Acer’s New H-Series Tiger Lake Laptops Cap Out at 35W

Good news for laptop gamers: Gaming laptops with Intel Tiger Lake H-series processors are finally here. Up until this point, Intel gamers looking for high power laptop chips on the company’s latest CPU series have been out of luck. But now, Intel’s 11th Generation seems to have caught up with its predecessors, with Acer specifically announcing a new line of gaming laptops at CES 2021 today that use 11th Gen H-series processors. There’s one catch, however. They’re still not 45W.

Acer’s new gaming laptops for CES 2021 include an update to the Predator Triton 300 called the Predator Triton 300 SE, plus refreshes for the Predator Helios 300 and Nitro 5. The Predator Triton 300 and Nitro 5 now both have options for 11th Generation Intel H-35 series processors.

Curiously, the Helios 300 will stick with 10th Gen H-series processors. That’s likely because the Helios is more high-end than the other options here, which, again, emphasizes how unusual it is to cap an H-series CPU at 35W.

That means it’s probably a good thing that the Nitro 5 also has an AMD config.

Acer Predator Triton 300 SE 

The Triton 300 SE is the new base level for Acer’s Predator line. It has CPU options up to the 11th Generation Intel Core i7 H35-series, plus an RTX 3060 mobile GPU. The laptop also comes with up to 24GB of RAM and up to a 1TB SSD, plus an optional fingerprint reader. The display is 14 inches with 1080p resolution at a 144Hz refresh rate. While the keyboard doesn’t have per-key RGB, it is 3-zone RGB. 

All of that makes for a respectable gaming laptop, though we’re not sure what exactly makes it a special edition. The silver case looks metallic, but Acer hasn’t shared its exact material yet.

Acer Predator Helios 300 

Still, if you want both power and an Intel CPU, you might want to upgrade to the new Predator Helios 300. This laptop improves upon the Triton with an RTX 3080 mobile GPU, up to 32GB of RAM and a 15.6-inch 1080p IPS display at 240 Hz. However, you’ll still be using a 10th Generation H-series Intel chip here, which has us wondering when or if Intel plans to release a 45W+ H-series Tiger Lake processor.

Visually, the Helios resembles the Triton, though with a black, more angular case that has LED decoration on the lid and a full per-key RGB keyboard inside. 

Acer Nitro 5

Finally, the Nitro 5 is being refreshed with both new Intel and AMD CPU options. The Intel version of the Nitro 5 has 11th Gen Intel H-35 processor options, while the AMD version can pack up to a Ryzen 9 5900X HX mobile CPU. However, there’s more separating these laptops than just their CPUs.

The Intel Nitro 5 will launch with a GTX 1650 GPU (though it will eventually get configuration options up to an RTX 3060 Max-Q) and up to 32GB of RAM, plus a 14-inch 1080p, 144 Hz display. 

Meanwhile, the AMD version of the laptop has configuration options with up to an RTX 3080 GPU and 32GB of RAM. It also comes with either a 15.6-inch or 17.3-inch display with your choice between 1440p at 165 Hz or 1080p at 360 Hz.

That’s a pretty massive difference between Intel and AMD, so keep in mind when shopping that not all Nitro 5s are built the same -- even if they look it. Both the Intel and AMD Nitro 5s have similar black cases and the same 3-zone RGB keyboard.

We’re happy to see Tiger Lake finally getting H-series processor options, but given alternative options from AMD and even Intel’s own 10th Gen chips, we have to wonder if the H35 series is enough.

The Predator Triton 300 SE  will launch in North America in March at a starting price of $1,399, while the Helios 300 will hit North American retailers in February at a starting price of $1,249. The Intel Nitro 5 still has yet to get a North American release date, but AMD models will come out in North America in February starting at $749.