lcd panel acer nitro 5 an515-53 color accuracy quotation

One of the weak spots on Acer’s Nitro lineup has been the display in the past, so we will see how the new model fares. The base offering is a 15.6-inch 1920x1080 IPS display, offering a 60 Hz refresh rate, and on higher-tire models there is a 144 Hz offering available, although with the limited GPU offerings, that is likely overkill for this machine. There is no G-SYNC available either, so although 144 Hz displays are fantastic, the Acer Nitro 5 likely won’t be able to achieve that kind of framerate at its native resolution anyway.

To see how the Acer Nitro 5’s display performs, we test it using Portrail Display’s Calman software suite with a custom workflow. Brightness and contrast measurements are done with the X-Rite i1Display Pro colorimeter, and color accuracy testing is done with the X-Rite i1 Pro 2 spectrophotometer.

To hit a price target, one of the first areas generally cut is the display backlighting, and that is certainly the case here. At just 260 nits of peak brightness, the Acer Nitro 5 is one of the least-bright displays we have tested recently. That being said, it does offer relatively good black levels, so the overall contrast ratio is very solid at 1300:1.

At 200 nits brightness, the grayscale was very impressive on the Nitro 5, with very even red, green, and blue coloring to the white levels. The overall result did not go over the 3.0 level at any point, and the average was just 2.4 dE2000, which is quite good.

Unfortunately for the Acer Nitro 5, the good grayscale is not backed up by good color accuracy. The Nitro 5 backlighting is not only dim, it can not even get close to covering the entire sRGB color gamut. The blue values are very undersaturated at 100% levels, but red and green are both unable to hit the correct target either, so the secondary colors are quite far off the mark as well.

Gamut tests the color accuracy at 100% levels for the primary and secondary colors, and the saturation test does the same thing but at 4-bit steps from 0% to 100%. The blue levels are some of the worst results we have seen in years, with a peak error level of almost 17. For reference, error levels of 3.0 are considered accurate, and under 1.0 is considered impossible for the eye to distinguish.

The Gretag Macbeth swatch tests not just the primary and secondary colors, but many others as well, including the important skin tones. With the display unable to achieve the full sRGB gamut, the GMB results are unsurprisingly poor. The average error level is helped by reasonable grayscale, but most of the other colors are quite far off.

The colorchecker tests a sample of colors, and displays the target color on the bottom with the measured color on the top, to give a visual indication of the inaccuracy of the display. This is a relative result, as any errors in your own display will change the output, but it is still a handy way to more easily interpret the error levels shown above. It is not very pretty for the Acer Nitro 5.

Going into this review, there were not high hopes for the display. It is an area where Acer has found room to keep costs down in the past, and if we are being honest, it is an area where you expect less than ideal results in a budget-focused design. That being said, $300 iPads and $500 Surface tablets ship with full sRGB displays that are calibrated per-device. This display is fine for what it is. It is an IPS display, with good viewing angles, and at least on the review unit, good white values, but although some slack must be given Acer due to the tight budget on this device, it is still a bad display.

Optimised for gaming. While laptops with an RTX 3080 offer a whole lot of performance, they are often chunky and can get really hot, which is not something that everybody wants. The Acer Nitro 5, on the other hand, is for those who are looking for a low-priced portable gaming laptop.

The Acer Nitro 5 AN515-55 is the latest laptop in Acer’s Nitro 5 series, which consists of low-priced notebooks that aim to cover the basics. Our review device comes with the GeForce RTX 3060, which is one of Nvidia’s latest GPUs. The Nitro 5 is supposed to offer a relatively high level of performance at a reasonable power draw. Our review device is very similar to the Acer Nitro 5 AN515-44, which is why we did not provide a detailed description of the case and the ports. You can find all the relevant information in our review of the predecessor model.

The design of the 15.6-inch Nitro 5 AN515-55 has not changed much when compared to the predecessor model. The laptop is still made of matte black plastic. The colour accents are also still here. Because the keys now have a white accent instead of a red one, the Nitro 5 looks less flashy. The angular design, the red colour accent around the touchpad and the red plastic "inserts" are all vestiges of what used to be considered cool in the gaming laptop world. The build quality is on a good level. The chassis is quite stiff. However, the display lid and the keyboard deck exhibit a small amount of flex.

