Acer Nitro 5 AN515-58 Gaming Laptop Review 2024: Budget-Friendly Gaming Powerhouse

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For a few years now, the Acer Nitro 5 has been the ‘go-to’ gaming laptop for those who want a capable device, able to play the latest games (albeit at reduced settings) at a low budget. The Acer Nitro 5 has been praised for its fast spec, sleek looks, and upgradability. The latest model, the Acer Nitro 5 AN515-58 is just as good as previous iterations, but is it for you? We’ll look in this review.

Read Also: List of Acer Laptops with Backlit Keyboards

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Acer Nitro 5 AN515-58 Specs

There have been a few versions of the Acer Nitro 5 over the years. So, we just want to make it clear that we’re looking at the Acer Nitro 5 AN515-58 here. These are the specs (we’ll look at these in more depth soon, we promise).

• Intel Core i5-12500H 2.50GHz Processor
• GeForce RTX 3050Ti 4GB Graphics Card
• 15.6” LCD 1920×1080 144Hz Display
• 16GB DDR4 SDRAM
• 512GB SSD
• Ability to Install Additional SSD
• 1 x HDMI output
• 1 x USB 3.2 Type-A Gen 1
• 2 x USB 3.2 Type-A Gen 2
• 1 x USB 3.2 Type-C Gen 2
• RJ-45 Network Adapter
• Wi-Fi
• Windows 11
• 4-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery. Max battery life is 5 hours.
• Weigh 5.51lb
• Backlit Keyboard

Yes. That’s a lot. However, outside a few pieces of hardware, the Acer Nitro 5 AN515-58 isn’t all that different from other laptops. Most of the features are expected e.g. Windows 11, Wi-Fi, and USB ports. So, you can disregard those as you aren’t getting anything massively different with this laptop. It is the graphics card, processor, display, and RAM that you need to pay attention to.

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Acer Nitro 5 AN515-58 Key Features

There are three stand-out features on the Acer Nitro 5 AN515-58:

• The backlit keyboard
• The ability to add your own SSD (and it is easier than you may think).
• Can add more RAM

We’ll discuss the performance part in the next section. For now, let’s just focus on those three specific features.

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Backlit Keyboard

Just like most gaming devices nowadays, the Nitro 5 goes all-in on the lighting. The keyboard is lit with a nice, red color. To many people, it is rather cool. It is snazzy. To us? Not so much. We see the merit in having a backlit keyboard, but we aren’t massive fans of LED lighting on our computers. Sometimes, it is just a bit too bright when you’re trying to focus on playing your games. Although, if you do love LED lighting, you’re going to love the backlit keyboard here. It really does look good when it is turned all the way up. Turn it on in a dark room, and it kind of feels quite cozy.

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Add Your Own SSD

This is one of our favorite features of the Acer Nitro 5. It is a feature that has been a staple in all the Nitro releases. You can add your own SSD. Unlike other gaming laptops, it isn’t too hard either. You remove a small back panel and clip the new SSD into place. Acer even provides you with the screws and cables that you need, which saves you a bit of money.

With games being so large nowadays (the latest Call of Duty is over 200GB!), the ability to expand your storage will come in quite handy. This laptop only has a 512GB SSD, after all.

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Add More RAM

This version of the Acer Nitro 5 comes equipped with 16GB of RAM, which is more than enough to power most modern games (you may have the crank the settings down on some of them). However, the Acer Nitro 5 AN515-58 is future-proof, to an extent. You can add more RAM whenever you wish. Just like the SSD, unscrew the case and slot your new RAM in. With the Nitro 5, you can go up to 32GB without problems.

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Acer Nitro 5 AN515-58 Performance

So, with those two things out the way, let’s dive into the actual performance of the Nitro 5 AN515-58. Like, how is it going to fare with the games that you throw at it? How is it going to cope with day-to-day work jobs?

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The Monitor

The Nitro 5 AN515-58 boasts a 15.6” Full HD IPS display. This display refreshes at a rather cool 144Hz.

Yes. The Nitro 5 does have a screen that is slightly smaller than some other gaming laptops (a few go up to 17”), but it is good enough for most games. We have played games like CS:GO to a reasonably competitive level on the Acer Nitro 5 without any issues, as we have done with League of Legends too. We’ve even thrown in a few MMOs for good measure. It looks good.

Overall, the monitor does look good. It is somewhat irritating that it isn’t a 4K monitor (just 1080p), but everything on the screen looks crystal clear. The 144Hz refresh rate is superb too. It means you can pump those games beyond 60FPS and get the full benefit with no screen tearing and, believe us, with the system specs behind this, many of those can be cranked up beyond 60FPS.

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The System Specs (RAM, GFX, and Processor)

As we said – you get 16GB of RAM in the Nitro 5 and, at the time of writing, that is more than enough to run most games. Seriously, go check Steam right now. You won’t find a single game that demands more than 16GB of RAM. In most cases, you should be able to crank the settings right the way up to maximum and enjoy a silky-smooth performance on your gaming laptop.

