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Company ProductName Specs
Company ProductName Specs
Advantages of the Acer Nitro 5 15
- Good for gaming and AI
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Air (2020)
- Best in class overall build quality
- Very good portability
- Excellent battery life
- Best in class speakers
- Best in class keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.2
7.8
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
277.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
395.0 nits
6.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
15.0 Hours
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
7.0/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.9/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Acer Nitro 5 15 are both good for general use, though the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is somewhat better.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Gaming and AI
7.0
6.3
6.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
10.0/10
The Acer Nitro 5 15 is good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is only fair.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Content Creation
7.2
7.8
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.0/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Acer Nitro 5 15 are both good for content creation, though the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is somewhat better.
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.
Software Development
7.0
7.8
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.0/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Acer Nitro 5 15 are both good for software development, though the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is somewhat better.
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.
Screen Quality
7.0
7.5
15.6in
SIZE
13.3in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
277.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
395.0 nits
The Acer Nitro 5 15 has a better screen than the Apple MacBook Air for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Air has a better screen for general use, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
6.0 Hours
15.0 Hours
The Acer Nitro 5 15 has 6 hours of battery life. The Apple MacBook Air has 15 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.
Portability
Good
Very Good
15.6in
SIZE
13.3in
4.8 lbs
WEIGHT
2.8 lbs
0.9in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has very good portability, while the Acer Nitro 5 15 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.2
10.0
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has best in class build quality, while the Acer Nitro 5 15 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$798
$849
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
The Acer Nitro 5 15 has a price of $798 and the Apple MacBook Air (2020) costs $849.
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Key similarities
Engineering and Design
7.1
7.4
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.0/10
6.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Acer Nitro 5 15 are both good for engineering and design.
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.
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How the Acer Nitro 5 15 and the Apple MacBook Air (2020) compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Acer Nitro 5 15 | Apple MacBook Air (2020) |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$798 | $849 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | June 1, 2021 | November 1, 2020 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 14.3'' x 10'' x 0.94'' | 12'' x 8.4'' x 0.63'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 4.85 lbs | 2.8 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 14.3" | 11.97" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 10" | 8.36" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | AMD Ryzen 5 5600H | Apple M1 | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 8 GB | 16 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 4 | 4 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 2 | 0 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 512 GB | 256 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 6 Hours | 15 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 57.5 Wh | 49.9 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 15.6" | 13.3" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 2560 x 1600 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 144Hz | 60Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 277 nits | 395 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.2/10 | 10/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 7/10 | 9/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | Yes | No | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | Yes | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 7.5/10 | 10/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 7/10 | 9.5/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 7/10 | 9.5/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 720p | 720p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | No | Yes | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | Yes | No | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 3 | 0 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 1 | 2 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | No | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 1 | 1 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | N/A | 3 | |
Shopping
Acer Nitro 5 15
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Sascha Mölck | June 2022
"The Acer Nitro 5 is a fast QHD gaming notebook. The Nitro 5 is a well-balanced gaming laptop for just under US$ 2400. A Core i7-12700H CPU and a GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop GPU enable QHD gaming at high to maximum settings, accompanied by fast PCIe-4-SSD (1 TB) and 16 GB of RAM. Acer delivers a solid QHD gaming notebook with the Nitro 5 AN515-58. However, the laptop is not completely free of shortcomings. The CPU and GPU can work at consistently high clock rates. The laptop heats up noticeably under load, but not excessively. Noise development is on the usual class level. Once again, however, Acer needs to improve the fan control."
Apple MacBook Air (2020)
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Andreas Osthoff | July 2022
"The Apple MacBook Air M2 Entry is a very good, but too expensive daily MacBook. The new MacBook Air M2 is undoubtedly once again a very good mobile companion, but we are still a little bit disappointed on a very high level, which is definitely connected with the increased price point. The new chassis is extremely slim and the front edge is no problem during typing, but the bezels are pretty wide for a modern device and in addition with the vertical space required for the notch, the new Air has larger footprint than some Windows rivals."
Get a great deal on the Acer Nitro 5 15 or the Apple MacBook Air (2020)
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 Apple
Apple, an American technology company, is one of the world’s largest company in terms of market capitalization. Their MacBook laptops feature a slim, minimalistic design, class-leading battery life, and premium display and speaker quality. In 2020 Apple switched from using Intel processors to their own silicon chips which have excellent performance and efficiency. The macOS operating system is the second most widely used OS, after Windows.
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Why trust us
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.
By the numbers
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Recommendations made
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About the laptop team
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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.
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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.
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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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