Acer Nitro V 15 review: A great 1080p budget gaming laptop with an amazing price

As of late, it’s fairly a problem to discover a first rate finances gaming laptop computer. Virtually all of them include some extreme caveat to the general design, whether or not that’s a mismatched display and GPU, poor battery life, meager RAM capability, or middling CPU efficiency. The Acer Nitro V 15 (ANV15-41) very a lot bucks that pattern, although, by sidestepping virtually each widespread gaming laptop computer hiccup, leading to a surprisingly succesful laptop computer for the value.

And it’s the value that’s the actual driver behind all of the love up there in that paragraph, that’s for certain. This version of the Acer Nitro V 15 is listed at just below $900. For that, you get a radically well-balanced construct, together with an AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS processor, together with 16GB of DDR5 RAM, and a surprisingly potent Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, which performs admirably, regardless of being a 75W unit.

That’s all bundled along with an excellent clean 1080p IPS display with a 165Hz IPS refresh fee, baked into a beautiful, easy chassis, giving it an air of stability. It’s a deal with to make use of. It’s not good; there are just a few flaws within the total spec sheet that maintain it again from perfection, but it surely’s in any other case the perfect gaming laptop computer you should buy at this worth.

So who’s the goal for this laptop computer then? Merely put, it’s for players in search of a stable machine for an reasonably priced worth. There’s sufficient GPU horsepower for gaming at 1080p, and its normal system efficiency retains it feeling snappy on the Home windows desktop. It’s an excellent machine for a scholar in search of a machine they’ll use for examine, however which might additionally play video games.

Acer’s already constructed a reputation for itself within the laptop computer world, with a long time of expertise relating to designing them, and the Nitro V 15 is a high quality instance of that. Whether or not that’s the easy black plastic metallic end, the clear beveled edges, or the intricate concord between the inner parts, all backed up by a killer worth and minimal bloatware, Acer barely places a foot unsuitable with the Nitro V 15.

During the last month, I’ve pushed the Nitro V 15 to its absolute limits, working it in all method of various eventualities and benchmarks to essentially see simply how properly it ticks in day-to-day life. I actually needed to determine simply what you might get for below $1,000, and whether or not that display decision actually limits you in comparison with the bizarre high-res screens you get with so many laptops.

Specs

Acer Nitro V 15 specs:

I’ve had a take a look at just a few of Acer’s gaming laptops over the previous couple of months, significantly the Predator Helios Neo 14, together with the Nitro 14, and I can safely say that the Nitro V 15’s total spec is remarkably well-balanced (I’m going to maintain utilizing this phrase, for good cause), significantly given the value. Within the US, it’s accessible for round $900, and that spec even features a 1TB SSD, in contrast to the 500GB drive in my evaluate pattern.

Within the UK, the specs are virtually equivalent, however you get a 500GB SSD and a price ticket of £1,000 inc VAT. Nevertheless, that SSD is a sticking level right here, as 500GB is just not a whole lot of storage within the trendy period, when the Stalker 2 system necessities demand 160GB of area. With an OS, plus a few applications and benchmarks put in on this machine, I solely had 106GB left of my 475GB whole accessible area, which is lower than perfect. Nonetheless, you may make it work for those who’ve obtained an honest broadband connection, and don’t thoughts doing the delete and re-download shuffle.

The actual fantastic thing about this laptop computer, although, is the GPU and display combo. Acer’s paired a 1,920 x 1,080 IPS panel with an RTX 4060, which is a remarkably good transfer. Time and time once more (even from Acer), we see laptops include an RTX 4060 and a finances priced, solely to be paired with some random 3,072 x 1,920 display or a 2,560 x 1,600 quantity as an alternative.

That appears nice on the Home windows desktop, however the gaming expertise at native decision is severely poor. You’re not going to hit 60fps with an RTX 4060 at that decision, not to mention the 120-240Hz refresh charges usually specified on these panels.

As for the chip on the coronary heart of the Nitro V 15, you get an AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS. It’s an older CPU at this level, launching in 2023, and utilizing the the Zen 3+ structure, but it surely nonetheless comes with eight cores, 16 threads, and a max clock pace of round 4.75GHz if the cooling permits for it.

I’m going to say that GPU once more as properly, simply briefly. Sure, it’s a good pairing with a 1080p panel, but it surely’s price allowing for that it’s a barely lower-powered SKU. You continue to get the full-fledged core spec (which is analogous to the full-sized desktop RTX 4060), together with 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM, however this one has an influence restrict of simply 75W.

That’s fairly low for a gaming laptop computer, with the Nitro 14 that includes a 100W restrict and the Predator Helios Neo clocking in at a 120W restrict. In consequence, clock speeds will undergo, and efficiency is prone to be slower. Nonetheless, this GPU’s assist for Nvidia DLSS 3.5 with body era will alleviate a few of these woes, with massive body fee boosts in video games that assist it.

