Verdict
With a tweaked designing and a big , brighter , gamy - resolution screen , the Acer Nitro 16 is one of the strongest Nitros yet . However , you ’ll require to make some preferences compromises to make the most of that fantabulous show .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
By now , you know what you ’re have with Acer ’s Nitro line : a sway - hearty , value - focus gaming laptop that gives you what you involve to enjoy the latest blockbusters , without the bells and whistles of Acer ’s agiotage Predator Helios mountain chain . With the new Acer Nitro 16 AN16 - 51 , however , there are sign that the grasp is shifting slightly upmarket , with a new design that almost borders on flashy , plus a bad , brighter and all - around better 16 - inch QHD plus screen .
That does n’t mean Acer is go crazy . To keep prices sensible , it has go with theCPUto a 13th - gen Core i7 rather than the high - end i9 central processor , while theGPUoptions start with NVIDIA ’s entry - stratum RTX 4050 . There will be a meretricious model with an i5 - 13500H , as well as versions with the RTX 4060 and RTX 4070 come down the line , with prices still to be confirmed . Still , deposit with the 4050 makes this a fairly accessible modern gaming laptop computer at £ 1499 .
That ’s more than we ’ve seen for some budget gambling laptops with the same mainframe but less than we ’re seeing for premium models with a 16 - inch QHD screen . The challenge for Acer is redeem a gambling experience above what the budget models can provide , without leaving you wishing that you ’d ground a bit more John Cash for a higher - end spec .
Design and Keyboard
The Nitro has always been a boxy and chunky laptop computer , but the Modern conception is svelte and more polished . The larger screen sizing means it has a big desktop footmark than the existing Nitro 5 , at 360 mm x 280 mm against the 15.6 - inch theoretical account ’s 363 millimetre x 255 mm , and there ’s no real deviation in the heaviness , at a maximum 27 mm when closed . Yet some sculpted edges and a more hoagy - form visibility aid minimise the mass , while the redesign vent and rubric - finish hat – complete with contrast Nitro logo – give it a subtly dissimilar feel .
This is still a value gaming laptop , but it no longer feel like one . certain , the build perish hard on charge card , even to the lid , but you could say the same about some substantially more expensive play laptop computer , and the actual construction feels imposingly robust . Just be discourage that the hat ’s semblance surface is a fingermark magnet . It ’s toilsome to keep uncontaminating .
The keyboard stick closer to the established Nitro patterns , with its flat , square key stretching out across the whole breadth of the laptop computer , though we should n’t take the per - key RGB backlighting for granted . There ’s small wrongfulness with the layout . I ’d like to see some more legal separation for the cursor keys and a large Ctrl samara on the left . The keys themselves have a slightly soft action , with nary a click to be heard , but the deck they sit down on is rock satisfying and the actual typewriting experience feel good . However , the compounding of the thick torso and flat typewriting slant means this might not be the most comfortable keyboard if you want something to work on all sidereal day long ; something I ’ve found with a phone number of cost - conscious gaming laptop .
The touchpad clearly is n’t looking glass , but the plastics it use are smooth and it ’s perfectly reactive in use , while the 125 x 80 millimeter size gives you plenty of space for Windows navigation or making your style through a game ’s preferences . Most gamers will reach for a mouse anyway , but it ’s skilful to feel that you ’re not being forced to .
I wish the overture Acer has take to connectivity , placing the most get at ports – headphones , Ethernet , a micro South Dakota one-armed bandit and a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type - A – on the odd - hand side , with another two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type - A on the right . This still leaves space at the rear for some connexion where you may want them used semi - permanently , including two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type - century / Thunderbolt 4 larboard and the stimulus for the AC adapter . You ’ve got everything you need here without any necessity for a dock , but the interface are n’t all jam in together , as they sometimes are when everything has to fit on one or other side .
Display and Sound
The screen is one of the best I ’ve get word on a more note value - oriented play laptop . It ’s a 16 - inch IPS panel with a 16:10 aspect ratio and a 2560 x 1600 resolution , along with a 165Hz refresh rate . It ’s very clear and the solvent is ideal for heavy oeuvre or creative applications , but what really sell it is how bright and vibrant it is , especially when you ’re watch picture or acting game .
We measure out the maximal SDR luminousness at 553 nits and the ignominious luminance at 0.4 nit , resulting in an impressive line proportion of 1359.5:1 , but what ’s really interesting is that it cover 99.3 % of the sRGB colour gamut and 75.9 % of DCI - P3 . That ’s not tough at all for an IPS screen on a laptop computer at this price point , and it shows when you ’re play Cyberpunk 2077 or adjudicate down for a Netflix binge . Everything just pops .
I ’d like to say that the audio recording is as good , but despite the DTS - X branding , it ’s a little introductory . There ’s no shortage of volume , but the harsh mid - range and limited bass do n’t make for great hearing , and there ’s little sense of space or directing sound when you ’re check pic or acting games . You ’ll be beaming for the accessible headset jack on the left - manus side .
Performance
With a Core i7 - 13700H , 32 GB ofRAMand an RTX 4050 , the Nitro 16 is no equal for Core i9 and Ryzen 9 monster like theAsus ROG genus Strix Scar 17or theAcer Predator Helios 16 , but then it come in at a significantly downcast Mary Leontyne Price stop . With six carrying out cores and eight Efficient sum running 20 threads at up to 5GHz , the i7 - 13700H is still a preposterously speedy CPU , and more than adequate to of cover all your productivity and originative apps , particularly with the 32 GB of RAM . In fact , wait at the results in PC Mark 10 , and there ’s not much separate the Nitro 16 from the Predator Helios 16 or even theAsus ROG Strix Scar 16 . You ’re not going to notice any remainder in everyday enjoyment .
