There are two models of the Triton 14, both of which incorporate an Intel Core i7-13700H CPU and 16GB RAM. The entry model (PT14-51-78B4) is nominally $1,500 but discounted to just under $1,200 at the moment and comes equipped with a 512GB SSD, GeForce RTX 4050 GPU and 1,900×1,200 165Hz display. I’ve seen it as low as $850, though, which is a great price for it. The higher-end model I tested bumps that up to a 1TB SSD, RTX 4070 GPU and 2,560×1,6000 mini LED screen with a dynamically switchable 125Hz/250Hz refresh rate and DisplayHDR 600 certification. It lists for about $2,000 but is currently going for to $1,600. That’s a good price for what you get.
Acer Predator Triton 14 (2023, PT14-51)
Price as reviewed
$2,000
Display
14-inch 2,560×1,600 250/125Hz DisplayHDR 600
CPU
2.4GHz Intel Core i7-13700H
Memory
16GB LPDDR5-6400 (soldered)
Graphics
8GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 105W
Storage
1TB NVME SSD, Micro SD slot
Ports
1 x HDMI, 2 x USB-A, 1 x USB-C/Thunderbolt 4
Networking
Killer Wi-Fi 6E AX1675i, Bluetooth 5.3
Operating system
Microsoft Windows 11 Home 22H2
Weight
3.8 lbs/1.7kg
The laptop’s design doesn’t stand out from the crowd as especially good or bad. It’s got a relatively chunky profile for a 14-inch, but the lid opens out to almost flat; the full range of obtuse angles gives you a lot of leeway when trying to find a good angle on your lap, for instance. The keyboard travel feels a little shallow but responsive, and the bright, per-key RGB lighting can be a bit of a pain to configure — Acer’s PredatorSense software has essential monitoring, power configuration and lighting controls, but it could use a facelift.
The vents on either side push the ports to the middle.
Lori Grunin/CNET
The touchpad is a bit small but serviceable, with an old-fashioned embedded fingerprint reader. Though it has a 1080p webcam, it’s pretty mediocre.
I’ve never been a fan of the type of port and power connection layout the laptop uses; the vents on the sides push the connectors to the middle of the sides — I hate it when the power connector is in the middle of the side, because it gets in my way, and I’d have liked a second USB-C port, even if it wasn’t Thunderbolt.
Gamut (% coverage)
White point
Gamma
Peak brightness (10% window, nits)
Full screen peak brightness (nits)
Accuracy (DE2K average/max)
SDR
98% P3, 147% sRGB, 92% Adobe RGB
6500K
2.0
680
442
2.4/3.5
HDR
98% P3
6550K
n/a
680
710
n/a
It does hit the common 6500K white point, which I find can be hit and miss with mini LED backlights, which is nice. It gets as bright as required by the DHDR 600 spec. HDR has the same too-bright shadow areas, which means video doesn’t look as great as you’d expect, but it’s still very good.
The screen has a high refresh rate of 250Hz — you can actually set it to 125Hz, 250Hz or to dynamically switch between the two (in addition to a 60Hz setting) in SDR; in HDR you don’t have the 125Hz option It’s not variable refresh, but you can use G-Sync to control it if you want that. I did see some flicker at both refresh rates, so if you’re sensitive to that, I suggest you avoid mini LED.
Laptops with newer-generation CPUs may deliver better performance but not substantially since Intel’s H series processors don’t have any major technology changes from 13th to 14th generations. It fares well, outperforming some larger models; it helps that the GPU can run at as much as 105 watts, at the higher end of the RTX 4070’s scale.
There’s a big performance drop when running on battery, which isn’t uncommon but something to be prepared for. And its battery life isn’t great.
The 2023 Predator Triton 14 isn’t the glitziest gaming laptop, but if you can find it at a good price as the 14th-gen models come to market, it can be a great deal.