Options

This laptop computer’s display has a pixel density of 141.21ppi, which is rather a lot decrease than most modern-day laptop computer equivalents, to be clear. I just lately reviewed the $5,000 MSI Titan 18, which has a pixel density properly into the 250ppi vary by comparability. This implies pixels are chunkier on the Acer Nitro V 15 than on a laptop computer with a smaller or higher-resolution display.

Right here’s the factor, although: at 141.21, this Nitro V 15 has a barely greater pixel density than a 32-inch 4K monitor, arguably the de facto 4K panel measurement going into a few of the greatest gaming displays round. The truth is that this stage of readability is totally high quality. The large benefit is, in fact, that it’s paired with a GPU that may really deal with that decision, in contrast to a whole lot of the opposite choices on the market (right here’s taking a look at you, Lenovo Legion Slim 5).

It’s a punchy show too. Colours are vibrant, with loads of saturation and distinction. The darker tones do wrestle a little bit, however I didn’t discover any display bleed or artifacting throughout my time testing. Mix that with a 165Hz refresh fee, and this display is silky clean, each on desktop and in video games. It lacks true HDR assist, however that’s truthfully not a large deal on a laptop computer at this worth.

Display screen apart, there’s not an enormous quantity additional that you just get with the Nitro V 15 too, which is probably unsurprising given the value. You get a reasonably customary membrane backlit keyboard, which feels surprisingly responsive below your fingers, and feels crisp and clear, together with an ordinary trackpad, an HD webcam, some pretty stable audio system, and that’s it.

As for the guarantee (for when the {hardware} goes unsuitable), Acer, as customary, covers all elements and labor for as much as a yr. You get a few choices with that; you possibly can both pay to ship it in (and Acer will ship it again after repairs), or take it to certainly one of Acer’s licensed restore outlets littered across the planet. Keep in mind that Acer will ship it again to you free of charge for those who ship it to Acer, however for those who drop it off at a restore store, you will have to gather it your self.

Design

The Nitro V 15 is, on the entire, a beautiful piece of finances laptop computer design.  It doesn’t look excessive, which is commonly ignored as of late relating to gaming laptops. The chassis is glossy, easy, and stylish. It has a sturdy plastic chassis, however there’s a beautiful black satin end to it that staves off any grubby finger marks.

The Nitro branding is delicate, reminding you that it’s there however not screaming about it, or littered in RGB lighting. The bezel across the display is barely thicker than I’d like, but it surely’s hardly noticeable when you’re utilizing it, and that’s actually all there’s to it. There aren’t any steel components, no loopy air flow programs, nothing. It’s easy, direct, and to the purpose. Good work, Acer.

On the port aspect of the machine, the Nitro V 15 can also be rather well outfitted, which is once more stunning given the value. You get three USB-A ports, a single USB-C port (USB 3.2, with Thunderbolt 4), together with a separate energy provide, HDMI out, and full-fat Gigabit Ethernet port.

You would possibly assume a gaming laptop computer having an Ethernet port is a given as of late, however Acer’s personal Predator Helios Neo, coming in at $1,400 doesn’t have one as customary. In any other case, normal connection requirements are a little bit on the older aspect; there’s Bluetooth 5.0 and Wi-Fi 6, however not one of the newest spec right here. Once more, although, that’s not the tip of the world, particularly at this worth.

Cooling is properly dealt with too. The followers aren’t audaciously loud, even below heavy load, and temps remained steady and constant all through testing, with out hitting any thermal limits, even in probably the most CPU and GPU-intensive video games.

One other main win is the truth that the DDR5 RAM is provided in SODIMM format as customary, reasonably than being soldered to the motherboard, that means it may be changed if it fails, or for those who fancy transferring as much as 32GB of DDR5 as an alternative. A

Alongside that, the M.2 SSD may also be swapped out for a far bigger capability, which will probably be significantly useful for those who’ve picked up the 500GB model, or for those who fancy grabbing probably the greatest gaming SSDs on the market for it as an alternative, though bear in mind this will probably be restricted to PCIe 4.0, so don’t go losing money on a 5.0 drive. You’ll want a single-sided stick too. All massive wins nonetheless.

Benchmarks

Acer may be touting this as certainly one of its newest AI gaming laptops of selection (who isn’t as of late?), however what actually issues is that uncooked efficiency. Let’s face it, outdoors of the world of DLSS, the vast majority of AI efficiency (for now no less than) lies solely within the cloud relating to gaming. So, for the second, let’s disregard the “233 AI TOPS” from that GPU, and another synthetic intelligence shenanigans and concentrate on the actual metrics. Specifically, that graphical efficiency.

Right here’s the actual pleasure with this laptop computer. As I’ve already talked about, combining an affordable decision with this GPU is an absolute energy play on this planet of modern-day gaming laptops (as wild as that’s to say). Simply having the chance to not stretch a 1,920 x 1,080 decision over a 2,560 x 1,600 show does wonders for picture readability, and eliminates any of the anti-aliased hubbub obligatory to essentially make it work. Mix it with AI upscaling within the type of DLSS, and instantly you’re on to a winner.