The Nitro 5 AN515-55 takes up slightly more space than most other laptops with similar hardware. Weighing in at 2.3 kg (5 lbs), the Nitro 5 is the heaviest device in our comparison chart. The MSI GF65 Thin 10UE is the lightest notebook that we included in our review. It only weighs 1.9 kg (4.27 lbs).

Acer Aspire Nitro 5 AN515-55-57GF Acer Nitro 5 AN515-44-R5FT Schenker XMG Core 15 Ampere HP Omen 15-en0375ng MSI GF65 Thin 10UE Asus TUF Dash F15 FX516PR DIN A4 ❌

363.4 mm / 14.3 inch255 mm / 10 inch23.9 mm / 0.941 inch2.3 kg5 lbs363 mm / 14.3 inch255 mm / 10 inch24 mm / 0.945 inch2.2 kg4.8 lbs359.8 mm / 14.2 inch243 mm / 9.57 inch22.9 mm / 0.902 inch2 kg4.45 lbs358 mm / 14.1 inch240 mm / 9.45 inch23 mm / 0.906 inch2.2 kg4.76 lbs359 mm / 14.1 inch254 mm / 10 inch21.7 mm / 0.854 inch1.9 kg4.27 lbs360 mm / 14.2 inch252 mm / 9.92 inch20 mm / 0.787 inch2 kg4.51 lbs297 mm / 11.7 inch210 mm / 8.27 inch1 mm / 0.03937 inch5.7 g0.01257 lbs

The Nitro 5 supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0, thanks to an Intel communications module (AX201). The Nitro 5 does not achieve spectacular speeds in our Wi-Fi test, but it is still fast enough for all usage scenarios. However, some competing laptops are almost twice as fast as the Acer notebook when it comes to Wi-Fi speeds.

To get to the internal components, users will have to undo 11 screws on the bottom. Once the device is open, users will get access to the two M.2 slots, the replaceable Wi-Fi module, the battery and the fans. As you can see from the image below, there is a bay for a 2.5-inch drive, but there is no SATA connector.

The keyboard features an RBG backlight with four brightness levels, which can be cycled through in the Nitrosense utility. The keys offer a short travel distance and very little resistance. The keyboard does not produce a lot of noise when typing, which is why it can be used in quiet environments. The keyboard is not suited for long typing sessions. Moreover, the keys of the numeric pad are too small.

The Acer Nitro 5 has a 15.6-inch display with a native resolution of 1920x1080 pixels and a refresh rate of 144 Hz. The display is fit for competitive titles. Those who want a 165-Hz 1440p screen or a 240-Hz 1080p display will have to pay a significant premium.

The brightness is on a very good level when compared to the rest of the competition. The brightness distribution is also quite decent. Our panel does not exhibit an excessive amount of backlight bleeding. The Schenker XMG Core 15 Ampere is the only device in our comparison chart that offers a higher screen brightness. The panel in the Schenker notebook also has a higher resolution (2560x1440).

Both the contrast ratio (1371:1) and the black value (0.21 cd/m²) are very good. Only the MSI GF65 Thin 10UE does better here. The Nitro 5 still manages to beat the MSI GF65 in terms of colour reproduction, though. Nevertheless, the screen of the Nitro 5 is not suitable for professional applications, because it only manages to cover 62% of sRGB and 44% of AdobeRGB. Both the Schenker XMG Core 15 and the Asus TUF Dash F15 have significantly more colour-accurate screens, but they cost more money.

The display of the Nitro 5 is hard to read outside on sunny days because it has a brightness of only 260 cd/m². However, in all other situations, the screen should be legible, thanks to a matte surface.

ℹDisplay response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.↔ Response Time Black to White

In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 19272 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.

