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MagyarAcer Aspire Nitro 5 Laptop Review: A gaming laptop with decent battery life
The Acer Aspire Nitro 5 AN517 is a 17.3-inch gaming laptop and currently the flagship model of Acer’s Nitro 5 series. The device comes with an Intel Core i7-9750H processor and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti GPU, which should combine to deliver a system capable of playing modern triple-A games smoothly in 1080p. More on that later. Acer complements these components with 16 GB of dual-channel DDR4 RAM, and 1.5 TB of combined storage is split across a 512 GB PCIe SSD and a 1 TB HDD. This configuration, to which Acer gives the snappy name AN517-51-7887, currently retails at 1,499 Euros (~US$1,663.53) on Acer’s website.
The company does offer more affordable SKUs though, the cheapest of which costs 899 Euros (~US$998) and comes with a Core i5-9300H along with a GeForce GTX 1050. This model also has just 8 GB of RAM and a 512 GB PCIe SSD. There is also a version with a GeForce GTX 1650 should the GeForce GTX 1050 be too slow for you and the flagship model too expensive. This model currently costs 1069 Euros (~US$1,186) and comes with a Core i5-9300H too.
There are numerous devices against which we could choose to compare the Nitro 5. We have outlined our comparison devices in the table below, with the only consistent theme being that they all have 17.3-inch 1080p IPS panels.
| Lenovo Legion Y540 | HP Pavilion Gaming 17 | ASUS ROG Strix G | MSI GL73 | Asus TUF FX705GM | |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-9300H | Intel Core i7-9750H | Intel Core i7-9750H | Intel Core i7-8750H | Intel Core i7-8750H |
| GPU | GeForce GTX 1660 Ti | GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q | GeForce GTX 1660 Ti | GeForce RTX 2060 | GeForce GTX 1060 |
| Display | 17.3-inch 1920x1080 (IPS) | 17.3-inch 1920x1080 (IPS) | 17.3-inch 1920x1080 (IPS) | 17.3-inch 1920x1080 (IPS) | 17.3-inch 1920x1080 (IPS) |
| RAM | 16 GB DDR4 | 16 GB DDR4 | 32 GB DDR4 | 16 GB DDR4 | 32 GB DDR4 |
| Storage | 512 GB SSD | 256 GB SSD + 2 TB HDD | 512 GB SSD | 128 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD | 256 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD |
| Score | 86% | 84% | 87% | 82% | 83% |
Case
The Nitro 5 has a black chassis that Acer accents with several red elements including the keyboard, display hinge and trim around the trackpad. A two-tone red and black look has become almost cliché now with many OEMs also having chosen this style for their gaming laptops. The Nitro 5 also looks better than it feels, with Acer opting for a completely plastic design. The device has an understated look to it by gaming standards save for its red accents, with most surfaces having a smooth and matte finish. The only flashy element is the honeycomb texture on the sides of the display lid, which does not look overly garish to our eyes. Overall, while we prefer metal laptops, plastic helps keep costs down and is to be expected from a gaming laptop at this price that also includes powerful hardware.
Our review unit is well-built too, with there being no obvious processing blunders. No protrusions are visible, with all parts meshing together cleanly and without any unsightly gaps. The chassis is surprisingly sturdy too, with it taking some force to twist or depress the keyboard deck slightly. We could also get the display to temporarily deform if we pressed hard against it or the display lid, but this should not be a problem in daily use.
Sadly, the Nitro 5 cannot be opened with one hand, which is probably a combination of the hinges being tight and the base unit being rather light. However, the former does prevent the display from teetering when we are typing or gaming, which is good.
Our only gripe with the chassis, and it is a minor one, is the semi-glossy finish that Acer chose for the display lid and keyboard deck. While they may look pretty, they also pick up fingerprint grease quickly. In short, it was not long before our review unit was covered in fingerprints.
Size Comparison
The Nitro 5 measures 40.3 x 28 cm and is not overly chunky at 26.9 mm thick. These measurements put the device in the midfield of our comparison devices, the thinnest of which being the Pavilion Gaming 17 at 25 mm. The Nitro 5 is comparatively light though, with our review unit weighing between 100 g and 200 g less than our comparison devices. It is worth keeping in mind that the bundled power supply weighs 711 g, bringing the total carry weight up to almost 3.5 kg.
