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MagyarAcer Aspire V15 Nitro (VN7-591G-77A9) Notebook Review
For the original German review, see here.
Not all that long ago, gaming laptops were very bulky. Quite a lot of room was needed for air circulation to ensure that the hardware was cooled sufficiently. Meanwhile, modern hardware allows building considerably slimmer gaming laptops, and various manufacturers have launched corresponding models in the market. Acer also has similar models in its product line called Aspire V 15 Nitro and Aspire V 17 Nitro. We tested the 17.3-inch relation, the Acer Aspire V 17 VN-791G-759Q (Core i7-4710HQ, GeForce GTX 860M) a few weeks ago. Now we have our hands on the Acer Aspire V 15 Nitro VN7-591G-77A9, which is its identically configured, 15.6-inch counterpart. Our report reveals whether the laptop is convincing.
All 15-inch gaming laptops that are in the Aspire's price range can basically be considered rivals. Among them we find, for example, the Lenovo IdeaPad Y50-70 (Core i7-4700HQ, GeForce GTX 860M), and MSI GE60-2PEi781B (Core i7-4700HQ, GeForce GTX 860M).
Case
Acer installs very powerful hardware in a relatively slim, 24 mm (~0.95 inches) casing. The laptop looks even thinner because the base unit's underside tapers off to the sides. The casing is made completely of black, matte plastic, and the base unit's upper part has a light rubber coating. The lid's back features a vertical line texture. Acer has not treated its laptop to a maintenance hatch, but the casing is quite easy to open. After removing all screws on the underside, the laptop is turned right way up again. The base unit's upper side can then be removed carefully. We used a putty knife for this. It is recommended to start below the large sticker. Note: the upper shell is connected to the motherboard with three ribbon cables.
The base unit does not exhibit any major weaknesses in stiffness. It can only be dented marginally under the touchpad. The base unit's rigidness is within the standard. The lid can be warped more distinctly, which also causes image distortions. In addition, it also produces a noise that sounds like crackling plastic film. Image distortions only occur in some places when pressure is applied to the lid's back. The hinges keep the lid firmly in position, but wobble slightly. It is just still possible to open the lid with one hand.
Connectivity
Interfaces
The buyer will not find a generous amount of interfaces in the Aspire. It looks similar to the IdeaPad Y50-70. MSI's laptop can boast of an additional VGA output. It is a plus that all three USB ports in the Aspire support the 3.0 standard. Acer has positioned all interfaces in the right rear area. Thus, cables will not clutter the areas on either side of the wrist rest.
Communication
A Wi-Fi module with an Atheros AR5BWB222 Wi-Fi chip is installed in the Aspire. It supports the 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi standards. The connection remained stable within a radius of approximately 15 meters (~49 ft) of the router. 3 to 5 bars were always available according to the Windows Wi-Fi display. Nevertheless, buyers should test the Wi-Fi reception in their home after purchase because some of our forum users have reported that the Aspire has a poor signal. A Gigabit Ethernet chip from Realtek's RTL8168/8111 family takes care of cabled network connections. The laptop also features a Bluetooth 4.0 module. The installed webcam (1280x720 pixels) shoots very muddy pictures.
Accessories
The usual accessories are found in the box: warranty information and a quick start poster.
Operating System
The Windows 8.1 (64 bit) operating system is installed. A Windows DVD is not included for the laptop. Acer exclusively supports Windows 8.1, and thus only provides drivers for this operating system. Users who want to replace Windows 8.1 with Windows 7 will not encounter problems. We tested this by taking out both the conventional hard drive and the SSD and replacing them with a 2.5-inch SSD.
Most drivers from Acer's website also function under Windows 7. The memory card reader, chipset, Wi-Fi module, Bluetooth module, ME engine, Intel's GPU and Nvidia's GPU can be operated using the drivers from Acer's website. In the case of the GeForce, the driver from Acer's homepage has to be used because the newer driver from Nvidia cannot be installed. A driver for the Ethernet chip can be found on Realtek's homepage. Finally, a driver for USB 3.0 functionality is also needed, and can be found on Intel's website.
Note: According to Acer's website, Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth modules from Intel and Broadcom could be installed. Since Atheros modules were installed in our review sample, we could not check whether the Intel or Broadcom drivers that Acer provides on its website also function under Windows 7. It is unlikely that there will be problems with the Intel drivers because the matching drivers can be found on Intel's website.
