Acer unveils its first Ryzen 9 9955X3D gaming laptop — refreshed Nitro 16 joins new Predator Helios 18 AI and streaming-only Nitro Blaze Link handheld
Acer is bringing two new gaming laptops, along with a handful of interesting companion pieces, to Computex 2026.
Headlining the laptops is the Predator Helios 18 AI, packing up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus and RTX 5090 mobile GPU. The smaller Acer Nitro 16 tops out lower at a mobile RTX 5070 Ti, but comes with a CPU from AMD: either the Ryzen 9 9955HX, or the Ryzen 9 9955HX3D with AMD’s coveted 3D V-Cache. Joining the two flagship devices, which are looking to earn a spot among the best gaming laptops, are a streaming-only handheld called the Nitro Blaze Link, a travel backpack with integrated USB-C laptop charging, and a TKL keyboard boasting an 8,000 Hz polling rate.
The Predator Helios 18 AI is naturally Acer’s flagship device this year, packing top-level specs from Nvidia and Intel. Outside of the main compute, the laptop supports up to 256GB of DDR5 memory (no word on speeds yet), as well as 6 TB of storage, including three PCIe 5.0 NVMe slots. The platform provides Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity, including support for Intel Killer DoubleShot Pro, allowing you to leverage the included RJ-45 plug and your normal Wi-Fi connection simultaneously.
Acer unsurprisingly built out the connectivity of the laptop. In addition to an RJ45 plug (presumably Gigabit, but Acer hasn’t confirmed speed yet), the Predator Helios 18 AI comes with dual Thunderbolt 5 ports (Type-C), two USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A ports, a single USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, HDMI 2.1, a full-sized SD card reader, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The laptop is large, coming in at 15.8 inches wide and 12.1 inches tall, with a thickness of 0.68 inches at the thinnest point and 1.2 inches at the thickest. It’s heavy, as well, clocking in at 7.7 pounds, partially due to the 99 Wh battery.
|
CPU |
Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus |
|
GPU |
Up to Nvidia RTX 5090 mobile |
|
Memory |
Up to 256GB DDR5 (speed unknown) |
|
Storage |
Up to 6 TB, three PCIe 5.0 NVMe slots |
|
Battery |
99 Wh |
|
Wireless |
Intel Killer DoubleShot Pro, Intel Killer Wi-Fi 7 BE 1750x, Intel Killer Ethernet E5000B, Bluetooth 5.4 |
|
Ports |
2x Thunderbolt 5 Type-C, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, HDMI 2.1, SD card reader, 3.5mm audio, RJ-45 |
|
Display |
18-inch mini-LED, 3840 x 2400, 1000 nits, 120 Hz, dual-mode to 1080p at 240 Hz, H-Sync, Advanced Optimus |
|
Audio |
Predator Vox six-speaker array, DTS:X Ultra |
|
Camera |
FHD webcam |
|
Size |
15.8 x 12.1 x 0.68~1.2 inches (400.96 x 307.9 x 17.3~29.55 mm) |
|
Weight |
7.7 pounds (3.5 kg) |
Rounding out the laptop is an 18-inch 4K mini-LED display with a resolution of 3840 x 2400 (16:10). Acer claims the panel can reach 1,000 nits, and it allows you to switch between 4K and 1080p resolutions, either at 120 Hz for 4K or 240 Hz for 1080p. The display supports Nvidia G-Sync and Advanced Optimus to leverage the integrated GPU when you’re away from the charger. Powering audio is an array of six speakers under Acer’s Predator Vox branding, along with support for DTS:X Ultra.
On the key deck, Acer is offering a mechanical keyboard with its Predator MagKey 4.0 switches, allowing you to swap key caps on some switches. You can also deck out the lighting with per-key RGB. Acer hasn’t announced pricing or availability for the laptop yet, but given the current state of DRAM and NAND prices, the Helios 18 AI will likely start at several thousand dollars.