Connectivity
The Nitro 5 offers the minimum of ports by gaming laptop standards, with there being some notable absentees. Acer includes four USB ports, three of which being Type-A ports and the other Type-C. It is a shame to see a USB 2.0 port, but at least the other Type-A ports operate on the faster USB 3.0 standard. Acer has included RJ45 Ethernet and HDMI ports too, which are welcome, but the omission of an SD card reader or Thunderbolt port seem like missed opportunities. The same applies to there being no DisplayPort, which is worsened by the Type-C port also not supporting the standard. No DisplayPort gaming with the Nitro 5, then.
The distribution of ports is good but not perfect either. In short, there is plenty of space between some ports and too little between others. Take the Ethernet port, for instance, which is the only connection in the huge gap between the Kensington lock slot and HDMI port. By contrast, the HDMI and USB ports are all too close to each other, making it likely to encounter cable clashes if you try to connect peripherals to all four ports simultaneously. Likewise, the power connector on the opposite side is rather close to the ventilation grille, with the right-angled plug covering the grille in daily use. Overall, Acer could have done a better job of positioning the ports and had enough space to include omissions like an SD card reader too.
Communication
Acer equips the Nitro 5 with an Intel Wireless AC 9560, a modern modem that supports all modern network standards up to IEEE 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0.
Our review unit performed well during our iperf3 Client Wi-Fi tests, with it averaging around 650 Mb/s in both tests that we conducted. The TUF FX705GM and Legion Y540 averaged slightly higher transfer speeds in the same tests, but the difference will be negligible in daily use.
The Nitro 5 also supports Gigabit LAN thanks to its integrated Killer E2500 chip. The connection worked perfectly during our tests and is a viable alternative to Wi-Fi if you need a wired internet connection.
Security
Acer has not equipped the Nitro 5 with any biometric security features. Instead, the device only comes with a Kensington security lock, a Trusted Platform Module 2.0 (TPM 2.0) and all the features that come with Windows 10.
Accessories
The Nitro 5 comes with a 180 W power supply, some warranty instructions and a quick-start guide. Acer preinstalls Windows 10 Home and Norton Security Ultra too but does not offer any Nitro 5-specific accessories on its website.
Maintenance
Accessing the internal components requires removing the bottom cover, for Acer has not included a maintenance cover. Doing so requires unscrewing numerous screws and carefully prying up several plastic retaining clips. We would recommend using a flat plastic tool for the latter, as they are easily breakable. Once inside, you have access to all major components, including the drives, battery, RAM and Wi-Fi card.
Most components are replaceable, except for the CPU and GPU. There is even a second M.2-2280 drive bay should you wish to add another SSD. The Nitro 5 supports up to 32 GB of RAM too.
Warranty
The Nitro 5 comes with a 24-month limited manufacturer’s warranty, which includes a pickup and returns service. Please see our Guarantees, Return Policies & Warranties FAQ for country-specific information.
Input Devices
Keyboard
Acer equips the Nitro 5 with a six-row chiclet keyboard. Acer slightly recesses the rubber dome keyboard into the keyboard deck, leaving it flush with the palm rest. As we mentioned earlier, the keycaps have red lettering, although several, including WASD, have red outlines too. Acer includes a four-stage backlight too, which you may find using more often than you would have imagined as the red lettering is tricky to read in bright ambient light. Sadly, the backlight is just red, rather than RGB.
The keyboard may be eye-catching, but the keys have spongy pressure points and dampened stop, which is a shame. However, the soft keys remained quiet during our tests even when we typed quickly. The space bar is noisier than the other keys, but this is often the case with laptop keyboards. We like that Acer has included full-sized arrow keys and a number pad, with OEMs often omitting the latter or using half-sized arrow keys instead.
Trackpad
The Nitro 5 has a trackpad too, which measures 10.6 x 7.8 cm. Acer accents the black surface with a red trim, which fits well with the overall design of the machine. However, there is plenty of space for Acer to have included a larger trackpad, but this is only a minor gripe as most people will probably game with an external mouse. The trackpad is large enough for general tasks too.
