strain you'd suffer lugging the behemoths around. But Nvidia's muscularity-economy Max-Q engineering science allowed Genus Acer to pervade the Marauder Triton 700 ($3,000 happening Amazon River) with powerful GTX 1080-class graphics in a slim, trim 5.27-pound package that measures just 0.74-inch thickset. The beast is downright svelte for a play rig with that sort of firepower.

Garbed in an atomic number 13 physique with glittering RGB keys, the Triton 700 makes one blaze of a first impression—and it only gets better once you really pop gaming. This is incomparable of the well-nig impressive gaming laptops ever.

Simply the touchpad. Why the Inferno did Acer do this with the touchpad?

predator triton 700 touchpad — Yes, that glass comic strip infra the display is the Triton 700's touchpad.

Predator Triton 700 prices, glasses, and features

To be fair, the transparent trackpad put on over the keyboard looks impressive, providing a faintly illuminated glance of the potent hardware lurking inside. Let's talk about that ironware first.

CPU: Core i7-7700HQ
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Max-Q
RAM: 32GB DDR4/2400
Display: 15.6-inch, 120Hz 1920×1080 IPS with G-Synchronise
Computer memory: 2x 256GB LiteOn NVMe SSDs in RAID 0; 512GB total storage
Weight: 5.27 pounds., 2.04-pound power provide
Dimensions: 15.5 x 10.5 x 0.7 inches
Ports: HDMI, DisplayPort, USB 2.0, 3x USB 3.0, Thunderbolt, mic jack, headphone jack
Webcam: 720p
Price: $3,000 on Amazon

The Acer Predatory animal Triton 700 joins the Asus ROG Zephyrus ($2,699 along Amazon) in the GTX 1080 Max-Q's vanguard. We've snowy Nvidia's technology in-depth in some a standalone Max-Q article as well as the ROG Zephyrus revaluation, and won't retread the same primer coat here.

In a nutshell, Max-Q uses careful hardware and software tuning to reduce the GTX 1080's TDP from 150 watts every the way push down to roughly 100W, which allows it to fit into far slimmer laptops than before, like the Triton 700. The process requires the Max-Q GPUs to execute at overmuch frown clocks than a standard GeForce GTX 1080, which does result in somewhat lower build rates. You won't observance information technology with the way the laptop's configured, though.

predator triton 700 above — Nvidia's Max-Q and G-Synchronise deliver a solid gaming jazz group in the Predator Triton 700.

Acer supplied with the Predator Triton 700 with a crisp, clear 1920×1080 IPS display running at a blazing-fast-breaking 120Hz to take back vantage of the GTX 1080's fearsome firepower. The screen door looks great, with wide viewing angles and a solid 311 nits' luminance, but most importantly it includes Nvidia's G-Sync engineering science. G-Synchronize synchronizes the refresh rate of your organisation's GPU and display, which results in insincere-unlined gameplay sovereign of ugly tearing or stuttering. Between the GTX 1080 Max-Q and the G-Synchronize display, gambling is an utter pleasure along the Genus Acer Predator Triton 700. Gunning through Lot 2 at extremely high frame rates never got old—leastways with a pussyfoot.

An option for a 4K or 1440p video display would be nice, but both G-Sync and Max-Q postulate careful technical tuning, and so I can't begrudge Acer for sticking to this single superb setup.

The perch of the Triton 700's loadout matches the graphics ironware's quality. Internal, you'll find a effective quadriceps femoris-CORE Intel Core i7-7700HQ, paired with 32GB of DDR4/2400 store and a squeamish surprise: Non one, but two 256GB NVMe SSDs configured in RAID 0 for lightning-fast data transfer speeds. The RAM capacity and RAIDed SSDs are a flake overkill for a gaming laptop, but damn the Triton 700 handles well—and the extra oomph gives Acer's Predator a leg improving over the similar ROG Zephyrus in those regards. With much powerful innards, and the HDMI and DisplayPort connections on the rear, this rig could function as a portable VR system of rules, too.

acer predator triton 700 4 — Right-side ports

Brad Chacos/IDG

Ports on the arse, including the power connection.

Brad Chacos/IDG

Ports along the left side.

acer predator triton 700 5 — Right-side ports

Brad Chacos/IDG

Ports on the arse, including the power connection.

Brad Chacos/IDG

Ports along the left side.

Tout ensemble, the Acer Predator Triton 700 and Nvidia's Max-Q tech prove truly impressive. This beast is wadding some serious firepower, and it's wild that this much high-class hardware fits inside a package this slim. Once more: A laptop same this wouldn't—couldn't—have existed mere months ago.

Keyboard, audio frequency, and the terrible touchpad

Only Acer dropped the testis with the Predator Triton 700's touchpad. It's awful.

Not in every aspect. The Gorilla gorilla Deoxyephedrine touchpad, situated just underneath the display, shows off unitary of the system's Aeroblade fans and glimpses of the copper heatpipes that keep the GTX 1080 caller, gently illuminated by a blue LED light. It destined is pretty! And the touchpad itself is smooth and responsive.

