Acer Predator Triton 300 SE Review: Small stature meets powerful gaming
"The Acer Predator Triton 300 SE is small, but powerful."
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Small, portable design
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Stay cool and quiet when you're not playing
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Smooth gaming at 1080p and 144 Hz
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Good battery life
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Limited configurations available
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Not as fast as the Zephyrus G14
The ROG Zephyrus G14 was a revolutionary gaming laptop. With a screen size of just 14 inches, an RTX-grade graphics card, and decent battery life, it was a breath of fresh air. and for almost a full year there was no challenger to what this laptop could do. The Acer Predator Triton 300 SE is finally a worthy rival. So on the surface.
It's also a 14-inch gaming laptop, has the same RTX 3060 GPU and a 144Hz refresh rate screen. All of that costs $ 1,400, along with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD.
Because of its size and design, you may not even be able to identify the Triton 300 SE as a gaming laptop. But can a laptop this size really be powerful enough for modern gaming? You might be surprised.
design
Being the thinnest or lightest device rarely results in being the "best" device. The sacrifices made are often not worth the compromise. However, the Predator Triton 300 SE is less space-saving than ultra-thin or light.
Do not get me wrong. At 3.7 pounds and 0.70 inches thick, it's amply portable. But many gaming laptops have hit the 0.70-inch mark in the past few years, including the ROG Zephyrus G14. The 14-inch screen size is what makes the Predator Triton 300 SE so small. At just 12.7 x 8.9 inches, it doesn't feel much bigger than a 14-inch non-gaming laptop like the HP Specter x360 14.
Due to its smaller size, the Triton 300 SE can not only be used as a gaming laptop. It's easy to carry, easily fits in a backpack, and doesn't take up excessive table space. The Razer Blade Stealth 13 is the only gaming notebook that surpasses it, but the Razer's nowhere near as powerful.
The Triton 300 SE looks like this too. It's not overly game oriented or aggressive. The only freebies are a small Predator logo in the top right corner of the lid and some vents along the hinge. It's not as flashy as the ROG Zephyrus G14, but there are little bits of style if that's what you're looking for. It's a good balance, and I prefer the subdued aesthetic over the larger Predator Helios 300.
But that doesn't mean the design is totally modern. The fake brushed metal texture on the lid feels a bit dated, as does the bright silver color. Once opened, there are some features that are not keeping up with modern trends. First off, the lower bezel is quite large. A 16:10 screen would reduce this without having to shrink the overall size of the case. A black bezel on the sides may also have helped lessen the effect, even if it's still made of plastic.
I also don't like the location of the fingerprint scanner, which is in the top right corner of the touchpad. Most modern laptops incorporate this into the power button, although it is still rare in gaming laptops these days.
The location of the ports is a little awkward to make room for the side slots, but the variety will no doubt make you happy. On the left you will find a USB-A port, a Thunderbolt 4 port, and a barrel-shaped power plug. The Thunderbolt port can be connected to a display, used for ultra-fast data transfer or even charged the laptop. However, when gaming, you should use the proprietary charger.
On the right side, the Triton 300 SE has an additional USB-A port, HDMI 2.0 and a headphone jack. If you plan to use this laptop for photo or video editing, you will be missing an SD card slot, but the port selection is otherwise perfect.
display
I've talked about how important the size of the Triton 300 SE's screen is, but image quality is also important. It uses an IPS screen of 1,920 x 1,080 with a refresh rate of 144 Hz – ideal for smooth, responsive PC games. The matte layer on the screen means fewer reflections, but also less bright. I measured it at a maximum of 290 nits, which is just below the 300 nits I would like to see minimum on laptops.
Fortunately, the screen makes up for this with good color saturation and contrast. Achieving 99% of the sRGB and 77% of the AdobeRGB color spaces is quite good for a gaming laptop, as is the contrast ratio of 1,500: 1. The color accuracy is not that spectacular, although the Triton 300 SE does not rely on precise color corrections is designed. The ROG Zephyrus is better in this regard and also hits a maximum of 332 nits.
