Review: Acer Nitro 5 gaming notebook

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

I received an Acer Nitro 5 review unit for purpose of reviewing the Acer Windows Mixed Reality headset and controllers. The Acer Nitro 5 features the latest 8th generation Intel processors, a minimum requirement for mixed reality VR playback and control.

Gaming laptops have rarely appealed to me. They're usually bigger, heavier and hardly portable, but they do offer desktop class performance as well as stunning graphics capability.

The industrial design of the Acer Nitro 5 is quite muted compared to many of the outrageous and amped up designs we see from many competing gaming notebooks. The cherry red accents over the metal and matte black case make this a striking device nonetheless. Hit jump for my full impressions.

Blocky, chunky yet solid and purposeful, the Acer Nitro 5 represents a tasteful mix of red colour highlights and brushed metal case and matte black finish. I would say the look is serious and can work for school or even for office workers. I like the red accents on the keyboard and the angular design of the Nitro 5.

Granted, this is considered the entry-level gaming notebook from Acer, I found it acquitted itself well in terms of features and performance.

Nitro 5's 15.6-inch, 1920 x 1080 resolution on a matte display is bright but the colors lack the punchiness one would expect. I like the anti-reflective finish of this display over some of the shinier 

Windows Mixed Reality worked without a hitch, it's convenient to just must plug in a headset using HDMI and a USB 3.0 port and dive in to immersive VR experiences. 

With the Mixed Reality headset, I experienced smooth and detailed graphics and fluid frame-rates. There was none of the lag or visual artifacts that get in the way of immersive virtual experiences. It helps that the VR kit and the laptop are made by Acer and everything is mostly plug and play. Gaming notebooks make much more sense than desktops for VR and Mixed Reality since they're eminently mobile and easy to move around and have only one power cable.

Most Windows PC games worked smoothly and were great on this 15-inch format.  Nitro 5 packs an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti GPU with 4GB of VRAM which is powerful enough for the demands of VR. Aside from Windows Mixed Reality, the Nitro 5 can work with Oculus, which is more demanding.

For regular computing the Nitro 5 switches gears to the more economical Intel HD Graphics 630 GPU which results in cooler performance and better battery life. In terms of games, I gravitated towards Xbox Games that were available on Windows. This includes Cuphead, Injustice 2, Halo and the beta of Sea of Thieves.  I have to say that using the Acer Nitro 5 made me rethink the benefits and advantages of having a gaming laptop. Being able to play these games in full resolution and with a dedicated graphics card, really brings them to life. Connecting my Xbox controller to the Acer Nitro 5 really made for an enjoyable and portable gaming experience that I wish I had during some trips where there’s nothing good on the hotel’s TV.

Battery life is an issue since the Acer Nitro 5 barely makes it beyond 3 hours off the charger.  Of course, most gaming laptops are usually plugged in during serious gaming sessions. A lot of students expect their laptops to serve dual purpose as a productivity tool and entertainment hub, poor battery life gets in the way of this. The power brick isn’t very thick, but it is large and heavy and a consideration for when picking a bag or carry case.

Conclusion

If this is a laptop that will be used at home, in the dorm or in the office plugged in, it should serve anyone's gaming needs just fine. It is remarkable that Acer has managed to equip a notebook in this class at a relatively affordable price.

There are many notable gaming notebooks in the market right now, but few are as affordable and competent as the Acer Nitro 5. Serious gamers will likely look elsewhere, but anyone who wants to dip their toes into next generation VR and PC gaming on-the-go can get by just fine with the Acer Nitro 5.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5