At a stumble on
Educated’s Rating
ProsStrong CPU/GPU pairing for the priceRoomy 1TB SSD with room to be capable to add second driveDecent battery lifeQuiet operationConsPlastic chassis is pudgy and heftyDim displaySo-so keyboard and tiny touchpadTerrible webcamOur VerdictThe 17.3-disappear Acer Nitro 5 provides large performance and screen actual estate for the cash once you happen to may presumably maybe presumably be engaging to provide discontinuance with a clunky, plastic chassis.
Tag When Reviewed$1,199.99
Entirely Costs On the present time: Acer Nitro 5 AN517
When it’s most likely you’ll presumably maybe personal gotten shopped for a budget gaming laptop, then you certainly may presumably maybe presumably be seemingly familiar with Acer’s Nitro 5. Most Nitro 5 units are fixed with a 15.6-disappear new, but this Nitro 5 AN5174-2 model bumps out the screen to an substantial 17.3 inches. It would arrangement as no surprise after I repeat you that this better version is heftier and bulkier than the already hefty and pudgy 15-disappear dimension. And whereas the panel may presumably maybe presumably be better, it completely isn’t any brighter than the gloomy new we’ve experienced on the smaller model.
If getting the most bang for your 3D-pixel-pushing buck, nonetheless, is extra crucial than acquiring a graceful manufacture with a intellectual new, this Nitro 5 AN512 unit delivers competitive performance for a substantial tag. For a practical $1,199.99, our take a look at blueprint companies and products up an octa-core Ryzen 7 CPU from AMD’s most up-to-date 6000 series and a midrange GeForce RTX 3060 GPU. This mixture groups as a lot as place framerates every so frequently chanced on on extra dear methods.
Acer Nitro 5 specs and capabilities
Our take a look at model (AN517-42-R85S) is fixed with the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H CPU and GeForce RTX 3060 graphics. It’s on sale at MicroCenter for $1,199.99, which is $330 lower than its usual tag of $1,529.99. Here’s the longer spec listing:
CPU: Octa-core AMD Ryzen 7 6800HMemory: 16GBGraphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060Storage: 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSDDisplay: 17.3-disappear, 1920×1080, 144Hz IPS LCDWebcam: 720pConnectivity: 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Form-C, 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Form-A, 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Form-A, HDMI 2.1, ethernet, combo audio jack.Networking: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2Biometrics: NoneBattery ability: 96 Watt-hoursDimensions: 15.77 x 11.59 x 1.1 inchesMeasured weight: 6.6 kilos (laptop), 1.67 kilos (AC adapter)Tag: $1,199.99
Acer sells different 17.3-disappear Nitro 5 AN517-42 objects with the Ryzen 7 6800H CPU that vary in tag from $1,319.99 to $2,199.99. All are fixed with the Ryzen 6800H CPU and graphics alternate solutions vary from the RTX 3050 Ti to the RTX 3070. Two resolutions are offered for the 17.3-disappear new, both 1920×1080 or 2560×1440.
Mountainous and pudgy, but still
The Nitro 5 AN517 is a huge honkin’ laptop. It’s on the subject of 16 inches huge, extra than 11 inches deep, over an disappear thick and pointers the scales at 6.75 kilos. And its large, 280-watt vitality brick provides one other 1.67 kilos to the total carrying weight. Here is now now not a laptop for day-to-day and even frequent sprint.
The extra-substantial Nitro 5 follows the identical script as the extra total 15-disappear objects. Shadowy molded plastic principles the day. As smartly as to the same outdated crimson accents that the Nitro 5 has been rocking for some time now, this model has some faint blue accents on the lid collectively with the intellectual crimson accents. Commence the laptop up and it’s an all-matte-dim affair: dim-matte new bezels, dim-matte keyboard deck, and matte-dim keys. Breaking up the monochrome matte-dim stumble on are the perimeters of the keys, which will most doubtless be white. That lends a tiny little bit of a inequity and visible hobby to the total stumble on of the laptop.
