Be sure to visit IGN Tech for all the latest comprehensive hands-on reviews and best-of roundups. Note that if you click on one of these links to buy the product, IGN may get a share of the sale. For more, read our Terms of Use. Show Acer’s Nitro 5 lineup is comprised of a budget-friendly range of models designed for casual gamers. Though it offers Intel-based models, it also offers three different Nitro 5 models equipped with AMD CPUs and GPUs. All three are priced under $750, which makes them some of the least expensive gaming laptops available. I previously reviewed a non-AMD Nitro 5 gaming laptop and ultimately found it mostly underwhelming, so I was curious what the experience would be like with an AMD model (See it at Best Buy). It's also the first AMD-based laptop I've seen in quite some time, so I was excited to see how it fared compared to Intel's latest. Here are the specifications of the Nitro 5 I am reviewing:
Acer Nitro 5 – Design and FeaturesThis Nitro 5 model looks identical to the first Nitro 5 model I reviewed. The keyboard and trackpad feature a red outline, with the WASD keys having a thicker outline. The lid and main chassis have a carbon fiber pattern that breaks up the monotony of the otherwise black housing. title=More%20Expert%20Tech%20Roundups&type=articles%2Cvideos&tags=tech-roundup&count=6&columnCount=6&theme=article The left side features Ethernet, USB Type-C, HDMI, USB 3.0 port and SD card reader. Two USB 2.0 ports and a headphone jack are located on the right side. This is fewer ports than I typically see on a gaming laptop, and it's pretty surprising that there's just one USB 3.0 port, but it's expected on a budget model like this. The housing measures 15.4 x 10.5 x 1.1-inches and weighs 5.51 pounds. A 15.6-inch FHD IPS display is surrounded by thick bezels, making room for a 720p webcam just above the screen. A number pad with trimmed down keys flanks the right side of the full-sized keyboard. The entire keyboard is backlit in red — you can’t customize or alter the color in any way. The lack of sophisticated lighting is expected on a laptop at this price range, with the better looking and more robust RGB and zone-lighting setups reserved for more expensive laptops. However, it’s not what’s on the outside that matters with this particular model. It’s what’s on the inside that you need to know about. On the inside, there’s an AMD Ryzen 5 2500U CPU and a Radeon RX 560X GPU, used in combination with a 256GB SSD and 8GB of DDR4 memory. On the inside, there’s an AMD Ryzen 5 2500U CPU and a Radeon RX 560X GPU... The Ryzen 5 is a quad-core processor with a base clock of 2GHz, maxing out at 3.6GHz. The Radeon RX 560X has 4GB of dedicated VRAM (GDDR5), with the closest Nvidia equivalent being the GTX 1050 Ti. It's a low-end GPU for 1080p at medium settings. This particular model is listed at $699, which is $200 less than the Nitro 5 I reviewed in June. That model had a GTX 1050 Ti, an Intel Core i5 CPU, and 16GB of memory. Acer Nitro 5 – Performance and GamingAt first, performance was all over the place. At its worst, the FarCry 5 benchmark maxed out at 9 frames-per-second. Something was clearly wrong, and after consulting with Acer and AMD over several weeks, it was determined the GPU’s drivers weren’t correctly identifying FarCry 5 and Black Ops 4 as games that required the discrete GPU. Instead, the system was forcing the CPU's dedicated graphics to try and perform tasks it’s just not made for. Adding to the confusion was a prompt in FarCry 5 stating the system’s drivers are out of date. In Black Ops 4, a prompt stating that the system doesn’t meet the minimum system requirements, and asked if I still wanted to run the game. The prompt states the system has 4GB of memory, when in fact it has 8GB and meets the requirements. If I clicked yes, the game would load, but then there was a weird bug that upon initial loading the screen would go black. I knew the game was running because I could hear its audio, but the screen was just blank. I had to alt-tab back to the desktop, then back into the game in order to get the game to properly display. The same black screen would come back every time I changed the volume during gameplay. Again, a quick double alt-tab would bring everything back — not ideal for any fast-paced game. AMD walked me through assigning the proper GPU to each game in the AMD Settings, and performance improved afterward. The same black screen would come back every time I changed the volume during gameplay. In the end, Acer gave me access to an upcoming driver update that’s fixed almost all of the issues I encountered. The blank screen issue with Black Ops 4 is gone. Both games now use the proper GPU, without any futzing on my part in the AMD Settings app. The prompts regarding outdated drivers or system not meeting Black Ops 4’s requirements are still present, however. Ultimately, the game makers, AMD, and Acer will need to get on the same page in order to resolve the erroneous alerts. The driver update is going through final testing and should be available to users soon. Pending driver update aside, how does this thing do when it’s working as intended? Decent, actually. As you can see in the comparison chart, the AMD powered Nitro 5 couldn’t quite keep up with the Intel/Nvidia Nitro 5 nearly across the board. Keep in mind the scores below are with settings maxed out, since that's how we test laptops in order to keep things consistent. Neither