Of course, the RAM isn’t going to work on its own. You need something to process all those graphics, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti 4GB is going to help with that. The card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, ray tracing, etc. Again, more than enough to get most games looking fantastic. In fact, almost every popular game will run at a minimum of 60FPS in 1080p with this graphics card, and probably will for the foreseeable future. We’ve tested it out with Fortnite, Fallout 76, Starfield, and Spider-man and it works like an absolute dream. The environments look gorgeous, and the graphics card has no issues maintaining a decent frame rate despite everything being cranked up to the maximum. The gaming worlds have never looked more beautiful. It is just a shame that the screen isn’t a bit bigger so you can enjoy it more.

We do have another major issue with the graphics card, though. It is the fact that it can run pretty hot, and if you are bedding in for a longer gaming session, expect there to be a small performance drop. Unfortunately, this is not just because of the Nitro 5. It is because of the whole gaming laptop thing. Because laptop cards won’t have anywhere near the same amount of cooling as their desktop counterparts, they are prone to overheating. Thankfully, this is barely noticeable on most games since the RTX 3050 is overkill for most tasks anyway, but with future games, you may need to crank those settings down ever so slightly to maintain a smooth performance.

Finally, we have an i5 processor. It keeps everything chugging along nicely and is more than capable of keeping multiple processes running without any stuttering. It complements the RAM and the GFX card well.

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Keyboard & Mouse

The keyboard is functional. No mechanical keyboard here (which you would find with higher-end gaming laptops), but it works. The keys are responsive and there is anti-ghosting in place. However, we can’t help but feel that most people would probably want to buy a dedicated gaming keyboard to attach to their Acer Nitro 5 when they want to play games properly. We find the keys are a little bit too close together to make longer gaming sessions comfortable.

The mouse is typical laptop fare. It works. It is comfortable to use, but probably not for gaming. It is uncomfortable to use when you have your hands on the keys at the same time. Again, not a problem limited to the Nitro 5, every gaming laptop we’ve ever encountered has that problem. It is fine for gaming on the go. We have played a couple of slower-paced RTS like this, but you’re never going to play a MOBA or FPS with it. You’re going to need a proper mouse for that.

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Wi-Fi & Network Connectivity

As with most laptops, the Nitro 5 comes with Wi-Fi and an in-built RJ-45 for going wired (always important when you want latency to be low when gaming online).

In our experience, the Wi-Fi is fantastic. The laptop has never dropped the connection, and we maintain a decent ping when gaming online. It doesn’t have those massive lag spikes that some other cheaper gaming laptops offer, which is fantastic.

So, all in all, absolutely no complaints about the connectivity on the Acer Nitro 5.

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Ports

You get more than enough ports on the Nitro 5 to cover everything you would ever want to hook up including:

• USB Type-C Ports
• Thunderbolt 4
• USB Ports
• HDMI
• Headphones/Speakers
• Ethernet

Honestly, unless you want to connect up an old-school printer or monitor (which nobody in their right mind would ever want to do with this laptop), you should be golden.

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Battery Life

The Acer Nitro 5 AN515-58 claims to have a 5-hour maximum battery life, which we suppose it does if you don’t game and crank all settings on your computer down to the minimum. You’ll get 5 hours with a bit of video watching and some internet browsing. For intense gaming, you may get an hour or two before you reach for the charger. Not a massive problem, though. Most gaming laptops are like this (lots of power goes into running gaming hardware), and the Acer Nitro 5 tends to perform better than those on battery life.

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Acer Nitro 5 AN515-58 Design

In our opinion, gaming laptops live and die by their design. They have to be bulky due to the amount of hardware that needs to fit inside, but you also don’t want them to be so bulky that they are not portable, which ruins the idea of getting a laptop in the first place. Thankfully, the Acer Nitro 5 has managed to nail it well…sort of.

The dimensions of the laptop are small enough to easily slide into your laptop bag. The plastic shell is solid (it isn’t metal, unfortunately), and it shouldn’t break with the smallest of knocks, as would happen with some of the cheaper laptops on the market. It is a bit weighty at 5.51 lbs, but we don’t see where any extra weight could have been saved on this laptop. It has some serious hardware in it, and we reckon that most of the people carrying around a gaming laptop would know that they are going to be on the weightier side of things.

Where we must give a lot of praise to Acer is on the fan front. They are well-positioned to help cool the laptop down, even during the most intense gaming sessions. They can be a bit on the louder side of things (especially when up to max), but most people expect that. It is certainly needed. This laptop can get hot at times, so don’t sit with it on your lap!

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Acer Nitro 5 AN515-58 Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Should play most 2023 and earlier games at 1080p, 60FPS
• Quality screen
• Solid plastic case
• Light, for a gaming laptop
• A backlit keyboard makes for a great design.
• Lots of ports

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Cons:

• Fans can get a bit loud at times.
• Can get hot during longer gaming sessions, reducing performance.
• A plastic case isn’t as solid as a metal case like other gaming laptops have.

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Is It the Right Gaming Laptop For You?

The Acer Nitro 5 AN515-58 is a solid, budget gaming laptop. Well, mid-range. It performs incredibly well for the price and offers a few options for upgrading in the future. It is by no means the best gaming laptop on the market, but you would struggle to find anything better at this price. For those that want to game for a few hours per day, normally on the go, then this is perfect. Serious gamers, i.e. those that crave 4K gaming? This isn’t for you. It doesn’t offer that. It just offers 1080p gaming at a solid price point.

We highly recommend the Acer Nitro 5 AN515-58 for anybody who wants to dabble in some decent games now and then.