The Acer Predator Triton 16 is a gaming laptop in a business suit
Subtle styling hides serious power underneath
Just because a laptop has the GPU muscle to demolish the latest releases, it doesn’t mean the styling has to go full-on “Gamer” to match. That’s the thinking behind the Predator Triton 16, Acer’s latest portable powerhouse gaming laptop. Introduced at this year’s Computex trade show, the Triton 16 avoids going overboard on RGB lighting and instead concentrates on cutting-edge tech, including 13th-gen Intel CPUs and GeForce RTX graphics.
It was joined by the Swift Edge 16, a big-screen OLED ultraportable with AMD internals.
The Predator Triton 16 is less than 20mm thick, but finds room inside for up to a Core i9-13900H processor, GeForce RTX 4070 graphics, as much as 32GB of DDR5 memory and up to 2TB of NVMe SSD storage. Those punchy parts will generate a ton of heat when running at full pelt, so Acer has used its 5th-gen AeroBlade 3D metal fans, dedicated heat pipes and liquid metal thermal grease to maximise heat dissipation. There’s no shortage of exhaust vents at the sides and rear of the machine either.
The 16in 2560×1600 IPS display is equally rapid, with a 240Hz refresh rate and Nvidia G-Sync support for smooth, stutter-free gaming. It’ll also cover 100% of the DCI-P3 colour space, which should please movie buffs and creative types, and can hit a peak 500nits brightness.
It’s a fairly svelte machine, but Acer has still found room at the sides for twin USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, a full-size HDMI 2.1 video out, one Thunderbolt 4/USB-C port and a microSD card reader. A fingerprint reader takes care of Windows Hello biometric security, and there’s a Full HD webcam for video calls.
The Predator Triton 16 (PT16-51) should hit North America and Europe at roughly the same time, in September. Prices are set to start from $1800/€2299, with no word on UK-specific figures.
On the edge
Meanwhile, the Swift Edge 16 swaps a dedicated GPU for on-board graphics, but significantly slims down as a result. It might be packing a 16in screen, but it’s a mere 13mm at its thickest point, and only tips the scales at 1.24kg.
AMD provides the power this time, with a choice of Ryzen CPUs based on the firm’s latest Zen 4 architecture. The range starts with a six-core Ryzen 5 7640U, or you can step up to an eight-core Ryzen 7 7840U if you want a little extra muscle. Either way you’re looking at 8, 16 or 32GB of DDR5 memory, 512GB or 1TB of PCIe Gen4 SSD storage, and either a Radeon 760M or Radeon 780M integrated GPU. It’s a combo that should still take most desktop apps to task, while also delivering a lot more battery life.
The 16in, 3200×200 display is sure to be one of the machine’s highlights, with an OLED panel set to deliver epic contrast, deep blacks and vibrant colours which LCD-equipped rivals simply can’t match. A 120Hz refresh rate ensures smooth scrolling, True Black HDR 500 certification means movies should look brilliantly impactful, and a peak 500nits brightness should make working in brightly-lit conditions a breeze.
There’s a 1440p webcam on board, along with DTS-approved stereo speakers, HDMI 2.1 video output, a microSD card reader, 3.5mm headphone port and a scattering of USB-C and USB A ports. The oversized touchpad is also made from OceanGlass, Acer’s environmentally friendly material that helps keep waste products out of our seas.
It’ll be hitting North America and Europe from July onwards, with prices starting from $1300/€1200.
Tom Morgan-Freelander
Deputy Editor 
