Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023) vs Acer Predator Helios 18 (2024)
70
out of 100
VS
73
out of 100
Please select specific configurations for the laptops to get a more accurate comparative review
Review
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
Value for money (Beta)
Key Differences
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023)
- Significantly easier to carry: weighs 1110 grams less (around 2.45 lbs)
- MacBook with the Apple M3 Pro chip maintains its performance even when running on battery power.
- Higher number of cutting-edge USB Type-C ports: 3 versus 2
- Thinner bezels and 16% higher screen-to-body ratio
- Features a bigger (~11%) battery – 100 against 90 watt-hours
- 51% sharper screen – 254 versus 168 pixels per inch (PPI)
- Much smaller footprint: 30% more compact case (136.7 vs 195.1 square inches)
Advantages of the Acer Predator Helios 18 (2024)
- Includes an old-school USB-A port
- Higher screen refresh rate: 250 versus 120 Hz
- Around 82% better multi-core CPU performance in the Cinebench 2024 test
- User-upgradable RAM (up to 64GB) and an SSD
- Provides 67% higher max. screen brightness: 1000 vs 600 nits
Tests and Specifications
Comparison table of test results and technical specsCase
| Weight | 2.14 kg (4.72 lbs) | 3.25 kg (7.17 lbs) |
| Dimensions | 355.7 x 248.1 x 16.8 mm 14 x 9.77 x 0.66 inches |
404 x 311.6 x 26.9-28.9 mm 15.91 x 12.27 x 1.06-1.14 inches |
| Area | 882 cm2 (136.8 inches2) | 1259 cm2 (195.2 inches2) |
| Screen-to-body ratio | ~86.2% | ~74.6% |
| Side bezels | 3.4 mm | 8.2 mm |
| Colors | Black, Gray | Black |
| Material | Aluminum | Top: Aluminum Middle: Aluminum Bottom: Plastic |
| Transformer | No | No |
| Opening angle | 135° | - |
Size comparison
| Cooling system | Active | Active |
| Vapor chamber | No | No |
| Liquid metal | No | Yes |
| Number of fans | 2 | 2 |
| Max. fan speed (RPM) | 6000 RPM | - |
| Noise level (max. load) | 42.8 dB | 51 dB |
Display
| Size | 16.2 inches | 18 inches |
| Type | Mini LED | Mini LED |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 250 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes (24-120 Hz) | - |
| PPI | 254 ppi | 168 ppi |
| Aspect ratio | 16:10 | 16:10 |
| Resolution | 3456 x 2234 pixels | 2560 x 1600 pixels |
| HDR support | Yes, Dolby Vision | No |
| Sync technology | No | G-Sync |
| Touchscreen | No | No |
| Coating | Glossy (Antireflective) | Matte |
| Ambient light sensor | Yes | No |
Screen space comparison
Predator Helios 18 (2024)
18″ (16:10 ratio) = 145.6 in2
MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023)
16.2″ (16:10 ratio) = 118 in2
~23% more screen space
| Contrast | 1000000:1 | 18050:1 |
| sRGB color space | 100% | 100% |
| Adobe RGB profile | - | 91.6% |
| DCI-P3 color gamut | 100% | 100% |
| Response time | 58 ms | 25 ms |
Max. brightness
Battery
Capacity
| Full charging time | 1:25 hr | 2:00 hr |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes | Yes |
| Charging via USB (Power Delivery) | Yes, 140 W | Yes |
| Charging port position | Left, Right | Bottom |
| Charge power | 140 W | 330 W |
| Cable length | 2 meters | - |
| Weight of AC adapter | 347 grams | - |
CPU
CPU name
| Base frequency | 4.05 GHz | 2.2 GHz |
| Turbo frequency | - | 5.8 GHz |
| Cores | 12 (6P + 6E) | 24 (8P + 16E) |
| Threads | 12 | 32 |
| L3 Cache | - | 36 MB |
| Integrated GPU | Apple M3 Pro GPU (18-core) | Intel UHD Graphics (32EU) |
| Fabrication process | 3 nm | 10 nm |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)
Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)
Graphics Card
GPU name
| TGP | 30 W | 175 W |
| Nvidia Optimus | - | MUX |
| Type | Integrated | Dedicated |
| Fabrication process | 3 nm | 5 nm |
| GPU base clock | 500 MHz | 1860 MHz |
| GPU boost clock | 1380 MHz | 2280 MHz |
| FLOPS | 6.4 TFLOPS | 37.6 TFLOPS |
| Memory size | System Shared | 12 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | GDDR6 |
| Memory bus | 192 bit | 192 bit |
| Memory speed | 6.4 Gbps | ~18 Gbps |
| Shading units (cores) | 2304 | 7424 |
| Texture mapping units (TMUs) | 144 | 232 |
| Raster operations pipelines (ROPs) | 72 | 80 |
| GPU performance | 6.4 TFLOPS | 37.6 TFLOPS |
GPU Benchmarks
Steel Nomad Lite Score
| Blender GPU | 1595 | 6091 |
| Solar Bay | 23170 | 102442 |
Expected FPS based on average performance across 9 popular games. Details
RAM
RAM size
| Channels | 3x6 GB | 2x8 GB |
| Clock | 6400 MHz | 5600 MHz |
| Type | LPDDR5 | DDR5 |
| Upgradable | No | Yes |
| Total slots | - | 2 |
| Max. ram size | - | 64 GB |
Storage
Storage size
| Bus | Custom | PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x) |
| Storage type | SSD (M2) | SSD (M2) |
| Channels | 2x256 GB | 1x1024 GB |
| Upgradable | No | Yes |
| Total slots | - | 2 |
| NVMe | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | 4.2 (4 tweeters and 2 woofers) | 2.0 |
| Power | - | 2x2W |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | No |
| Loudness | ~84.3 dB | ~85 dB |
| Microphones | 3 | 3 |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | v6E | v7 |
| Bluetooth | v5.3 | v5.4 |
| Fingerprint | Yes | No |
| Infrared sensor | No | No |
| Optical drive | No | No |
| Webcam | Above the display | Above the display |
| Webcam resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 1920 x 1080 |
| USB-A | No | 3x USB 3.2 |
| USB Type-C | 3x USB 4.0 | 2x USB 4.0 |
| Thunderbolt | Thunderbolt 4 | Thunderbolt 4 |
| HDMI | 1x HDMI 2.1 | 1x HDMI 2.1 |
| DisplayPort | No | No |
| VGA | No | No |
| Audio jack (3.5 mm) | Yes | Yes |
| Ethernet (RJ45) | No | Yes |
| SD card reader | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary charging port | Yes | Yes |
Input
| Keyboard type | Island | Mechanical |
| Numpad | No | Yes |
| Backlight | Yes | Yes |
| Key travel | 1 mm | - |
| Size | 15.5 x 9.9 cm | 15.0 x 9.0 cm |
| Surface | Glass | Glass |
| Windows Precision | No | Yes |
Further details
Notes on MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023):
- Lower-end M3 Pro and M3 Max SoCs with fewer CPU and GPU cores are also available. Our tests are conducted on the maxed-out variants.
*Disclaimer! Ports, speakers, display, and other specifications can vary depending on the laptop's specific configuration or region.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 6