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Updated January 10, 2024·
The Acer Nitro 5 15 is a solid choice if you prioritize gaming or need higher performance for tasks like 3D rendering or machine learning due to its more powerful graphics card and higher refresh rate screen. However, it is heavier and bulkier, which means it's less portable than the Acer Swift X. The Acer Swift X, on the other hand, is lighter and more compact, making it better for on-the-go use and general tasks. If you're looking for something that balances performance with portability and don't need as much graphics power, the Swift X could be the better option. Both have similar battery lives and screen sizes, but your decision will heavily depend on whether performance or portability is more important for your use case. 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 5 15
- Good for gaming and AI
Advantages of the Acer Swift X (2021)
- Very good portability
- Very good battery life
- Very good speakers
Key differences
Gaming and AI
7.5
6.3
7.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.4/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The Acer Nitro 5 15 is good for gaming and AI, while the Acer Swift X (2021) is only fair.
The Acer Nitro 5 15 is equipped with a more powerful GPU and a higher screen refresh rate, which are very important for smooth gaming and 3D experiences. The Acer Swift X, while having a decent CPU and screen quality, falls short in GPU power and refresh rate, making it less optimal for those tasks.
Engineering and Design
7.9
7.0
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.6/10
7.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The Acer Nitro 5 15 and Acer Swift X (2021) are both good for engineering and design, though the Acer Nitro 5 15 is somewhat better.
The Acer Nitro 5 15 is suitable for engineering and design due to its powerful Intel i5 processor, 16GB of RAM, and Nvidia RTX 4050 GPU, which enable smooth handling of computation-intensive tasks, as well as a quality IPS screen that's beneficial for detailed designs. In contrast, the Acer Swift X (2021) packs a slightly less powerful AMD Ryzen 5 processor and Nvidia RTX 3050 GPU, along with 8GB of RAM, but stands out for its portability and higher quality IPS display which makes it appealing for on-the-go engineering work where screen clarity is essential.
Screen Quality
6.9
6.9
15.6in
SIZE
14.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
262.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
372.0 nits
The Acer Nitro 5 15 has a better screen than the Acer Swift X for gaming and AI, while the Acer Swift X has a better screen for engineering and design.
The Acer Nitro 5 15's display offers a resolution and brightness that are satisfactory for daily tasks, but its limited color range may not fully meet the needs of engineering and design applications that require precise color accuracy. The Acer Swift X stands out with a screen that supports wider color gamuts, making it suitable for engineering and design work where color fidelity is crucial. However, both laptops fall short for gaming and 3D work due to lower refresh rates, which can affect the smoothness and responsiveness during fast-paced scenes and animations.
Battery
5.5 Hours
10.0 Hours
The Acer Nitro 5 15 has 5.5 hours of battery life. The Acer Swift X has 10 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
Very Good
15.6in
SIZE
14.0in
5.5 lbs
WEIGHT
3.0 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Acer Swift X (2021) has very good portability, while the Acer Nitro 5 15 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$780
$580
$200
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
The Acer Nitro 5 15 has a price of $780 and the Acer Swift X (2021) costs $580.
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Key similarities
General Use
7.6
7.4
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
262.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
372.0 nits
5.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
10.0 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
6.3/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Acer Nitro 5 15 and Acer Swift X (2021) are both good for general use.
The Acer Nitro 5 15 is equipped with a high-performance CPU and sufficient RAM for multitasking, making it suitable for general use, while its dedicated GPU supports casual gaming but its heavier weight and shorter battery life limit portability. The Acer Swift X, on the other hand, offers a balance of performance and efficiency with a capable CPU, light-weight design, and extended battery life, along with a quality screen, making it an ideal choice for general use and on-the-go productivity.
Content Creation
7.5
7.5
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Acer Nitro 5 15 and Acer Swift X (2021) are both good for content creation.
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
7.3
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Acer Nitro 5 15 and Acer Swift X (2021) are both good for software development.
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.
Build Quality
7.2
7.6
The Acer Swift X (2021) and Acer Nitro 5 15 both have good 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 Acer Swift X (2021) compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Acer Nitro 5 15 | Acer Swift X (2021) |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$780 | $580 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | May 1, 2023 | June 1, 2021 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 14.2'' x 10.7'' x 1.06'' | 12.7'' x 8.4'' x 0.7'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 5.51 lbs | 3.06 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 14.19" | 12.7" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 10.67" | 8.4" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Intel i5-12500H | AMD Ryzen 5 5600U | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 16 GB | 8 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 4 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 2 | 0 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 512 GB | 512 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 5.5 Hours | 10 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 59 Wh | 59 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 15.6" | 14" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 1920 x 1080 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 144Hz | 60Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 262 nits | 372 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.2/10 | 7.6/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 6.4/10 | 8.6/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | Yes | No | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 7.5/10 | 8/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 8/10 | 8/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 7/10 | 8/10 | |
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 | 2 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 1 | 1 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 2 | 2 | |
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."
Acer Swift X (2021)
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Sebastian Jentsch | March 2022
"The Swift X is an Acer for entry-level gaming. With the entry-level graphics chip, our Acer not only beats every single current AMD and Intel iGPU, but also Intel's dGPU Iris Xe Max. However, despite being a GDDR6 version, the GTX does not match the expectations set by its own counterparts from our database. This may be a result of the single fan, which only produces moderate noise levels under load. The performance level of the thin and light 1.4 kg (~3.09 lbs) 14-inch laptop is impressive nonetheless."
Get a great deal on the Acer Nitro 5 15 or the Acer Swift X (2021)
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.
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