Usually at , we run two units of gaming benchmarks when testing a laptop computer similar to this one. One set at its native decision (together with Cyberpunk, F1 23, and Whole Conflict: Warhammer 3), and one at 1080p. In fact, we now not want to do this on this case; nonetheless, the outcomes are spectacular.

Leap into Whole Conflict: Warhammer 3, on the Extremely graphical preset, and also you’re greeted with 71fps on common, F1 23 nails 40fps, and Cyberpunk with DLSS 3.5 and AI body era enabled sails in with 73fps as properly. That’s severely spectacular. It beats out each the Acer Nitro 14 and the Predator Helios Neo 14 I examined earlier this yr, each of which value $400 to $500 extra, respectively.

In artificial testing, utilizing UL’s 3D Mark suite (Timespy and Timespy Excessive), the outcomes are a contact extra in favor of these two chunkier laptops, however the Nitro V nonetheless places in an excellent exhibiting throughout each, with total scores of 8,773 and 4,153, respectively.

An informed guess suggests these decrease scores occurred attributable to two causes, the primary of which is the lowered GPU energy restrict holding the 4060 down at 75W, vs the Neo’s 120W and the Nitro’s 100W (all three laptops function an RTX 4060), and the second being the marginally older CPU structure and decrease clock speeds within the V 15 (because it’s working a Ryzen 7 7735HS versus the Nitro’s 14’s Ryzen 7 8845HS and the Neo’s Extremely 7 155H). Timespy runs a separate CPU benchmark as a part of its run sequence and scores the CPU accordingly, flattening the general outcome with it.

That decrease CPU efficiency additionally interprets into Cinebench R24, with the Nitro V 15 scoring simply 688 factors within the multi-core benchmark and a meager 90 within the single-core checks. Each figures are decrease than another laptop computer I’ve examined at this yr. Nonetheless, regardless of that, and given the fee, it doesn’t massively influence total efficiency, except you’re working closely multi-threaded software program flat out. So long as the CPU isn’t completely hammered below load, its efficiency is okay, particularly in video games.

Battery

I wasn’t anticipating a lot from the Nitro V 15’s battery once I initially  its battery specs. This laptop computer comes with a 59WHr battery internally, and Acer’s packed it with a 135W energy adapter too. Nonetheless, that decrease TDP on the GPU and slower clock speeds on the CPU not solely permit the V 15 to maintain itself cooler for longer, but additionally provides it an edge on this planet of battery life as properly.

Usually I run two rounds of testing relating to battery benchmarking, once more profiting from UL’s PC Mark 10. For this, we use the Gaming Battery take a look at and the Trendy Workplace take a look at. We cost the laptop computer to full, set the display brightness to 50%, unplug the unit, and run the benchmark. The laptop computer will then run by way of the take a look at sequence on repeat till it reaches round 3% and begins to hibernate.

The outcomes had been stunning. Even with a restricted battery capability, the Nitro scored admirably, crusing in with 99 minutes on the gaming benchmark, beating each the Lenovo Legio Slim 5 and Alienware M16 R2, and a whopping 421 minutes in trendy workplace, supplanting the Neo 14 by 20 minutes, and remarkably, the Nitro 14 by 181 minutes.

Subjectively, the battery by no means felt like a burden both. Utilizing it as a day-to-day laptop computer, streaming video content material, engaged on it, and shopping the online, it did handle a full day within the workplace with out a lot of a wrestle.

Value

The Acer Nitro V 15 worth is $900 for the ANV15-41-R2MS mannequin, which hits the nail on the top for affordability. This offers it an actual aggressive edge once you take a look at the inner {hardware}. OK, so it’s not fairly as dominant in CPU checks, however when it actually counts, in video games, it delivers some spectacular efficiency, out-competing laptops at 1080p which might be significantly dearer.

Sure, technically you don’t get fairly as spectacular a display decision, however at 140ppi, you’d be hard-pressed to essentially see a lot of a distinction, except you’re actually headbutting the panel.

Verdict

Understated, minimal, and surprisingly succesful, the Acer Nitro V 15 is a good finances gaming laptop computer. Bizarrely, certainly one of its greatest wins seems to come back from somebody wanting on the finances for this laptop computer, and saying, “Let’s pair this 1080p display with a sensible GPU and put a beautiful worth on it.” You’d assume that may be widespread information and a wise strategy in an trade that’s been established for properly over 20 years, and but right here we’re, commending a laptop computer and an organization for doing simply that.

For those who’re in search of a laptop computer that may play the newest video games at 1080p with first rate settings, whereas wanting good and holding cool whereas it does it, and with a low worth, then the Nitro V 15 is totally price shopping for. For those who’re within the US, completely go for it; for those who’re within the UK, properly, undoubtedly keep watch over it (heck, it’d even drop down in worth within the Black Friday gross sales, you by no means know). Simply don’t look to this laptop computer if you wish to render that 18-hour 4K epic you’ve obtained deliberate as an unofficial sequel to Pacific Rim; you may be ready some time.