Predator Control

A lightweight, open-source replacement for PredatorSense on Acer Predator laptops. Built with C# and WinForms, it sits in your system tray and gives you direct control over your laptop's performance, fans, display and keyboard RGB — without the bloat.

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Features

• Power Modes — Silent, Balanced, Performance, Turbo, Eco (auto-switches with power state)
• Fan Control — Auto, Max, Custom
• Display Refresh Rate — Toggle between 60 Hz and your panel's max Hz
• Keyboard RGB — 8 lighting modes (Static, Breathing, Neon, Wave, Shifting, Zoom, Meteor, Twinkling) with brightness and speed control
• Live CPU/GPU temperatures in the title bar
• System tray — full control without opening the window
• Remembers your settings across reboots via the registry
• Runs on startup automatically

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Requirements

• Acer Predator laptop (uses Acer's AcerGamingFunction WMI interface)
• Windows 10 or 11
• .NET 10 Runtime — download from dotnet.microsoft.com
• Must be run as Administrator

Note: This app has only been tested on one specific Predator model. It may or may not work on yours. Check the disclaimer at the bottom.

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Download

Go to the Releases page and download the latest PredatorControlApp.exe. Right-click → Run as administrator.

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Building from Source

1. Install .NET 10 SDK
2. Clone this repo
3. Open PredatorControlApp.slnx in Visual Studio 2022+, or run:

   dotnet build
   

4. The output is in PredatorControlApp/bin/Debug/net10.0-windows/

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Replacing PredatorSense — Full Setup Guide

This app communicates directly with Acer's WMI driver (which is part of Windows, not PredatorSense), so you can safely disable PredatorSense and all its background services.

Step 0 — Configure Custom Fans (Do this first!)

Since setting arbitrary custom fan speeds dynamically via WMI is extremely complex and model-dependent, this app commands the driver to switch to the hardware "Custom" fan profile, which inherits whatever custom fan speed or curve was last saved on the system.

Before disabling PredatorSense:

1. Open PredatorSense.
2. Go to Fan Control and set your Custom fan speeds or curves exactly as you want them.
3. Apply the settings.
4. Close PredatorSense.

Once set, our app's Custom fan setting will use this saved curve even after PredatorSense is completely disabled.

Step 1 — Disable PredatorSense Services

Open Services (Win + R → type services.msc → Enter) and set the following services to Disabled:

Service Name	What it does
Acer Gaming Service	PredatorSense background daemon
Acer Quick Access Service	Hotkey management (Fn keys)
AcerService	Core Acer system service
Acer Power Button Service	Hardware button handling

For each service:

1. Double-click it
2. Set Startup type to Disabled
3. Click Stop if it's running
4. Click OK

Note: The WMI driver that actually controls hardware (power modes, fans, RGB) is separate from these services and remains active — that's what this app uses.

Step 2 — Disable PredatorSense from Startup

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager
2. Click the Startup apps tab
3. Find PredatorSense and any other Acer apps
4. Right-click → Disable

Step 3 — Remove PredatorSense from Startup Registry (optional, thorough)

1. Press Win + R, type regedit, press Enter
2. Navigate to:

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
   

3. Delete any entries related to PredatorSense, AcerGaming, or Acer
4. Also check:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
   

Step 4 — Make Predator Control Run on Startup Instead

This app registers itself on startup automatically the first time it runs. It launches with the -hidden flag so it starts directly in the system tray without showing the window.

To verify it's registered:

1. Open regedit
2. Navigate to:

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
   

3. You should see a PredatorControl entry pointing to the app's .exe

If it's not there, just run the app once as Administrator and it will self-register.

Step 5 — Uninstall PredatorSense (optional)

If you want to fully remove it:

1. Open Settings → Apps → Installed apps
2. Search for PredatorSense
3. Click the three dots → Uninstall

Do this after confirming Predator Control works correctly for you. Keep PredatorSense installed as a fallback until you're happy.

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How It Works

The app talks directly to the AcerGamingFunction WMI class in the root\WMI namespace — the same low-level interface PredatorSense uses under the hood. No Acer background services are required.

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Disclaimer

This app was built with the assistance of AI tools.

It has been tested on one system only (an Acer Predator (Helios Neo 16) running Windows 11). Compatibility with other Predator models, Windows versions, or hardware configurations is not guaranteed.

Use at your own risk. Any issues, damage, or unexpected behavior that occurs as a result of using this app are solely your responsibility. The author provides no warranty, support, or guarantee of any kind.

If something breaks — reflash your BIOS, reinstall PredatorSense, or restore from a backup. That's on you.

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Strictly Not for Sale

This is a free, open-source utility created for the community.

• It is strictly prohibited to sell this software, bundle it with commercial products, or use it for any commercial sales/marketing.
• If you paid for this software, you have been scammed. Please report the seller and demand a refund.
• Unauthorized commercial distribution or sale of this software will lead to immediate take-down requests and legal consequences.

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License

MIT — do whatever you want with it.