Acer Nitro 5 (2020) review : Is it worth the upgrade?

[ntab Configuration]

The Nitro 5 is Acer’s entry-level gaming notebook built especially for gamers on a tight budget that want the best value for their money. This year, Nitro 5 is getting yet another refresh, with users being able to choose between AMD’s Ryzen or Intel’s 10th gen processors in combination with various dedicated graphics card ranging from the modest GTX 1650, all the way up to RTX 2060. Typically, the Nitro’s price starts at ~$745, but it can cost up to ~$1200 when configured with the best specs available. But how does it compare to last year’s model? Did Acer improve the Nitro 5, or is it more of the same?

Full name : Acer Aspire Nitro 5 15 AN515-55(-538T)

Configuration specifications

[ntab General overview]
Physical size

Acer Nitro 5 (2020) vs (2019) display lid comparison

Last year, Noteb team did an in-depth review of the Nitro 5 AN515-54 which you can find here. For those accustomed with the older versions of the Nitro 5, Noteb will mention the changes from last year’s model.

So, what did actually change? For starters, the red hinge is gone so the laptop is mostly black now with some red accents at the back, where the exhaust vents are. The floral patterns from the lid’s edges are gone, having only a brushed surface instead. The exhaust vents are still in the back, but now they are pushed towards the sides of the laptop, making room for the charging port. That’s right! Acer listened to its customers and moved the DC-in port from the right side to the back of the laptop, so the cable is not covering the other ports anymore, nor does it get overly hot from covering the side grill.

The build quality is reasonably good for a laptop in this price range. It is made out of hard plastic just like the 2019 version, and it feels fairly sturdy, but it does have some flex on the keyboard deck. The flex is nothing major, but it is there.

Acer Nitro 5 (2020) keyboard view

Unsurprisingly, the typing experience is excellent since the laptop is featuring the same red-backlit keyboard as the last year’s model. The key travel time is somewhat short, and the keys are a little bit stiffer than other laptops we tested so far, but they have enough space between them, so it is a pleasant experience overall.

Acer Nitro 5 (2020) keyboard view

Unfortunately, the keyboard features the same awkward Numpad as the 2019 version, being merged with the arrow keys. Acer decided to leave the keyboard as it is to save costs instead of improving it like other competitors do (HP, Dell, Lenovo).

Acer Nitro 5 (2020) Numpad

The plastic touchpad is ok overall. It is reasonably big and accurate even in its corners but nothing noticeably impressive. Since this is a gaming laptop, it is safe to assume that most users will invest in a decent mouse anyway.

The webcam is not much of an improvement over the last year’s model. It records in 720p at 30 frames per second. Unfortunately, the shots are blurry with a lot of “noise” in them. The webcam is ok for occasional video calls but for anything more than that, an external webcam is recommended. On the other hand, the sound recordings are clear, without picking any noticeable background noise. However, the microphone volume is a bit low compared to other laptops.

Acer Nitro 5 (2020) webcam quality

[ntab Disassembly]

Acer Nitro 5 (2020) bottom panel

There are eleven Philips head screws on the back of the laptop that need unscrewing. After that, carefully place a prying tool or a plastic card in the space between the plastic bottom cover and the main chassis, then move the prying tool or plastic card all along this separation space. As the prying tool/plastic card moves along this space, it will slowly un-clip the bottom cover from the main chassis. Finally, lift the bottom lid to reveal the laptop’s internal components.

Acer Nitro 5 (2020) internal components

Inside, there is:

• two M.2 SSD/PCIe slots;
• two RAM slots;
• one 2.5-inch storage bay;
• a PCIe slot for the Wi-Fi card;

Acer Nitro 5 (2020) Wifi and M.2 SSD slots

Something worth mentioning is that the M.2 slots work in a RAID 0 configuration and that one of the slots (labelled “1” on the motherboard) supports only PCIe drives while the second one (labelled “2” on the motherboard) works with both PCIe and SATA.

