The Acer Nitro 5 15 (2020) is a budget gaming laptop. It replaces the Acer Nitro 5 from 2019 with Intel 9th Generation CPUs. This 2020 model is available with Intel 10th Gen. or AMD Ryzen 4000 H-series CPUs, and you can choose between an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 or GTX 1650 Ti discreet GPU. The multiple display options include a 1080p 60Hz panel, a 1080p 120Hz panel, and a 1080p 144Hz panel. You can configure the laptop with 8GB, 12GB, or 16GB of memory and 256GB or 512GB of storage.
You can see our unit's specifications and the available configuration options in the Differences Between Variants section.
Our Verdict
The Acer Nitro 5 is decent for school use. It's more than powerful enough to handle light tasks like web browsing and text processing, and its battery lasts easily through a typical eight-hour day as long as you don't run any CPU or GPU-intensive programs. It feels well-built overall; however, it's on the bulky side, making it hard to carry around. Unfortunately, the screen doesn't get bright enough to combat intense glare, and the keyboard sometimes doesn't register some keystrokes, which leads to more typos.
- Feels well-built despite full plastic construction.
- Battery lasts a full day of light productivity.
- CPU powerful enough to handle most workloads.
- Slightly bulky build makes it less portable.
- Screen looks dull and faded.
- Keyboard doesn't register some keystrokes.
The Acer Nitro 5 is decent for gaming. It's powerful enough to run most modern AAA titles, though you may need to play at low graphics settings to reach 60fps in very graphically demanding games. There's very little thermal throttling on the CPU and GPU, and the laptop doesn't get overly hot or loud under load. You can configure the laptop with a 120Hz or 144Hz display for a smoother and more responsive gaming experience; however, none of the display support variable refresh rate to reduce screen tearing. Unfortunately, the keyboard doesn't register keystrokes at times, which could be a dealbreaker.
- Easy to upgrade or replace parts.
- CPU powerful enough to handle most workloads.
- Minimal performance loss over time.
- Screen looks dull and faded.
- Keyboard doesn't register some keystrokes.
- Might have to play at low graphics settings to get consistent frame rates.
The Acer Nitro 5 gaming laptop is okay for media consumption. It has good speakers, but the screen is disappointing because it has a narrow color gamut that makes the image look dull and faded. The display also doesn't get very bright, so it isn't ideal for well-lit rooms. It's somewhat bulky and not the easiest to carry around, but on the upside, the battery lasts a while on a full charge.
- Outstanding battery life for video playback.
- Good speakers for speech-heavy content.
- Slightly bulky build makes it less portable.
- Screen looks dull and faded.
- Glare is an issue in bright settings.
The Acer Nitro 5 gaming laptop is great for use as a workstation. The AMD Ryzen 5 4600H in our unit can handle relatively heavy workloads, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650Ti performs remarkably well in graphically intensive tasks like 3D rendering. While our unit only has 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, you can easily add more yourself to get better performance. Content creators will need an external monitor for color-critical work, as all of the display options have a narrow color gamut. Also, you can't use the USB-C port to connect an external display or charge the laptop, which may be inconvenient.
- Easy to upgrade or replace parts.
- CPU powerful enough to handle most workloads.
- Minimal performance loss over time.
- Fast SSD storage makes system feel snappy and shortens loading times.
- Keyboard doesn't register some keystrokes.
- Can't charge or connect external display via USB-C.
The Acer Nitro 5 gaming laptop is decent for business use. It isn't very portable because it's somewhat bulky, but it has great battery life, enough to last through an eight-hour workday of light productivity. It has enough processing power to handle most tasks like checking emails, text processing, and presentations, and it doesn't get overly hot or loud under load. The port selection is decent, although the USB-C port doesn't support charging or video output to an external monitor. The keyboard feels comfortable to type on but sometimes doesn't register keystrokes, and sadly, the webcam's video quality is sub-par.
- Feels well-built despite full plastic construction.
- Battery lasts a full day of light productivity.
- Easy to upgrade or replace parts.
- CPU powerful enough to handle most workloads.
- Slightly bulky build makes it less portable.
- Screen looks dull and faded.
- Keyboard doesn't register some keystrokes.
- Webcam image is too dark, with unnatural colors.
Changelog
- Updated Jan 12, 2024: We've updated the review to improve clarity and readability.
- Updated Dec 07, 2023: Converted to Test Bench 0.8.2.
- Updated Nov 03, 2023: Converted to Test Bench 0.8.1.
- Updated Jan 04, 2023: We've updated the review to improve readability.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 15.6" Acer Nitro 5 laptop (model AN515-44-R078) with a 1080p 60Hz screen, an AMD Ryzen 5 4600H CPU, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti GPU, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. The CPU, GPU, memory, storage, and screen are configurable; the available options are in the table below.
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You can see our unit's label here.
Popular Laptop Comparisons
The Acer Nitro 5 AN515 is a decent budget gaming laptop. It has a sturdy build and good performance; however, it suffers from slight quality control issues, as the keyboard sometimes doesn't register keystrokes, which might be a dealbreaker for more competitive gamers.
For more options, check out our recommendations for the best gaming laptops, the best laptops, and the best workstation laptops.
The HP Pavilion Gaming Laptop 15 (2021) and the Acer Nitro 5 15 (2020) are both entry-level gaming laptops that perform about the same when playing games. The HP is available with newer AMD Ryzen 5000-series Ryzen CPUs, which provide slightly better performance compared to the Ryzen 4000-series CPUs on the Acer; however, newer versions of the Nitro 5 are available. The HP is better as a workstation as you can get it with either an NVIDIA RTX 3050 or 3050Ti dedicated GPU, both of which provide a better experience in 3D rendering and computational workloads compared to the GTX 1650 or 1650Ti on the Acer. On the other hand, the Acer is better for school and multimedia use thanks to its significantly longer battery life, better-quality microphone, much brighter screen, and louder, better-sounding speakers. Unfortunately, the Acer's keyboard sometimes doesn't register some keystrokes, which could be frustrating during competitive gaming matches.
The Dell G15 (2022) is much better than the Acer Nitro 5 15 (2020). The Dell is available with newer and significantly more powerful CPUs and GPUs that push out much higher frame rates. It also provides a better user experience with a more comfortable and responsive keyboard, better-sounding speakers, and a wider port selection. On the other hand, the Acer has a much longer battery life, lasting more than twice longer in light workloads, and its build feels sturdier.
For gaming, the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 (2021) is better than the Acer Nitro 5 15 (2020). The IdeaPad Gaming 3 is available with newer and more powerful CPUs and GPUs that can push out higher frame rates, as well as a brighter and more colorful display with a higher 165Hz refresh rate. The IdeaPad Gaming 3 also has a much better keyboard that works more reliably, as the Nitro 5's doesn't register some keystrokes at times. On the other hand, the Nitro 5 has a much longer battery life, lasting twice as long for light productivity and video playback, and it's cooler and quieter under load.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i (2021) and the Acer Nitro 5 15 (2020) are very similar budget gaming laptops. The Lenovo comes out ahead in terms of user experience because it has a better keyboard and touchpad, and it's available with more powerful GPU options that can provide higher frame rates in games. The Acer's keyboard isn't uncomfortable; it just doesn't register some keystrokes at times, which might be a dealbreaker for some. The Acer has much longer battery life, lasting over four hours longer than the Lenovo in light productivity workloads, albeit only slightly longer when gaming.
Test Results
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