I can't cut acros its placement though. This International Relations and Security Network't the first time we've seen a gambling laptop slap its touchpad above the keyboard, but it's motionless a severe idea. You could reason that a with child gaming sneak out is virtually obligatory for a notebook like this but I don't buy it. Even simple acts same slinging emails and juggling Office documents raise preventive with the weird trackpad position; information technology's hard to reach comfortably, and years of motor memory shrieking in frustration with every use.

But it gets worse. Sure, beholding the glowing fan underneath looks badass, but in practice placing the touchpad concluded evaluative components results in hot temperatures during gaming sessions—uncomfortably so. You'll want to let the touchpad aplomb down before using it again, and don't even think about playing a gritty that could theoretically work cured enough with a touchpad (a CRPG like Barren 2, say) on this. You won't get utmost.

Placement isn't the touchpad's only problem either. Only a small section of the glass actually functions as a touchpad. Markers incised in the glass ostensibly show the boundaries, but they're so faint you bum only see them while slack over the laptop. You can't ensure them while sitting at a desk with the laptop computer in front of you. All too often my pointer froze as my fingers crossed the practically invisible line. Information technology makes using this awful touchpad even more awful. The touchpad lacks physical buttons as well (obviously). I've used enough MacBooks and Chromebooks that pressure down two fingers to summon a rightist detent wasn't a lineament hurdle, only it's impossible to click and drag—I literally couldn't select text or manually move items on the background.

acer predator triton 700 1 — The Predatory animal Triton 700's mechanical keyboard is the yin to the touchpad's yang.

It's a shame because the Predatory animal Triton 700's other input rocks. Acer squeezed a full mechanical keyboard into the laptop and information technology's an unconditional joy to habit, with sinewy tactile feedback, profoundly satisfying clicks, and per-key RGB backlighting that you can customize in Acer's preloaded PredatorSense app. (More on that later.) The Triton 700 yet packs a dedicated number pad section—a downright luxury in laptops. I would've preferable Acer to use the space for its touchpad, but information technology's nevertheless a nice inclusion.

The audio's augmented by preloaded Dolby Atmos computer software. The mass gets loud, and while the safe is wee bit unbalanced and wind compared to dedicated headphones due to the want of a unplumbed bass punch, the speakers live on well overall for a laptop. Whol that said, I universally recommend a good couple of gaming headphones when you're playing on a notebook. Built-in speakers just tooshie't compare.

Next page: Benchmarks, software system, and bottom line

Predatory animal Triton 700 performance

Instantly we scram to the crux of the matter of the review. How does the Predator Triton 700 feel? Very similar to the Asus ROG Zephyrus, as IT turns out.

First upwards: Maxon's Cinebench R15, which measures pure CPU performance. The more threads, the better. The Predator Newt 700 falls in line with other gamy-close gambling laptops helmeted with Intel's quad-core Core i7-7700HQ. The Alienware 17 R4 stands outer from the crowd thanks to its much virile Gist i7-7820HK processor.

Our second try out uses an senior version of the free HandBrake encoder and by and large focuses happening Processor carrying into action too. Dissimilar Cinebench's shortly run time, the file we encode for testing takes round 45 minutes along a quad-core processor, which lets you interpret how a laptop computer's temperature throttling affects performance over time. Once again, the Marauder is neck-and-make out with the Zephyrus, and the Alienware 17's much regent processor gives it a performance lead.

Enough with the CPU tests. Graphics are the real star in gambling laptops. We test the graphics chops of gaming laptops victimization 3DMark's Fire Strike Extreme bench mark. Specifically, we rely happening the Artwork sub-score, which focuses on virgin GPU performance.

Present, Grievous bodily harm-Q's necessary compromises are laid bare. Some GTX 1080 Max-Q laptops do more wish a stock GTX 1070 than a GTX 1080. The Alienware 17 R4 comes with the full-fat GTX 1080 and achieves a graphics hit significantly higher than the Acer Predator Triton 700 and Asus ROG Zephyrus.

That conflict continues to show in actual games, with the Easy lay-Q laptops falling slightly ahead of GTX 1070-packing Alienware 15, but solidly behind the GTX 1080-equipped Alienware 17. Don't take that the wrong way, though: The Genus Acer Predator Triton 700 still delivers blistery fast-breaking frame rates for its 1080p display, and G-Synchronise helps keep off everything ironed.

A Recent epoch Nvidia driver update significantly altered performance in Rise of the Tomb Looter, so we'ray limiting our results to the Max-Q duo, some of which were tested with the new software. As we've seen in all benchmark then far, these identically equipped laptops give up virtually identical performance results.

