We take a deep dive into the recently released Intel i5 10300H and NVIDIA RTX 3060 inside the Predator Helios 300 2021.
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| Intel Core i5 10300H with NVIDIA RTX 3060 |
In the Philippines, laptop manufacturers like Predator have recently refreshed their line-up with the new 10th-generation Intel Core i5 10300H quad-core processor paired with NVIDIA RTX 3060 GPU.
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| Predator Helios 300 2020 with blue accents |
The Predator Helios 300 we got has the new Intel i5 10300H, and H-series processor, with the RTX 3060. It also features a large 15.6-inch FHD IPS display with a 144Hz refresh rate, 8GB LPDDR4 SDRAM, 256GB NVMe SSD, 1TB HDD, 59 WHr Li-ion battery, and Windows 10. It is priced at only PHP 74,999 and is now available in the Philippines.
The 10th-generation was released in 2020 but let's find out how it performs with NVIDIA’s new RTCX 3060 GPU.
Let's dive in.
Unboxing/Accessories
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| Inner box |
The laptop comes in a cardboard outer box that houses the inner box, black envelope, and the box with the power plug and power supply. The inner box is surprisingly premium looking and feeling with its good feeling texture, black color, and blue Predator logo.
Inside the inner box is the Predator Helios 300 2021 with the recyclable envelope-shaped cover.
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| 230W power plug |
The Predator Helios 300 comes with a 230W power supply and a wall plug wire with three prongs.
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| Documentation and stickers |
The included black envelop contains stickers and documents like a Set-up guide, local and international warranty.
Build Quality/Design
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| Top panel |
The Helios 300 is made of a combination of aluminum, high-quality polycarbonate, and glass. The Top is made of an aluminum panel with the Predator logo with blue accents while the display on the other side is wrapped around polycarbonate while the display itself is covered by glass. Because of the aluminum, the top part has minimal flex and it feels sturdy and solid.
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| Bottom panel |
At the bottom are the speakers, rubber feet, ventilation holes, metal fit, finishing, and branding and regulatory information.
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| Front and rear sides |
We are happy to say that the Helios 300 2021 passes the one-hand open test. The bottom has a heavy base and the hinge opens and closes smoothly. At the back are the stylized vents with blue-colored grills and the power-in port.
We are impressed with the design and overall build of the Helios 300!
Overall, we are impressed with the design of the Helios 300. Predator has toned down the aggressive angular and stylized gaming aesthetics of the previous generations to a more polished and more toned-down design. What is left is hints of its gaming-focused design like the large back vents but the design is done in a more tasteful way.
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| The display |
The display is a large 15.6-inch IPS display with 1920 x 1080 resolution and 144Hz refresh rate. Above it is the 720p webcam and around it is the polycarbonate bezels. At the bottom of the display are the FHD 144Hz sticker and the Predator branding.
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| Backlit RGB keyboard |
Below the display are the exhaust vents, Turbo button, DTS branding, LED indicators, full-size keyboard with RGB backlighting, branding stickers, and the multi-gesture trackpad.
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| WASD keys with Predator colors |
The keyboard features the island-style chicklet keys with decent travel and a mushy and sticky bottom-out feel. Nothing beats a full mechanical keyboard but the keys on the Helios 300 is a good compromise if you prefer the sticky and mushy feel to your keyboards. The RGB backlighting is limited to four zones that can be customized with the included Predator app.
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| Bulti-gesture trackpad |
At the bottom is the multi-gesture trackpad with Windows Precision drivers that are responsive and accurate. Besides the trackpad is the Intel Core i5, NVIDIA GeForce RTX, and feature stickers.
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| Left and right side |
For ports, It has a power-in port, Kensington lock, Ethernet port, three USB Type-A ports, 3.5mm headphone jack, USB Type-C, HDMI port and mini display port. Unfortunately, there is no SD card slot.
My only gripe with the build materials is that the aluminum areas are prone to fingerprint smudges. Otherwise, the laptop looks and feels solid with a reassuring heft to it.
Multimedia Experience
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| YouTube on Predator Helios 300 |
The aforementioned 15.6-inch IPS Ddsplay with 144Hz refresh rate and 1920 x 1080 resolution produces vibrant images with a decent ppi of 141. The screen has good viewing angles and only has grey discoloration in extreme 170+ degree angles. The panel is able to reach a maximum of roughly 250 to 300 nits. It is bright enough indoors and sometimes outdoors when the sun is not directly hitting the panel. This peak brightness is standard around this price range but we wish that manufacturers would consider including 400 to 500 nit displays next time.
Color reproduction is decent and is good enough for video games and content consumption for most games and media without HDR. In a pinch, the panel could work for color-critical work but we do not recommend it.
Apart from gaming, this is great for both YouTube and Netflix as well.
For audio, it has 2x bottom-firing speakers that produce decent sound but maybe on the tingy side. The maximum volume isn't the loudest in the price range either. It is decent but some users may opt for headphones or plugging in an external speaker for significantly better audio.
The laptop has a 3.5mm headphone jack for wired and supports Bluetooth 5.1 for low latency wireless audio experience.
