Acer announces the beastly Nitro 5 with up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080

Acer Nitro 5 Back
Acer Nitro 5 Back (Image credit: Acer)

Acer Nitro 5 Side

Source: Acer (Image credit: Source: Acer)

What you need to know

  • Acer announced the new Nitro 5 gaming laptop at CES 2021.
  • The laptop runs on a Ryzen 9 5900 HX CPU or an 11th Gen Intel Core H-35 series processor.
  • The Ryzen version will be available with up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 GPU
  • The Nitro 5 will be available starting in February with a starting price of $750.

Acer's Nitro 5 gaming laptop was just announced at CES 2021. The powerful gaming laptop runs on either an AMD Ryzen 9 5900 HX mobile processor or an 11th Gen Intel Core H35 series processor. The Ryzen version comes with up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 GPU, while the Intel variant comes with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX GPU. The Nitro 5 is available in either 15.6-inch or 17-inch variants. The laptop brings together some of the best gaming specs on the market to create a formidable mobile powerhouse.

The AMD version of the Nitro 5 will be available in North America starting in February with a starting price of $750 for the 15.6-inch version and $850 for the 17-inch version. The Intel version doesn't have an availability date for North America. Instead, it will launch in the EMEA region in March, starting at €999.

The internals inside the Nitro 5 are a significant jump for the gaming laptop line. With its Ryzen 5900 HX processor and up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 laptop GPU, it should be one of the most powerful gaming laptops on the market. Alongside those impressive processors, the Nitro 5 has two slots for M.2 PCIe or SATA SSDs and up to 32GB of DDR4 3200 RAM.

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CategoryAcer Nitro 5 (Intel)Acer Nitro 5 (AMD)
ProcessorUp to 11th Gen IntelCore H35-seriesUp to AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX
RAMUp to 32GB DDR4Up to 32GB DDR4-3200MHz
GraphicsNVIDIA GTXUp to NVIDIA RTX 3080 (Laptop)
StorageDual M.2 PCIe/SATA SSDsDual M.2 PCIe/SATA SSDs
Display15.6 inches17.3 inches144Hz, 3ms300 nits15.6 inches17.3 inches2560x1440 (QHD)165Hz refresh rate1920x1080 (FHD)360Hz, 3ms300 nits, 100% sRGB
PortsThunderbolt 4TBD
ConnectivityWi-Fi 6Wi-Fi 6Killer E2600
KeyboardFour-zone RGBTBD

The Nitro 5 has display options for either 15.6 inches or 17.3 inches. The exact refresh rates depend on whether you choose an Intel or AMD version of the laptop.

With all that power inside, Acer prioritized cooling for the Nitro 5. It has twin fans, Acer CoolBoost technology, and four exhaust ports to keep temperatures down. Acer CoolBoost can increase fan speeded when needed to optimize performance. People can also keep an eye on their system with NitroSense.

The previous Nitro 5 is on our list of the best gaming laptops, and this new model has quite the jump in specs.

Sean Endicott
News Writer and apps editor

Sean Endicott is a tech journalist at Windows Central, specializing in Windows, Microsoft software, AI, and PCs. He's covered major launches, from Windows 10 and 11 to the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT. Sean's journey began with the Lumia 740, leading to strong ties with app developers. Outside writing, he coaches American football, utilizing Microsoft services to manage his team. He studied broadcast journalism at Nottingham Trent University and is active on X @SeanEndicott_ and Threads @sean_endicott_.