IDG / Matthew Elliott
As smartly as to the perimeters of the keys, nine keys characteristic a white border on the discontinuance surface of the keycap. Eight of these keys are known to avid gamers: the four arrow keys and the WASD keys. The ninth key to acquire the white-border remedy is the “N” key above the numpad. It launches Acer’s NitroSense utility the build it’s most likely you’ll presumably maybe maybe presumably alter the laptop’s vitality mode and tempo of the cooling fans. You may as well customize the RGB keyboard backlighting across four zones. Pricier gaming laptops supply per-key lighting, however the four-zone keyboard lighting peaceable enables for enough alternate solutions to jazz up the stumble on of the Nitro 5.
IDG / Matthew Elliott
The keys themselves supply a tender, still actually feel but they discontinuance race a tiny bit once you happen to hit them off-center. I wish the keys were a tiny bit extra impregnable and no more aloof for a faster response. I also wish the touchpad were better. It seems to be comically tiny on the big expanse that is the laptop’s wrist relaxation. Though undersized, the touchpad felt ethical with a firm, like a flash click response.
IDG / Matthew Elliott
One just correct thing a pair of bigger, bulkier chassis is the laptop’s cooling fans are leaned on less to capture thermals in compare than they would presumably maybe presumably be on a extra compact enclosure. The Nitro 5 AN517’s fans kick in one day of video games and diverse intensive graphics tasks and may presumably maybe clearly be heard, but they operate at a teach one day of trendy Windows utilize.
Shadowy new, lousy audio system
The Nitro 5 AN517 is fixed with a roomy, 17.3-disappear 16:9 new. It’s on hand in both fleshy HD (1920×1080) or QHD (2560×1440) resolution. Ours capabilities the frail, which suits the RTX 3060 GPU that is easiest for 1080p gaming. While that you may be now now not seemingly to play video games at a bigger resolution with the midrange RTX 3060, the 1440p panel would produce the laptop extra versatile as the simpler resolution creates a finer image for added detailed media modifying and a bigger workspace for juggling a pair of home windows when the usage of the laptop for issues diverse than gaming.
The 1080p is enough, nonetheless, for this dimension of panel, leaving the lackluster brightness as the brand new’s greatest flaw. It’s a barely gloomy new with wearisome colors that is easiest suited for gaming in a basement or diverse darkish atmosphere. In my place of job that receives some pure light, I had the brand new brightness divulge to its max in any admire occasions and on the general tapped the brightness-up button in a ragged attempt and broaden it further.
IDG / Matthew Elliott
While many laptops personal made the transfer to a 1080p webcam that leads to clearly superior video conferencing, the Nitro 5 is stuck within the previous with a mediocre-at-easiest 720p camera. It produces a grainy image with dejected balance. Tiny print are speedily lost within the brightest and darkest parts of the image. The camera that you won’t are attempting to utilize with any substantial frequency also lacks a privateness duvet, which would protect you from prying eyes one day of the lengthy stretches when it’s now now not in utilize.
With out reference to getting room to outfit the blueprint with four audio system, the Nitro 5 serves up easiest a pair of unhealthy stereo audio system. With out subwoofers to round out the sound, the audio output is decidedly subpar. Bass changed into once all but nonexistent and the mids and high tones sounded muddied. Avid gamers, capture your headphones interior attain.
The port different is heavy on USB Form-A ports and light-weight on the Form-C vary, but at minimal it provides a minimal of one in every of every form. There is a pair of USB-A ports on the ethical facet and one other on the left. Flanking the USB-A port on the left facet is a headphone/mic jack and an Ethernet port.
IDG / Matthew Elliott
IDG / Matthew Elliott
The build may presumably maybe the USB-C port be, you quiz? Why, it’s on the support edge next to an HDMI port and the vitality connector. The USB-C port, nonetheless, would now not consist of Thunderbolt give a protect to.
IDG / Matthew Elliott
The laptop’s 1TB SSD provides large room to store your current video games within the community, and there’s a free M.2 slot within the event that you may be attempting to elongate your local storage with a second SSD. The blueprint also capabilities two DIMM slots, both of which will most doubtless be stuffed with 8GB sticks on our take a look at blueprint.
Performance
To build the Nitro 5 AN517’s performance into viewpoint, we pitted it in opposition to diverse gaming laptops with midrange RTX graphics, all of which characteristic Intel CPUs. The Acer Predator Triton 300 SE, Dell XPS 17 9720, and HP Victus 16 characteristic RTX 3060 graphics. Accurate below within the RTX pecking repeat is the RTX 3050 Ti-based completely mostly MSI Katana GF76 whereas the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro is one notch above with RTX 3070.