Moreover, the trackpad is accurate even into its corners, and its finish is smooth enough on which to perform multi-finger gestures. The trackpad incorporates two mouse buttons too, which deliver an audible click and good feedback when pressed.
Display
The Nitro 5 has a 17.3-inch display that operates natively at 1920x1080, resulting in a pixel density of 127 PPI. Acer does not sell any alternative displays for the Nitro 5, for reference.
The IPS panel achieved an average maximum luminosity of 364 cd/m² according to X-Rite i1Pro 2, which is considerably brighter than all our comparison devices. Its black value is on the high side at 0.3 cd/m² though, resulting in a 1,357:1 contrast ratio. The latter is still impressive, but it falls short of the display in the Legion Y540, which has a better black value but dimmer display.
We also like that the panel does not use pulse-width modulation (PWM) to regulate brightness, and it suffers from no obvious backlight bleeding. However, it also has terrible response times for a gaming laptop display and is well behind the competition.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 84 %
Center on Battery: 407 cd/m²
Contrast: 1357:1 (Black: 0.3 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 4.55 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.95
ΔE Greyscale 7.61 | 0.5-98 Ø5.2
92% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
59% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
63.5% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
92.5% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
62.7% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.51
| Acer Aspire Nitro 5 AN517-51-7887 LP173WF5-SPB3, IPS, 1920x1080, 17.3" | Lenovo Legion Y540-17IRH AU Optronics B173HAN04.4 (AUO449D), IPS, 1920x1080, 17.3" | HP Pavilion Gaming 17-cd0085cl BOE0825, IPS, 1920x1080, 17.3" | Asus ROG Strix G GL731GU-RB74 AU Optronics B173HAN04.0, IPS, 1920x1080, 17.3" | MSI GL73 8SE-010US CMN1747, TN LED, 1920x1080, 17.3" | Asus TUF FX705GM AU Optronics B173HAN04.0 (AUO409D), IPS, 1920x1080, 17.3" | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 9% | 0% | -1% | 29% | -1% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 62.7 | 69 10% | 63.3 1% | 61.9 -1% | 91.1 45% | 62.4 0% |
| sRGB Coverage | 92.5 | 98.3 6% | 90.2 -2% | 89.4 -3% | 100 8% | 88.8 -4% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 63.5 | 70.7 11% | 64.3 1% | 63.3 0% | 85.4 34% | 63.8 0% |
| Response Times | 51% | 20% | 70% | 67% | 71% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 37 ? | 18 ? 51% | 31.6 ? 15% | 6.4 ? 83% | 12.8 ? 65% | 7.4 ? 80% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 26 ? | 12.8 ? 51% | 19.6 ? 25% | 11.2 ? 57% | 8.2 ? 68% | 10 ? 62% |
| PWM Frequency | 25770 ? | |||||
| Screen | 12% | 1% | 4% | -12% | 14% | |
| Brightness middle | 407 | 286 -30% | 299.6 -26% | 294.3 -28% | 326.4 -20% | 234 -43% |
| Brightness | 364 | 282 -23% | 285 -22% | 289 -21% | 317 -13% | 228 -37% |
| Brightness Distribution | 84 | 87 4% | 86 2% | 89 6% | 90 7% | 85 1% |
| Black Level * | 0.3 | 0.19 37% | 0.33 -10% | 0.3 -0% | 0.28 7% | 0.2 33% |
| Contrast | 1357 | 1505 11% | 908 -33% | 981 -28% | 1166 -14% | 1170 -14% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 4.55 | 3.57 22% | 3.68 19% | 3.95 13% | 7.83 -72% | 2.16 53% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 12.44 | 7.5 40% | 8.05 35% | 6.49 48% | 13.36 -7% | 3.39 73% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 7.61 | 4.51 41% | 3.8 50% | 3.7 51% | 10.9 -43% | 2 74% |
| Gamma | 2.51 88% | 2.36 93% | 2.12 104% | 2.07 106% | 1.97 112% | 2.46 89% |
| CCT | 7212 90% | 7411 88% | 7240 90% | 7155 91% | 11056 59% | 6394 102% |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 59 | 64 8% | 58.1 -2% | 57.7 -2% | 75.8 28% | 58 -2% |
| Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 92 | 98 7% | 89.8 -2% | 89 -3% | 100 9% | 89 -3% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 1.31 | 3.15 | 3.08 | 2.83 | 2.02 | |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | 24% /
16% | 7% /
3% | 24% /
11% | 28% /
7% | 28% /
18% |
* ... smaller is better
Moreover, while the display looks colour accurate, our photo spectrometer and CalMAN analysis software determine that it has disappointingly high DeltaE 2000 deviations from the sRGB colour space at factory settings. We reduced this with additional calibration though, the ICC profile for which you can find in the box above our comparison table.
