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Nitro 16
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Stealth 18 AI Studio
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What we think

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The PerfectRec laptop team Learn more
Updated March 22, 2024·

If you're looking for more affordable and solid performance for gaming and everyday tasks, the Acer Nitro 16 is a good choice, but keep in mind that it's heavier and might not have the best battery life. On the other hand, if you need a laptop for professional creative work, such as 3D design or video editing, the more expensive MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio offers better display quality and powerful hardware suited for demanding applications, though it will cost more and may also be less portable due to its larger size. 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 Stealth 18 AI Studio.
Advantages of the MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio
  • 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
  • Very good speakers

Key differences

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General Use

7.8
Nitro 16
Stealth 18 AI Studio
8.4
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
494.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
305.0 nits
9.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
6.0/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.0/10
The MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio is very good for general use, while the Acer Nitro 16 is good.

Gaming and AI

8.0
Nitro 16
Stealth 18 AI Studio
8.9
8.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.7/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
7.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio and Acer Nitro 16 are both very good for gaming and AI, though the MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio is somewhat better.

Engineering and Design

8.2
Nitro 16
Stealth 18 AI Studio
9.1
7.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
8.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.7/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio is excellent for engineering and design, while the Acer Nitro 16 is very good.

Content Creation

7.8
Nitro 16
Stealth 18 AI Studio
8.5
7.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio is very good for content creation, while the Acer Nitro 16 is good.

Software Development

7.7
Nitro 16
Stealth 18 AI Studio
8.2
7.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio is very good for software development, while the Acer Nitro 16 is good.

Screen Quality

8.3
Nitro 16
Stealth 18 AI Studio
8.4
16.0in
SIZE
18.0in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
494.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
305.0 nits
The MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio has a better screen than the Acer Nitro 16 for gaming and AI, content creation, and software development.

Battery

9.0 Hours
Nitro 16
Stealth 18 AI Studio
6.0 Hours
The Acer Nitro 16 has 9 hours of battery life. The MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio has 6 hours of battery life.

Build Quality

7.4
Nitro 16
Stealth 18 AI Studio
8.0
The MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio has very good build quality, while the Acer Nitro 16 has good build quality.

Cost

$1,050
Nitro 16
Stealth 18 AI Studio
$2,900
Product image
Product image

$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 Stealth 18 AI Studio costs $2,900.
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Key similarities

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Portability

Fair
Nitro 16
Stealth 18 AI Studio
Fair
16.0in
SIZE
18.0in
5.9 lbs
WEIGHT
6.1 lbs
1.1in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Acer Nitro 16 and MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio both have only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.

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We’re constantly working to improve.

How the Acer Nitro 16 and the MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio compare to other laptops

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Spec Comparison

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Acer Nitro 16MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio
Acer Nitro 16MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio

GENERAL

Price
$1,050
$2,900
Release Date
May 1, 2023March 1, 2024
Overall Dimensions
14.2'' x 11'' x 1.1''15.8'' x 11.4'' x 0.94''
Weight
5.95 lbs6.15 lbs
Width
14.18"15.75"
Depth
11.02"11.4"

INTERNAL

Processor
AMD Ryzen 7 7735HSIntel Core Ultra 9 185H
RAM
16 GB32 GB
DDR Memory Version
55
RAM Slots
22
Storage
512 GB1024 GB

BATTERY

Battery Life
9 Hours6 Hours
Battery Capacity
90 Wh99.9 Wh

SCREEN

Diagonal Size
16"18"
Display Technology
IPSIPS
Resolution
2560 x 16002560 x 1600
Refresh Rate
165Hz240Hz
Display Brightness
494 nits305 nits

RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS

Build Quality Score
7.4/108/10
Portability Score
6.1/106/10
Gaming Laptop Appearance
YesYes
Premium Business Laptop
NoNo
Fan Noise Score
7/107.5/10

HARDWARE FEATURES

Keyboard Quality Score
8/108.5/10
Speaker Quality Score
7.5/108/10
Webcam
720p1080p
Fingerprint Reader
NoYes
Backlit Keyboard
YesYes
Number Pad
YesYes

CONNECTIVITY

USB Type-A
32
USB-C ports
22
USB-C Charging
YesYes
Display Outputs
23
Thunderbolt Version
N/A4

Shopping

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Acer Nitro 16

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Dig into reviews and images

NotebookCheck

Sascha Mölck | June 2023
"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."

Get a great deal on the Acer Nitro 16 or the MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio

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.

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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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About the laptop team

Joe Golden, Ph.D

CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.

Jason Lew

Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.

Chandradeep Chowdhury

Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.

Craig Russell

Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.

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