Acer Nitro 5 (2020) RAM slots

[ntab Ports]

The ports are another area where Acer decided to do some changes, some of them are good and some of them questionable. As mentioned before, Acer listened to its customers and moved the DC-in power connector to the back of the laptop. Before this change, the power cable would always get in the way or get warm from the right exhaust fan, so it was a cause of concern. This change would make the port arrangement almost perfect if Acer kept the HDMI port on the left side instead of moving it to the right side. By moving the HDMI port, Acer created an entirely new problem, because now, when connecting the laptop to an external monitor, the HDMI cable rests on the mouse area. The user either has to bend the HDMI cable to make room for a mouse or buy a right angle HDMI adapter. On the bright side, the USB-A 2.0 from the right side of the laptop is now USB 3.0, so that’s a welcome change.

Overall, the laptop has :

• one Ethernet extension connector;
• three USB 3.0 Type-A ports;
• one USB 3.0 Type-C port (also known as USB-C 3.2 Gen 1);
• one HDMI 2.0 port;
• a standard 3.5mm jack combo for microphone and headphones or speakers;
• one Kensington lock
• a DC-in power connector.

Also, three USB ports can quickly fill up just by adding an external mouse, a keyboard and a USB flash drive. Of course, the port limitation can be resolved by buying a USB port hub.

[ntab Display]

The display is dragging down an otherwise good value machine. The Nitro 5 (2020) features the LP156WFC-SPD5 display, which is a Full HD, IPS panel. It has only a 60Hz refresh rate, which is understandable given the laptop’s price range. Plus, the GTX 1650 dedicated graphics card cannot push more than 60 fps on high to ultra settings on most modern games. Thus a higher refresh rate display would have been a waste. However, the display’s brightness is highly problematic. Even with its measured 257 nits and maximum brightness, it is simply too dark, which makes tracking enemies in first-person shooters very difficult. Another problem is the display’s washed-out colours. For example, even after calibrating the display, Fall Guys (which is a game with vibrant/almost cartooney colours) looked like it had a “blue” filter over it. The screen also has low colour coverage at 58.7% sRGB, 40.7% Adobe RGB and 41.8% DCI P3, making it unsuitable for video/photo editing.

Here is a link to the calibrated display profile of the reviewed unit. Because each display is unique, this profile will not perfectly match other displays of the same model. Still, using this profile should give better overall colours.

Acer Nitro 5 (2020) display viewing angles

sRGB profile and calibration

[ntab Benchmarks]

Night Raid

SCORE	26771
Graphics score	42700
Physics score	8598

Fire Strike

SCORE	8534
Graphics score	9553
Physics score	12339
Combined score	3773

Sky Diver

SCORE	23416
Graphics score	31569
Physics score	10888
Combined score	19344

Time Spy

SCORE	3577
Graphics score	3460
Physics score	4432

Orange Room

SCORE	5370
Average frame rate	116.99 fps
Target frame rate	109.00 fps

Cyan room

SCORE	2751
Average frame rate	59.98 fps
Target frame rate	88.90 fps

Blue Room

SCORE	1057
Average frame rate	23.10 fps
Target frame rate	109.00 fps

Nvidia DLSS Test

DLSS Off	00.00 fps
DLSS On	00.00 fps

Cinebench R20

Single Core	428 pts
Multi Core	1948 pts

Blender

CPU blend time	7m 5s
GPU blend time	2m 30s

Geekbench 4

Single-core score	Multi-core score
5129	16251

Geekbench 5

Single-core score	Multi-core score
1132	3915

PCMark 10 Web Score 7485 Apps Score 11963 Chat Score 6663 Photo Score 6607 Video Score 2616 Writing Score 6818 Spreadsheet Score 7861 Essentials 8418 Productivity 7320 Digital Content Creation 4719 SCORE 4749

Crystal Disk Mark

[ntab 2020 vs 2019 Gaming benchmarks comparison]

Apex Legends

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Nitro 5 (2020) – High	66 FPS	44 FPS	107 FPS
Nitro 5 (2019) – High	59 FPS	3 FPS	99 FPS

Fortnite

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Nitro 5 (2020) – Epic	55 FPS	14 FPS	66 FPS
Nitro 5 (2019) – Epic	59 FPS	38 FPS	62 FPS

Grand Theft Auto V

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Nitro 5 (2020) – Maximum	33 FPS	25 FPS	43 FPS
Nitro 5 (2019) – Ultra	51 FPS	36 FPS	83 FPS

