I’ve always loved the idea of compact gaming laptops, but most of the time, they do cost quite a bit of money. While the Predator Helios Neo 14 isn’t a particularly affordable machine either, it does offer good value for money; that’s the unique selling point of the Predator Helios series, after all.

That is precisely why I’m quite fond of the Helios Neo 14. Although its build quality isn’t quite up to par (though it’s not horrible) with more premium gaming laptops from the Taiwanese brand like the Predator Triton 14, it does offer great performance for the money in a compact form factor.

Plus, it’s one of very few gaming laptops featuring a 14.5-inch display with 16:10 aspect ratio, which is a good selling point in my books.

What It Is

Although the Predator Helios Neo 14 carries a suggested retail price of RM7,799, its price has gone down quite a bit since its release a few months back. Now, the compact gaming laptop can be easily purchased for as low as RM7,168 from renowned retailer Tech Hypermart.

This does make the Helios Neo 14 that much more compelling, especially for a laptop this compact with a reasonably capable RTX 4060 GPU and a fast Core Ultra 9 185H processor. Oh, it’s worth noting that there is also an RTX 4070 model for RM8,268 if you want even better performance.

The Good Stuff

As the Predator Helios Neo 14 is first and foremost a gaming laptop, let’s talk about its gaming performance first. Powered by the aforementioned RTX 4060 GPU and Core Ultra 9 185H processor, the laptop can run AAA games at its native WQXGA+ resolution without any issue. Judge for yourself with these game benchmarks:

Sure, these titles can’t quite run at the display’s maximum 165Hz refresh rate, but not many AAA games can hit this level of frame rate at the laptop’s native resolution either. If you want higher frame rates, you can always lower the resolution; I find that most games still look good visually at 1080p on the laptop.

Speaking of which, further enhancing the gaming experience of the Helios Neo 14 is the 14.5-inch 3072 x 1920 IPS display. Not only can it produce bright, vibrant colours with wide viewing angles, the 16:10 aspect ratio – which isn’t found on many gaming laptops this size – also makes it great for both gaming and productivity tasks.

And that is a good segue to the battery life of the Neo 14. On average, I can get between five to six hours of use out of the 76Wh battery on a typical workday. I got this level of battery life with the power plan set to battery saver and the display dimmed to a comfortable level.

While this isn’t fantastic battery life by any means, it’s definitely above average for a gaming laptop with such beefy hardware under the hood.

I’m also quite happy with the keyboard and trackpad of the Helios Neo 14. The trackpad is quite accurate with a smooth surface for my fingers to glide on, and the keyboard is largely pleasant to use as well. While I do wish the key actuation feels less mushy, at least there’s enough key travel to provide a comfortable typing experience.

Last but not least is the compact form factor and overall build quality of the Neo 14 despite the liberal use of plastic. Beyond the metal top and bottom lids, other parts of the laptop are made of plastic, including the palm rest area and screen bezel. While this does affect the overall perceived quality of the Neo 14, it does not feel cheaply constructed.

The Bad Stuff

My biggest qualm with the Helios Neo 14 is its system noise. When gaming for prolonged periods of time in turbo mode, the fans spin up quite a bit. While it doesn’t get obscenely loud, it’s certainly not pleasant either. On the bright side, at least the laptop is quiet when I’m doing productivity tasks.

Thermal performance of the Neo 14 could be better too. Don’t get me wrong, there’s no notable thermal throttling; it’s just that the keyboard gets relatively warm in longer gaming sessions. Thankfully, the palm rest area remains reasonably cool to the touch.

Is It Worth It?

Given that the Predator Helios Neo 14 with an RTX 4060 GPU can be purchased for as low as RM7,168 now, it’s certainly a gaming laptop worth shortlisting. While the system noise can get quite intrusive in heated gaming sessions, there’s no denying that it is a capable gaming machine in a compact form factor and a 16:10 display.

The compact nature of the Helios Neo 14 – while not sacrificing performance – is really the gaming laptop’s winning quality. While there are other similarly-sized gaming laptops in the market now (especially older generation models) that have better value for money, not many of them offer the 16:10 screen of the Neo 14.