The display also covers an acceptable portion of the AdobeRGB and sRGB colour spaces, making the Nitro 5 suitable for hobbyist level photo and video-editing. Only the MSI GL73 8SE extends a lead over the Nitro 5 of our comparison though.
We thought that the Nitro 5 would have been easy to use outdoors thanks to its bright, matte display. Surprisingly, the opposite proved the case, as the photo below demonstrates. Hence, we would recommend finding a shady spot if you plan to use the device outdoors, although the display still looks slightly more washed-out than we would have liked.
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 26 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 16 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 10 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows relatively slow response rates in our tests and may be too slow for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 58 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (21.1 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 37 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 19 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 18 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 48 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (33.1 ms). | ||
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM not detected |  | ||
In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 17263 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured. | |||
The IPS display does have stable viewing angles though. There are minor colour distortions at acute viewing angles, but this should not stop the display from being readable from practically any angle in daily use.
Performance
The Nitro 5 is powerful enough to play all modern games in 1080p, as we shall discuss in the Gaming Performance section of this review. In short, the Core i7-9750H, GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, 16 GB of dual-channel RAM and fast PCIe SSD combine to deliver solid performance. We also experienced no driver issues or other problems during our tests, for reference.
As we mentioned at the start of this review, Acer sells cheaper versions of the Nitro 5 should your budget not extend to the AN517. The base model, with its Core i5-9300H processor and GeForce GTX 1050 GPU, will not offer the same performance as our review unit though.
Processor
The Core i7-9750H succeeds the Core i7-8750H, a popular hexa-core processor found in many of last year’s gaming and multimedia laptops. The new hexa-core CPU has a 45 W TDP that it can temporarily boot to 56 W, with Intel basing it on its Coffee Lake Refresh architecture. The Core i7-9750H also has a 2.6 GHz base clock that it can boost up to 4 GHz on all cores thanks to Intel Turbo Boost. It can boost by an additional 100 MHz too for every fewer core in-use, with it reaching 4.5 GHz on a single core.
The Nitro 5 disappoints in synthetic CPU benchmarks like CB R15 Multi 64Bit, where it falls well short of our Core i7-9750H-powered comparison devices. The Nitro 5 scored 1,010 points in CB R15, which puts it 13% shy of the Core i7-8750H-powered TUF FX705GM and 26% behind the Core i7-9750H-equipped ROG Strix G GL731GU. The difference in the corresponding single-core benchmark is only 5%. Nonetheless, the Nitro 5 has disappointing CPU performance.
We can only guess at why the Nitro 5 has worse CPU performance than our Core i7-9750H-powered comparison devices. We also subjected the device to a looped CB R15 Multi 64Bit test to see how it performed under sustained load. Its initial score of 1,010 dropped to 946 points in the second benchmark run-through, which is a shallower reduction in performance than our Core i7-8750H and Core i7-9750H-powered comparison devices. However, the Nitro 5 averaged just 946 points, putting it slightly ahead of the MSI GL73 8SE and well behind the TUF FX705GM on 1,022 points.
