Acer’s Nitro 5 gaming laptop lineup has become more refined and feature-packed over time, and the new versions announced at CES 2022 make it even more appealing. Like before, the Nitro 5 for 2022 comes in two sizes, 15.6 inches and 17.3 inches, and you can choose between a 1080p or a QHD display. What’s new for this year is that its chassis design ditched those angular corners and added some extra pizazz to its lid. Also of note is that you can get one with either the latest 12th-Gen Intel processors (starting with a Core i5 12700H and going up to an Core i7 12700H) or one of AMD’s Ryzen 6000-series processors (starting with the Ryzen 5 6600H, going up to the Ryzen 7 6800H). Both versions can stock up to Nvidia’s new RTX 3070 Ti graphics chip, too.
The Intel and AMD models seem identical in most ways, though the AMD-based Nitro 5 might be the one to buy if you want all of the latest (and fastest) internal components. The AMD Nitro 5 supports fast DDR5 RAM (up to 32GB using two SODIMM slots) clocked at 4,800MHz, while the Intel model is still using DDR4 RAM clocked at 3,200MHz. In terms of storage, both models feature two M.2 SSD slots, though the Intel version supports two PCIe 4.0 SSDs, along with a SATA HDD, whereas the AMD model, oddly, supports one PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSD, one PCIe 3.0 M.2 SSD, and one SATA HDD.
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As is typically the case, the processor you select will impact the port selection on the laptop. The Intel-based laptop includes a Thunderbolt 4, as well as an HDMI 2.1 port, three USB-A ports, a power plug, an ethernet jack, and a headphone jack. The AMD-based model keeps all of that but exchanges the Thunderbolt 4 port for a USB 4 Type-C port and Thunderbolt 3.
The 15.6-inch Nitro 5 with Intel processors will begin shipping to the US in March with a starting price of $1,049.99, while the 17.3-inch version will ship in April, starting at $1,099.99. If you want the AMD version, that model will ship to the US in April, starting at $1,099.99, going up to $1,149.99 for the 17.3-inch version that will begin shipping in May 2022. These are really great prices, and I’m excited to see what these laptops are capable of.