The Acer Nitro 16 is smaller in both size and specs, but it still packs in some powerful hardware. Taking the CPU slot is either the Ryzen 9 9955HX or 9955HX3D, the latter of which we’ve only seen in a handful of devices. The Nitro 16 doesn’t support an RTX 5090, but Acer is still offering the laptop with up to an RTX 5070 Ti mobile GPU with 12GB of GDDR7 VRAM.
|
CPU |
AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX or Ryzen 9 9955HX3D |
|
GPU |
Up to Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti mobile |
|
Memory |
Up to 32GB DDR5-5600 |
|
Storage |
Up to 2 TB, two PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD slots |
|
Battery |
92 Wh |
|
Wireless |
Intel Killer Ethernet E3100G, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 |
|
Ports |
1x USB 4 Type-C, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 1x USB 2.0 Type-A, HDMI 2.1, microSD card reader, 3.5mm audio, RJ-45 |
|
Display |
16-inch, 2560 x 1600, 240 Hz refresh rate, G-Sync, Advanced Optimus |
|
Audio |
Stereo speakers with DTS:X Ultra |
|
Camera |
FHD webcam |
|
Size |
14 x 10.8 x 0.87~1.1 inches (356.78 x 275.5 x 22.05~27.95 mm) |
|
Weight |
5.5 pounds (2.5 kg) |
Compared to the Helios 18 AI, everything is more sensible. You can pack up to 32GB of DDR5-5600 memory, and up to 2 TB of storage across two PCIe 4.0 slots. Connectivity is still decent with a USB 4 Type-C port, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, a single USB 2.0 port, HDMI 2.1, a microSD card slot, 3.5 mm headphone jack, and an RJ-45 connector. Wireless connectivity is still provided through an Intel chipset, sporting Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.
For the display, you get a 16-inch 2560 x 1600 (16:10) panel with a 240 Hz refresh rate, with claimed response times of 3 ms, alongside Nvidia G-Sync and Advanced Optimus. Acer includes two speakers with DTS:X Ultra, alongside a Full HD webcam. Like the Predator Helios 18 AI, we don’t have pricing or availability details for the Nitro 16 yet, but Acer describes it as “a value-driven powerhouse,” so hopefully it won’t be too expensive.
Acer Nitro Blaze Link, Aethon 750 TKL, and Robust Plus
Alongside the two laptops, Acer revealed a handful of new companion devices. Chief among them is the Nitro Blaze Link, which is a streaming-only handheld that’s designed to work on your home network. The handheld uses the streaming clients Sunshine or Moonlight on top of a Debian-based OS to stream games from your main rig. The handheld isn’t capable of running games locally (at least not officially). Acer hasn’t shared what chip is powering the handheld, but with just 1 GB of LPDDR4-2133 and 8 GB of eMMC flash storage, you shouldn’t expect much.
Without any real compute under the hood, the Nitro Blaze Link is light at only 464 grams, or just a smidge over 1 pound. It charges with just 15W over USB-C and includes a single-cell 18 Wh battery, alongside a Wi-Fi 6 antenna. The screen is a 7-inch 1920 x 1200 display with five-point multi-touch, and you get a pair of built-in 2W speakers. Again, Acer hasn’t shared pricing or availability for the Nitro Blaze Link.
Outside of mobile devices, Acer has the Aethon 750 TKL and Robust Plus backpack. The Aethon 750 TKL is described as a “tournament-grade keyboard,” matching the specs we’ve seen from devices from brands like Razer and Logitech, among the best gaming keyboards. The TKL keyboard features three modes of connectivity, including wired, 2.4 GHz, and Bluetooth, and it comes with a speedy 8,000 Hz polling rate.
Finally, there’s the Predator Robust Plus backpack, which is, well, a backpack that can fit up to an 18-inch laptop. It looks robust enough, pun intended, but the unique offering is an integrated passthrough cable for charging your devices from an external power bank. There are plenty of backpacks with a cable passthrough, but if you want to deck out your travel setup with all Acer gear, you can.
Computex 2026 is just getting underway, and Tom’s Hardware is on the ground in Taipei to check out all of the latest announcements. Hopefully, we’ll be able to see Acer’s latest devices in the flesh, alongside reveals from several other brands.
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