You can find more CPU comparisons in our CPU benchmarks page.
| Performance Rating - Percent | |
| Acer Aspire Nitro 5 AN517-51-7887 | |
| Asus ROG Strix G GL731GU-RB74 -9! | |
| HP Pavilion Gaming 17-cd0085cl -9! | |
| Asus TUF FX705GM -7! | |
| Lenovo Legion Y540-17IRH -5! | |
| MSI GL73 8SE-010US -9! | |
| Cinebench R11.5 | |
| CPU Single 64Bit | |
| Acer Aspire Nitro 5 AN517-51-7887 | |
| Asus TUF FX705GM | |
| CPU Multi 64Bit | |
| Asus TUF FX705GM | |
| Acer Aspire Nitro 5 AN517-51-7887 | |
| Blender - v2.79 BMW27 CPU | |
| Acer Aspire Nitro 5 AN517-51-7887 | |
| Geekbench 4.4 | |
| 64 Bit Single-Core Score | |
| Acer Aspire Nitro 5 AN517-51-7887 | |
| Lenovo Legion Y540-17IRH | |
| 64 Bit Multi-Core Score | |
| Acer Aspire Nitro 5 AN517-51-7887 | |
| Lenovo Legion Y540-17IRH | |
| 3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance Physics | |
| Asus ROG Strix G GL731GU-RB74 | |
| HP Pavilion Gaming 17-cd0085cl | |
| Asus TUF FX705GM | |
| Lenovo Legion Y540-17IRH | |
| Acer Aspire Nitro 5 AN517-51-7887 | |
| MSI GL73 8SE-010US | |
| Cinebench R20 | |
| CPU (Single Core) | |
| Acer Aspire Nitro 5 AN517-51-7887 | |
| Lenovo Legion Y540-17IRH | |
| CPU (Multi Core) | |
| Acer Aspire Nitro 5 AN517-51-7887 | |
| Lenovo Legion Y540-17IRH | |
| 7-Zip 18.03 | |
| 7z b 4 | |
| Acer Aspire Nitro 5 AN517-51-7887 | |
| 7z b 4 -mmt1 | |
| Acer Aspire Nitro 5 AN517-51-7887 | |
* ... smaller is better
System Performance
The Nitro 5 rallied in PCMark, delivering respectable midtable results. The device trails our frontrunner, the ROG Strix G GL731GU, by only a few percent in most system performance benchmarks too. These differences should not be noticeable in daily use though. We also noticed no system crashes, stutters or instabilities during our tests either.
| PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2 | 4782 points | |
| PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2 | 7475 points | |
| PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2 | 5361 points | |
| PCMark 10 Score | 5519 points | |
Help | ||
Storage Devices
Modern games have increasingly large storage requirements, but with PCIe storage still being comparatively expensive per GB, OEMs like Acer often include a fast PCIe SSD for the OS and a larger HDD on which to store games. The Nitro 5 comes with a 512 GB WDC SN520 PCIe SSD and a 1 TB Toshiba HDD, the former of which achieved decent transfer speeds in AS SSD, beating all but the equally equipped Legion Y540. Conversely, the 1 TB HDD averaged around 106 MB/s transfer speeds in our tests; fast enough from which to load games but not the OS.
Acer includes a spare M.2 2280 drive bay should you need more storage or would prefer to run the OS in RAID 0 for even faster transfer speeds. You can, of course, swap out or remove any of the pre-configured drives. The Toshiba HDD is only 7 mm thick, which is worth considering if you plan to upgrade to an even larger drive.
In short, the Nitro 5 has plenty of storage and enough expandability to keep even the most ardent gamer happy. Please see our HDD/SSD benchmarks page for more information.
