Review on Acer Predator Helios 300 Gaming Laptop, Intel Core i7-9750H, GTX 1660 Ti, 15.6-inch Full HD 144Hz Display, 3ms Response Time, 16GB DDR4, 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD, RGB Backlit Keyboard, PH315-52-710B by Polo Acri

I bought this to replace a 7 year old Linux gaming PC (dual boot, multiple drives) with a corroded PSU and was stuck on it to maintain a few extra hard drives while still playing a few games on the original Windows CD that came with it. After a bit of research it turned out I wouldn't have much trouble installing drivers for the hardware that comes with this model and the price was quite low compared to the System76 so I ordered it. BIOS and hardware update. A: When the second drive I ordered arrived (separate packages, a few days later) I proceeded to install the 1TB drive along with the 500GB drive from my old system using the upgrade kit that came with this computer. Disassembling the computer was pretty easy, but since Linux requires Secure Boot to be disabled, I went into the BIOS to enable USB boot and disable Secure Boot and UEFI. The BIOS password was NOT set and I was allowed to add my own, but all security and boot order settings were still unavailable. Although I installed 2 additional drives and was able to set a password for one of them, I was only allowed to boot from the 500GB drive that this computer came with or from external media. I called the helpdesk listed in the brochure. who came with the computer and asked about it, but was told that Acer locks the BIOS on all computers shipped through Revain to "protect" customers from changes that could damage the computer if they don't know what Do you. does. He explained that all computer vendors do this to some extent, like Apple did with the iPhone, and refused to give me the ability to unlock it no matter how techy I am. He went on to say that if I want to upgrade something I should call Acer's main customer service center and order it from there rather than trying to mod it myself. At this point I requested a refund as the product is very different from what was advertised and was therefore practically unusable for my purposes but he refused as the packaging had already been opened. I pointed out that the product description doesn't list a locked BIOS, and based on forum posts about that model on Acer's website, a BIOS lock isn't a standard configuration for that model, but he did state that Acer wanted it for the Revain. -the computer they supplied and that they don't have to disclose this information prior to purchase, so I replied that I would simply complain to Revain and request a refund from them. I tried contacting the Acer customer service number listed on Revain and on their own website. After several days of trying, I finally found someone (average wait time 60 minutes) who finally confirmed that Acer intended to restrict customers' ability to change the boot sequence to "protect" them. Keyboard: This was a real annoyance. The 1 button, Q button, Z button, and I think a few others make a distinct "click" when I press them, sometimes not pressing properly, and I feel like they pop out or otherwise collapse about a month. or as good. It also has an odd left-to-right light pattern that flickers a little once it lights up. It looks like something is wrong and could burn out in a few months. Battery Life: While waiting for the second hard drive to arrive, I played Elder Scrolls Online for a bit over Wi-Fi. The computer was fast enough to handle it, but the battery died after about an hour, even though it was brand new. Given how batteries deplete over time, I'm concerned about how they will perform in a few years. Screen Quality: Claimed to be 1920 x 1080 but looks a bit pixelated which is kinda weird. I don't know how to describe it, but the pixels look a bit bigger than I expected and for some reason the computer defaulted to a lower resolution. Nothing special or outstanding, I've seen better, but not terrible either.