A comparison of specs, key information, reviews, and best pricing from top retailers
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Company ProductName Specs
Advantages of the Acer Nitro 5 15
- Good for general use
- Good for engineering and design
- Good for gaming and AI
- Good for software development
- Good for content creation
- Good overall build quality
- Good battery life
- Good speakers
Advantages of the MSI GF65 Thin
- Good portability
Key differences
General Use
7.6
6.5
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
262.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
262.0 nits
6.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.5 Hours
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
6.3/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.3/10
The Acer Nitro 5 15 is good for general use, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.
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
7.6
6.8
7.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
6.1/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Acer Nitro 5 15 is good for gaming and AI, while the MSI GF65 Thin 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.
Engineering and Design
7.9
6.7
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.6/10
7.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
6.1/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The Acer Nitro 5 15 is good for engineering and design, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.
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
7.6
6.8
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Acer Nitro 5 15 is good for content creation, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.
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
7.4
6.3
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Acer Nitro 5 15 is good for software development, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.
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
6.9
6.8
15.6in
SIZE
15.6in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
262.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
262.0 nits
The Acer Nitro 5 15 has a better screen than the MSI GF65 Thin for general use, software development, and content creation.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
6.0 Hours
4.5 Hours
The Acer Nitro 5 15 has 6 hours of battery life. The MSI GF65 Thin has 4.5 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
Fair
Good
15.6in
SIZE
15.6in
5.5 lbs
WEIGHT
4.1 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
0.8in
The MSI GF65 Thin has good portability, while the Acer Nitro 5 15 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$980
$1,100
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
$1,800
The Acer Nitro 5 15 has a price of $980 and the MSI GF65 Thin costs $1,100.
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Key similarities
Build Quality
7.2
6.7
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Acer Nitro 5 15 to have good build quality, while the MSI GF65 Thin has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
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How the Acer Nitro 5 15 and the MSI GF65 Thin compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Acer Nitro 5 15 | MSI GF65 Thin |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$980 | $1,100 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | April 1, 2022 | January 1, 2021 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 14.2'' x 10.7'' x 1.06'' | 14.1'' x 10'' x 0.85'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 5.51 lbs | 4.1 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 14.19" | 14.13" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 10.7" | 9.99" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Intel i5-12500H | Intel i5-10500H | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 16 GB | 8 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 4 | 4 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 2 | 2 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 512 GB | 512 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 6 Hours | 4.5 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 57.5 Wh | 51 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 15.6" | 15.6" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 1920 x 1080 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 144Hz | 144Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 262 nits | 262 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.2/10 | 6.8/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 6.4/10 | 7.4/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | Yes | Yes | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 7.5/10 | 6.5/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 7/10 | 7/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 7.5/10 | 6.8/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 720p | 720p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | No | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | Yes | No | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 3 | 2 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 1 | 2 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | No | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 2 | 1 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | 4 | N/A | |
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."
MSI GF65 Thin
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Allen Ngo | March 2021
"The MSI GF65 Thin offers a GeForce RTX 3060 on a budget. The MSI GF65 is a relatively inexpensive RTX 3060 laptop and, perhaps not coincidentally, it also comes with a slower-than-average RTX 3060 GPU. Other laptops we've tested thus far with the same GPU are about 10 to 15 percent faster. CPU performance is also slightly slower than average unless if users decide to enable Cooler Boost mode. Colors, black-white response times, Thunderbolt, and DisplayPort are either average or completely omitted. Gamers who want to maximize performance-per-dollar without sacrificing RAM or SSD upgradeability will find the lightweight MSI GF65 attractive."
Get a great deal on the Acer Nitro 5 15 or the MSI GF65 Thin
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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