The Acer Predator Helios 18 AI is down to $2,539.99, a $560 saving off its $3,099.99 comp value, and it represents the kind of spec sheet that leaves very little on the table. An RTX 5080 with GDDR7, a 24-core Intel Core Ultra 9, and a 250Hz Mini-LED panel at 1000 nits add up to a gaming laptop that doesn’t ask you to compromise anywhere that matters.
The RTX 5080 is the obvious headline, and the 16GB of GDDR7 backing it up is the detail worth paying attention to. GDDR7 delivers significantly higher memory bandwidth than GDDR6, which translates to better performance at higher resolutions and under demanding ray tracing workloads. DLSS 4 support extends that further, using AI-based frame generation to push frame rates well beyond what the hardware alone would produce.
The 18-inch Mini-LED panel on the Predator Helios 18 runs at 2560×1600, 250Hz, and 1000 nits with G-SYNC, which is the right screen for a machine at this price. Most gaming laptops in this bracket are still shipping IPS panels; the Mini-LED here is a meaningful step above in both brightness and contrast.
The Core Ultra 9 275HX is a 24-core processor that boosts to 5.4GHz, built for sustained workloads rather than brief peaks. Two of the four memory slots are occupied, leaving room to expand to 128GB, and three M.2 slots give the Helios 18 storage upgrade options that most laptops at any price don’t offer. Dual Thunderbolt 5 ports, Wi-Fi 7, and a 5GbE ethernet port round out a connectivity spec that holds up just as well at a desk as it does on the move.
RTX 5080 laptops are not cheap by any standard, but the Helios 18 packages that GPU with a display, processor, and connectivity spec that justifies the category. The $560 saving brings it to a price where the overall package is considerably harder to replicate from competing brands without spending more, and the Thunderbolt 5 and 5GbE ethernet give it a longevity argument that pure gaming specs alone don’t always make.
The Acer Predator Helios 18 AI at $2,539.99 is a no-compromise gaming laptop that delivers on every front. The RTX 5080 with GDDR7, 250Hz Mini-LED panel, 24-core processor, and Thunderbolt 5 connectivity add up to a machine that handles anything you put in front of it, and the $560 saving makes the decision easier than the price tag might initially suggest.
Imagine tapping a Zelda icon on your iPhone and jumping straight into Hyrule. A new open-source project called nxnative makes that possible by repackaging Switch games you’ve bought into apps for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, with no emulator in the middle.
Why does this run so well on Apple devices?
The Call of Duty franchise has held a special place in my heart ever since I played my first Black Ops game back in 2010. That game's campaign was something else, with twists and turns that culminated in a mind-blowing finale. We can all admit that compared to those older campaigns, the recent CODs have been lackluster at best, and a complete and utter disappointment at worst. The reboot of Modern Warfare did give me some hope, as the first two installments were actually quite good, but the third game left such a bad taste in my mouth that I wasn’t exactly expecting much from Modern Warfare 4.
After recently finishing the campaign, I can say that this installment is nothing like the recent releases and instead feels closer to the franchise’s roots. For the first time in a long while, the campaign comes across as well-crafted rather than rushed to hit a release date. It arrives three years after MW3, and you can see exactly where all that time went. It seems the studio finally made listening to player feedback a priority.
Epic Games has just announced the 2026 Epic AI MegaJam, which is looking to see how much game development can be squeezed into a very short window. This is running from November 12 through November 15.
Participants can work alone or in teams of up to five people, build in Unreal Engine or Unreal Editor for Fortnite, and bring along “as many AI agents as you want.” Epic explicitly encourages coding agents, AI-generated assets, audio tools, writing tools, and other AI systems. The official event page literally says "Vibe your way to $50k.”