This brand-new Acer Nitro 5 is a huge step forward from prior gaming laptops offered by Acer. It is a superb combination of technology and functionality which will outperform almost all existing laptops thanks to its incorporation of a new generation of Intel CPU and Nvidia graphic processing units. Visually, the Nitro 5 is a stunning design with a beautiful slate black body containing subtle angles, beveled corners and elegant metallic red accents. The cover is not just slate in color, it also has a very fine texture which closely mimics a polished piece of slate. The keyboard has red backlighting and red type faces. It also comes with a very nice soft-sided black slipcase (with a red zipper) to protect it during transit. Overall, the impression is very sophisticated, high tech and definitely not a teen-ager’s gaming toy. This design would be just as much at home in a Goldman Sachs boardroom as in a college dorm. Consider this fine combination of features: • Acer Nitro 5 Laptop Model AN515-53-55G9 • Intel Core i5 (8th generation) CPU 8300H (Coffee Lake) 4 core/8 thread • Processor runs at speeds from 2.3 to 4.0 GHz • 64 bit Windows 10 Home operating system • Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti GPU with 4 GB GDDR5 dedicated video memory • 8 GB DDR4-2666 high efficiency RAM primary memory (expandable up to 32 GB) • 256 GB Intel PCie SSD fast hard drive • 15.6” IPS LED-backlit display with 1920 x 1080 (full HD) resolution @ 60Hz and wide viewing angle • 720p Webcam with dual microphones • SD card reader • HDMI 2.0 video output • 1 USB 3.1 Type C (up to 5 GBps) • 1 USB 3.0 with power-off charging output • 2 USB 2.0 • Wireless LAN 802.11AC (Intel 9560 NIC) • Gigabit Ethernet • Dolby Audio Premium • Two stereo speakers • Headphone out/Microphone in 3.5 mm port • Bluetooth • 4 cell Lithium Ion battery • Very slim and compact: 15.35” wide x 10.47” deep x 1.05” thick • Weight: 5.95 pounds • Custom soft sleeve zippered case So how does this laptop perform? In a word – fast! Make that two words – blazing fast! I ran two well-regarded benchmark programs (Novabench and PC Mark 10) on three computers to determine their relative performance. These tests measure both the CPU (general processing) and the GPU (graphics processing) so they give a good overall result on the speed of a computer. The first was a base model desktop with an AMD A6 (A6-7310) CPU (comparable in speed to an Intel i3 CPU), no separate GPU and 8 GB RAM. The next was a nicely-equipped all-in-one computer with a 6th generation Intel i5 (6400T), Intel 530 GPU and 12 GB RAM. The last is the new Acer Nitro 5 with an 8th generation Intel i5 (8300H), Nvidia 1050Ti GPU and 8 GB RAM. All were well-maintained, running identical versions of Windows 10 with no other programs active. Here are the results (higher is faster): Novabench Results: Desktop A6: 636 All-in-One i5: 877 (38% faster than base) Acer Nitro: 1997 (214% faster than base) PC Mark 10 Results: Desktop A6: 1451 All-in-One i5: 2372 (63% faster than base) Acer Nitro: 4724 (226% faster than base) In you go to the websites run by these two benchmarking services you will see that the results achieved by the new Acer Nitro 5 are faster than almost all prior generation Intel computers, including the i7 devices. How was this achieved? Primarily because the new Acer Nitro 5 incorporates the just-released 8th generation Intel i5 in a high-performance version (the “H” in 8300H), fast DDR4 RAM and the very fast Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti GPU with 4 GB of dedicated graphics memory. OK, that’s a lot of numbers and technical jargon but the bottom line is that you will find this laptop capable of out-performing anything you currently own (unless you have a really geeked-out special system) and very smooth in running any games or software you may ever buy. Put this nice laptop to work on most business software and it will never even break a sweat. Use it for photo or video editing and it will calmly do whatever you want, no drama. Fire up a graphics-intensive game and it will come alive, roaring with power and giving you the satisfaction that you made a great choice. The Acer Nitro 5 includes some nice software but is not loaded with bloatware. Besides the full set of Windows 10 software and accessories it has Dolby Audio, X-Split Gamecaster, Cyberlink Photo Director and Power Director. A nice utility is NitroSense which brings up a graphic image of the cooling fans and gives you excellent control over them (see photo). As you use the laptop a program called Acer Collection builds up a set of recommendations for apps you may find interesting from the Windows Store. Some may complain about the speakers but I found them adequate for most purposes. They are mounted at the bottom, have decent volume and good stereo separation – certainly good enough for watching Netflix or YouTube videos. It is fairly light – less than 6 pounds, nicely balanced with a great lighted keyboard and big touchpad, so those who like to literally use their laptop on their lap will be pleased. What are the weak points of this laptop? Well, the battery life is marginal. I tested it by running Netflix on battery power with a bright screen and high speaker volume. From a full charge the laptop ran only 2.5 hours before exhausting the charge. So plan on taking the charging transformer with you! Speaking of the latter, it is pretty bulky, one of the biggest and heaviest laptop chargers that I have seen. I wish that Acer had added a second USB C port to use as a charging input (and other purposes.) It has an adequate 15.6” IPS LED-backlit display with 1920 x 1080 (full HD) resolution. Some might wish that it had a touch screen (I do!) as good as Acer’s beautiful Chromebook (which also has higher resolution modes). However, a touchscreen would probably add 15% to 20% to the very modest price of this laptop. And you always have the option of using the HDMI output to connect a big display. I hooked it up to my 65” 4K TV and it did a great job as a video source. But these are fairly minor quibbles. When you consider all of its power and functionality you will agree that the price is a bargain. I can enthusiastically recommend the new Acer Nitro 5 for both serious gamers and power users of all other software!

