If you prioritize gaming or 3D work and can handle a heavier and larger laptop, the Acer Predator Helios 16 excels with its high-refresh-rate screen and powerful graphics card. The ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 Duo, while slightly less expensive and more portable with a unique dual-screen feature, is better suited for creative professionals due to its high-quality OLED display. It also offers a higher resolution touchscreen with stylus support, ideal for detailed graphical tasks. The Acer comes with a larger battery capacity, suggesting longer use between charges. However, its weight makes it less convenient for travel than the lighter ASUS. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Acer Predator Helios 16
Very good for gaming and AI
Advantages of the ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 Duo
Very good for software development
Good portability
Best in class speakers
Key differences
General Use
8.0/10
8.6/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1800
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
498.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
357.0 nits
6.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
6.3/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.9/10
The ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 Duo and Acer Predator Helios 16 are both very good for general use, though the ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 Duo is somewhat better.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Gaming and AI
8.5/10
6.7/10
8.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.8/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1800
240Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.7/10
The Acer Predator Helios 16 is very good for gaming and AI, while the ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 Duo is only fair.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Screen Quality
8.8/10
8.6/10
16.0in
SIZE
14.5in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1800
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
240Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
498.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
357.0 nits
The Acer Predator Helios 16 has a better screen than the ASUS Zenbook Pro 14 Duo for gaming and AI, while the ASUS Zenbook Pro 14 Duo has a better screen for engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The Acer Predator Helios 16's screen excels in clarity and visibility for general use and offers a wide color spectrum suitable for precision in engineering and design work. However, its slower refresh rate limits the smoothness of fast-moving visuals, which is crucial for an immersive gaming and 3D experience.
The ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 Duo provides sharp images and great color fidelity that benefit both everyday tasks and professional design applications, making it versatile for general use and creative work. Like the Acer, it falls short for gaming and 3D uses due to a lower refresh rate that fails to match the fluidity required for those activities.
Portability
Fair
Good
16.0in
SIZE
14.5in
5.7 lbs
WEIGHT
3.7 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 Duo has good portability, while the Acer Predator Helios 16 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$1,599
$1,299
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Acer Predator Helios 16 has a price of $1,599 and the ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 Duo costs $1,299.
The Acer Predator Helios 16 and ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 Duo are both very good for engineering and design.
The Acer Predator Helios 16, with its powerful CPU, robust GPU, and high-refresh-rate IPS panel, offers impressive performance and screen quality suited for demanding engineering and design tasks, though it is larger and heavier affecting portability. The ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 Duo, while lighter and featuring an OLED touchscreen with higher color accuracy, trades off a less capable integrated GPU for a more portable design and doubles the RAM, which can be critical for multitasking in design workflows.
Content Creation
8.2/10
8.6/10
9.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1800
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
The ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 Duo and Acer Predator Helios 16 are both very good for content creation.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
7.9/10
8.2/10
9.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1800
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 Duo to be very good for software development, while the Acer Predator Helios 16 is good.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Battery
6.5 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Acer Predator Helios 16 has 6.5 hours of battery life. The ASUS Zenbook Pro 14 Duo has 6 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Build Quality
7.4/10
7.6/10
The ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 Duo and Acer Predator Helios 16 both have good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Acer Predator Helios 16 and the ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 Duo compare to other laptops
"The Predator Helios 16 stacks up well against its closest competition in benchmark comparisons. The Acer Predator Helios 16 isn't perfect. It's bulky, its lid feels flimsy and some of its keys are just too damned small – but none of its problems are fatal, and it shines where it counts. The powerful graphics and processor combo are spot on for this price point, the fans stop it getting hot under pressure, and the display is as good as you’ll find under $2,500. It's simply one of the best laptops to play demanding games on."
"The Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED is a well-tuned instrument for content creators, excelling at a range of general office tasks as well as tasks that require a little more grunt like encoding and 3D rendering. The big attraction is the laptop’s dual displays. They’re the best ones we’ve used in an Asus Zenbook Duo laptop to date with a spate of year-on-year improvements that make the visuals more striking and the cross-screen integration easier than ever before."
Get a great deal on the Acer Predator Helios 16 or the ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 Duo
About Acer
Acer is a prominent Taiwanese electronics brand which makes a wide range of laptops, with multiple product lines catering to personal use, gaming, and business use. They are renowned for having exceptional value for money, as they frequently offer good specifications at a lower price than other manufacturers.
About ASUS
ASUS, a Taiwanese electronics brand, is one of the largest personal computer vendor by market share. The majority of their laptops are targeted towards personal use or gaming. Their most popular product lines include the budget-friendly VivoBook, more premium ZenBook, and their TUF and ROG gaming laptops, the latter of which has a reputation for excellent gaming performance.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
By the numbers
380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
111,195
Recommendations made
24,093
Consumer hours saved
About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.
Chandradeep Chowdhury
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
Craig Russell
Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.