Maintenance
As mentioned before, the Aspire does not have a maintenance hatch. Opening the casing is quite easy though, and enables accessing the SSD, hard drive, Wi-Fi module, and battery directly. There is also no problem to clean the fan. The motherboard would have to be taken out for replacing the working memory. Acer installs a solid-state drive in the M.2 format, which could also be replaced. The same is true for the conventional, 2.5-inch hard drive. Models with a height of 7 and 8.5 mm (~0.27 and 0.33 inches) would fit. The battery can be exchanged in case of defect. It is only secured with one screw, and is plugged into the motherboard.
Warranty
Acer includes a two-year warranty for the Nitro. Both the IdeaPad and MSI laptop come with the same coverage. The Aspire's warranty period can be extended to three years for approximately 80 Euros (~$101).
Input Devices
Keyboard
The Aspire features a backlit chiclet keyboard, including a number pad. Acer uses red LEDs, and the color fits perfectly to the laptop. The backlight can only be turned on and off. The level, smooth keys have a short drop and clear pressure point. The main keys feature a size of approximately 15 x 15 mm (~0.59 x 0.59 inches). The keyboard teeters slightly when typing on it - more in the center than at the edges. This is not, however, especially annoying. All in all, the keyboard makes a good impression and is suitable for long typing sessions.
Touchpad
A multi-touch ClickPad replaces the mouse. The pad is not inserted quite flush, and is slightly deeper in the casing on the right. The pad has a large surface of 10.6 x 7.8 cm (~4.17 x 3 inches), which greatly facilitates using gestures. The sleek surface allows the fingers to glide easily. However, the mouse cursor tends to skip occasionally, which makes accurate control difficult. Furthermore, the general stability could be better. The pad has a short drop, and clearly audible and palpable pressure point.
Display
The Nitro is equipped with a matte, 15.6-inch screen and a native resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. The IdeaPad and MSI's laptop also have this type of screen. The Aspire's screen has a brightness of 319.2 cd/m², which is a good rate. The screen in the GE60 (308.9 cd/m²) is close behind that, and a much darker model is installed in the IdeaPad (221.3 cd/m²).
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 87 %
Center on Battery: 317 cd/m²
Contrast: 689:1 (Black: 0.46 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 5.79 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 5.01 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
55% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
61.4% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
84% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
66.9% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.35
| Acer Aspire V 15 Nitro VN7-591G-77A9 GeForce GTX 860M, 4710HQ, Kingston RBU-SNS8100S3128GD | Lenovo IdeaPad Y50 GeForce GTX 860M, 4700HQ, Western Digital WD10S21X SSHD 1TB + 8GB SSD-Cache | MSI GE60-2PEi781B GeForce GTX 860M, 4700HQ, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-22JC3T0 | Acer Aspire V5-573G-54218G1Taii GeForce GTX 850M, 4210U, Seagate ST1000LM014 Solid State Hybrid Drive | Gigabyte P35W v2 GeForce GTX 870M, 4710HQ, 2x Lite-On LMT-128M6M (RAID 0) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | -41% | 6% | 2% | -3% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 66.9 | 35.98 -46% | 65.7 -2% | 63.4 -5% | 64.1 -4% |
| sRGB Coverage | 84 | 52.8 -37% | 92.5 10% | 89.7 7% | 81.7 -3% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 61.4 | 37.28 -39% | 66.8 9% | 64.6 5% | 59.7 -3% |
| Screen | -48% | 9% | 5% | 10% | |
| Brightness middle | 317 | 227.1 -28% | 327 3% | 326 3% | 282 -11% |
| Brightness | 319 | 221 -31% | 309 -3% | 306 -4% | 303 -5% |
| Brightness Distribution | 87 | 85 -2% | 90 3% | 87 0% | 81 -7% |
| Black Level * | 0.46 | 0.722 -57% | 0.43 7% | 0.56 -22% | 0.38 17% |
| Contrast | 689 | 315 -54% | 760 10% | 582 -16% | 742 8% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 5.79 | 10.13 -75% | 3.59 38% | 3.2 45% | 4.08 30% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 5.01 | 10.04 -100% | 4.86 3% | 3.65 27% | 2.34 53% |
| Gamma | 2.35 94% | 2.15 102% | 2.35 94% | 2.29 96% | 2.25 98% |
| CCT | 7347 88% | 10438 62% | 7177 91% | 6685 97% | 6553 99% |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 55 | 34.26 -38% | 60 9% | 58 5% | 53.4 -3% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -45% /
-46% | 8% /
8% | 4% /
4% | 4% /
7% |
* ... smaller is better
Not only the brightness is compelling, but also the contrast of 689:1 and black level of 0.49 cd/m². The rates of the GE60 (760:1; 0.43 cd/m²) are only slightly better. The IdeaPad (315:1; 9.72 cd/m²) again lags behind its rivals. The Aspire's screen cannot completely reproduce either the AdobeRGB or sRGB color spaces. Nevertheless, the coverage rates of 55% (AdobeRGB) and 75% (sRGB) are not bad at all.
