Advantages of the Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 (2024)
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Good overall build quality
Good speakers
Good keyboard
Advantages of the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3
Good portability
Very good battery life
Key differences
General Use
7.9/10
7.0/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
498.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
281.0 nits
5.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
10.0 Hours
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
6.5/10
5.4/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.9/10
The Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 (2024) and Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 are both good for general use, though the Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 (2024) 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
8.3/10
5.9/10
8.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
9.5/10
The Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 (2024) is very good for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 is poor.
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.
Engineering and Design
8.6/10
6.1/10
9.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
3.6/10
8.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 (2024) is very good for engineering and design, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 is only fair.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Content Creation
8.1/10
7.2/10
9.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
3.6/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 (2024) is very good for content creation, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 is good.
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
7.1/10
9.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
3.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
6.5/10
The Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 (2024) and Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 are both good for software development, though the Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 (2024) 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
8.3/10
6.4/10
18.0in
SIZE
15.6in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
498.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
281.0 nits
The Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 has a better screen than the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
5.0 Hours
10.0 Hours
The Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 has 5 hours of battery life. The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 has 10 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
Poor
Good
18.0in
SIZE
15.6in
7.1 lbs
WEIGHT
3.5 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 has good portability, while the Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 (2024) has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.4/10
6.5/10
The Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 (2024) has good build quality, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,749
$400
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 (2024) has a price of $1,749 and the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 costs $400.
Olivier Martin, Ryan Lim, and John Peroramas | May 2023
"The Lenovo IdeaPad 3i is decent for use as a workstation. Its Intel CPU and integrated graphics can only handle light productivity tasks, not demanding workloads like video editing or 3D graphics. You also can't do any color-critical work because the available displays have a narrow color gamut. It has a good port selection, but its USB-C lacks Thunderbolt 4 support. On the upside, it has a comfortable keyboard and doesn't get hot or loud under load."
Get a great deal on the Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 (2024) or the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3
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.
By the numbers
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Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
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24,223
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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.