OCTOBER 2019 PCWorld 49point no matter what kind of player you are.
But for folks with calibrated expectations, the
Nitro 5 is a big low-budget gaming laptop
that hits the right marks.
SPECS AND FEATURES
Unlike a lot of other laptops, the 17-inch Nitro
5 comes in just one configuration:
CPU: Intel Core i5-9300H processor
RAM: 8GB DDR4
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650
Display: 17.3-inch, 1920x1080 IPS, 60Hz
refresh rate
Storage: 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD
Those are pretty much the bare minimum
specs for a laptop that certainly looks the part
of a gaming rig.
Acer says the webcam supports HDR
video, but it’s still a 720p camera, so don’t
count on crisp video for your next Twitch
stream. (Acer also sells a 15-inch version of the
Nitro 5, which we’ll
review separately.)
If those specs
aren’t enough, the
Nitro 5 does have a
second memory
channel for adding
another 8GB of RAM
or installing up to
32GB total. The use of
a single memory
module does limit the
CPU’s memory
bandwidth, which can depress scores that
aren’t graphically intensive.
There’s also a slot for a second PCIe
NVMe M.2 drive, plus an open 2.5-inch
drive bay. Unfortunately, Acer no longer
includes individual access hatches for each
component, so you have to unscrew and
peel off the entire bottom panel for
upgrades. And while Acer includes a wiring
kit and a link to installation instructions (go.
pcworld.com/hdin) for a hard drive, that
same packaging says to bring the laptop to
an Acer service center for installation or risk
voiding the warranty. One gets the idea that
the latest Nitro 5 is less upgrade-friendly
than its predecessors.
As for ports, the Nitro 5’s left side has
two USB 3.1 Type-A ports (one with power-
off charging), a USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C port
with up to 5Gbps transfer speeds, a gigabit
ethernet jack, full-sized HDMI, and aThe Nitro 5 has gigabit ethernet, HDMI output, and plenty of USB ports.