The color reproduction in the state of delivery is also appealing. The screen is quite close to the target range of DeltaE less than 3 with an average DeltaE 2000 shift of 5.79. The screen does not exhibit a bluish cast, and calibrating it only improves the colors marginally. The grayscale reproduction benefits from that considerably more.
The Aspire is equipped with a viewing angle stable IPS screen, which makes the screen legible from every position. The laptop can be used outdoors owing to the combination of its matte surface, brightness, and contrast.
Performance
Acer has a 15.6-inch laptop for gamers-on-the-go in its product line with the V15 Nitro VN7-591G. A high-performance processor and GeForce graphics core provide the needed computing power. Our review sample is available for around 1100 Euros (~$1394). Acer also offers the device in other configurations. For example, the laptop is also available with a 4K screen. Currently the cheapest model of the series (Acer Aspire VN7-591G-50UG) is sold for approximately 900 Euros (~$1142), and is equipped with a Core i5-4210H processor. It does not have an SSD. Acer's Aspire V5 Nitro VN7-571G is an identically built, but technically slimmed down model. This series uses ULV processors and GeForce 840M or GeForce GTX 850M cards. A review of the currently cheapest model, the Aspire V15 Nitro VN7-571G-56NX (Core i5-4210U, GeForce 840M), will be published within the next few days on Notebookcheck.com.
Processor
Despite its very slim build, Acer has equipped its Black Edition with a standard mobile processor (not ULV) with a TDP of 47 Watts. The installed Core i7-4710HQ (quad-core processor from the Haswell generation) operates with a base clock of 2.5 GHz, which can be increased to 3.3 GHz (four cores), 3.4 GHz (two cores) or 3.5 GHz (one core) via Turbo Boost. We ran the CPU tests of the Cinebench benchmarks to ascertain whether the full computing power can be retrieved. The processor clocked with 3.3 GHz in the multi-thread tests. Two cores were recurrently boosted to 3.4 GHz and one core to 3.5 GHz in the single-thread tests. Consequently, the full performance is available. The processor clocked with 2.9 GHz (multi-thread) and 2.9 to 3.4 GHz (single-thread) when the tests were performed in battery mode.
System Performance
There is no reason for complaining about the system's performance. The laptop operates swiftly and smoothly, which is not surprising. The laptop is equipped with a fast solid-state drive and a powerful Core i7 processor. The very good scores achieved in the PCMark benchmarks confirm this.
| PCMark 7 Score | 5879 points | |
| PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2 | 3603 points | |
| PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2 | 4305 points | |
| PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2 | 4318 points | |
Help | ||
Storage Devices
A solid-state drive with a capacity of 128 GB from Kingston is installed as the system drive in the Aspire. The drive pleases with good transfer rates, though it does not belong to the absolute top-of-the-line SSDs. Models like Samsung's 840 Evo have more to offer. The SSD is supported by a conventional hard drive from Western Digital - after all, computer games need a lot of space. The drive has a capacity of 1 TB and spins at 5400 revolutions per minute (RPM).