Our review device comes with the Intel Core i5-10300H, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 and 16 GB of DDR4 dual-channel RAM. Our configuration of the Nitro 5 features a 512 GB NVMe SSD. In Europe, there is also an alternative configuration with the hexa-core Intel Core i7-10750H and the RTX 3050/RTX 3050 Ti. Our review device is primarily intended for gaming because it comes with a mid-range CPU and a high-end GPU. Buyers should also be aware of the fact that not all configurations come with Windows 10 preinstalled. For instance, Windows 10 was not preinstalled on our review device.

The Core i5-10300H is a hexa-core Comet Lake-based processor, which was manufactured on the 14-nm node. However, nowadays buyers can get Intel’s 10-nm CPUs, which offer a big boost in performance. Howbeit, the Core i5-10300H is still a very capable gaming processor.

In our Cinebench R15 loop, the CPU was able to achieve very stable, albeit rather low, clock rates. The predecessor model with the AMD Ryzen 5 4600H exhibited similar behaviour in this test. Nevertheless, the Ryzen 5 4600H in the Nitro 5 AN515-44 is 57% faster than the Core i5-10300H in our current review device in the CR15 loop. When running on battery power, the CPU performance of the Nitro 5 AN515-55 drops significantly. When plugged in, the Nitro 5 AN515-55 achieved a multi-core score of 777 points in Cinebench R15. However, when running on battery power, it only got a multi-core score of 504 points.

In the productivity benchmarks, the Core i5-10300H was trounced by the competing laptops with better CPUs. In all of our benchmarks, the Core i5-10300H performed as expected.

Because it does not have a very powerful CPU, the Nitro 5 achieves mediocre results in our system benchmarks. Nevertheless, in day-to-day use, the system feels very responsive and applications start very quickly.

Our review device features a 512 GB NVMe SSD from Western Digital. However, other models come with a 1 TB SSD. In the storage benchmarks, the 512 GB SSD performs worse than the competition in almost all areas. The 4K read speed is the only exception. All in all, the SSD is fast enough to provide a very good user experience.

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 (Mobile) is a high-end GPU, which is based on Nvidia’s new Ampere architecture. It offers a significant boost in performance when compared to last generation GPUs. It has 6 GB of GDDR6 video memory and an 85-W TGP.

The Schenker XMG Core 15 is outperforming the rest of the competition in the 3DMark benchmarks because it features an RTX 3060 with a 120-W TGP. The Nitro 5 beats its predecessor by more than 50% and can keep up with the 85-W RTX 3070 in the Asus TUF Dash F15 in certain benchmarks.

Acer’s gaming laptop can handle all modern titles at 1080p on high settings. It can run some esports titles at 144 FPS. However, the RTX 3060 cannot achieve playable frame rates in Cyberpunk 2077with RT effects enabled. Without DLSS, it can hit only 23 FPS on average. All in all, the RTX 3060 in the Nitro 5 is a capable gaming GPU.

dB(A)0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs204136.842.642.946.539.82535.834.338.436.536.243.5314441.148.945.444.746.54029.62632.732.23234.35027.323.83041.641.541.26331.62728.929.927.936.98023.919.2222418.327.81002320.51918.317.825.412526.721.323.119.317.630.716029.824.528.92121.930.520029.224.326.12321.429.225029.422.321.121.717.430.731530.12018.616.415.131.340030.427.621.213.41531.950031.123.119.112.312.533.663033.621.62012.511.435.480034.221.819.212.311.236.8100034.621.619.612.211.337.2125037.324.721.512.411.340.1160038.324.322.511.711.440.920003621.618.112.212.339250035.117.114.813.11337.6315035.615.314.31412.739.2400031.415.414.714.713.935.7500030.214.213.813.713.534.2630028.313.613.713.513.732.8800022.713.513.513.413.5271000020.613.113.31313251250018.51312.812.712.720160001812.312.512.41216.7SPL46.332.830.52625.449.2N5.21.61.40.80.76.5median 30.2median 21.3median 19median 13.4median 13median 32.8Delta4.24.13.52.61.84.8hearing rangehide medianshow medianFan NoiseAcer Aspire Nitro 5 AN515-55-57GF

Under load, the underside of the device gets hottest (49-51 °C; 120.2-123.8 °F), especially in the area near the screen. We saw these surface temperatures during both our gaming stress test with The Witcher 3 and our stress test with Prime95 and FurMark. The right side and the middle of the wrist rest area reach up to 37 °C (98.6 °F), which is quite warm. However, the left side does not get as warm, peaking at only 28 °C (82.4 °F).