The difference in budgets shows more when you get to play . run with a TGP of 140W , the RTX 4050 is roughly as debauched as the sure-enough RTX 3060 and also has the advantage of DLSS 3 support , promising a important boost in supporting titles . Yet it struggle in the recent , most demanding games to hit 60fps frame rate at the venire ’s native resolution ; it ’s really much well suit to 1080p .
Even with some old games , you ’ll need to go a notch down from the highest configurations . At Ultra scope , Borderlands 3ran at 50fps at 1600p thoughHorizon Zero Dawnwas fine at 67fps . However , with Ultra stage setting at 1440p , Cyberpunk 2077 was stuck at 47fps , while Returnal ’s skeleton rates at Epic , without irradiation trace enabled , were circumscribe to 46fps . Switching down to 1080p takes those up to 72fps inCyberpunk 2077and 62fps inReturnal .
Turning onDLSScan help , resulting in a boost to a very playable 77fps in Cyberpunk . However , it still wo n’t give you enough for ray trace at 1440p . At Ultra RT scene with DLSS and frame generation enable , 49fps was accomplishable but with constant stuttering and glitching . I could shine that out in the benchmark by exchange RT configurations down to Medium , but in actual gameplay , any armed combat pulled the frame rate down into single finger district . Do n’t even think about Cyberpunk ’s RT Overdrive setting . Without DLSS , this gave us a flick - concealment underframe rate of 21fps , and even withDLSS 3plus Frame Generation I could only get 34fps at 1440p and 38fps at 1080p .
In short , you ’re going to involve to make some compromises . This laptop will work previous game and eSports titles at the native resolution with everything maxed out , but with newer and upcoming secret plan you ’re going to require to either decoct item options , forget ray of light tracing , use DLSS in Performance mode or overlook down to 1080p . Sometimes , you may need to do two or more of the above . The 4050 is a strong entry - level gaming GPU , but it ’s not really built for QHD gaming . And unless you ’re playingRainbow Six : SiegeorValorant , you ’re probably not pass to stretch the screen door to anywhere near its 165Hz refresh without taking a settlement hit .
Battery Life
Big IPS screen and 14 - core CPUs are n’t normally a recipe for great battery aliveness , and gaming laptop manufacturers do n’t often counterbalance by install a high-pitched - capacitance battery . Here you ’re looking at just five time of day and 12 mo in the PC Mark 10 Modern Office benchmark , and turn the concealment brightness up and you ’ll be lucky to start work at 9 am and get retiring lunchtime without plugging in . Start watching Netflix with the luminosity at full , and you ’ll be out of natural action within five hours or so , with the mission degenerate by 21 % in just an hr of viewing .
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Should you buy it?
It ’s a not bad gaming laptop computer with a terrific 16 - column inch screen , even if the GPU does n’t really have the grunt to run games at extremist - detail options at the native solution . You ’ll still appreciate the big 1600p show when it comes to oeuvre and entertainment while using DLSS 3 and cut down on the detail mise en scene will still get you skillful results with the latest blockbusters .
While affordable by stake laptop standard , you might be better off with a laptop computer with the same GPU – or something quicker – and a good 1080p display . You ’ll either save yourself £ 200 or more or get a spec capable of playing secret plan with ray tracing and higher point circumstance . The pick is yours .
Final Thoughts
The Nitro 16 is a routine of a conundrum . There are a plenty of dear - budget gambling laptops at the £ 1000 to £ 1500 price point in time , some pack the degenerate RTX 4060 GPU . We ’ve yet to search at the Asus ROG Strix G16 or the MSI Cyborg 15 , but both come with the said NVIDIA bit and promise great 1080p gaming at a slightly gloomy monetary value full point . We ’ve just search at theGigabyte G5 ( 2023 ) , which pull off the same trick at under £ 1000 . The Nitro 16 brings you a faster CPU , double the 16 GB of RAM and that 16 - in , QHD+ screen , but without a GPU capable of powering it , you might be enquire : what ’s the point ?
Personally , I ’d be willing to give the extra for the additional CPU horsepower and tup , and for the advantages the cover convey when you ’re look out 4 K video , play less demanding game or just trying to get some work done . Plus , with DLSS 3 and some adept juggling of the options , you could get playable frame charge per unit at a somewhat low-down than aboriginal 1440p . If that sounds skilful , then the Nitro 16 is another inviolable value alternative in the Acer orbit . Just be cognisant that it derive with via media when you buy .
Trusted Score
How we test
Every gaming laptop we critique goes through a series of uniform check designed to gauge key things , include build quality , performance , screen door quality and battery biography .
We also drop some serious time with it play the late treble - A game .
FAQs
In our experience , Asus TUF laptops typically have the edge when it come to quality design and a great play keyboard , even at the budget price point . However , you may often pick up the Acer Nitro devices for a slightly scummy price , so the Nitro could still be a better selection for those on a stringent budget .
The Acer Nitro 16 does n’t have immense gaming power but , for a title like Fortnite , you should be capable to get the most out of it and this machine ’s 1600p resolution . Yes , the Nitro 16 will be good for Fortnite .
Test Data
Full Specs
