The Acer Nitro 16 is a midrange, less expensive option with solid performance for general use, gaming, and some engineering tasks. It's lighter and offers good screen quality, making it a balance between performance and portability. On the other hand, the MSI Raider GE76 is a high-end, more expensive machine with a larger screen, higher storage and RAM, better for intensive gaming, 3D rendering, machine learning, and demanding engineering work but it is heavier, which affects portability. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Acer Nitro 16
The Acer Nitro 16 has no clear advantages over the MSI Raider GE76.
Advantages of the MSI Raider GE76
Very good for general use
Excellent for engineering and design
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Very good overall build quality
Excellent keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.8/10
8.4/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
494.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
9.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
6.0/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.8/10
The MSI Raider GE76 is very good for general use, while the Acer Nitro 16 is good.
The MSI Raider GE76 offers a larger screen with higher resolution and a more powerful CPU and double the RAM compared to the Acer Nitro 16, making it better suited for more demanding general use tasks. However, these enhancements result in the MSI being less portable and having a shorter battery life than the lighter and more compact Acer Nitro 16, which still offers solid performance for general use.
Gaming and AI
8.0/10
8.9/10
8.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.3/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
7.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The MSI Raider GE76 and Acer Nitro 16 are both very good for gaming and AI, though the MSI Raider GE76 is somewhat better.
The Acer Nitro 16 features an Nvidia RTX 4070 GPU and a screen refresh rate of 165, making it very good for gaming and 3D tasks, while the MSI Raider GE76 is equipped with a more powerful Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti GPU and a higher refresh rate of 240, offering excellent performance for the same activities.
Engineering and Design
8.2/10
9.0/10
7.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
8.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.3/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The MSI Raider GE76 is excellent for engineering and design, while the Acer Nitro 16 is very good.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Content Creation
7.8/10
8.4/10
7.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Raider GE76 is very good for content creation, while the Acer Nitro 16 is good.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Screen Quality
8.3/10
8.6/10
16.0in
SIZE
17.3in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
494.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
The MSI Raider GE76 has a better screen than the Acer Nitro 16 for gaming and AI, content creation, and software development.
The Acer Nitro 16 and MSI Raider GE76 both boast high-resolution displays with ample brightness and quality panel types, making them excellent for everyday tasks where such features enhance the clarity and vibrancy of content. For engineering and design, accurate color representation is crucial, and both of these laptops deliver wide color gamuts, ensuring that professionals can work with a true-to-life palette. However, for gaming and 3D applications where smooth motion is key, the lack of high refresh rates on these laptops means they fall short, as refresh rate is critical for reducing motion blur and providing a fluid visual experience.
Battery
9.0 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Acer Nitro 16 has 9 hours of battery life. The MSI Raider GE76 has 6 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Build Quality
7.4/10
8.5/10
The MSI Raider GE76 has very good build quality, while the Acer Nitro 16 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,050
$3,552
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The Acer Nitro 16 has a price of $1,050 and the MSI Raider GE76 costs $3,552.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers MSI Raider GE76 to be very good for software development, while the Acer Nitro 16 is good.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Portability
Fair
Poor
16.0in
SIZE
17.3in
5.9 lbs
WEIGHT
6.3 lbs
1.1in
THICKNESS
1.0in
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Acer Nitro 16 to have only fair portability, while the MSI Raider GE76 has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
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How the Acer Nitro 16 and the MSI Raider GE76 compare to other laptops
"Video editing, rendering and, of course, gaming represent the Nitro 16's core competencies with a Ryzen 7 7735HS and GeForce RTX 4070 providing the necessary power. Both chips run at consistently high clock speeds. A fast PCIe 4 SSD (1 TB) provides the required storage space and ensures short loading times. With the Nitro 16 AN16-41, Acer has a well-specced, mid-range gaming laptop in its portfolio."
"The MSI Raider GE76: with Alder Lake and RTX 3080 Ti to gaming heaven. Yes, MSI could improve some aspects (like the quality of the webcam), but the manufacturer offers a very convincing and balanced overall package. The biggest advantage is definitely the immense performance potential. The combination of Core i9-12900HK, GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, 32 GB DDR5 RAM and two NVMe SSDs offers a lot of performance for the next couple of years and plenty of power for 3D applications. Most titles would run smoothly on an external 4K screen no matter the quality preset. We came away impressed with the integrated 360 Hz panel's fast response times and good color accuracy."
Get a great deal on the Acer Nitro 16 or the MSI Raider GE76
About Acer
Acer is a prominent Taiwanese electronics brand which makes a wide range of laptops, with multiple product lines catering to personal use, gaming, and business use. They are renowned for having exceptional value for money, as they frequently offer good specifications at a lower price than other manufacturers.
About MSI
MSI, also known as Micro-Star International, is a Taiwanese technology corporation. MSI is known for their wide range of gaming devices. Their series include the entry-level Cyborg/Thin and Sword/Katana series, the mid-range Bravo/Delta and Crosshair/Pulse series, and their high-end Vector, Raider, Stealth, and Titan GT series. At every performance level, MSI offers a variety of devices with varying balances between performance, battery life, weight, and price, making them a solid option to consider at every price point.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
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