I first purchased this laptop to because I needed to run some virtual machines for school as I am learning about Information Technology. I needed something with power and speed at a low cost. The GPU would help with penetration testing tools. I also game quite a bit so the GPU really delivers. The Intel core i5 is great because it allows the use of Intel Turbo Boost. This lets the cpu run at higher speeds. It ran my virtual machines smoothly and there is enough RAM for use of multiple applications. The Wireless card allows for use of multi user- multi input/multi output technology. I am going to probably add a new stick of RAM. I don't know if it allows dual channeling I hope it does. The upgrading process looks user friendly enough as there are slots on the bottom to add/upgrade the RAM and add a second storage slot. Some might say if you are going to upgrade why not just by a better one at the time. Well, I didn't have enough money at the time so having easy upgrades on a computer this low price is a blessing. I well update the review after I have upgraded the RAM. Acer throws in a nice bundle of software for keeping the computer tuned. My favorite is nitro sense. It lets you control the fan speeds for the cpu and gpu. The only gripes I have is that the build is a little too plasticity and bendy and that the battery even when not gaming only lasts like two hours. It must be plugged in most of the time while gaming. I would have purchased a Desktop but I don't have much room for a desktop and I needed something I could take to school.

Didn't have the chance to give it a lot of use but until now working good, I have to say that this laptop have such a nice design that everyone is in love with her, strongly recommend to add another hard drive because I guess 256 GB is not enough, very fast, screen with beautiful colors, I noted that the mouse pad sometimes is a bit too sensitive, the only thing that I don't like(until now) is the absence of the USB 3.1 port, the computer have two 3.0 and one 2.0, is weird considering that this design is recent. I will update in case that something happens.

Great graphics and easy to use excellent for my son that loves to game. Will continue to look at this brand if ever need another laptop.

This coupled to My Acer SA230 Monitor has changed the time I spend on computer work. The speed and dual screens has been a work changer for me. I highly recommend this economic combination. I have 1,25 TB of memory having put a 1 TB into the second drive space.