64 PCWorld DECEMBER 2020REVIEWS ACER NITRO 5
appropriately roomy considering the
laptop’s size.
As we noted earlier, Acer does offer
pricier Nitro 5 models with 120Hz and
144MHz displays, but the version we’re
tested is limited to a 60Hz refresh rate. That
means you can expect screen tearing if
you’re getting frame rates north of 60 fps
and you’ve disabled synchronization.
Rated for 300 nits (or candelas) of
brightness, the Nitro 5’s 15.6-inch display
uses IPS (in-plane switching) technology to
boost viewing angles. The results are pretty
much as expected, with the panel dimming
only slightly when viewed from the sides,
top or bottom. I did, however, note a little
screen bleed near the top of the display on
my review unit, below and slightly to the
right of the webcam. The screen bleed wasnever distracting during furious moments of
gameplay, but I did notice it during dark
scenes in videos and games, particularly in
Destiny 2, when my ship was sitting in orbit.KEYBOARD, TR ACKPAD,
SPEAKERS, AND WEBCAM
I was quite pleased by the Nitro 5’s snappy
keyboard, which comes with a 10-key
numeric trackpad, a generous 1.6mm of
travel distance and a satisfying, tactile bump
upon key actuation. Gamers who prefer to
have their fingers flutter over the keyboard
may prefer a smoother, more linear feel to
the keys, but personally I prefer the Nitro 5’s
bumpier approach.
While pricier Nitro 5 models feature
four-zone keyboard backlighting, our review
unit came with a uniform red backlight. Also
worth noting are the
highlighted WASD keys,
while a highlighted hotkey
launches the NitroSense
thermal management app
that we mentioned earlier.
One complaint is that the
volume buttons share
space with the up and
down arrow keys, which
means you’ll need to hold
the Function key to adjust
the sound.
The Nitro 5’s trackpad
sits directly below theWe saw some evidence of screen bleed on the Nitro 5’s 15.6-inch
display, particularly near the top of the panel.