| Acer Aspire Nitro 5 AN517-51-7887 WDC PC SN520 SDAPNUW-512G | Lenovo Legion Y540-17IRH WDC PC SN520 SDAPNUW-512G | HP Pavilion Gaming 17-cd0085cl Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB256HAHQ | Asus ROG Strix G GL731GU-RB74 Intel SSD 660p SSDPEKNW512G8 | MSI GL73 8SE-010US Kingston RBUSNS8154P3128GJ | Asus TUF FX705GM WDC PC SN520 SDAPNUW-256G | Average WDC PC SN520 SDAPNUW-512G | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AS SSD | 1% | -2% | -50% | -83% | -17% | -4% | |
| 4K Read | 44.79 | 38.9 -13% | 49.73 11% | 49.43 10% | 21.91 -51% | 38.49 -14% | 40.8 ? -9% |
| 4K Write | 108.7 | 111.9 3% | 108.2 0% | 104.3 -4% | 56.6 -48% | 101.9 -6% | 127.3 ? 17% |
| 4K-64 Read | 1045 | 1028 -2% | 731 -30% | 321.9 -69% | 354.3 -66% | 720 -31% | 957 ? -8% |
| 4K-64 Write | 1121 | 1276 14% | 1233 10% | 774 -31% | 285.7 -75% | 856 -24% | 1081 ? -4% |
| Access Time Read * | 0.083 | 0.073 12% | 0.073 12% | 0.055 34% | 0.237 -186% | 0.106 -28% | 0.07744 ? 7% |
| Access Time Write * | 0.034 | 0.034 -0% | 0.034 -0% | 0.138 -306% | 0.09 -165% | 0.036 -6% | 0.03671 ? -8% |
| Score Read | 1248 | 1216 -3% | 951 -24% | 503 -60% | 456 -63% | 913 -27% | 1134 ? -9% |
| Score Write | 1368 | 1520 11% | 1476 8% | 971 -29% | 385 -72% | 1082 -21% | 1331 ? -3% |
| Score Total | 3252 | 3355 3% | 2909 -11% | 1731 -47% | 1061 -67% | 2458 -24% | 3046 ? -6% |
| Seq Write | 1381 | 1324 -4% | 1345 -3% | 930 -33% | 427.6 -69% | 1236 -10% | 1227 ? -11% |
| Seq Read | 1578 | 1495 -5% | 1709 8% | 1319 -16% | 794 -50% | 1571 0% | 1363 ? -14% |
* ... smaller is better
Graphics Card
Acer equips the Nitro 5 AN517 with a GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, which handles 1080p gaming with ease. NVIDIA bases the GPU on its Turing architecture but omits the DLSS and ray-tracing support that it affords its RTX cards. The DirectX 12 card has 6 GB of VRAM and a 192-bit connection, along with 1,536 shader units. While the mobile GPU has the same shader units as its desktop equivalent, NVIDIA only allows it to draw up to 80 W, 40 W less than the desktop version of the GeForce GTX 1660 Ti. Our review unit performed well in 3DMark benchmarks, and as we expect from a Core i7-9750H and GeForce GTX 1660 Ti-powered device. The Nitro 5 even has the edge over the GeForce RTX 2060-powered MSI GL73 8SE in 3DMark 11.
The Nitro 5 supports NVIDIA Optimus too, which allows it to switch between its NVIDIA and Intel GPUs to reduce power consumption. The latter, the UHD Graphics 630, takes over during undemanding tasks like video-streaming. It also supports modern codecs like H.265 at 4K with 10-bit colour depth and HDCP. Launching a game, for example, causes NVIDIA Optimus to switch to the GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, a process that you should not notice happening.
You can find more information about the GeForce GTX 1660 Ti on our GPU benchmarks page.
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 16279 points | |
| 3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score | 103231 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 31347 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 12738 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Extreme Score | 6346 points | |
Help | ||
Gaming Performance
The fact that the Nitro 5 is a gaming laptop should become clear when looking at the FPS table below. Our review unit had no issues with playing triple-A titles in 1080p and even had some success in 1440p, although you will need a suitable external monitor to game at the latter resolution. In short, the GeForce GTX 1660 Ti is powerful enough to game in 1080p at maximum graphics, but you will need to reduce the graphics settings if you want to game at higher resolutions.