| Acer Aspire V 15 Nitro VN7-591G-77A9 GeForce GTX 860M, 4710HQ, Kingston RBU-SNS8100S3128GD | SCHENKER XMG P724 GeForce GTX 880M SLI, 4810MQ, Samsung SSD 840 EVO 500GB mSATA | Asus GL550JK-CN391H GeForce GTX 850M, 4700HQ, SanDisk SD6SB1M256G1002 | SCHENKER XMG P704 GeForce GTX 880M, 4910MQ, Crucial M500 480 GB CT480M500SSD3 mSATA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AS SSD | 29% | 5% | 9% | |
| Seq Read | 504 | 504 0% | 472.8 -6% | 482.2 -4% |
| Seq Write | 325.1 | 483.6 49% | 428.2 32% | 385.3 19% |
| 4K Read | 37.69 | 40.83 8% | 32.44 -14% | 26.52 -30% |
| 4K Write | 81.7 | 109.9 35% | 91.1 12% | 114.9 41% |
| 4K-64 Read | 195.5 | 355.2 82% | 319 63% | 319.2 63% |
| 4K-64 Write | 234.9 | 270.5 15% | 183.6 -22% | 255.7 9% |
| Access Time Read * | 0.11 | 0.097 12% | 0.125 -14% | 0.114 -4% |
| Access Time Write * | 0.042 | 0.03 29% | 0.046 -10% | 0.053 -26% |
* ... smaller is better
Graphics Card
The 15-inch laptop is equipped with two graphics cards: Intel's HD Graphics 4600 and Nvidia's GeForce GTX 860M. The chips can use the Optimus technology. Both cores are responsible for different tasks within this array. While the HD Graphics takes care of routine applications and is enabled in battery mode, the GeForce is switched on for performance-devouring tasks, such as computer games. Both cores support DirectX 11. The GTX 860M is a member of the GPU premium class. It clocks with speeds ranging between 1029 and 1097 MHz. The core can make use of the fast GDDR5 memory (2 GB). Its scores in the 3DMark benchmarks are as we expected from this hardware platform, and are on par with comparable devices like the IdeaPad Y50 and MSI GE60.
| 3DMark 06 Standard Score | 25010 points | |
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 5124 points | |
| 3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score | 108034 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 16111 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 3630 points | |
Help | ||
Gaming Performance
The Aspire can render virtually all games smoothly on the screen with the HD resolution and high graphic settings. Games often still run without lags using 1920x1080 pixels and very high quality settings. Both facts are not surprising because the Nitro is exclusively aimed at gamers. Should more gaming power be needed, the buyer would have to choose a laptop with a GeForce GTX 870M or GTX 880M. Examples would be MSI's GS60 and Gigabyte's P25X v2. Schenker's XMG P505 with the brand new GeForce GTX 970M would also come into the equation. However, these laptops also cost more.
| low | med. | high | ultra | |
| Deus Ex Human Revolution (2011) | 160.7 | 69.3 | ||
| Alan Wake (2012) | 73.5 | 34.9 | ||
| Max Payne 3 (2012) | 80.2 | 64.8 | 46.4 | |
| Assassin´s Creed III (2012) | 68.6 | 65.1 | 28.8 | |
| Dead Space 3 (2013) | 193.5 | 144.5 | 84.5 | |
| Tomb Raider (2013) | 156.6 | 95.7 | 44.1 | |
| BioShock Infinite (2013) | 120 | 106 | 41 | |
| Splinter Cell: Blacklist (2013) | 97.9 | 51 | 24.8 | |
| The Bureau: XCOM Declassified (2013) | 97.1 | 58.4 | 40.6 | |
| Batman: Arkham Origins (2013) | 164 | 89 | 47 | |
| Need for Speed: Rivals (2013) | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| Thief (2014) | 48.5 | 44.5 | 24.2 | |
| GRID: Autosport (2014) | 103.5 | 74.7 | 43.6 | |
| Risen 3: Titan Lords (2014) | 36 | 41.4 | 33.8 |
| Acer Aspire V 15 Nitro VN7-591G-77A9 GeForce GTX 860M, 4710HQ, Kingston RBU-SNS8100S3128GD | Lenovo IdeaPad Y50-70 (59424712) GeForce GTX 860M, 4710HQ, Samsung SSD PM851 512 GB MZ7TE512HMHP | MSI GE60-2PEi781B GeForce GTX 860M, 4700HQ, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-22JC3T0 | Acer Aspire V5-573G-54218G1Taii GeForce GTX 850M, 4210U, Seagate ST1000LM014 Solid State Hybrid Drive | SCHENKER XMG P505 GeForce GTX 970M, 4870HQ, Samsung SSD XP941 MZHPU256HCGL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tomb Raider | 1% | -31% | 89% | ||