Of course, the refresh rate is the most important aspect of the display, which makes the performance under the hood of the RTX 3060 really flexible.
performance
Aside from its size, the Triton 300 SE's performance is the most intriguing proposition. It uses a unique 35-watt processor that sits right between a standard ultrabook (like the Dell XPS 13) and a traditional gaming laptop (like the Predator Helios 300). The ROG Zephyrus G14 also uses a 35-watt chip, although it's made by AMD instead of Intel.
The Triton 300 SE represents the attempt by Intel to develop such a processor type. The important thing is to use the latest 10nm SuperFin architecture, which is not yet available on the larger 45-watt gaming laptops. This is our first taste of what these chips will look like in a sense.
The special chip in my test device is the Intel Core i7-11375H, a quad-core processor with a base clock rate of 3.3 GHz. From now on the Triton 300 SE will only be offered in this single configuration, which also contains 16 GB DDR4 RAM and a 512 GB SSD. In addition, it is only sold through Best Buy, which means that availability is scarce. While it's a balanced configuration (especially at $ 1,400), I hope there will be more options available at some point.
In my runs in Geekbench 5 and Cinebench R23, this 35-watt processor consistently delivered stronger multi-core scores than ultrabooks (which also have four cores) and stronger single-core scores than 10th generation gaming laptops. Of course, 15-inch gaming laptops like the MSI GS66 Stealth or the Razer Blade 15 can support six- or eight-core chips, which achieve far better multi-core results. It is also far behind AMD's Ryzen CPUs with eight cores – even the 15-watt variants.
Cant say I am overly impressed by the raw performance of the Intel H35 chip.
Perhaps the most interesting comparison is between the Triton 300 SE and a 14-inch U-series laptop like the HP Specter x360 14 or Lenovo Yoga 9i 14. The multi-core values of the Triton 300 SE are even 33% higher than those . That's what gives you 7-10 extra watts of power.
This improved multi-core performance should result in better results for content creation applications. I started with a CPU tied handbrake test encoding a 4K movie trailer for H.265. The results were good and took just under three minutes. That's about 17% faster than the Lenovo Yoga 7i 14. However, the eight-core Ryzen 9 4900HS in the ROG Zephyrus G14 stomped on the Triton 300 SE and did the job in just a minute and 40 seconds. Cant say I am overly impressed by the raw performance of the Intel H35 chip.
Fortunately, things get a lot better when you factor in the Triton 300 SE's discrete graphics card. In the PCMark 10 Creative test, for example, the Triton 300 SE is 12% ahead of the Lenovo Yoga 9i 14. Of course, you can make more money for video editing with a larger 15-inch laptop. If this type of performance is more important to you, the Triton 300 SE is not for you. The additional multi-core performance in the Zephyrus G14 is a better choice.
Gaming performance
The RTX 3060 in the Triton 300 SE naturally makes it a proven gaming laptop. Smaller gaming laptops like the Razer Blade Stealth with its GTX 1650 Ti are good for light gaming, but the Triton 300 SE is almost twice as powerful for gaming.
I haven't tested the updated version of the Zephyrus G14 yet, but as you'll see, this hasn't stopped even the older model from improving the Triton 300 SE's frame rates.
| Laptop | 3DMark Time Spy | 3DMark Fire Strike | Assassin's Creed Valhalla (1080p Ultra High) | Battlefield V (1080p Ultra) | Fortnite (1080p Epic) | Civilization VI (1080p Ultra) |
| Predator Triton 300 SE (RTX 3060) | 6038 | 13794 | 50 frames per second (fps) | 68 fps | 78 fps | 84 fps |
| ROG Zephyrus G14 (RTX 2060) | 5861 | 13876 | n / A | 70 fps | 91 fps | 91 fps |
| Razer Blade Stealth (GTX 1650 Ti) | 3035 | 7186 | n / A | n / A | n / A | 49 fps |
| MSI GS66 Stealth (RTX 3080) | 9097 | 19175 | 70 fps | 117 fps | 140 fps | 149 fps |
The Predator Triton 300 SE can almost keep up with the Zephyrus G14 in Battlefield V, but remains behind in other games. The frame rate is 14% lower in Fortnite and 8% lower in Civilization VI. You don't want to see that against the predecessor model of a direct competitor. I would expect the recently introduced RTX 3060 version of the G14 to move forward even further.
