Acer Nitro 5 (2022) laptop review

When you think of PC gamers, Acer doesn’t necessarily come to mind. We immediately think of the Republic of Gamers, Alienware or Razer of this world, those brands that have really bet on gaming from the very beginning. But when it comes to cash, the Acer Nitros are often the big winners. The 2022 version continues this beautiful line.

Features of the Acer Nitro 5 (2022)

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Design and ergonomics: the essentials

The Acer Nitro 5 isn’t the prettiest computer out there. And that’s quite normal: his game is that of business. Plus, it ignores the finest materials to focus on a solid plastic case as we do more. Its gamer identity is therefore found above all in those few purple and blue lines on the hood, which remain relatively subtle compared to its competitors, and its format, which is primarily aimed at productivity.

The device is still very thick (just under 3cm) and heavy, which is mainly intended for use on a desk. We’re testing the 15-inch model here, but note that the Acer Nitro 5 is also available in 17-inches. No frills: Acer delivers the right configuration at the right price.

The keyboard, on the other hand, is definitely “gamer”. If its RGB lighting is only available in 4 zones, its keys are well spaced and feel comfortable in the hand. They lack some recoil and are very light and plump, but offer a very good wearing comfort. The plastic-coated touchpad takes up most of the area and is therefore not very big, but remains easy to use.

Screen: the feature before the rest

The Acer Nitro 5 is therefore equipped with a 15.6-inch IPS LCD panel that supports a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. Above all, it achieves a refresh rate of 144 Hz, a feature that is more than expected among gamers. So yes, Full HD in 2022 might seem disappointing, but note one thing: that resolution is more than enough for that diagonal. Again, this is a relevant choice to maintain the cost of the device.

Unsurprisingly, Acer hasn’t really banged its budget for the best panel, or its calibration for that matter. Notice the nice things: an average color temperature of 6790K, which isn’t very far from the video standard, and a nice contrast ratio of 1522:1, very good for an IPS panel.

But here it is: The brightness measured at a maximum of 321 cd/m² makes the computer difficult to read in direct sunlight (the matte coating helps here), and the colors are anything but good. The Acer Nitro 5 only covers 42% of the DCI P3 range and its average Delta E is 6.91, far from the expected 3. So we’ve got the pragmatic features we’d expect, but the quality isn’t necessarily there. Relevant choice, always.

Software: Rounding to the end of the month

Not surprisingly, we have the right to Windows 11 in the simplest device. Acer mainly adds to it the NitroSense software, which allows to manage the power of the fans and control the consumption of the CPU and GPU. The software is quite simple, but does what it is asked to do without complaining. You can also adjust keyboard RGB lighting and speaker mode here.

What will stick with us the most from this piece of software is the number of promotional applications preinstalled on the Nitro 5. At least here we have Norton Antivirus instead of the ancient McAfee, which basically amounts to the same thing. ExpressVPN and Dropbox also love to throw you a huge pop-up ad from time to time… Uninstall everything so quick, you know the dance.

Performance: balance

In our test configuration, the Acer Nitro 5 is equipped with a Core i7-12700H. This is the latest generation of Intel that offers 14 cores including 6 performance cores and 8 efficient cores and can reach up to 4.70 GHz. This CPU is paired here with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 with 6GB GDDR6 and a TGP of 140W. We also have the right to 512GB of SSD storage.

In view of the Full HD resolution of the screen, the RTX 3060 is simply the best possible choice for the Acer Nitro 5. Thanks to this resolution, the PC gamer easily balances an average of 61 FPS with Shadow of the Tomb Raider pushed to the maximum, including ray tracing, without to use DLSS. The same goes for Cyberpunk 2077, which maxed out at an average of 48 FPS. By pairing DLSS 2.0, you can easily reach 100 FPS and take advantage of the screen refresh rate.

Above all, the heating is well controlled with this device. So yes: the fans are far from the quietest in the world, but the configuration only maxes out at 47°C at the rear outlet. This while the case itself is kept at around 40C at a maximum, and on areas that don’t affect use. The Acer Nitro 5 was on a mission not to miss out on its raw power, and it doesn’t disappoint.

Autonomy: not a good surprise

The Acer Nitro 5 is equipped with a 57.5 Wh battery and a large 230 W charging block. This does not work miracles and only offers an autonomy of around 3 hours when viewing web videos and around 5 hours with classic Office use. We are very far from what is possible today, while computers like the Asus ROG G14 remain gamers while offering ten hours of autonomy.

Let’s say the Acer Nitro 5 holds up for a movie, and that’s about it. You can still use the USB-C port to charge the device, but it’s not enough to take full advantage of its muscular configuration.

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Conclusion