The Acer Predator Helios 300 is less expensive and offers strong performance for gaming and engineering tasks but is less portable and has a shorter battery life. The MSI Summit E16 Flip is more portable with a longer battery life, a higher resolution touchscreen, and is better suited for general use and premium business tasks, though it is more expensive and might not perform as well in highly demanding games. Consider the Helios if you prioritize gaming and the Summit if you need versatility and mobility. 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
Good for gaming and AI
Advantages of the MSI Summit E16 Flip
Very good overall display quality
Good portability
Good battery life
Key differences
General Use
7.4/10
7.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
294.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
294.0 nits
3.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
8.0 Hours
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
6.9/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.6/10
The MSI Summit E16 Flip and Acer Predator Helios 300 are both good for general use, though the MSI Summit E16 Flip is somewhat better.
The Acer Predator Helios 300 and MSI Summit E16 Flip are both solid for general use because they come with sufficient RAM and powerful CPUs, suitable for a variety of tasks, quality displays with good color coverage and resolution, and decent keyboards and speakers. However, the Helios 300 is heavier and has shorter battery life, making it less portable than the lightweight Summit E16 Flip which also offers a higher-resolution touchscreen and double the storage, but the trade-off is that the Helios 300 typically costs less.
Content Creation
7.3/10
7.9/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Summit E16 Flip and Acer Predator Helios 300 are both good for content creation, though the MSI Summit E16 Flip is somewhat better.
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
7.6/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
The MSI Summit E16 Flip and Acer Predator Helios 300 are both good for software development, though the MSI Summit E16 Flip is somewhat better.
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.
Screen Quality
7.3/10
8.0/10
15.6in
SIZE
16.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
294.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
294.0 nits
The MSI Summit E16 Flip has a better screen than the Acer Predator Helios 300 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The Acer Predator Helios 300 offers a balance with solid resolution and brightness, which is great for general tasks like web browsing or watching videos, and its color accuracy benefits engineering and design work. However, its lower refresh rate might not deliver the best experience for fast-paced 3D gaming. On the other hand, the MSI Summit E16 Flip has a high-quality display that excels in color reproduction for professional design tasks and good detail and brightness for everyday use, but like the Acer, is not optimized for gaming due to the refresh rate not being high enough for smooth 3D visuals.
Battery
3.5 Hours
8.0 Hours
The Acer Predator Helios 300 has 3.5 hours of battery life. The MSI Summit E16 Flip has 8 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
Good
15.6in
SIZE
16.0in
5.5 lbs
WEIGHT
4.1 lbs
0.9in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The MSI Summit E16 Flip has good portability, while the Acer Predator Helios 300 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$1,204
$1,413
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Acer Predator Helios 300 has a price of $1,204 and the MSI Summit E16 Flip costs $1,413.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Acer Predator Helios 300 to be good for gaming and AI, while the MSI Summit E16 Flip is only fair.
The Acer Predator Helios 300 is equipped with an Nvidia RTX 3060 GPU and a 144Hz screen refresh rate, making it a strong choice for gaming and 3D applications, while the MSI Summit E16 Flip has a slightly lower-tier Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti but compensates with a higher 165Hz screen refresh rate, providing smooth visuals for similar use cases. Both laptops have quality IPS displays, with the MSI offering a higher resolution and touch capability, suggesting better screen quality, while their CPUs are fairly comparable, contributing to their gaming and 3D rendering capabilities.
Engineering and Design
7.6/10
7.7/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.9/10
6.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The MSI Summit E16 Flip and Acer Predator Helios 300 are both good for engineering and design.
The Acer Predator Helios 300, with its Intel i7-11800H processor, Nvidia RTX 3060 graphics, and 1080p display, offers strong performance for engineering applications and design work, though it's less portable and has a shorter battery life. Meanwhile, the MSI Summit E16 Flip features a newer Intel i7-1260P processor, Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti graphics, a higher resolution and touchscreen display, making it well-suited for design tasks, offering improved portability and significantly longer battery life.
Build Quality
7.4/10
7.4/10
The Acer Predator Helios 300 and MSI Summit E16 Flip both have good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
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How the Acer Predator Helios 300 and the MSI Summit E16 Flip 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 MSI Summit E16 Flip is a 2-in-1 laptop with pen, 16:10 display, and RTX 3050 Ti. The Summit E16 Flip is a 2-in-1 laptop from the business segment that primarily targets creative users. MSI combines a 16-inch touchscreen in the 16:10 format with a powerful midrange GPU. While the 2-in-1 laptop from MSI isn't meant for everybody, it should definitely attract some followers. The touchscreen display (2,560 x 1,600 pixels) covers the DCI-P3 color space. This is accompanied by stable viewing angles, a good color reproduction, short response times, and a good contrast level."
Get a great deal on the Acer Predator Helios 300 or the MSI Summit E16 Flip
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 MSI
MSI, also known as Micro-Star International, is a Taiwanese technology corporation. MSI is known for their wide range of gaming devices. Their series include the entry-level Cyborg/Thin and Sword/Katana series, the mid-range Bravo/Delta and Crosshair/Pulse series, and their high-end Vector, Raider, Stealth, and Titan GT series. At every performance level, MSI offers a variety of devices with varying balances between performance, battery life, weight, and price, making them a solid option to consider at every price point.
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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