A review of the on sale Acer Nitro 5 gaming laptop

February 15, 2021

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There are not many gaming laptops out there that are around the $500 mark (other than refurbished or used) The Acer Nitro 5 is a budget friendly gaming laptop is a rare exception. This laptop comes with an AMD Ryzen 5 2500U quad core CPU with Vega 8 integrated graphics, so it’s got a 2GHz base clock and a 3.6GHz max boost. 8 GB of RAM that can be upgraded a vacant M.2 slot is, while the single 2.5 inch drive bay has a 1TB hard drive installed. For gaming it has a Radeon RX 560X with 4GB of memory which runs the 15.6” 1080p 60Hz IPS panel.

For network connectivity there’s a gigabit ethernet port, support for 802.11ac WiFi and Bluetooth (all pretty standard stuff) .

Build, Body & Ports

The Nitro 5 has a grooved black plastic carbon fiber pattern on top and a similar smooth pattern on the interior. The build quality is nothing special as it is made fully of plastic so be careful not to bump or drop it too much. Size wise it is 39cm in width, 26.8cm in depth, and 2.66cm in height, which is around average for a 15″ laptop. It is not light weight (sorry students) as it wights just a little under 6lbs. The power brick also adds a bit of weight so again, sorry students.

There is some flex to the screen while pushing it but it still has a sturdy fell as it is made of thick plastic. The hinges are out towards the far left and right corners which aids in stability. The keyboard was pretty good to type with and it’s red back lighting which can only be turned on or off using the function and F9 keys. However its backlight is a bit blah as there are no effects, other colours, or levels of dimness, it’s either red lighting on or off. Personally I am not a fan of the smooth touchpad as I prefer designated left and right keys but the touchpad does work smoothly.

On the left there’s a Kensington lock, gigabit ethernet port, USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-C port, no thunderbolt support, HDMI output, USB 3.0 Type-A port, and SD card slot. On the right there’s a 3.5mm audio combo jack, two USB 2.0 Type-A ports, status LEDsand the power input. On the back there’s just an air exhaust vent towards one side along with Nitro branding on the top red plastic, while the front is just smooth plastic. On the back of the black carbon fiber lid there’s the Acer logo in the center with a mirrored finish. Fingerprints don’t show up too well on the lid as it’s a textured surface, however they show up quite easily on the inside, though as a smoother surface they are easy to wipe away.

Display

The Acer Nitro 5 has a 15.6 inch 1080p 60Hz IPS panel. Its IPS panel viewing angles were average at best with the screen looking darker at some angles. It has a 64% of sRGB, 46% of NTSC and 48% of AdobeRGB, which is ok for gaming but less than ideal for editing work. At 100% brightness I measured the panel at 276 nits in the center, and with a 920:1 contrast ratio. Thie brightness is great for indoor use, and use able outside. There is a little backlight bleed in some units but nothing major.

Upgrades

On the bottom of the laptop there are two panels, each have just one screw to open, giving you easy access to the 2.5 inch drive bay and memory slots for easy upgradability. The rest of the base comes off by taking out the remaining 14 screws with a Phillips head screw driver, and this gives access to the WiFi card, battery and single M.2 slot (I strongly suggest adding an SSD).

Battery Life

As expected from a gaming laptop, the battery life is awful. Under general use you are able to get a little over 3 hours of use then you have to run to the nearest outlet. When gaming and and the Radeon RX 560X kicks in you will be lucky to get an hour and a half of gaming done. As expected though when gaming on battery power the FPS will be a bit lower than when plugged into an outlet.

Performance

While the fan noise is noticeable when it is idle it nothing major but you will definitely notice them while gaming. While this may not be ideal it does keep the laptop relatively cool.

Benchmarks

Game	Settings	FPS
PUBG	Very low	55
Fortnite	medium	58
Rainbow Six Siege	Ultra	100+
Overwatch	Ultra	60
Battlefield 1	High	60

All games were tested at 1080p

For a laptop near the $500 mark these results are pretty decent. I would definitely recommend this as a gaming laptop if you are on a tight budget as it should be able to manage most games within reason at medium settings and get decent fps. It does not have premium build quality but again, remember the price of the product.