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| Acer Nitro 5 |
SPECIFICATIONS
Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 3550H (2.1 GHz to 3.7 GHz)
Graphics Adapter: AMD Radeon RX 560X, 4 GB VRAM
Memory: 8 GB (2 x 4 GB DDR4-2400)
Display: 15.6 inch, 1920 x 1080p, IPS, 60 Hz
Storage: 256 GB PCIe SSD + 1 TB 2.5 inch HDD
Weight: 2.158 kg
Others: WiFi, Bluetooth, 720p webcam
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| Nitro 5 Specs |
DESIGN
The Acer Nitro 5 is a distinct gaming laptop with an angular design and red accents. However, the gaming aesthetic is toned-down a bit, with less red accents than its predecessor in favor of a more professional look. The laptop wouldn't pass for an executive laptop, but I wouldn't be ashamed pulling this one out on a class or a meeting. The thin screen bezels also help in making the laptop look more modern. The laptop itself is portable enough, coming in at just over an inch, 1.063 inches thick to be exact, and weighing in at 2.158 kg, which is on par with other laptops in this price range.
The chassis of the laptop is made of plastic, which is to be expected in this price range. The build quality is decent, with minimal flex on the keyboard deck, but with a little more give on the lid. The hinge feels sturdy as well.
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| The Nitro 5's lid is very understated |
PORTS
The selection of ports on this laptop is decent. You probably wouldn't need to use a dongle on this one.
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| Left Hand Side - Kensington Lock, Ethernet Jack, HDMI, USB Type-C, 2 x USB 3.0 |
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| Right Hand Side - Headphone/Microphone Combo Jack, USB 2.0, Power Input |
DISPLAY
The Nitro 5's 15.6 inch, Full-HD LCD Display is decent, It is a sharp display with decent color reproduction, decent brightness and wide viewing angles. It is fine for gaming and everyday use, but won't satisfy professionals who need a very accurate display. My unit is with a 60 Hz panel but there are models with a 120 Hz panel. If you have an option, go for the 120 Hz one if it isn't priced much higher. The hardware on this configuration certainly is not powerful enough for 120 Hz gaming, but the added smoothness is very welcome in everyday tasks such as browsing the web.
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| Notice the Thin Screen Bezels |
KEYBOARD AND TOUCHPAD
The Nitro 5's keyboard includes a dedicated numpad on the right, which shifts the keyboard a little bit to the left. It will take some getting used to if your not used to using a laptop with a dedicated numpad. But once you get used to the layout, the keyboard offers a pleasant experience. The keyboard is responsive and the keyboard travel is not too shallow. The red backlight of the keyboard is a welcome feature since the red colored keys are hard to see, even in a well lit environment. However, it would've been better to have a white backlight, in a usability standpoint. But I understand acer's decision to stick with red backlight for a design consistency. Overall, the keyboard is decent and is very usable.
The touchpad on the other hand is a mixed bag. It is accurate and all of Windows gestures work just fine. The touchpad clicks anywhere as there are no dedicated left and right mouse buttons. However, it is very mushy and is very hard to click on certain parts of the touchpad. It isn't a big deal though if you don't physically click on the touchpad or you regularly use a mouse.
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| Nitro 5's Keyboard and Touchpad |
PERFORMANCE
My unit comes with a Ryzen 5 3550H CPU, Radeon RX 560X GPU, and 8 GB of dual channel RAM. This configuration certainly is not the most powerful, but is still mostly enough for 1080p gaming, provided that you don't mind lowering the graphics settings. All games testing was done on maximum fans, which is pretty loud. The Nitro averaged 45 fps on The Witcher 3 on medium settings. On esports titles like CS: GO, Rocket League, and Overwatch, the Nitro got at least 60 fps on high settings. This shows that the Nitro is very capable when it comes to esports titles. But on AAA titles, lowering the graphics settings is a must in order to achieve playable performance. The CPU and the GPU on the Nitro didn't get too hot when playing games, with the CPU peaking at 85 degree celsius and the GPU peaking at 75 degree celsius, which are decent results.
System performance outside of gaming is really good. Booting up Windows and opening applications are extremely fast thanks to the SSD used. I also didn't encounter any problems running common applications such as Chrome and Microsoft Office.
BATTERY LIFE AND EXTRAS
The Acer Nitro 5 is equipped with a 57 Wh battery and the battery life is decent but not great. I'm getting 5 to 6 hours of normal use and about 1 hour when gaming on battery. You should definitely bring the charger if you plan on using it for the whole day.
The stereo speakers are about average in quality and it does get loud enough to fill an entire room, but gets a little tinny on high volumes. I would still recommend to use a decent pair of headphones for multimedia use and gaming.
The WiFi connection has been less than stellar. It does it's job for the most part but expect some hiccups every now and then. There are times in which it loses connection and requires a reboot to fix. It is very rare but is really annoying when it happens.
CONCLUSION
This AMD variant of the Acer Nitro 5 is a great budget gaming laptop, capable of playing most titles on medium to high settings, and offers better value than most competing gaming laptops in the Philippines. It is also a great laptop all-around, offering a good build quality, decent display, very usable input devices and plenty of ports, while still being fairly portable. For P36,495, you can't go wrong with the Acer Nitro 5.
WHAT I LIKED:
*Great Value
*Good Performance
*Plenty of Ports
*Good Thermals
WHAT I DIDN'T:
*Below Average Touchpad
*Bad WiFi Connection
Reviewed By: Gani
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