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Nitro 5 (2020) – Very High	43 FPS	23 FPS	78 FPS
Nitro 5 (2019) – Very High	31 FPS	1 FPS	50 FPS

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Nitro 5 (2020) – High	103 FPS	63 FPS	155 FPS
Nitro 5 (2019) – High	139 FPS	97 FPS	197 FPS

Devil May Cry 5

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Nitro 5 (2020) – Ultra	80 FPS	44 FPS	112 FPS
Nitro 5 (2019) – Ultra	76 FPS	39 FPS	165 FPS

Dota 2

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Nitro 5 (2020) – High	79 FPS	60 FPS	114 FPS
Nitro 5 (2019) – High	90 FPS	35 FPS	137 FPS

Metro Exodus

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Nitro 5 (2020) – Ultra	51 FPS	27 FPS	80 FPS
Nitro 5 (2019) – Ultra	24 FPS	2 FPS	78 FPS

Overwatch

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Nitro 5 (2020) – Epic	80 FPS	52 FPS	98 FPS
Nitro 5 (2019) – Epic	86 FPS	69 FPS	134 FPS

Forza Horizon 4

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Nitro 5 (2020) – Ultra	65 FPS	55 FPS	71 FPS
Nitro 5 (2019) – Ultra	56 FPS	8 FPS	62 FPS

PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Nitro 5 (2020) – Ultra	67 FPS	25 FPS	86 FPS
Nitro 5 (2019) – Ultra	56 FPS	16 FPS	97 FPS

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Nitro 5 (2020) – High	54 FPS	42 FPS	68 FPS
Nitro 5 (2019) – High	40 FPS	17 FPS	47 FPS

The Witcher 3

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Nitro 5 (2020) – Ultra	42 FPS	30 FPS	53 FPS
Nitro 5 (2019) – Ultra	48 FPS	28 FPS	62 FPS

Total War Three Kingdoms

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Nitro 5 (2020) – Ultra	29 FPS	22 FPS	47 FPS
Nitro 5 (2019) – Ultra	28 FPS	15 FPS	34 FPS

[ntab Gaming benchmarks]

Anthem

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Medium

47 FPS

13 FPS

75 FPS

Ark Survival Evolved

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Epic

28 FPS

22 FPS

58 FPS

Battlefield V

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

High

39 FPS

28 FPS

61 FPS

Borderlands 3

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

High

41 FPS

31 FPS

56 FPS

Call of Duty: Warzone

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

High

46 FPS

22 FPS

71 FPS

Conqueror’s Blade Zhan Yi

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Highest

44 FPS

1 FPS

60 FPS

Control

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

High

31 FPS

27 FPS

38 FPS

Detroid Become Human

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Ultra

46 FPS

31 FPS

76 FPS

Diabotical

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

High

108 FPS

88 FPS

141 FPS

Disintegration

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Epic

54 FPS

42 FPS

63 FPS

Elder Scrolls Online

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Ultra

69 FPS

41 FPS

98 FPS

F1 2019

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Ultra High

74 FPS

59 FPS

91 FPS

Fall Guys

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

High

59 FPS

30 FPS

61 FPS

Far Cry 5

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Ultra

52 FPS

36 FPS

79 FPS

FIFA 20

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Ultra

81 FPS

30 FPS

108 FPS

Final Fantasy XV

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

High

51 FPS

35 FPS

74 FPS

Grid (2019)

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Ultra High

33 FPS

19 FPS

48 FPS

Guild Wars 2

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Medium preset

49 FPS

38 FPS

62 FPS

Horizon Zero Dawn

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Medium

47 FPS

23 FPS

57 FPS

Hyper Scape

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Maximum

69 FPS

50 FPS

91 FPS

Jurassic World Evolution

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

High

44 FPS

33 FPS

57 FPS

League of Legends

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Very High

77 FPS

40 FPS

133 FPS

Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020)