Quality-wise, its 720p webcam is similar to a lot of gaming notebooks that do not prioritize the webcam. In indoor situations where the lighting is not the best, the image is just passable with some grain and some color casting.
If you are going to use this for both gaming and for zoom calls for work or for school, the 720p webcam can do its job but we recommend getting a better webcam.
Performance
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| Synthetic Benchmarks (correction: Unigine*) |
Now for the meat of the review. The Helios 300 2021 is equipped with the 10th-generation Intel i5 10300H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060, 8GB RAM, 256GB NVMe SSD and 1TB HDD.
It managed to score 3,218 and 8,386 in the 3DMark's TimeSpy Extreme and Fire Strike Extreme benchmarks. 3DMark tests the 3D rendering and the workload capabilities of the CPU.
In the CPU intensive benchmarks like CineBench R20, R23, the Intel i5 10300H was able to get a score of 3,263, 1,139 in single-core, and 5,531 in multi-core benchmarks. In GeekBench 5 the i5 scored 1,128 in single-core tests and 3,905 in multi-core tests.
In GPU intensive workloads like in Unigine Heaven 4.0, it scored 2,139 in 1080p at Extreme preset.
Next up is PCMark 10 which measures the overall performance of the computer where it scored 3432.
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| Game benchmark frame rate scores |
We also tested the Helios 300 with a number of games with built-in benchmarks and here are the scores: Rainbow Six: Siege Ultra - 115 fps, Horizon: Zero Dawn Ultimate: 57 fps, Red Dead Redemption 2 Highest - 50fps, Shadow of the Tomb Raider Highest - 57 fps, Metro Exodus with RTX ON and DLSS - 49fps, and Metro Exodus RTX OFF Ultra - 54fps.
To summarize, the Intel core i5 10300H was able to push the performance of the GPU to smooth frame rates of 50fps and above in their highest graphic settings. If users want to get the highest frame rates that take advantage of the 144Hz panel, the user can lower the graphics settings. If users want to still get the highest graphics settings, they may want to upgrade to the RTX 3070 version.
Intel Core i5 10300H is still fast in 2021!
In terms of cooling, we never saw the temperatures reach alarming levels. Under load, it maintains a respectable temperature of around 70 to 80 degrees. Users with headphones can also opt to use the 'Turbo' button which turns up the fans to what I call jet engine mode because the fans are maxing out and can get so loud that I am reminded of jet engines. This helps the temperatures to an extent but we don't recommend it for longer play sessions.
In terms of connectivity, no problem. WiFi and Bluetooth reception is strong, fast, and stable. It detects and connects quickly. The Ethernet port is a lifesaver especially when we want a more reliable connection when we are just on the desk.
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| Power-in port |
For the battery, this arrived with a larger 59Wh Li-Ion battery. Thanks to this, at 50 percent brightness with the backlit keyboard on, it lasted for over 4 to 5 hours while browsing, typing, watching YouTube videos, and playing Spotify in the background. For gaming and video editing, the battery will be shorter at around 1.5 to 3 hours of use.
Charging time from 0 to 100 takes around That is reasonable for a 59Wh Li-Ion battery.
Pre-installed on the Windows 10 OS is the Predator app that allows users to control gaming-related features like RGB Backlighting and more.
Pros - Premium build and design body, 144Hz FHD+ Display, Intel Core i5 10300H, RTX 3060, decent battery
Cons - No SD card slot, webcam quality, speakers can be tingy at maximum volume,
Predator Helios 300 2021 Specs
Display: 15.6-inch IPS screen w/ FHD 1920 x 1080 resolution at 141 ppi
CPU: 2.5GHz 14nm Intel-Core i5-10300H 4-core processor
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 with 6GB GDDR6
RAM: 8GB LPDDR4 SDRAM, upgradeable to 32GB 2933Hz DDR4
ROM: 256GB NVMe SSD, 1TB 7200rpm HDD
Selfie Camera: HD webcam
Battery: 59 Wh 4-Cell Li-Ion
OS: Windows 10
Connectivity: Killer WiFi 6 AX1650i, Killer E2600 Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth 5.1, 1x HDMI, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 port, 3.5mm headphone jack, Mini DisplayPort, power-in
Others: Backlit keyboard, multi-gesture trackpad, dedicated Turbo button, Colors: Black
Price: PHP 74,999
Verdict
The Predator Helios 300 2021 is a good option at its price range and should be on a PC buyer's list for 2021 because of its premium build and design, capable specs, reliable networking capabilities, and solid price.
In terms of performance, the Intel i5 10300H with the RTX 3060 was able to run the highest graphics settings (ultra) on most games at 50+ frames per second. If users don't mind lowering the graphics settings, they can take advantage of the 144Hz panel. The user who doesn't want to lower the graphics settings could opt for the more powerful RTX 3070.
Our only concerns with it are minor things like the lack of SD card, tingy speakers, and sub-par webcam quality that are all easily remedied. For its price, we can't complain too much. Some retailers are even selling these at a sale price.
Build/Design - 4.25
Multimedia Experience - 4.25
Performance - 4.5
Average - 4.33/5
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