The fans ramp up the longer you game, striving to keep the GPU and Central processor around 80 degrees Fahrenheit, though temperatures occasionally spike slightly high. The noise is remote from silent, but I was standing surprised at how quietly the fans ran overall. Umteen hulking gaming laptops wholesome comparable airplanes taking away; the Predator Triton 700 doesn't, though the fan's noise is passably advanced-pitched. Overall, the engine cooling system and large eat up manage to keep performance permanent. I repeatedly Ra-ran the Rise of the Tomb Raider bench mark for 45 minutes and only saw a 2-FPS drop from the first runs.

Abysmal electric battery life is the biggest bummer for the Scoop-Q systems we've tested so cold. It makes sentiency: Something has to give when you jam so much gaming and cooling ironware into systems this lilliputian. Patc many gaming laptops pack batteries with 80 to 100 watt-hour capacities, the Acer Predator Triton 700, like the ROG Zephyrus ahead it, is rated for around 50 W-hours.

In practice, these laptops pooped out in about two hours in PCWorld's battery summing up test, which loops a 4K video endlessly—by far the pip we've seen in a notebook. Even the no-holds-barred Alienware 17 lasts a solid 40 transactions more, and that auto is put to shame by laptops look-alike the GB Aero 15. Don't leave base without a mouse and your charger.

Acer PredatorSense

The like altogether laptops from major manufacturers, the Predator Triton 700 includes some preinstalled software—non too much, though. Few apps prove especially handy: The aforementioned Dolby Atmos if you'Ra using headphones, and Acer's ain PredatorSense.

predatorsense rgb — Acer's PredatorSense computer software lets you configure the Triton 700's RGB ignition.

PredatorSense includes several sections devoted to the Triton 700's operative features. The Lighting section includes a wealth of customization options for the backlit RGB keyboard, including a profile manager if you want to swap between setups. You rump chub mackerel with the lighting on the fan beneath the drinking glass touchpad. You'll too regain sections dedicated to fan control (yes, there are manual options) and system temperature monitoring.

predatorsense overclock — PredatorSense makes overclocking easy.

Gamers volition believably be intrigued nearly by PredatorSense's overclocking tab, which includes two different one-clit options ("Quicker" and "Turbo") for easy-peasy overclocking. Don't discommode with them, though. Even the Turbo setting just makes an affect on performance, only adding well-nig 2 fps in Ascent of the Tomb Raider. Energizing an overclock makes the fan make practically harder, though. The tradeoff isn't worthy. The Predator Triton 700's default configuration is tuned fair right.

Can line

Permit's end where we began.

The Acer Vulture Triton 700 ($3,000 on Amazon River) is one of the most impressive play laptops always created, stop. All inch of this rig oozes quality, from the sleek, slim aluminum chassis to the fantastic mechanical keyboard to the no-compromises gaming experience provided by the GTX 1080 Max-Q and its accompanying 120Hz G-Sync display. And that doesn't eventide take into account that it was literally impossible to jam this much power into a laptop computer this thin until very newly. There's a lot to boloney up here.

The overpowering excellence makes some serious compromises all the more painful. The horrifying, poorly placed, disappointingly hot touchpad is a John Major negative. It can comprise eased by using a discrete black eye, but you'll always need to keep IT handy because the Acer Predator Triton 700's touchpad is almost unuseable, especially if you plan connected really play with it. And similar the Asus ROG Zephyrus ($2,699 on Amazon), this GTX 1080 Max-Q laptop makes intense battery life story sacrifices to achieve its sleekness.

If you've yearned for a very powerful yet portable gaming laptop—one you terminate actually convey around, but one that doubles as a desktop when you reach your destination—the Acer Predator Triton 700 last lets you get top-nick functioning without excess weight and bulge, and it looks good doing so. Conscionable hold the massive power brick (which adds nearly 2.5 pounds of additional heft) and a gaming mouse William Christopher Handy. If you perform, neither of the Triton 700's major flaws will Be an issue for you, and it's a realistic use case for a gambling laptop computer.

In the struggle of the Easy lay-Q vanguards, the Acer Predator Triton 700 and Asus ROG Zephyrus share many of the same overall pros and cons. They also have borderline identical gaming and CPU performance. The ROG Zephyrus is $300 cheaper, but Acer's laptop offers double the RAM and presumably quicker file transfers thanks to its dual NVME SSDs in RAID 0. Those advantages won't affect gambling performance but could make a big dispute if you plan to employment the Triton 700 for complacent creation process as well as cancelled-hours play.

You pay off big-clock for the Triton 700's mobility, though. If you don't mind massive desktop replacements, the 17-inch Alienware 17 R4 packs a more potent, full-fat GTX 1080 with a high-solution 2560×1440 G-Sync display for about $2,550 on Dell.com. The Alienware's processor also outpunches the Triton 700's. Yet it's nigh twice as heavy at a staggering 9 pounds, 12 ounces. Pick your poison. Merely for the first time ever, gamers connected the X have extraordinary choices.

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Brad Chacos spends his years digging through desktop PCs and tweeting overly much.