| 1366x768 Normal Preset AA:FX AF:4x | 156.6 | 112.6 -28% | 295.4 89% | ||
| 1366x768 High Preset AA:FX AF:8x | 95.7 | 97 1% | 62.4 -35% | 187.1 96% | |
| 1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:FX AF:16x | 44.1 | 30.4 -31% | 80.3 82% | ||
| BioShock Infinite | -2% | -5% | -36% | 45% | |
| 1366x768 Medium Preset | 120 | 117.7 -2% | 78.2 -35% | 150.2 25% | |
| 1366x768 High Preset | 106 | 101.8 -4% | 101.3 -4% | 67.4 -36% | 142.5 34% |
| 1920x1080 Ultra Preset, DX11 (DDOF) | 41 | 40.56 -1% | 39 -5% | 25.4 -38% | 72.5 77% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -2% /
-2% | -2% /
-3% | -34% /
-34% | 67% /
67% |
Emissions
System Noise
The Aspire is virtually silent while idling. The fan even occasionally stands still and the hard drive is inactive. In such cases, the laptop operates silently. The IdeaPad and MSI laptop are both louder in idle mode. It is of course only natural that the Nitro's fan speeds up considerably during load. We measured a noise level ranging from 40.6 to 44.4 dB(A) in medium load (3DMark 06), and a consistent 44.6 dB(A) in full load (stress test using Prime95 and FurMark). That sounds worse than it actually is. The noise emission is quite tolerable for the user because the fan discharges the waste heat toward the rear. We have heard much louder devices. Acer's laptop operates quieter than both the IdeaPad and MSI GE60, even during load.
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 29.6 / 30.6 / 31.4 dB(A) |
| HDD |
| 31.6 dB(A) |
| Load |
| 44.4 / 44.6 dB(A) |
 | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min:  , med:  , max:  Voltcraft sl-320 (15 cm distance) | ||
Temperature
The Aspire performed our stress test (Prime96 and FurMark run for at least one hour) in AC and battery mode in the same manner. The processor clocked with its full speed for only a few seconds and was then throttled to 800 MHz. It remained at this clock rate most of the time and only rarely increased to 900/1000 MHz. The graphics core mostly calculated with its full performance of 1006 to 1070 MHz).
We recorded temperatures far above 40 degrees Celsius (~104 °F) at several measuring points during our stress test. The user should definitely not place the laptop on the lap. MSI's GE60 reaches similar temperatures and the IdeaPad gets even warmer.
(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 48 °C / 118 F, compared to the average of 40.4 °C / 105 F, ranging from 21.2 to 68.8 °C for the class Gaming.
(-) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 47.6 °C / 118 F, compared to the average of 43.2 °C / 110 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 27.8 °C / 82 F, compared to the device average of 33.8 °C / 93 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 31.2 °C / 88.2 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.9 °C / 84 F (-2.3 °C / -4.2 F).
Speakers
Acer installs a total of four speakers in its Nitro. They are located on the laptop's underside, and produce a rich, balanced sound. It is very possible to listen to the speakers even for a long time. The user can influence the sound output slightly with the preloaded Dolby Digital Plus software.
Energy Management
Power Consumption
The 15-inch laptop has been equipped with high-performance components. Thus, it is not surprising that the device has an above average power consumption. The energy requirement can climb up to 21.4 Watts while idling. This looks the same in MSI's GE60. We measured a power consumption of approximately 85.5 Watts (79 to 94 Watts) during medium load (via 3DMark 06), which will roughly be the laptop's consumption during a game. When the laptop was loaded to maximum (stress test via Prime95 and FurMark), the power consumption climbed up to 136.9 Watts for a moment before the processor was throttled, and the power consumption dropped.
