Shane
If you’re a serious PC gamer you’ve no doubt heard of the Predator that’s ready to do battle, just as you are.
Acer’s gaming laptop Predator series is one in the top echelons of pro gamer gear.
So when a non Predator gaming laptop is released by Acer, you can bet it’s got what it takes to be a worthy weapon on the gaming device market.
Introducing the new Acer Nitro 5 gaming laptop, built for serious game time without the hefty price tag.
When you first get the box, it understates just what is inside.
Sure accessories are minimal, there’s the laptop, charger and a keyboard cover, but one look over the Acer Nitro 5 you’ll see from its markings you have something that means business.
Under the hood you’ve got a 4GB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 dedicated graphics card, 16GB DDR4 RAM with 12th Gen i7 Intel processors crunching data @ 2.7 GHz or turbo mode @ 4.5 GHz.
The 512GB SSD was a little disappointing. Given that Windows 11 chomps some of that up and there’s a recovery partition already set, you’ll need to invest in an external drive if your PC games library has more than a couple of Triple AAA titles.
The chiclet keyboard has your playing keys already accented and the red backlighting is a nice touch.
Audio wise the Acer Nitro 5 actually sounds real good via the laptop speakers. Better than most gaming laptops I’ve tried, but using compatible headphones will give you 7.1 surround.
Acer haven’t skimped on ports either. You’ve got a 3.5 mm headphone / mic port, a generous array of three USB-A ports on the sides, LAN socket, USB-C and HDMI at the back with a proprietary mains plug. No Display Adaptor port though.
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card never skipped a beat through my run through of some heavy weight games.
And if you’re a content creator, the Acer Nitro 5 is multipurpose for you. Being able to render out 4K video and high resolution graphics in no time.
Most PC gamers that I know who have a gaming laptop use it like a desktop with the added benefit of being able to fold it and take it to a mates house every now and then.
On a desk you’ll be fine, if you prefer to actually place the laptop on your lap be prepared for some heat.
A couple of games got the Acer Nitro 5 a bit warm, God of War, Ratchet and Clank to name a couple.
While the Acer Nitro 5 does have some very impressive vents at the back there was still enough warmth on a few games for me to think I should probably use this on a desk.
The 15.6 inch Screen has larger than expected bezels top, bottom and sides.
However the quality of the visuals is high and you’ll get a refresh rate of 144 Hz with up to 1920 x 1080 resolution and 16:9 ratio.
Battery life was pleasing. Even on the larger games the Acer Nitro 5 was able to keep up the pace for around 5 hours.
If you use this laptop for other life stuff as well as gaming, you’ll be sweet for hours on a full charge.
In all the Acer Nitro 5 gives you boom for your dollars without you needing to spend an other worldly sum to keep up with the other serious PC gamers and esports contenders out there.
With a super sleek look on the outside and grunt on the inside, the Acer Nitro 5 has got what it takes for you to be gaming like a pro this holiday season and beyond.
Released: October 2023
Device Name: Acer Nitro 5
Processor: Intel i7 (12th Gen)
Memory: 16GB
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050
Internal Storage: 512GB