Sooner than we acquire to the correct stuff, we first walk PCMark 10, which measures performance on on a typical basis computing work including place of job productivity tasks, web browsing, and video chats. The Nitro 5 changed into once unable to capture tempo with its Intel opponents, all of which crested the 7,000 discover. That mentioned, all the methods right here — the Nitro 5 incorporated — are overqualified for stylish Windows utilize. Anecdotally, the Nitro 5 felt peppy one day of a form of multitasking eventualities with dozens and dozens of initiate Chrome tabs.
IDG / Matthew Elliott
Our HandBrake benchmark exams how a laptop is in a position to take care of crushing CPU loads over a lengthy period—on this case, transcoding a 30GB MKV file to a layout upright for Android pills the usage of HandBrake, the free video encoding utility. The Nitro 5 did greater on HandBrake than PCMark, ending within the heart of the pack and edging the Dell XPS 17, which capabilities Intel’s high-powered Core i7-12700H and the identical RTX 3060 GPU.
IDG / Matthew Elliott
Next up is Cinebench, one other CPU-intensive take a look at but one that renders a advanced 2D scene over a quick period of time. The Nitro 5 changed into once less competitive on Cinebench but did arrange to live out of final divulge.
IDG / Matthew Elliott
Graphics performance
After assessing the machine’s utility and multimedia performance, we now personal arrived at the correct stuff — gaming performance. Sooner than we acquire to the recreation themselves, we ran 3DMark’s Time Spy and Port Royal exams. The Nitro 5 did smartly on both exams, ending first amongst the RTX 3060 methods and trailing easiest the RTX 3070-based completely mostly Lenovo Legion 5 Pro.
IDG / Matthew Elliott
IDG / Matthew Elliott
Transferring on to actual-world video games, we first walk Upward push of the Tomb Raider at 1920×1080 resolution divulge to Very High and in DX11 mode. The Nitro 5 became in a actually playable framerate of 107 fps and changed into once yet once more at the head of the RTX 3060 pack. On the more moderen Shadow of the Tomb Raider at 1920×1080 resolution, the Nitro 5 averaged a powerful 106fps, which changed into once yet once more first amongst the RTX 3060 laptops. In the end, on the extra annoying Metro Exodus at 1920×1080 at the benchmark’s Rude preset, the Nitro 5 averaged 31fps, which changed into once ethical fixed with the diverse RTX 3060 laptops and behind the 50 fps of the RTX 3070-based completely mostly Lenovo Legion 5 Pro.
IDG / Matthew Elliott
IDG / Matthew Elliott
IDG / Matthew Elliott
To take a look at a laptop’s battery existence, we loop a 4K video the usage of Windows 11’s Movies & TV app, with the laptop divulge to Airplane mode and earbuds plugged in. We divulge the screen brightness at a barely intellectual 250 nits to 260 nits, which is a correct brightness for staring at a movie in an place of job with the lights on. The Nitro 5’s large 96 watt-hour battery lasted 8 hours and instructed our battery rundown take a look at, a powerful outcome for this kind of substantial-screened laptop.
IDG / Matthew Elliott
Succesful budget gamer
As it’s most likely you’ll presumably maybe personal gotten factual read (except you skipped to the discontinuance), the Acer Nitro 5 AN517 is now now not without its faults. However every budget laptop makes just a few missteps and none of our issues with this 17.3-disappear Nitro 5 are deal breakers. Determined, the plastic chassis is clunky, the brand new isn’t the brightest, the keyboard is easiest so-so, the touchpad is tiny, and the webcam is terrible. These manufacture drawbacks are what or now now not it’s a long way crucial to tolerate for the bang that this Nitro 5 provides for your gaming buck. At its core, the Nitro 5’s CPU-GPU pairing of the Ryzen 7 6800H and RTX 3060 graphics enable it to grasp with pricier gaming laptops. For budget-awake patrons, this $1,200 Nitro 5 configuration delivers solid 3D performance for the price whereas also providing a roomy new, still operation, and passable battery existence.
