By The Acer Nitro 17 achieves something that borders on the miraculous. It seems to strike a clever mix between performance and cost while still being reasonably priced. This accomplishment even made me wonder if a 17-inch gaming laptop could truly replace a desktop gaming PC. Regarding gaming, desktop PCs are often less expensive than laptops, but the large Nitro 17 surprised me.
An AMD Ryzen 7 CPU, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, and a 17.3-inch Full HD display with a rapid refresh rate of 165 Hz are all yours for less than $1,300. The Nitro 17 also has an excellent backlit keyboard and a long battery life, which further sweetens the pot.
The Nitro 17 is among the greatest inexpensive gaming laptops to take into consideration, regardless of whether you are buying your first PC setup or trading in your previous gaming laptop. It did well in all of our testing, even with a few minor issues. It is also a fantastic substitute for a desktop gaming PC because of the roomy display and two front-firing speakers included.
I tested the Nitro 17 for many days, doing everything from casual online browsing to extended gaming sessions. Here’s all you need to know before adding this amazing gaming laptop to your battle station.
SPECS
| Price | $1249.99 |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (8GB of RAM) |
| RAM | 16GB |
| Storage | 1TB SSD |
| Display | 17-inch FHD 1920 x 1080, 165Hz refresh rate |
| Battery | 6 hours and 46 minutes |
| Dimensions | 15.76 x 11.55 x 1.14 inches |
| Weight | 6.8 pounds |
PRICE AND CONFIGURATIONS
From $1199.99, the Acer Nitro 17 is available. Although there are several options, they can be divided into two groups: AMD and Intel. A Ryzen 5 8645HS CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 (6GB) GPU, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, and 512GB of storage are included in the AMD base configuration.
You can get a Ryzen 7 8845HS CPU, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 (8GB) GPU, 16GB RAM, and 1TB of storage for just $50 extra. A Ryzen 9 7940HS CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 (8GB) GPU, and up to 32GB of RAM are also available as upgrades.
An Intel Core i5-14450HX CPU, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 (6GB) GPU, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage are included in the standard Intel setup, which costs $1249.99. An NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (8GB) GPU, 1TB of storage, and an Intel Core i7-13700HX or i7-13700H CPU are among the available upgrades.
We strongly advise shelling out a little additional money to acquire 1TB of storage, regardless of whether you choose an AMD or Intel processor. A gaming laptop today simply cannot have 512GB of storage due to the file sizes of many recent titles.
DESIGN
When it comes to gaming laptops, the Acer Nitro 17 is more understated. Many of the design features that are typical of gaming laptops, including the RGB backlit keyboard and additional vents on the sides and rear, are still present. But the chassis is primarily made of simple black plastic. The Acer Nitro logo is simply displayed on the top casing. The keyboard’s typography is slightly stylized, but not too so.
The Nitro 17’s design is an all-around more subdued approach to gaming aesthetics. The Acer Nitro 17 is a fantastic substitute for more expensive gaming laptops like the Alienware x16 R2 or ASUS ROG Strix Scar 18 if you prefer something more understated. The plastic structure of the chassis is its lone flaw; it does not feel as sturdy or high-end as metal chassis does. The lid is also readily fingerprinted.
A full-size keyboard with a function row and number pad is built into the Nitro 17. Additionally, full-size arrow keys are a crucial component of gaming laptops. The two front-firing speakers are located on the keyboard deck’s front corners. My favorite speaker arrangement is front-firing since the sound is aimed straight at you.
To switch between battery modes, there is a dedicated button positioned at the top edge of the keyboard deck. It can be mistaken for the power button at first because it looks like the number pad. Although I usually prefer to have the power button someplace on the keyboard deck, it would have been good to have it farther offset—like the battery mode button—to avoid pressing it by accident.
The scale of the Nitro 17 is one aspect of its design that is hard to overlook. What a tank this laptop is. Its 17.3-inch display makes it larger than most computers, of course, but it weighs 6.8 pounds or almost three MacBook Airs. Thus, the Nitro 17 is not the lightest laptop available. However, that can be a worthwhile trade-off if you are seeking a lot of screen real estate.
PERFORMANCE
In addition to my gaming exams, I used the Nitro 17 for business, web browsing, and word processing for several days. It was a good laptop for productivity. The Nitro 17 can easily handle the additional screen real estate, which is useful for web browsing with multiple tabs open at once. In contrast to the competitors, its scores on our overall performance benchmarks were intriguing.
The Nitro 17 received a single-core score of 2,578 and a multi-core score of 12,358 on Geekbench 6. Both are behind the scores of the Victus 16 (2,675 and 14,125) and even the Strix G17 (2,767 and 13,830). However, the difference in the scores is not statistically significant, especially for the single-core test. Apart from the Victus 16’s excellent multi-core score, all three laptops have similar overall scores.
BATTERY LIFE
The Acer Nitro 17 lasted 2 hours and 48 minutes for gaming and 7 hours and 22 minutes for online browsing during our battery tests. Although the Nitro 17 did not perform as well as comparable gaming laptops, it is unfortunate that gaming laptops frequently score far lower on battery life than more productivity-focused computers.
CONCLUSION
The Acer Nitro 17 offers excellent performance, a large display, and a cost-effective price. For gamers wishing to have a feature-rich laptop for less than $1500, it is a fantastic value option. The Nitro 17 is a great choice for anyone who simply wants a desktop or laptop for gaming, and it might even be a good substitute for outdated or weak desktop gaming PCs. Its large, plastic design and poor webcam are only two of its drawbacks. Nonetheless, it succeeds in every crucial aspect.
The Nitro 17 surpassed the competition in our battery life testing and amazed me with its excellent gaming performance. It offers a more immersive gaming experience than some options, notably with the twin front-firing speakers, despite its larger display making it somewhat less portable.
An RTX 4060 graphics card, a Ryzen 7 CPU driven by AI, a fast 165Hz display, and an amazing backlit keyboard are all yours for less than $1300. The Nitro 17 is a strong competitor in the low-cost gaming industry since it offers excellent value for a gaming laptop. To compare them to the competition and look at other options, you can read our guide to the best gaming laptops.
