The Acer Predator Helios 300 offers a solid balance for gaming and engineering use with good color reproduction, but it's heavier and has shorter battery life, which may affect portability. On the other hand, the Lenovo Legion 5 17" has a larger screen size that is beneficial for detailed work and has a longer battery life, making it more suitable for extended use without charging, despite being slightly bulkier. Both are comparable in price and equipped with similar storage and memory capabilities, and both come with a backlit keyboard and no touchscreen, offering equally powerful graphics and processor performance suitable for intensive tasks. The choice largely depends on whether you prefer a larger screen and longer battery life with the Lenovo, or potentially greater portability with the Acer. 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 300
The Acer Predator Helios 300 has no clear advantages over the Lenovo Legion 5 17".
Advantages of the Lenovo Legion 5 17"
Very good keyboard
Key differences
Screen Quality
7.3/10
7.3/10
15.6in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
294.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
305.0 nits
The Acer Predator Helios 300 and the Lenovo Legion 5 17" have similar screen quality.
If you prioritize everyday tasks like browsing and document editing, both the Acer Predator Helios 300 and the Lenovo Legion 5 offer clarity and visibility with their high-resolution and bright displays. For engineering and design work, they both provide a wide range of colors, which is essential for accurately viewing and editing visual projects. However, for gaming and 3D applications, the refresh rate—critical for smooth motion—is lower on these models, making them less ideal for fast-paced interactive experiences.
Battery
3.5 Hours
4.5 Hours
The Acer Predator Helios 300 has 3.5 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Legion 5 17" has 4.5 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.
Portability
Fair
Poor
15.6in
SIZE
17.3in
5.5 lbs
WEIGHT
6.5 lbs
0.9in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Acer Predator Helios 300 has only fair portability, while the Lenovo Legion 5 17" has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
The Acer Predator Helios 300 and Lenovo Legion 5 17" are both good for general use.
The Acer Predator Helios 300 offers a robust CPU and ample RAM for efficient multitasking, with a high-quality IPS screen suitable for a variety of tasks and moderate battery life, making it suitable for general use despite being heavier and less portable. The Lenovo Legion 5 17" similarly features a powerful CPU, equivalent RAM, and a larger high-quality display, but with longer battery life; though its larger size reduces portability, it provides an enhanced general-use experience for those who prioritize screen size and battery over ease of carrying.
Gaming and AI
7.2/10
7.4/10
6.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.5/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" and Acer Predator Helios 300 are both good for gaming and AI.
The Acer Predator Helios 300 and Lenovo Legion 5 17" are equipped with Nvidia RTX 3060 graphics cards and 144Hz refresh rate displays, essential for smooth gaming and 3D performance. While both have similar GPU and screen refresh functionality, the Legion's larger screen can offer a more immersive experience, and its higher battery capacity could provide longer unplugged gaming sessions, whereas the Predator's screen may showcase brighter images and possibly better contrast which enhances visual quality.
Engineering and Design
7.6/10
7.6/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
6.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.5/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" and Acer Predator Helios 300 are both good for engineering and design.
The Acer Predator Helios 300 is considered good for engineering and design use due to its strong CPU (Intel i7-11800H), ample RAM (16 GB), capable GPU (Nvidia RTX 3060), and high screen quality (IPS panel with good brightness and color coverage). The Lenovo Legion 5 17" is also well-suited for these tasks, with its powerful AMD Ryzen 7 5800H processor, equivalent RAM and GPU, and larger screen that offers clarity and color accuracy.
Content Creation
7.3/10
7.2/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Acer Predator Helios 300 and Lenovo Legion 5 17" are both 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
7.1/10
7.0/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Acer Predator Helios 300 and Lenovo Legion 5 17" are both good for software development.
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.
Build Quality
7.4/10
7.4/10
The Acer Predator Helios 300 and Lenovo Legion 5 17" both have good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,204
$1,200
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
$1,800
The Acer Predator Helios 300 has a price of $1,204 and the Lenovo Legion 5 17" costs $1,200.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Acer Predator Helios 300 and the Lenovo Legion 5 17" compare to other laptops
"The Acer Predator Helios 300 review is an overclocked gaming laptop with a good display. The Predator is large, heavy, and loud, but also offers plenty of performance according to gamers. An overclocked gaming laptop - or its user - also has to struggle with the usual disadvantages we mentioned above. On the other hand, overclocking is optional, and those who like it quieter and can live with a few less frames per second can also switch to the significantly more moderate Standard mode. Then the Helios 300 won't be any louder than the competitors."
"The Lenovo Legion 5 17 is a current-gen 17-inch gaming laptop and equipped with the latest AMD CPU and a powerful GPU, that manages to reach its full potential. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600H is a very good choice for this laptop and able to maintain its performance level for long periods of time. Our test model only falls behind consistently in a direct comparison with its competitors that are often equipped with eight cores and 16 threads. Despite this, the Legion 5 17 leaves an excellent impression and is almost able to keep up with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 mobile GPU in synthetic benchmarks."
Get a great deal on the Acer Predator Helios 300 or the Lenovo Legion 5 17"
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 Lenovo
Lenovo is a Chinese technology company, and one of the largest personal computer vendor. They are well known for a variety of technology products, including laptops. Their consumer series include their entry level IdeaPad and LOQ series and mid-to-high-end Yoga and Legion series. On the business-oriented side, their series include their entry-level ThinkBook series and mid-to-high-end ThinkPad series. Lenovo laptops offer strong performance for reasonable prices, and are often on sale.
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.
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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.
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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.
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