Acer Predator Helios 16 AI (2025) vs Nitro 16 (AN16-42)

Please select specific configurations for the laptops to get a more accurate comparative review
Display
CPU
GPU
RAM
Storage

Review

Evaluation of Acer Predator Helios 16 AI (2025) and Nitro 16 (AN16-42) important characteristics
Performance
System and application performance
Gaming
Performance in popular 3D games
Display
Viewing angle, color accuracy, brightness
Battery Life
Potential battery life in light and average use
Connectivity
Ports, webcam and other interfaces
Portability
Design, materials, durability and usability
Pick the usage scenario that best matches your needs
Primary usage:

Value for money (Beta)

Please input up-to-date prices for the selected laptop configurations to get an accurate value-for-money index.
Currency
VS
60.6
(Average)
Value Index
27.9
(Mediocre)

Key Differences

What are the key differences between the notebooks
Advantages of the Acer Predator Helios 16 AI (2025)
  • Can run popular games at about 424-578% higher FPS
  • Higher screen refresh rate: 240 versus 165 Hz
  • Performs significantly better (up to 4.4x) in 3DMark Steel Nomad Lite
  • Around 2.5x better multi-core CPU performance in the Cinebench 2024 test
  • Higher number of cutting-edge USB Type-C ports: 2 versus 1
  • Better webcam recording quality
  • 33% sharper screen – 189 versus 142 pixels per inch (PPI)
Advantages of the Acer Nitro 16 (AN16-42)
  • Includes an old-school USB-A port

Tests and Specifications

Comparison table of test results and technical specs

Case

Weight 2.7 kg (5.95 lbs) 2.65 kg (5.84 lbs)
Dimensions 356.78 x 279.55 x 15.9-27.71 mm
14.05 x 11.01 x 0.63-1.09 inches
360.1 x 279.9 x 27.9 mm
14.18 x 11.02 x 1.1 inches
Area 997 cm2 (154.7 inches2) 1008 cm2 (156.3 inches2)
Screen-to-body ratio ~74.4% ~73.6%
Side bezels 6.1 mm 7.8 mm
Colors Black Black
Material Top: Aluminum
Plastic
Transformer No No
Opening angle - 165°
Size comparison
Cooling solution
Cooling system Active Active
Vapor chamber No No
Liquid metal Yes Yes
Number of fans 2 2
Noise level (max. load) 54 dB -

Display

Size 16 inches 16 inches
Type IPS LCD IPS LCD
Refresh rate 240 Hz 165 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
PPI 189 ppi 142 ppi
Aspect ratio 16:10 16:10
Resolution 2560 x 1600 pixels 1920 x 1200 pixels
HDR support No No
Sync technology G-Sync G-Sync
Touchscreen No No
Coating Matte Matte
Ambient light sensor - No
Display tests
sRGB color space 100% -
Response time - 7 ms
Max. brightness

Battery

Capacity
Full charging time 2:00 hr -
Battery type Li-Ion Li-Ion
Replaceable No No
Fast charging Yes Yes
Charging via USB (Power Delivery) Yes, 100 W Yes
Charging port position Bottom Bottom
Charge power 330 W 230 W
Weight of AC adapter 943 grams -

CPU

CPU name
Base frequency 2.4 GHz 4.3 GHz
Turbo frequency 5.2 GHz 5 GHz
Cores 20 (8P + 12E) 6
Threads 20 12
L3 Cache 30 MB 16 MB
Integrated GPU Arc Graphics (4-Cores) Radeon 760M
Fabrication process 3 nm 4 nm

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)
Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)

Graphics Card

GPU name
TGP 170 W -
Nvidia Optimus MUX Yes, Advanced Optimus
Type Dedicated Dedicated
Fabrication process 4 nm 8 nm
FLOPS 37.4 TFLOPS 4.3-7.1 TFLOPS
Memory size 12 GB 6 GB
Memory type GDDR7 GDDR6
Memory bus 128 bit 128 bit
Memory speed ~24 Gbps ~12 Gbps
Shading units (cores) 4608 2048
Texture mapping units (TMUs) 144 64
Raster operations pipelines (ROPs) 48 40
GPU performance 37.4 TFLOPS 4.3-7.1 TFLOPS

GPU Benchmarks

Steel Nomad Lite Score
Blender GPU 4527 867
Solar Bay 66552 17693
Expected FPS based on average performance across 9 popular games. Details

RAM

RAM size
Channels 2x8 GB 1x8 GB
Clock 6400 MHz 5600 MHz
Type DDR5 DDR5
Upgradable Yes Yes
Total slots 2 2
Max. ram size 64 GB 32 GB

Storage

Storage size
Bus PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x) PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x)
Storage type SSD (M2) SSD (M2)
Channels 1x1024 GB 1x512 GB
Upgradable Yes Yes
Total slots 2 2
NVMe Yes Yes

Sound

Speakers 4.0 2.0
Dolby Atmos No No
Microphones 3 2

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard v7 v6E
Bluetooth v5.4 v5.2
Fingerprint No No
Infrared sensor Yes No
Optical drive No No
Webcam Above the display Above the display
Webcam resolution 1920 x 1080 1280 x 720
Ports
USB-A 3x USB 3.2 4x USB 3.2
USB Type-C 2x USB 4.0 1x USB 3.2
Thunderbolt Thunderbolt 5 No
HDMI 1x HDMI 2.1 1x HDMI 2.1
DisplayPort No No
VGA No No
Audio jack (3.5 mm) Yes Yes
Ethernet (RJ45) Yes Yes
SD card reader Yes Yes
Proprietary charging port Yes Yes

Input

Keyboard
Keyboard type Mechanical Island
Numpad Yes Yes
Backlight Yes Yes
Key travel 2 mm 1.4 mm
Touchpad
Size 12.0 x 8.3 cm -
Surface Glass Plastic
Windows Precision Yes Yes
*Disclaimer! Ports, speakers, display, and other specifications can vary depending on the laptop's specific configuration or region.

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