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Medium

24 FPS

6 FPS

33 FPS

Monster Hunter World

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

High

48 FPS

37 FPS

57 FPS

Need For Speed Heat

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

High

47 FPS

41 FPS

54 FPS

Paladins

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Maximum settings

143 FPS

105 FPS

175 FPS

Planetside 2

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Ultra + Max Render Distance

73 FPS

39 FPS

96 FPS

PubG Mobile

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

1080p

29 FPS

11 FPS

31 FPS

Red Dead Redemption 2

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

1st lvl of Favor Quality preset

34 FPS

23 FPS

46 FPS

Rocket Arena

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Ultra High

68 FPS

53 FPS

104 FPS

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

High

88 FPS

48 FPS

125 FPS

Spellbreak

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Ultra

80 FPS

56 FPS

97 FPS

Star Wars Battlefront II (2017)

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Ultra

51 FPS

41 FPS

78 FPS

Star Wars The Old Republic

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Ultra

119 FPS

85 FPS

177 FPS

Smite

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Maximum settings+ HD textures pack

114 FPS

85 FPS

150 FPS

The Crew 2

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Ultra

29 FPS

39 FPS

53 FPS

The Cycle

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Epic

68 FPS

42 FPS

91 FPS

Titanfall 2

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

High

94 FPS

60 FPS

145 FPS

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Ultra

108 FPS

91 FPS

141 FPS

Tom Clancy’s The Division 2

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Ultra

32 FPS

27 FPS

42 FPS

Troy: A Total War Saga

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Ultra

44 FPS

24 FPS

59 FPS

Unturned

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

High

57 FPS

36 FPS

71 FPS

Valorant

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

High

113 FPS

71 FPS

154 FPS

War Thunder

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Movie preset

77 FPS

37 FPS

111 FPS

Warframe

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

High

86 FPS

55 FPS

111 FPS

Watch Dogs 2

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

High

46 FPS

37 FPS

69 FPS

World of Tanks Blitz

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

High

60 FPS

60 FPS

60 FPS

World of Warships

Settings

FPS average

FPS min

FPS max

Very High

74 FPS

61 FPS

77 FPS

[ntab Temperatures]

Acer Nitro 5 (2020) cooling system

Unlike the 2019 version, the Nitro 5 (2020) has a more conventional cooling system, featuring a layout similar to the one of the Helios 300. The cooling solution consists of two plastic fans, three heat pipes (one of which is shared), 4 heatsinks and 2 cooling metal plates for covering the VRMs and VRAM. The laptop pulls its fresh air from underneath and pushes it out through each of the four exhaust vents (two of them located at the back and the other two located on the sides of the laptop). Due to this design, the machine will significantly benefit from a cooling pad.

The laptop’s performance was tested in both real-usage scenarios (like gaming) and synthetic benchmarks with the fans set to their maximum RPM. After testing over 60 games from a wide variety of genres and analysing the data, the results indicate a consistent behaviour, with the CPU’s temperatures hovering between 75-85° C (167-185° F), even in most graphically demanding games and an average all-core boost of 4.19 GHz with occasional dips to as low as 0.79 Mhz on some of its cores. Given that the i5-10300H has a minimum guaranteed frequency of 2.50 GHz and a maximum all-core boost of 4.20 GHz, the results indicate an adequate cooling solution.

The synthetic tests yielded similar results:

Acer Nitro 5 (2020) back vent

All temperature measurements were performed at an ambient temperature of 25° C (77° F).

Temperatures on idle and heavy load

During the standard 30 minutes AIDA64 stress test (CPU, FPU, cache), the processor reached an average temperature of 87 °C (188.6 °F), with a maximum of 96 °C (204.8 °F). At these temperatures, the processor managed to keep an average frequency of 3.96 GHz, with occasional dips to as low as 2.49 GHz on some of its cores. Given that the i5-10300H has a minimum guaranteed frequency of 2.50 GHz and a maximum all-core boost of 4.20 GHz, it is safe to conclude that cooling solution in the Nitro 5 (2020) is adequate.

CPU clock rates after AIDA64 CPU stress test

In the combined AIDA64 plus Unigine Superposition test (which had both the processor and the GTX 1650 under heavy load for 30 minutes), the processor reached a maximum temperature of 97 °C (206.6 °F) and throttled until it settled at a temperature of 91 °C (195.8 °F). Despite its throttling, the processor still managed to keep an average clock speed of 3.78 GHz with occasional dips to as low as 2.49 GHz, which is close to the minimum advertised clock speed of 2.50 GHz. The dedicated graphics card maintained an average clock speed of 1672 MHz with a maximum boost of 1785 MHz Temperature-wise, the video card hovered between 65 and 66°C (149.0 – 150.8°F).

