Acer just launched the Predator Triton 500 in Malaysia. Touted as a slim and light gaming laptop, this is definitely a premium product, and that, of course, comes with a matching price tag. However, even though the Triton 500 is not the most affordable gaming machine, it offers plenty of value for money.

For its asking price, you’re getting a powerful, sleek, thin, and light gaming laptop. I played around with the Triton 500 for a while at its launch event earlier today, and I was left very impressed. Here’s why you should seriously consider this laptop if you’re looking to get a new gaming machine.

There are several configurations of the Predator Triton 500 in Malaysia, so let’s start with the base model – my personal favourite model. Retailing at RM6,799, the most affordable model features an Intel Core i5-8300H processor and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 GPU.

A tier up is the RM7,599 model, which swaps out the Core i5 processor for a Core i7-8750H chip. The range-topping model, on the other hand, features the same Core i7 processor, and a more powerful RTX 2070 GPU. How much does this variant cost? RM8,699.

Beyond the processor and GPU configuration, other hardware of the Triton 500 are exactly the same across the different models. All three variants feature 15.6-inch 1920 x 1080 IPS displays with 144Hz refresh rate, 512GB of fast PCIe NVMe SSD storage (two 256GB SSDs in Raid 0 configuration), 16GB of DDR4 RAM, and Windows 10 Home out of the box.

This, in turn, makes the base model of the Triton 500 an attractive option. No other gaming laptop at this price point can offer the same hardware configuration, let alone the portability and premium build quality of the Triton 500.

Despite packing a large 15.6-inch display, the Triton 500 is surprisingly portable; similar in size to a smaller, conventional 14-inch laptop, I would say. Thanks to its small screen bezels, the overall dimension of the laptop can be reduced accordingly. However, it does have a noticeable chin at the bottom of the display.

What about the display quality of the Triton 500? Excellent. The IPS panel has vibrant colours, great viewing angles, and good brightness level. The matte finish of the screen should help with glare too, and I absolutely love the fast 144Hz refresh rate. Compared to standard 60Hz displays, you will notice significant improvement in image clarity (especially in fast moving scenes) and fluidity when you’re using this laptop.

Measuring merely 17.9mm thick, the Triton 500 is a very, very thin gaming laptop. On top of that, it weighs only 2.1kg too, making it one of the lightest gaming laptops with an RTX 2060 GPU. That being said, the thin chassis of the Triton 500 may be a cause for concern – the laptop’s cooling system has to be robust enough to effectively cool down the machine’s various components in heated gaming sessions.

Build quality is also the Triton 500’s strong suit. Most of the laptop is made out of metal, and I can open the laptop’s lid with only one finger. This may only be a small – insignificant, even, to certain folks – thing, but it does speak volume to the Triton 500’s build quality. It feels robust, solid, and I love the minimalist look of the laptop.

But there is one design element of the Triton 500 that is a bit of a letdown: the bezel surrounding the display is made out of plastic. Don’t get me wrong, the plastic bezel doesn’t feel cheap or anything like that, but it does detract from the laptop’s premium aesthetics.

In terms of gaming performance, I only managed to play a quick round of Fortnite with the Triton 500, and it ran extremely well. Not only can the RTX 2060 GPU run the game effortlessly, the laptop’s fast 144Hz display also make for a truly enjoyable gaming experience.

Sure, Fortnite isn’t a terribly demanding game, but don’t discount the RTX 2060’s capability. It’s a really good GPU, and at 1080p resolution, I’m confident this GPU can deliver good frame rate in most modern titles at maximum graphics settings. You’re also getting other RTX features like ray tracing and Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) with this GPU.

To game effectively, you’ll need a good keyboard, and the Triton 500 has a reasonably good keyboard. While it doesn’t have particularly long key travel (making the keyboard feel shallow), the keys don’t feel “mushy.” They have good tactile feedback, which can provide a good typing and gaming experience.

Of course, this wouldn’t be a gaming laptop if it doesn’t have some form of RGB lighting. That’s right, it has an RGB keyboard, and I quite dig the slightly see-through WASD keycap.

Trackpads on most gaming laptops are usually horrible, but to my surprise, that’s not the case with the Triton 500. My fingers can glide effortlessly on the surface of the trackpad, and it is pretty darn accurate. In fact, I’d say this trackpad is better than most productivity-focused Windows laptops.

The Acer Predator Triton 500 is easily one of the most impressive thin and light gaming laptops I’ve seen for a while now. It’s powerful, it has a fast 144Hz display, and it’s a very sleek-looking laptop in a compact form factor – I definitely wouldn’t mind lugging this laptop around in my backpack.

Yes, the Triton 500 is not affordable, but it is a premium gaming laptop. Most RTX 2060 laptops are similarly priced anyway, but not many of them can match this laptop’s feature set, especially the base model.

If you want a compact, powerful, premium 15.6-inch gaming laptop, the Triton 500 is a very good option. I will be reviewing this gaming laptop extensively over the next few weeks, and I absolutely cannot wait to put it through its paces.