At the beginning of our stress test (Prime95 and FurMark running continuously for at least one hour), the processor operated at 4.2 GHz and the GPU ran at 1425 MHz. After a short while, the CPU hit 90 °C (194 °F) and started to throttle down to keep itself within the conservative operating range set by Acer. In the meantime, the GPU temperatures slowly climbed to 79 °C (174.2 °F). Eventually, the GPU clocks settled at around 800 MHz, occasionally spiking to 1400 MHz. Over the course of our stress test, the average CPU clock rate amounted to 3.4 GHz and the average GPU clock rate was 1040 MHz.

(-) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 40.3 °C / 105 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °C / 93 F for the devices in the class Gaming.

(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 49 °C / 120 F, compared to the average of 40.4 °C / 105 F, ranging from 21.2 to 68.8 °C for the class Gaming.

The Acer Nitro 5 AN515-55 comes with two 2-W speakers. They do not produce a lot of bass but still sound acceptable. The maximum volume is on a good level. Users can connect external audio devices via a USB port, the included 3.5-mm audio jack or Bluetooth.

dB(A)0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs2046.543.62536.235.53144.745.3403231.25041.541.86327.934.58018.32610017.82812517.635.616021.938.520021.440.225017.445.931515.148.94001553.450012.559.963011.467.880011.271.1100011.370.1125011.366.9160011.465200012.362.725001360.5315012.759.9400013.954.7500013.555.4630013.756.4800013.557100001354.11250012.752.8160001245.6SPL25.476.3N0.734.3median 13median 55.4Delta1.88.13734.53729.328.429.33326.7332522.32527.825.527.834.724.434.729.429.629.424.223.724.230.128.430.143.321.243.356.219.656.263.218.863.262.920.762.963.52063.566.520.366.572.921.972.975.422.875.468.72568.766.224.266.269.524.669.566.72266.759.119.459.160.218.860.267.61867.663.915.463.965.213.365.267.514.967.57214.47273.512.973.567.413.467.480.733.180.750.41.750.4median 66.2median 20median 66.25.52.85.5hearing rangehide medianshow medianPink NoiseAcer Aspire Nitro 5 AN515-55-57GFMSI GF65 Thin 10UE

The 57.5-Wh battery of the Nitro 5 lasted 5h and 43m in our Wi-Fi test and 1h 28m under load. In our video test (playing back an H.264 video on a loop), the Acer laptop lasted 6h and 9m. In our battery tests, the Nitro 5 achieved slightly above-average battery runtimes for a device with such a battery capacity.

The matte black plastic surfaces make the Nitro 5 appear quite subdued. However, thanks to its angular design, it does not look boring at all. The build quality is on a good level, and the input devices are usable. The selection of ports is not outstanding but it is good enough for a laptop in this price bracket. The Nitro 5 does not offer any premium features.

The main draw of the Nitro 5 is, undoubtedly, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 (Mobile), which Acer put in its low-priced gaming laptop. The last-generation CPU is powerful enough to allow the RTX 3060 to reach its full potential when gaming. However, we would not recommend the Core i5-10300H to anyone who needs to use a lot of productivity applications. The subpar keyboard and the small battery capacity are our main points of criticism.With the Nitro 5, Acer wanted to achieve a good price-to-performance ratio by using an RTX 3060. At the right price, the Nitro 5 is a great gaming laptop with no major weaknesses.

In most titles, the CPU does not play a very significant role. The Nitro 5 can easily handle the latest games. The 144-Hz screen is good enough for gaming. However, it is not suitable for professional applications because of the poor colour space coverage. Even though there is a whole lot of competition in the lower mid-range segment, Acer managed to deliver an impressive gaming laptop, which covers the basics very well.