of these models are designed to run AAA games at these settings, however, as they can usually only handle medium or low settings, depending on the game. The gaming experience varied based on how much I was willing to sacrifice graphical settings. In FarCry 5, I found my sweet spot at the Medium setting. I was willing to give up some environmental rendering and textures, for a few extra FPS and the game was still enjoyable. The gaming experience varied based on how much I was willing to sacrifice graphical settings. In Black Ops 4, I have yet to find a happy medium. The game doesn’t offer a single toggle to switch between the typical graphics settings, so I have had to adjust settings like object view distance or shadows or texture quality. Each one has an impact, of course, on how the game looks, but also FPS. And things like distance rendering aren’t as important in the multiplayer mode, whereas in Blackout, being able to clearly tell the difference between another player or a tree off in the distance can make a huge difference. In other words, there are a lot of concessions you’ll have to make when trying to fine-tune the system’s performance for each game you play. For me, the last group of settings in Black Ops 4 I tried delivered a decent 50 to 60 FPS with medium distance rendering, but lower render resolution. I wasn’t entirely happy with it, but the game was playable. title=More%20Expert%20Reviews&type=articles&tags=tech-laptop-review&count=6&columnCount=6&theme=article No matter how hard I pushed the Nitro 5, the cooling system remained almost invisible. I would occasionally hear the fans spin up, but even then they sort of just blended into the background noise. The speakers were plenty loud enough that I felt comfortable gaming on their audio alone, and not forced into using headphones. The keyboard’s chiclet keys have minimal travel, and have a fair amount of space between the keys, making it easier to feel when you’re moving from one key to another while gaming. I view the keyboard setup on the Nitro 5 as a dual-purpose keyboard. The small keys are easy to type long reports on, but with a minimal gaming feel to them. In other words, think of the Nitro 5’s keyboard along the lines of what you’d find on an a business laptop, but slightly taller and better spaced for gaming. Outside of tinkering with graphical settings, the 1080p display does its job. It’s not the sharpest or brightest, and colors can look a bit muted, but not to the point where I take issue with it. Especially on a budget-friendly machine like this. Not surprisingly, the 256GB SSD doesn’t cut it. Thankfully, you can add a 2.5-inch SSD or HDD of your own to increase the Nitro 5’s storage on your own. You can also add one more memory stick if you find 8GB insufficient. Acer Nitro 5 – Battery LifeOne of the benefits touted by AMD of its Ryzen 5 2500U processor is energy efficiency and in turn battery life. This particular Nitro 5 model powered through 151 minutes of looping a video with 50-percent screen brightness, compared to 141 minutes of the same test for the Intel/Nvidia Nitro 5. Battery life just over two hours is fairly common for gaming laptops, regardless of price. It’s nice to see Acer and AMD were able to at least keep the status quo. Acer Nitro 5 – SoftwareWith any budget friendly laptop, bloatware and antivirus software is expected. Norton Security is pre-installed on this model and employs the typical fear mongering alerts that the system is open to viruses and attacks after the free trial expires. It’s an old hat and one that needs to be retired, but also helps to keep the price down on system's like this at the same time. Luckily it's easy to uninstall. Acer also includes its own apps, ranging from Acer Collection that suggests yet more third-party apps to Acer’s NitroSense gaming software. NitroSense is used to tone down or boost the cooling system, as well as customize the power plan to force the system into high-performance mode when you want to squeeze as much power as you can from the system, regardless if it’s on battery or plugged in. There’s also a chart that displays the system’s current workload, and an option to disable the Windows key. Overall, the app doesn’t provide much utility and wasn’t something I opened more than a couple of times. Acer Nitro 5 – Purchasing GuideThe Acer Nitro 5 model has an MSRP of $699, but it's a bit more than that at Best Buy. There's also a slightly less expensive version with a 1TB HDD instead of a 256GB SSD. Is acer nitro AN515 good for gaming?If you want the cheapest possible laptop that will get decent performance in games, get the Acer Nitro 5 AN515-44-R99Q or AN515-55-53AG. Is Acer Nitro 5 worth the money?The Acer Nitro 5 is absolutely worth buying. There are very few gaming laptops that offer as much value for your money. But my recommendation comes with some caveats. The Nitro 5 is a great budget gaming computer, but it's not a great laptop overall. What is the weakness of Acer Nitro 5?The Acer Nitro 5 combines good graphics and solid overall performance at an attractive price, but suffers from short battery life and weak speakers. Why is Acer Nitro 5 so hot?Answers. Overheating of Acer Aspire 5 usually happens if the fan or the heat sink is blocked with dirt and dust. It is best to vacuum the laptop through the vents so that the dirt and dust are sucked out. If overheating persist, it's best to open the back cover and clean them. |