| The Witcher 3 | |
| 1920x1080 High Graphics & Postprocessing (Nvidia HairWorks Off) | |
| Average of class Gaming (40.1 - 449, n=135, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo Legion Y540-17IRH | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile (93 - 120.4, n=17) | |
| MSI GL73 8SE-010US | |
| Acer Aspire Nitro 5 AN517-51-7887 | |
| Asus ROG Strix G GL731GU-RB74 | |
| HP Pavilion Gaming 17-cd0085cl | |
| Asus TUF FX705GM | |
| 1920x1080 Ultra Graphics & Postprocessing (HBAO+) | |
| Average of class Gaming (18.4 - 216, n=181, last 2 years) | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile (51.6 - 65.1, n=21) | |
| Acer Aspire Nitro 5 AN517-51-7887 | |
| MSI GL73 8SE-010US | |
| Lenovo Legion Y540-17IRH | |
| Asus ROG Strix G GL731GU-RB74 | |
| HP Pavilion Gaming 17-cd0085cl | |
| Asus TUF FX705GM | |
| X-Plane 11.11 - 1920x1080 high (fps_test=3) | |
| Average of class Gaming (31.5 - 166.2, n=207, last 2 years) | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile (64 - 85, n=11) | |
| Acer Aspire Nitro 5 AN517-51-7887 | |
| Lenovo Legion Y540-17IRH | |
| Dota 2 Reborn | |
| 1920x1080 ultra (3/3) best looking | |
| Average of class Gaming (33.2 - 220, n=201, last 2 years) | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile (94.6 - 125, n=11) | |
| Acer Aspire Nitro 5 AN517-51-7887 | |
| 1920x1080 high (2/3) | |
| Average of class Gaming (33.2 - 244, n=200, last 2 years) | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile (103.3 - 130, n=11) | |
| Acer Aspire Nitro 5 AN517-51-7887 | |
| BioShock Infinite - 1920x1080 Ultra Preset, DX11 (DDOF) | |
| Asus ROG Strix G GL731GU-RB74 | |
| Lenovo Legion Y540-17IRH | |
| Acer Aspire Nitro 5 AN517-51-7887 | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile (121.6 - 144.2, n=14) | |
| HP Pavilion Gaming 17-cd0085cl | |
| MSI GL73 8SE-010US | |
| Rise of the Tomb Raider - 1920x1080 Very High Preset AA:FX AF:16x | |
| Acer Aspire Nitro 5 AN517-51-7887 | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile (74 - 87.4, n=3) | |
We also monitored and documented the performance of our review unit during an hour-long The Witcher 3 play-through on the ultra preset in 1080p. The graph below shows how frame rates changed during this test, with our review unit fluctuating between 48 and 62 FPS. The system averaged 52.7 FPS and should not throttle during prolonged gaming sessions.
| low | med. | high | ultra | QHD | 4K | |
| BioShock Infinite (2013) | 309 | 270 | 247 | 138 | ||
| The Witcher 3 (2015) | 254 | 171 | 101 | 55.3 | 32.9 | |
| Dota 2 Reborn (2015) | 143 | 123.7 | 117.6 | 110.6 | ||
| Rise of the Tomb Raider (2016) | 156 | 164 | 100 | 81 | 38 | |
| Rocket League (2017) | 248 | 247 | 221 | |||
| X-Plane 11.11 (2018) | 92 | 85 | 73 | |||
| Far Cry 5 (2018) | 107 | 92 | 90 | 87 | 60 | 31 |
| Far Cry New Dawn (2019) | 105 | 87 | 83 | 74 | 60 | 32 |
Emissions
Fan Noise
One cannot expect a gaming laptop to perform quietly when gaming, with the Nitro 5 being no different. Our review unit operates quietly at idle, with its fans occasionally reaching 31 dB(A), although they do reach 48.5 dB(A) when gaming. Worse still, the fans sound relatively high-pitched, which will have most people reaching for their headphones when gaming. The Nitro 5 runs quieter than most of our comparison devices do under sustained load though, with only the Pavilion Gaming 17 being quieter than our review unit.
