Acer Nitro 5 AN515-57 15.6 Inch Gaming Laptop - (Intel Core i5-11400H, 8GB, 512GB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650, Full HD 144Hz, Windows 11, Black)

Product Information

At this point, this Intel-based version of the 2021 Acer Nitro 5 AN515-57 is not yet widely available in stores, but you should follow this link for the latest updated prices and configurations available in your region, at the time you’re reading this article. We tested the laptop with a cooling pad and with the fans ramped up to their max state. With the cooling pad, the GPU frequency is a bit higher while the temperatures are the same compared to the default fan settings. Now, there is an improvement if you set the fans to max speed but good god almighty – the CPU fan spins at 5000 rpm and the GPU one is rotating with 6000 rpm. Nope, in this mode the laptop isn’t just a vacuum cleaner – it’s a fighter jet that flies near you. Comfort during full load

Plastic is used for the entire construction. The interior and lid have a smooth soft feel and this sort of finishing that resembles dark sand, with some sparkly elements integrated into the plastic. They look fine, but show smudges easily. The underside is a rougher kind of plastic. For connectivity, there’s Gigabit Lan and Wireless 6 + Bluetooth through Realtek/Intel chips on this unit. This Intel configuration of the Nitro 5 seems to get a higher-quality WiFi module, but we haven’t noticed any differences during our use of any of the 2021 nItro 5 models that we’ve tested, nor near the router and at 30+ feet away with obstacles in between. We’ll update once we know more, and in the meantime, follow this link for the latest updated prices and configurations available in your region. Final thoughts – Acer Nitro 5 AN515-57

We also ran some Workstation related loads on this Intel i7 + RTX 3070 configuration, on the High-Performance profile: The next figure shows how well the display is able to reproduce really dark parts of an image, which is essential when watching movies or playing games in low ambient light. Explore Comet and discover a constellation of products from washing machines and fridge freezers to air fryers, 4K TVs, laptops, consoles and more - it’s easy to find everything you need for your home in the Comet universe.

On to more demanding loads, we start by testing the CPU’s performance by running the Cinebench R15 test for 15+ times in a loop, with 1-2 seconds delay between each run. The outer shell temperatures are pretty good, though, with only some hotspots around the components. No complaints here. The measured maximum brightness of 306 nits in the middle of the screen and 278 nits as an average for the whole area, with a maximum deviation of 14%. The Correlated Color Temperature on a white screen is 6930K – slightly colder than the optimal for the sRGB standard of 6500K. The RTX 3070 configurations would demand 200-300 USD/EUR extra over the 3060s, for a roughly ~20% gain in GPU performance. Normally, I wouldn’t recommend a 3070 in this sort of chassis, but our test unit performed really well and even outmatched the 3070 Predator Helios 300, so unless Acer somehow limit the retail models with future BIOS updates, the 3070 configurations might not be a bad deal here. Just beware of those internal temperatures. Installing our Health-Guard profile not only eliminates PWM but also reduces the harmful Blue Light emissions while keeping the colors of the screen perceptually accurate. If you’re not familiar with the Blue light, the TL;DR version is – light emissions that negatively affect your eyes, skin, and your whole body. You can find more information about that in our dedicated article on Blue Light. ConclusionAcer Nitro 5 (AN515-57)’s display (CMN1521) is PWM-free which is definitely good for your health no matter how long you plan to stay in front of the laptop. In this test we use 100% on the CPU cores, monitoring their frequencies and chip temperature. The first column shows a computer’s reaction to a short load (2-10 seconds), the second column simulates a serious task (between 15 and 30 seconds), and the third column is a good indicator of how good the laptop is for long loads such as video rendering. Far Cry 5, Middle Earth, Strange Brigade, Red Dead Redemption 2, Tomb Raider games – recorded with the included Benchmark utilities;

Here’s what we got on our review unit, with the screen’s brightness set at around 120 nits (~70 brightness). The display is a mixed bag – it’s a PWM-free panel which is good for your eyes during long gaming sessions. Also, it has a good contrast ratio and comfortable viewing angles. On the other hand, the color coverage is too narrow which isn’t a big problem if you use it mainly for games but if you want to do some color-sensitive work you should look somewhere else for a machine with a better panel. Unfortunately, the pixel response time is on the slow side so if you want to play fast-paced online shooters probably you’ll spot that.As far as the practicality of using this Nitro every day, I don’t like the pointy corners and sharp lips that Acer still implement on this notebook, and I’m not a big fan of having the status LEDs under the screen either. Those aside, though, no complaints.