Ask stores that sell laptop units about gaming laptops and they’ll tell you can get a decent one without going over $2,000. This is particularly true if it’s your first gaming laptop or if you already have a computer but only want to play games casually. If you want a mid-range, budget-friendly gaming laptop, go for the Acer Nitro 5.  

The Taiwan-based company is widely recognized for its premium quality gaming laptops. Its entry-level lineup known as the Nitro is also a popular series among professional and amateur gamers. With a price tag of $750, the Nitro 5 is made for gamers on a tight budget. Compared to other gaming devices, the Nitro 5 has a basic design. That said, it still has ample gaming-specific specs and features to satisfy most gamers. For a gaming laptop under $1,000, the Nitro 5 offers a lot more than what you would expect.

Design and Features

The design of the Nitro 5 isn’t flashy. It’s not really eye-catching as well. In fact, if it weren’t for the red accents that surround the laptop’s keypads and the touchpad, it’ll be mistaken as a standard notebook. The Nitro 5 has a black exterior with a chiclet keyboard. Its WASD pads also have the red backlight, which makes them easier to find right away. Interestingly enough, the back of the Nitro 5 has a different design for the cooling system. The fans are barely noticeable.

As for the display, the Nitro 5 has a 15.6-inch 1920 x 1080 IPS screen. The screen isn’t especially bright or sharp, but in general, it’s more than enough for playing games or working with spreadsheets. Under the hood, the Nitro 5 runs on an Intel quad-core i5-7300HQ processor. For memory and storage, it has 16GB DDR4 and 256GB SSD. The RAM is upgradeable to 32GB. You can also mount a hard drive for extra storage.

The Nitro 5 is not that portable. It’s about 6 pounds (2.72 kg) and measures 15.35 x 10.47 x 1.05 inches. The good thing is that its power supply is small so it should make up for the weight in a back bag.

Connectivity and Performance

The Acer Nitro 5 has several ports. It has a headphone jack, a charging port and an SD card reader on the side. It also has two USB 2.0 ports, a USB 3.0 port and a USB-C 3.1 port. You can also find the usual HDMI and Ethernet ports.

Performance-wise, the Nitro 5 has the same Dolby Atmos audio issue on the Acer Triton 700. The problem is that Dolby Atmos becomes disabled every time a game with a voice chat capability is launched. With this problem, the audio switches to the background channel. To enable sound again, you have to press ALT-Tab while playing, launch the Dolby Atmos and re-enable the service. Other than this issue, the Nitro 5 delivers all the things that matter to a game enthusiast.

At under $1000 for a gaming laptop, the Nitro 5 is a cost-effective device that delivers a decent gaming experience.