Acer Predator Helios 300 vs HP Omen 15

 Acer Predator Helios 300 vs HP Omen 15 

Hi, this article is an in-depth comparison of the Acer Predator Helios 300 and HP Omen 15. Recently I made a review of each of these laptops, so you can check it out separately but today I will show you all the differences between them so you can make your choice easier. As always if you want to check the current price you can find Amazon links in the description and if you want to skip to any part of this article I also left the timestamps down below. I'm Chris from techfindsreview.com and let's jump into the comparison. Let's start with the design but really quick. As you can see both laptops are black with red accents and brushed aluminum texture. The Omen has 2 big parts on the top panel that imitate carbon fiber when Predator looks less fancy with the only logo in the middle, 2red lines, and the strip on the top. Inside we have the opposite situation - Predatorhas few red accents on the keyboard and touchpad and Omen's interior looks more toned with only white characters. Omen has also thin bezels so overall it looks more modern inside. If it comes to build quality, the Predators my choice. 

It has an aluminium top panel and deck, and the bottom is made of plastic that feels very solid. Omen has also an aluminium deck but the plastic on the bottom is not that thick as in Predator and the top panel has much more flex as itis again made of plastic. Now both laptops are 15" but the Omen with thin bezel design is noticeably smaller and lighter so you can fit it into your backpack with ease and carry without big effort. The keyboard in both laptops is full size with a number pad but the layout is a little different in each device. In my opinion, the overall typing experience is better in Omen as the keys have a 1,5mm travel distance and they are a little bit bigger than in Predator while keeping the same space between them. As for the features you get a 4-zone RGB keyboard with Omen, you can change the colors and brightness in the Omen's control center application. Predator has an only red backlight so nothing special here. The touchpads are completely different in both laptops - Predator uses Windows Precision Drivers so it's got good gestures and tracking but the buttons are a little bit stiff. Omen uses Synaptics drivers, it has dedicated buttons and I find it much better overall. 

The buttons don't require much force to register a click, the tracking is good and I had no issues when using it. Using Predator's touchpad I sometimes accidentally click on something that I didn't mean to. If it comes to port selection Predator has1 USB 3.0 type A, 2 USBs 2.0 type A, 1 USB 3.1 type C without Thunderbolt 3, Full-size HDMI 2.0, Full-size SD card slot, Ethernet, 3.5mm audio jack, and security lock. In Omen you can find 3 USB 3.1 Type-A ports,1 USB 3.1 Type C with Thunderbolt 3, Full-size HDMI 2.0, Mini display port, Full-sized card slot, Ethernet, 3.5mm jack for headphones and microphone, and security lock. The displays in both devices that I've got here are 144Hz IPS Pannels. You also have a 60Hz 1080p option or 4K at 60Hzwith Omen when Predator has only 144Hz panels available. Of course, you have also 17" models of these laptops, but please note that the 17" Omen from 2018 has the same chassis as the 2017 model so it may be a little bit confusing, and if it comes to Predator, the 17" model is all plastic. 

If it comes to color accuracy it seems to be similar in both devices but in practice, Omen's display provides more vivid colors and it's noticeably brighter. It also supports G-Sync which is great for gaming when Predator is missing that feature. However, the difference in price is significant, because Omen with 144Hz panel costs about $1500 in the US and the 60Hz model goes for$1200 so the same price that you pay for 144Hz Predator. If you're from the UK the choice is more obvious because 144Hz Omen is even cheaper than Predator so that's a good deal. You can check the current prices on Amazon- in the article. The sound quality is a little bit better in Ommen again. To be honest it's not a big difference but if I have to compare so yea, Omen's speakers sound a little bit better, they seem to have more bass and clearer sound. 

If it comes to performance both laptops are going to perform similarly since they are equipped with the same CPU, GPU, and RAM but you'll probably get Omen with one 16GB RAM stick when Predator comes with 2 8GB sticks so it works in dual website. Let me explain the difference. When you have 2 physical RAM installed in both slots it's gonna give you better performance than if you had only one RAM stick installed in one slot.I'm talking about a 0 to 30% increase in performance but of course, it's highly dependent on the game you play and the game settings. So my suggestion is that if you want better performance right out of the box and you're not gonna add more RAM in the future, then go for Predator. But if you're planning to expand the memory in your laptop, then Omen has still one slot free so you can just buy another RAM stick and add it to the second empty slot having it dual website. 

As for the storage Omen comes with 256GB NvMeSSD + 1TB 7200RPM Hard Drive and the Predator has also 256GB NvMe SSD but no additional HDD so if you want more storage you can buy one and install in the empty drive bay. If you want to safely add or swap out HardDrive, RAM, or SSD in one of these laptops, check out my tutorials where you can also find a list of recommended storage drives and RAM compatible with HP Omen 15 and PredatorHelios 300. Now you probably wonder how is the cooling system in both laptops since we see many overheating devices nowadays, especially with 6-core processors. So if it comes to Omen I must admit that the temperatures are pretty good, even though the fans run only on automatic mode. 

When gaming for a long period of time the CPU temperature was from 80 to 85 degrees. But here is one important thing - when I was testing this laptop for my review, the temperatures were high, like 94 degrees. Then I noticed that HP released a BIOS update that fixes the thermal issues. After this update the temperatures are good and the laptop works well so after you buy Omen remember to check if your BIOS is up to date. The Predator ruins a little bit hotter. During my game test it was reaching from 83to 88 degrees average with max fan speed mode so still not bad here. I also noticed thermal throttling in both devices but it actually was not happening often and when it did the frame rate drop wasn't huge so I could still comfortably play my games with smooth 60 FPS and above. The fan noise is slightly louder in Omen even when idle. 

Under heavy load, the noise is noticeable in both devices but comfortable enough to play games without headphones. As for battery life, I managed to use Predator for 4 hours and 10 minutes when browsing the web, watching movies, and using not demanding programs. When the gaming battery died after 1 hour. When I was testing Omen the same way the battery life reached 4,5 hours for light productivity work and 1,5 hours for gaming. All right, it seems to be everything that I wanted to mention, so now let me share my closing thoughts about the HP Omen 15 first. It's a good choice for those who need some smaller and lighter device than a regular gaming laptop. It may perform slightly slower than Helios300 since Omen comes with a single website 16GB RAM, but it gives you a better way to upgrade the memory in the future. 

The thermal management is respectable as same as battery life. Also if the fan noise bothers you it's worth mentioning here. On the other hand, Predator Helios 300 shows great value for the money. For $1200 you can't actually find better laptop with a 144Hz display so if you're looking for a fast gaming laptop without spending a lot of money, you should consider this one. It's also built like a tank and right out of the box it performs a little bit faster than Omen thanks to dual-website 16GB RAM that is a sweet spot for most the gamers. For the weak sides of Predator, we can include a lack of additional Hard Drive and decent port selection. Alright, have you chosen your laptop already? If you found this article helpful you can consider ordering it on Amazon via one I left to support my website. I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you so I can afford more laptops for future reviews. 

Also thank you guys for all the likes and kind words that you leave below my article, it's really motivating to see that what I do is actually useful and helpful to someone. That's all for today and as always if you have any questions feel free to ask in the comments - I answer every question. If you're new to the article it would be awesome if you consider following Tech News Update. In my article, you can find detailed laptop reviews, laptop comparisons, and more. Now thanks for your time and see you in the next article!