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 30.2 / 30.2 / 31 dB(A) |
| HDD |
| 31.6 dB(A) |
| Load |
| 43.4 / 45.5 dB(A) |
 | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min:  , med:  , max:  Audix TM1, Arta (15 cm distance) environment noise: 30 dB(A) | ||
| Acer Aspire Nitro 5 AN517-51-7887, Intel Core i7-9750H GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile, i7-9750H, WDC PC SN520 SDAPNUW-512G | Lenovo Legion Y540-17IRH, Intel Core i5-9300H GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile, i5-9300H, WDC PC SN520 SDAPNUW-512G | HP Pavilion Gaming 17-cd0085cl, Intel Core i7-9750H GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q, i7-9750H, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB256HAHQ | Asus ROG Strix G GL731GU-RB74, Intel Core i7-9750H GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile, i7-9750H, Intel SSD 660p SSDPEKNW512G8 | MSI GL73 8SE-010US, Intel Core i7-8750H GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile, i7-8750H, Kingston RBUSNS8154P3128GJ | Asus TUF FX705GM, Intel Core i7-8750H GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-8750H, WDC PC SN520 SDAPNUW-256G | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noise | -5% | 9% | -8% | -4% | -10% | |
| off / environment * | 30 | 30 -0% | 28.2 6% | 28.2 6% | 28.6 5% | 29 3% |
| Idle Minimum * | 30.2 | 30 1% | 30.1 -0% | 31.8 -5% | 33.8 -12% | 32 -6% |
| Idle Average * | 30.2 | 32 -6% | 30.1 -0% | 32 -6% | 34 -13% | 33 -9% |
| Idle Maximum * | 31 | 34 -10% | 30.1 3% | 40.6 -31% | 34.1 -10% | 44 -42% |
| Load Average * | 43.4 | 44 -1% | 34.2 21% | 48 -11% | 36.5 16% | 46 -6% |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 48.5 | 50 -3% | 34.2 29% | 48 1% | 47.8 1% | 48 1% |
| Load Maximum * | 45.5 | 52 -14% | 43.8 4% | 51.5 -13% | 52.2 -15% | 50 -10% |
* ... smaller is better
Temperature
The Nitro 5 manages its surface temperatures about as well as the Legion Y540 or TUF FX705GM do, with all three getting hot under sustained load. One area of our review unit peaked at 55.4 °C during our stress tests, so we would not recommend having the device on your lap when gaming. Doing so will feel probably uncomfortable, although you should have no such issues when browsing the internet or replying to emails, as surface temperatures remain below 30 °C.
We also subjected our review unit to several stress tests to see how well it performed under extreme load conditions. We initially ran Prime95 to test the CPU, with its TDP peaking at 56 W before eventually dropping to 45 W. Meanwhile, its core temperatures quickly rise to 80 °C, with the CPU able to stay at around 2.6 GHz. However, running FurMark and Prime95 simultaneously results in CPU core temperatures reaching 93 °C, which causes it to drop to 32 W and downclock to 2.2 GHz.
GPU clock speeds also fluctuated as its core temperatures changed, but it did not throttle as the CPU did. Correspondingly, the Nitro 5 scored 1,000 points less in 3DMark 11 after our stress tests than when we ran it from cold, which is roughly the same score.
(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 51.7 °C / 125 F, compared to the average of 40.5 °C / 105 F, ranging from 21.2 to 68.8 °C for the class Gaming.
(-) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 55.4 °C / 132 F, compared to the average of 43.2 °C / 110 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 27.5 °C / 82 F, compared to the device average of 33.9 °C / 93 F.
(-) Playing The Witcher 3, the average temperature for the upper side is 39.7 °C / 103 F, compared to the device average of 33.9 °C / 93 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 31.4 °C / 88.5 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.9 °C / 84 F (-2.5 °C / -4.5 F).
| Acer Aspire Nitro 5 AN517-51-7887, Intel Core i7-9750H GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile, i7-9750H, WDC PC SN520 SDAPNUW-512G | Lenovo Legion Y540-17IRH, Intel Core i5-9300H GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile, i5-9300H, WDC PC SN520 SDAPNUW-512G | HP Pavilion Gaming 17-cd0085cl, Intel Core i7-9750H GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q, i7-9750H, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB256HAHQ | Asus ROG Strix G GL731GU-RB74, Intel Core i7-9750H GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile, i7-9750H, Intel SSD 660p SSDPEKNW512G8 | MSI GL73 8SE-010US, Intel Core i7-8750H GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile, i7-8750H, Kingston RBUSNS8154P3128GJ | Asus TUF FX705GM, Intel Core i7-8750H GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-8750H, WDC PC SN520 SDAPNUW-256G | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat | -12% | -6% | 1% | 12% | -2% | |
| Maximum Upper Side * | 51.7 | 48 7% | 42.6 18% | 44.6 14% | 47 9% | 54 -4% |
| Maximum Bottom * | 55.4 | 56 -1% | 49 12% | 51.6 7% | 44.4 20% | 53 4% |
| Idle Upper Side * | 29.1 | 36 -24% | 34 -17% | 31.6 -9% | 24.6 15% | 30 -3% |
| Idle Bottom * | 29 | 38 -31% | 39.4 -36% | 31.4 -8% | 28 3% | 30 -3% |
* ... smaller is better