Acer Nitro 5 AN515-45
Gaming laptop with restricted view
LAPTOP ❘ £1,050 from Amazon www.snipca.com/38850
Acer keeps its Nitro 5 range of gaming laptops regularly updated, and the latest models boast a wealth of high-end specifications mark. The configuration we’re reviewing here comes with a Ryzen 5 5600H processor, 8GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD and an Nvidia RTX 3060 graphics card (with another 6GB of built-in RAM).
This combination of components performed well in our gaming tests, with impressive frame rates. This is largely thanks to the RTX 3060 graphics, which while not as powerful as hardware you might find in a desktop gaming PC, is excellent by laptop standards. It also got great results when using our Windows benchmarking tools, though its powerful performance does take a toll on battery life – in our video-playback test, the Nitro lasted just 6 hours 30 minutes.
The 15.6in 1920x1080-pixel Full HD screen has a maximum refresh rate of 144Hz, which is fine for playing even the most frenetic games. It has an IPS panel with a matt finish, but was disappointing in our brightness and colour-accuracy tests. It’s likely that most gamers will value a high refresh rate over these criteria, but if you wanted more of an all-round PC, you might be left wanting.
The 720p webcam is good enough,
Powerful specs but modest screen mean this gaming PC is no all-rounder
though it doesn’t support Windows Hello so you can’t use it to log in. There’s no fingerprint scanner either, so you’ll have to stick with a password or PIN. The speakers are also fairly humdrum – too quiet for our liking, and lacking depth in bass frequencies.
Weighing 2.3kg and measuring 23.9x363x255mm, the Nitro 5 isn’t what you’d call compact or light. It’s an angular plastic affair, but it feels solid and well put together. You need to take out 11 screws to remove the base panel and access the interior. Here you can reach the Wi-fi 6/ Bluetooth 5.0 wireless card, two DDR4 RAM slots, two M.2 storage slots and a 2.5in SATA 3 storage bay. This promises plenty of scope for future upgrades.
The Nitro 5’s keyboard is robust and should stand up to the frantic prodding of gamers. It also has plenty of ports, including three USB 3.2 ports, a USB-C port, a Gigabit Ethernet port, an HDMI port and a 3.5mm audio jack (all pictured below). Charging is done via a Dc-in port located on the back.
SPECIFICATIONS
Six-core AMD Ryzen 5 5600H processor • 8GB RAM • Nvidia RTX 3060 graphics card • 15.6in 144Hz IPS 1920x1080-pixel screen • 51GB SSD • Wi-fi 6 • Bluetooth 5.0 • 1x USB-C port • 3x USB-3.2 ports • 1x 3.5mm audio jack • Windows 10 Home • 23.9x363x255mm (HXWXD) • 2.3kg • One-year warranty www.snipca.com/38850
VERDICTA laptop equipped with everything you need to play the latest games, while the screen has a fast refresh rate but isn’t as bright as we’d like ★★★★ ★
ALTERNATIVE Dynabook Portégé
X40-J-11C £913 A more business- like Windows laptop to op that, besides a so-so screen, oozes ze es quality in all the right places