| Off / Standby | 0.1 / 0.2 Watt |
| Idle | 6.2 / 10.2 / 21.4 Watt |
| Load |
85.5 / 136.9 Watt |
   
| |
| Acer Aspire V 15 Nitro VN7-591G-77A9 GeForce GTX 860M, 4710HQ, Kingston RBU-SNS8100S3128GD | MSI GE60-2PEi781B GeForce GTX 860M, 4700HQ, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-22JC3T0 | SCHENKER XMG P505 GeForce GTX 970M, 4870HQ, Samsung SSD XP941 MZHPU256HCGL | Gigabyte P35W v2 GeForce GTX 870M, 4710HQ, 2x Lite-On LMT-128M6M (RAID 0) | Acer Aspire V5-573G-54218G1Taii GeForce GTX 850M, 4210U, Seagate ST1000LM014 Solid State Hybrid Drive | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | -14% | -97% | -57% | 13% | |
| Idle Minimum * | 6.2 | 8.5 -37% | 19.9 -221% | 14.3 -131% | 7.2 -16% |
| Idle Average * | 10.2 | 12.9 -26% | 24 -135% | 19 -86% | 11.3 -11% |
| Idle Maximum * | 21.4 | 22.9 -7% | 32.6 -52% | 23.7 -11% | 17.4 19% |
| Load Average * | 85.5 | 90.9 -6% | 110.6 -29% | 111.5 -30% | 54 37% |
| Load Maximum * | 136.9 | 126.2 8% | 203 -48% | 176.1 -29% | 85.9 37% |
* ... smaller is better
Battery Runtime
The Aspire's battery lasted for almost 10 hours while idling. The IdeaPad (8:17 h) and GE60 (5:03 h) are drained quicker. Idle mode is ascertained using Battery Eater Reader's test with minimum screen brightness, enabled energy-saving mode, and disabled Wi-Fi modules. The Nitro shut down after 1:08 hours of load. It is positioned between the GE60 (1:04 h) and IdeaPad (1:28 h). The load runtime is determined with Battery Eater Classic test using maximum screen brightness, the high-performance profile, and enabled wireless modules.
The 15-inch laptop stopped the Wi-Fi test after 4:37 hours. The IdeaPad (4:21 h) and GE60 (3:42) cannot match that. In this test, websites are opened automatically every 40 seconds using a screen brightness of ~150 cd/m². We check the video playback time by running the short movie Big Buck Bunny (H.264 encoding, 1920x1080 pixels) in a loop. The energy-saving profile is enabled, the wireless modules are disabled, and the screen's brightness is set to approximately 150 cd/m². The Aspire lasted 3:41 hours here. This test was not performed on either of the competitors.
We ran the in-game benchmark of GRID Autosport (1920x1080 pixels, Very High, 4x MSAA) in a loop to find out just how long one battery charge would last in a gaming session. The Aspire was drained after approximately 45 minutes.
In total, the battery life is absolutely satisfactory. It is after all a very powerful laptop. The battery capacities of our three laptops are relatively equal (Acer: 52.5 Wh; Lenovo: 54 Wh; MSI: 49 Wh), and thus the runtimes can be compared quite well.
| Acer Aspire V 15 Nitro VN7-591G-77A9 GeForce GTX 860M, 4710HQ, Kingston RBU-SNS8100S3128GD | SCHENKER XMG P505 GeForce GTX 970M, 4870HQ, Samsung SSD XP941 MZHPU256HCGL | Lenovo IdeaPad Y50 GeForce GTX 860M, 4700HQ, Western Digital WD10S21X SSHD 1TB + 8GB SSD-Cache | MSI GE60-2PEi781B GeForce GTX 860M, 4700HQ, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-22JC3T0 | Gigabyte P35W v2 GeForce GTX 870M, 4710HQ, 2x Lite-On LMT-128M6M (RAID 0) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | -35% | 2% | -25% | 29% | |
| Reader / Idle | 596 | 174 -71% | 497 -17% | 303 -49% | 385 -35% |
| H.264 | 221 | 140 -37% | |||
| WiFi | 277 | 261 -6% | 222 -20% | 407 47% | |
| Load | 68 | 71 4% | 88 29% | 64 -6% | 118 74% |
Verdict
Acer's Aspire V 15 Nitro VN7-591G is a powerful and handy laptop for gamers. Undoubtedly, Acer has successfully implemented this undertaking. A high-performance Core i7 processor and GeForce GTX 860M graphics card provide enough power so that virtually every current track can be played on the laptop. At the same time, the noise and temperature development are very much kept within limits. A fast SSD ensures a fast-running system. This is supplemented with a matte, bright, and high-contrast IPS screen alongside a useful keyboard. The decent battery life should not be left unmentioned either. Acer has to accept criticism for the touchpad. We expect an accurate control here. A mouse cursor that recurrently skips, is unacceptable. We would also have appreciated at least two small maintenance hatches that enable direct access to the hard drives. That would make it possible to replace them quickly with higher-capacity models, when required.
Acer's Aspire V 15 Nitro VN7-571G is an identically built, but technically slimmed down version in the product line. We will soon publish a review about the cheapest model, VN7-571G-56NX (Core i5-4210U, GeForce 840M). Though the laptop cannot compete with the performance of the VN7-591G, it has other assets.