I didn't have a comparison rating for Assassin's Creed Valhalla for the Zephyrus G14, but I tested Assassin's Creed Odyssey on both systems. None of the laptops could play this game at 60 fps at extremely high settings, with the Triton 300 SE averaging 51 frames per second (fps). This was the only game in which the Triton 300 SE beat the G14, which only hit 42 fps.
Overall, however, the Zephyrus G14 is the faster gaming notebook in most cases. It seems that Asus has a more efficient cooling system and can push the graphics harder than the Triton 300 SE. Given that the two laptops are almost the same size, this is remarkable.
But I would be lying if I said that I didn't enjoy the gaming experience on the Triton 300 SE. If you set the settings to Medium or High in most games, the frame rates will jump over 100. This is the ideal place for silky smooth animation. The difference between the G14's 120 Hz and the Triton 300 SE's 144 Hz won't appear too often, but having extra leeway to play is never bad.
In addition, there is a clear trade-off in terms of fan noise. The Triton 300 SE is better able to stay quiet for simpler tasks, which was one of my main complaints with the Zephyrus G14. The vents on the top of the keyboard get warm during gaming, but the Triton 300 SE keeps the surface temperatures on the keyboard and palm rests extremely low. All of this helps the Triton 300 SE double as a standard work laptop better than the Zephyrus G14.
Battery life
I don't normally expect long battery life from gaming laptops, but the Triton 300 SE is different here, too. A lower power CPU is being used, which is designed to improve lifespan on a single charge. Acer claims that the Triton 300 SE can even last up to 10 hours under its specific conditions.
I tested this in two ways: a local 1080p playback test and an iMacros web browser test. The video loop lasted just under eight hours on a single charge, while the system lasted just under seven and a half hours in the more realistic web browsing test. You're far better with 25-watt laptops, but I was pretty impressed with how long the Triton 300 SE can last.
The system traded beats with the Zephyrus G14 in terms of battery life. The G14 lasted two more hours on the video loop and just under six hours on the internet. Other gaming laptops with decent battery life include the MSI GS66 Stealth and the Razer Blade 15, both of which are only 30 to 60 minutes shorter than the Triton 300 SE.
Keyboard and touchpad
The keyboard is not my favorite aspect of this laptop, but it is serviceable. Acer decided to move the standard Predator keyboard over to the Triton 300 SE, which feels like a missed opportunity. It's not a bad keyboard, but I would have preferred something with less feel, bigger keycaps, and more precise bottom-out action. The multimedia buttons on the right don't bother me, although I have to admit that they always put me off when screen brightness and volume control are not next to each other.
The keyboard has a three-zone RGB backlight with four levels of brightness for the backlight. Colors and patterns can all be customized in the PredatorSense application.
The touchpad does better. It's very big and the pursuit is smooth. It's a high quality touchpad, and even the click mechanism feels solid.
The Triton 300 SE has a 720p webcam above the screen. However, it lacks an IR camera, so Windows Hello hands-free logins are not possible.
Our opinion
The Predator Triton 300 SE represents a new generation of gaming laptops. Smaller, yes, but just as powerful. At $ 1,400, it's not overly expensive for a gaming laptop, either. For me, it's the future of gaming laptops.
The only problem? The Zephyrus G14 came here first and has better performance in both gaming and content creation. They are similar in price and end up in the same category depending on size. However, I prefer the way Acer optimized the Triton 300 SE for cooler and quieter operation, which makes it a better work laptop.
Are there alternatives?
The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 can hardly be surpassed in this category. It is gaining performance across the board, which makes it a better option for most people. Asus also offers a lot more configurations, including options for cheaper graphics or higher resolution screens.
The Razer Blade Stealth is an even smaller gaming laptop, despite being more expensive and not as powerful.
When you're ready to move on to a bigger 15-inch laptop, you can find some more powerful options like the Razer Blade 15 and MSI GS66 Stealth.
How long it will take?
The Predator Triton 300 SE should last at least four or five years, especially if your main focus is on competitive esports games. The laptop comes with a standard one-year warranty.
Should you buy it?
Yes. It represents a new category of gaming laptop that many PC gamers will love. The category is still in its infancy, but the Triton 300 SE has confirmed to me that the highly portable 14-inch gaming laptop will become an extremely attractive option for PC gamers going forward.
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