Unigine Superposition + Aida64 combined stress test -HWinfo

Unigine Superposition + Aida64 combined stress test -HWinfo

Finally, the laptop was tested with the AIDA64 stability test, which is another combined stress test for the video card and processor. The results were very similar to the previous stress tests. The processor reached a maximum temperature of 95 °C (203 °F) and throttled until it settled at a temperature of 86 °C (186.8 °F). Despite its throttling, the processor still managed to keep an average clock speed of 3.69 GHz with occasional dips to as low as 2.49 GHz. The dedicated graphics card maintained a clock speed of 1785 MHz throughout the test. Temperature-wise, the video card hovered between 62 and 64°C (143.6 – 147.2°F), which is excellent for a gaming laptop.

AIDA64 Stability test -HWinfo

Overall, the results indicate that Acer did the right thing by changing the cooling solution of on the Nitro 5 (2020). After all the tests conducted by the Noteb review team, it is safe to conclude that Nitro 5’s cooling solution is more than adequate for its components. The laptop manages to keep its temperatures in check in any scenario while allowing the processor and video card to reach their full potential.

[ntab Conclusion]

Pros:

• decent performance for 1080p gaming;
• great cooling solution;
• competitive pricing;
• wide selection of peripheral ports;
• good upgradability.

Cons:

• poor color coverage display/washed out colors out of the box;
• dim display;
• weird placement of ports;
• poor Numpad implementation;

The Nitro 5 (2020) has an excellent value for money ratio and might be one of the best entry-level budget-friendly gaming laptops out there. However, not the same can be said about its upgraded versions. The entry version delivers a pretty good package for ~$730: a Full HD IPS display, a decent dedicated graphics card that can handle most modern games, a 10th gen processor, fast SSD storage and an excellent cooling solution. The problem arises if the buyer opts for a higher configured version. A fully loaded Nitro 5 (2020) reaches $1100+, which puts it in a weird market position of a laptop with inferior build quality but high-end specifications. In this price range, the competition is fiercer, and the laptop even goes against its bigger brother, the Helios 300, which is arguably a much better machine. It simply does not make sense to buy the more expensive versions of the Nitro 5 when there are better alternatives.

Is it worth upgrading for those with the older versions of the Nitro 5? The 2020 version does feature an improved cooling solution and has Intel’s latest 10th gen processor. Still, even so, the gaming performance difference is minimal that it hardly justifies paying another $700 for the newer version.

In conclusion, Nitro 5 (2020) is excellent value for money when it comes to its entry versions, and most casual gamers should be happy with it. For more competitive gamers, it is best to save a few bucks and get something with better build quality and better specs outright, instead of spending that money on upgrading an entry-level machine.

[ntab Buy]

To support noteb.com search engine and its review team, please consider buying a future Acer Nitro 5 (2020) laptop through one of the links included below. Thank you!

Acer’s Official Store

Acer Store – i5-10300H, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, GTX 1650 Ti, FHD display, Win 10 Home

Amazon

Amazon Configurator – i5-10300H, 8GB RAM (up to 32GB), 128GB SSD (up to 1TB) + 1TB HDD, GTX 1650, FHD display, Win 10 Home

Amazon – i5-10300H, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, GTX 1650, FHD display, Win 10 Home

Newegg

Newegg Configurator – i5-10300H, 8GB RAM (up to 32GB), 128GB SSD (up to 1TB) + 1TB HDD (up to 2TB), GTX 1650, FHD display, Win 10 Home

Newegg – i7-10750H, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, GTX 1650 Ti, FHD display, Win 10 Home

Newegg – i5-10300H, 8GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, GTX 1650, FHD display, Win 10 Home

Newegg – i5-10300H, 8GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, GTX 1650, FHD display, Win 10 Home

Newegg – i5-10300H, 16GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, GTX 1650 Ti, 120Hz FHD display, Win 10 Home

Walmart

Walmart – i5-10300H, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, GTX 1650, FHD display, Win 10 Home

Walmart – i5-10300H, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD, GTX 1650, FHD display, Win 10 Home

[ntab More Pictures]

[ntab Videos]