acerNitro 5 AN515-55-53E5 Gaming Laptop | Intel Core i5-10300H | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 GPU | 15.6" FHD 144Hz IPS Display | 8GB DDR4 | 256GB NVMe SSD | Intel Wi-Fi 6 | Backlit Keyboard

- I can run most games on default settings and the ones I can't are made easily playable with a few minor adjustments.- Compared to other gaming PCs of similar capabilities, this laptop tends to be far cheaper, so it's great for a budget laptop.- The battery life isn't great, but isn't unusable. I tend to keep my laptop on the charger.It is a lot bulkier than most laptops.- The display is rather dim compared to most screens.- Sometimes the graphics mess up and text will disappear or black boxes will cover the window. This only happens to me in browsers and on Discord.The pros heavily outweigh the cons, especially if you're looking for a decent gaming laptop on a budget.

I've own three Acer Nitro 5 AN515-55-53E5 Gaming Laptops, and I can confidently say that this model represents the best gaming laptop you can get on a budget from Amazon. Here's why:Performance: The heart of this laptop is the Intel Core i5-10300H, a quad-core processor with a base clock speed of 2.5 GHz that can turbo boost up to 4.5 GHz. Paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 GPU, which features 2nd Gen Ray Tracing Cores and 3rd Gen Tensor Cores, this laptop offers robust performance for gaming at 1080p. The RTX 3050 supports DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), which significantly boosts frame rates without sacrificing visual quality. My experience shows that it handles modern games like "Cyberpunk 2077" and "Assassin's Creed Valhalla" at medium to high settings with very playable frame rates, often exceeding 60 FPS for less demanding titles.Cooling: One of the standout features is the cooling system. Acer's CoolBoost technology enhances fan speed by 10% and increases CPU/GPU cooling by 9% compared to auto mode, leading to a 25% overall boost in thermal performance. This means even during extended gaming sessions, the laptop maintains stable performance without thermal throttling. The dual fans, combined with a thoughtful chassis design that allows for good airflow, keep the system cool under pressure.Design: The Nitro 5's design is both functional and appealing. The chassis is made of matte black plastic with red accents, offering a subtle yet recognizable gaming aesthetic. It's sturdy for its price range, with just a slight flex on the keyboard deck and lid. The laptop weighs about 5.07 lbs (2.29 kg), which is reasonable for a 15.6-inch machine with these specifications. The keyboard features a red backlit design with a comfortable key travel, ideal for long gaming sessions.Display and Audio: The 15.6-inch Full HD IPS display has a 144Hz refresh rate, providing smooth visuals, which is crucial for gaming, especially in fast-paced environments. While the color gamut isn't the widest, the contrast and brightness are adequate for gaming and general use. Audio from the built-in speakers is surprisingly decent for this price point, though, as with most laptops, headphones or external speakers will enhance the experience.Battery Life and Connectivity: Battery life isn't the laptop’s strong suit, typically lasting around 3-4 hours on light usage and significantly less under gaming load. However, the convenience of features like USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, HDMI 2.0, and Wi-Fi 6 more than compensates for this. The inclusion of a Killer Ethernet E2600 for wired connections ensures low-latency gaming when possible.Personal Experience: Having three of these laptops, I've found them to be reliable workhorses for both gaming and productivity tasks. The upgradability, with easy access to RAM and storage, makes them future-proof to some extent. They've been flawless in operation, with no hardware issues to report, making them an excellent choice for gamers on a budget or anyone seeking a cost-effective, high-performance laptop.In summary, the Acer Nitro 5 AN515-55-53E5 stands out for its balance of performance, cooling efficiency, and design at a budget-friendly price, making it a top pick for anyone looking to dive into gaming without breaking the bank. Five stars for delivering beyond expectations.

Good sub-$1000 gaming laptops are hard to find, but The Nitro 5 gives great value without breaking the bank. The 10th Gen Core i5 processor is 2 generations old at this point, but it has plenty of power to run pretty much all modern games at a decent setting. The Nvidia RTX 3050 graphics processor is an entry level to the new Ray-Tracing sexiness that's the next big thing in graphics. On newer games you probably won't be able to get past the 60fps barrier at 1080p with the settings cranked, but dialing the details down a bit will give you better rates. The display is rated for 1080p and 144hz, and while it's not the brightest or most vibrant screen out there, it's fine for this price point. There is also a (full size) HDMI out, but I have not had occasion to connect this to an external monitor yet. The cooling fans do a good job of keeping this machine within temp specs... but do note they can get pretty loud under load (honestly that's almost inevitable on a gaming laptop, it's hard to keep things cool in such a small box. Anyone who games on a laptop should invest in a good headset IMHO.)I have opened this computer up to install a few upgrades (more on that below) and I will say I'm pretty impressed with the build quality for a computer in this segment. The components are reputable makes rather than mystery off-brands (WD for the SSD, looks like Micron on the single 8gb RAM stick.) All the panels fit together nice and go back together easily after disassembly, making upgrades something you don't have to dread.Speaking of those upgrades... for a computer at this price point you have to live with a few compromises and here is where they may be found. The storage this model comes with is a paltry 256gb m.2 drive... If you do plan on gaming on the Nitro, either be ready to upgrade this quickly or learn to love delete-ing and re-installing games and apps constantly. Fortunately, there is a second un-used m.2 PCIe slot on the motherboard to accommodate an upgrade (this processor and motherboard supports PCIe up to gen-3 speeds.) There is also an open 2.5 inch bay for an SSD. Memory-wise, this unit comes with a single 8gb DDR4 SODIMM RAM stick installed. This should be fine for most gaming- if you don't run big apps in the background- but since this has two slots total for an upgrade I removed it and installed 2 8gb sticks of Kingston FURY Impact DDR4 RAM, just for a bit of extra headroom (the max speed the i5 10300H will operate memory at is 2933 Mhz, so it's not worth it to spend more on faster RAM.)All in all, this is a fine machine for someone who's interested in a good no-fuss entryway into PC gaming, or a seasoned gamer who wants an inexpensive but capable machine to go mobile with. Highly Recommended!