Best Acer gaming laptop deals

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The best Acer gaming laptop deals are right here. There's always a few discounts on Acer's laptop offerings, so I went through them and found the best options to grab right now. Acer's Predator series is the usual go-to for a desktop replacement, but there are other, cheaper options that offer solid gaming potential too.

Don't forget the Acer Nitro line-up: great entry-level gaming laptops for those on a tight budget. They may not be as flashy as its more expensive siblings but still manage to pack an impressive punch where it matters most.

Thankfully, Acer has finally removed the word 'Predator' from its laptop's lid, which might have caused some embarrassing misunderstandings in public.

Due to the sheer breadth of specs, styles, and price points in Acer's portfolio, finding the specs to match your needs isn't as easy as we'd like. With more and more laptops touting brand new GPUs like the Nvidia RTX 30-series, the choices and options can be overwhelming. But that's what we're here for. Below are some of the best Acer gaming laptops I tested this year.

The best Acer gaming laptop deals today

Acer Nitro 5 | Nvidia RTX 3060 | AMD Ryzen 5 5600H | 1080p | 144Hz | 8GB RAM | 512GB SSD| was $999.99, now $729 at Walmart (save $270)
This 15.6-inch gaming laptop is a nice entry point for gaming. It'll be tricky to get new games to run at high settings at 144Hz, but it's a solid rig for modest gaming.View Deal

Acer Predator Helios 300 | Nvidia RTX 3060 | Intel Core i7-12700H | 1080p | 165Hz | 16GB RAM | 512GB SSD|
$1,499.99 $1,349.99 at Best Buy (save $150)
At $1,349, this 15-inch Helios 300 is a little overpriced, even with the RTX 3060 inside it. However, this is the cheapest Acer gaming laptop you can find with these components.

Acer Predator Triton 500 SE| Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti | Intel Core i7-10750H| 1080p | 300Hz | 16GB RAM | 1TB SDD|
$2,399 $2,099 at Amazon (save $300)
This 16-inch powerhouse has everything you want in a desktop replacement. It's got a powerful GPU, a speedy 300Hz display, and a large 1TB SSD.

The best Acer laptops for gaming in 2022

1. Acer Predator Triton 500

The best Acer laptop for gaming 2022

CPU: Intel Core i7 10750H | GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060–2080 Super Max-Q | RAM: 16–32GB | Screen: 15.6-inch FHD (1920x1080) IPS 144Hz | Storage: 512GB–1TB SSD | Battery: 84Wh | Dimensions: 10 x 14.1 x 0.7-inches | Weight: 4.41lbs

Appetizing range of prices

Top of the line performance

Thin profile

So-so battery life

Once you get past the initial dread of its god-awful startup sound, the Acer Predator Triton 500 is hands down one of the best gaming laptops I've ever used. Small enough to fit in a backpack and light enough not to be a burden, it stuffs a 15-inch screen into a 14-inch frame for an RTX gaming experience that is, against all odds, both portable and potent. 

It doesn't have the strongest battery life, having conked out at less than three hours in our in-house battery test, but you can't expect to play intensive triple-A games unplugged for long anyway. 

I would have loved to have seen a model offering a 1440p (or even 4K) display, but the 15.6 inch, 1080p IPS panel, is a gorgeous, bright screen that's incredibly fast, which, more importantly, supports a 300Hz refresh rate. A 300Hz screen might seem slightly overkill, but don't say that to anyone playing Valorant or Call of Duty: Warzone competitively. 

I have trouble telling much of a difference above 240Hz, but I like having that option considering the hardware is capable. Though I will say it was tough to go back to playing Call of Duty on a 120Hz monitor after living in the buttery smooth world of 300Hz. That IPS panel technology also ensures that the color range is good, useful if you edit photos and videos, and needs decent color accuracy. 

If it weren't for a few glaring design oversights and a notable lack of screen resolution choices above 1080p, the Triton 500 would be a perfect machine. Still, it's a relatively inexpensive gateway to ray-traced graphics rendered in real-time, deserving of its place on the best Acer laptop for gaming power rankings.

Read our full Acer Predator Triton 500 review.

(Image credit: Acer)

2. Acer Predator Helios 300

The best Acer laptop for mainstream gaming

CPU: Up to an Intel Core i7 11800H | GPU: Up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 | RAM: Up to 32GB of DDR4 | Screen: 15.6-inch FHD (1920x1080) IPS 240 Hz | Storage: 1TB SSD | Battery: 48Wh | Dimensions: 10.5 x 15.4 x 1.1 inches | Weight: 5.95lbs

Good performance for the price

Respectable build quality

Room for three storage drives

Average CPU performance

Though it comes in 15.6-inch and 17.3-inch flavors, we prefer the 15-inch Acer Predator Helios 300, a budget-minded clamshell made for gaming in its many forms. They are all almost good choices despite being available in ten different configurations.

The Predator Helios 300 is one of the better-performing mid-range gaming laptops, packing in plenty of power for under $1,500, which is not an easy task. The vast number of configurations even let you find a way to lower the price by skimping on inconsequential components (for gaming, at least), like RAM or a screen with a lower refresh rate; you can save yourself a hefty chunk of change. 

Another thing that struck me is that the Predator branding is now only located on the inside of the laptop. I get it; some people might be a little self-conscious using a laptop with the word 'Predator' on it in public. It's okay; the blue accents will still let people know you're a gamer, so no worries. 

The metal cover with anodized finish gives the Helios a more sturdy feel than in previous years, though I would have loved to have seen it all over the laptop instead of just the cover.

The Helios 300 is a solid, lower-cost alternative to the Triton 500. It's worth keeping an eye out for simply because it offers great power at a thoroughly reasonable price. It's not maybe the thinnest or most portable gaming laptop around, but it makes up for that by being powerful where it matters most.

Read our full Acer Predator Helios 300 review.

(Image credit: ACER)

3. Acer Nitro 5

Best Acer laptop for gamers on a budget

CPU: Up to Intel Core i5 12700H | AMD Ryzen 5 5900HX | GPU: Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 | RAM: 8–16GB DDR4 | Screen: 15.6 inches (1920 x 1080) | Storage: 256GB–1TB NVMe SSD | Battery: 47Wh | Dimensions: 0.94 x 14.3 x 10 inches | Weight: 5.7lbs

Great price

Performance

Bulky

Bad touch pad

Your next machine

(Image credit: Future)

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An old colleague once referred to the Acer Nitro series as a gaming laptop good at hiding its power level. The Acer Nitro 5's magic trick is hiding a powerful mid-range gaming laptop inside the PC gaming equivalent of a sweater vest.  
Just because you're on a budget doesn't mean you have to miss out on playing some killer games on the go.

The Acer Nitro 5 offers plenty of AMD configurations and Intel ones for little cash, and you can still enjoy 1080p gameplay at modest frame rates. 

You're generally in the realms of the GTX 1660 Ti or the RTX 3050 here, at least at the more affordable end of the Nitro 5 spectrum, but they're powerful enough for 1080p. And with the RTX 3050, you can even potentially enjoy some ray traced pretties with DLSS 2.0 support thrown in for good measure.

If you're a student, the Nitro 5 has plenty of ports for all your accessories like portable hard drives, gaming mice, and other goodies without breaking the bank. 

Acer's NitroSense fan-control app ensures that your laptop remains cool during heavy usage. This means you can work on your lap without frying said lap. The touchpad can be temperamental; we recommend picking up a gaming mouse to complement this laptop. 

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