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Updated January 10, 2024·
If you need high performance for gaming or engineering software, the Acer Nitro 5 15 is a strong choice, offering a faster processor, superior graphics capabilities, and more memory and storage. However, it's larger, heavier, and more expensive. On the other hand, the Gateway 14.1" is more budget-friendly, lighter, and well-suited for basic tasks like browsing and office applications, but it won't handle intensive tasks well due to its more modest specs. 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 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 speakers
- Very good keyboard
Advantages of the Gateway 14.1"
- Very good portability
- Good battery life
Key differences
General Use
7.6
5.6
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
262.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
208.0 nits
5.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
8.0 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
5.3/10
6.3/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Acer Nitro 5 15 is good for general use, while the Gateway 14.1" is poor.
The Acer Nitro 5 15 is favored for general use due to its powerful Intel i5 processor, ample 16 GB of RAM, and high-quality IPS display, which together provide smooth performance and good screen clarity. In contrast, the Gateway 14.1" suffers in general use with a basic Intel Celeron processor, only 4 GB of RAM, and a lower-quality display, leading to less capable multitasking and poorer image quality.
Gaming and AI
7.5
5.4
7.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.5/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The Acer Nitro 5 15 is good for gaming and AI, while the Gateway 14.1" is poor.
The Acer Nitro 5 15 is equipped with a powerful Nvidia RTX 4050 graphics card and a high 144Hz screen refresh rate that enables smooth and visually stunning gaming experiences, whereas the Gateway 14.1" laptop's Intel UHD Graphics 600 and lower 60Hz screen refresh rate are less suited to handle demanding games and 3D applications.
Engineering and Design
7.9
5.5
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
3.3/10
7.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.5/10
16.0 GB
RAM
4.0 GB
The Acer Nitro 5 15 is good for engineering and design, while the Gateway 14.1" is poor.
The Acer Nitro 5 15 is equipped with a robust Intel i5 processor, 16GB of RAM, and an Nvidia RTX 4050 GPU, which are powerful components that provide the necessary performance for engineering and design tasks; in contrast, the Gateway 14.1" laptop has a less capable Intel Celeron processor, 4GB of RAM, and Intel UHD Graphics 600, which are insufficient for such demanding applications. Additionally, the Acer offers a high-quality screen with greater resolution, brightness, and color accuracy, further enhancing its suitability for engineering and design, where these factors are very important, whereas the Gateway's screen, while still full HD, doesn't match the quality required for professional design work.
Content Creation
7.5
5.8
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
3.3/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
4.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Acer Nitro 5 15 is good for content creation, while the Gateway 14.1" is poor.
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
5.8
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
3.3/10
16.0 GB
RAM
4.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
5.3/10
The Acer Nitro 5 15 is good for software development, while the Gateway 14.1" is poor.
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
6.0
15.6in
SIZE
14.1in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
262.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
208.0 nits
The Acer Nitro 5 15 has a better screen than the Gateway 14.1" for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Acer Nitro 5 15, with its better resolution and brightness, provides a more vibrant and clearer display that's necessary for everyday tasks, hence its good quality for general use. However, for engineering and design, while its resolution is beneficial, a lack of wide color gamut coverage like DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB makes the screen less ideal, leading to only a fair rating. For gaming and 3D applications, the Acer's lower refresh rate significantly hampers the visual experience by not being as smooth as desired, resulting in a poor screen quality for these uses.
Battery
5.5 Hours
8.0 Hours
The Acer Nitro 5 15 has 5.5 hours of battery life. The Gateway 14.1" has 8 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
14.1in
5.5 lbs
WEIGHT
3.3 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Gateway 14.1" has very good portability, while the Acer Nitro 5 15 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.2
5.1
The Acer Nitro 5 15 has good build quality, while the Gateway 14.1" has poor build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$800
$99
$0
$200
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
The Acer Nitro 5 15 has a price of $800 and the Gateway 14.1" costs $99.
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How the Acer Nitro 5 15 and the Gateway 14.1" compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Acer Nitro 5 15 | Gateway 14.1" |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$800 | $99 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | May 1, 2023 | August 1, 2021 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 14.2'' x 10.7'' x 1.06'' | 13.1'' x 8.8'' x 0.75'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 5.51 lbs | 3.35 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 14.19" | 13.1" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 10.67" | 8.78" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Intel i5-12500H | Intel Celeron N4020 | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 16 GB | 4 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 4 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 2 | 0 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 512 GB | 64 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 5.5 Hours | 8 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 59 Wh | Unknown | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 15.6" | 14.1" | |
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 | 208 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.2/10 | 5.1/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 6.4/10 | 8.1/10 | |
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 | 7/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 8/10 | 5.3/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 7/10 | 6/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 720p | 720p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | No | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | No | |
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 | 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."
Gateway 14.1"
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Allen Ngo | September 2021
"The Gateway Ultra Slim 14" is surprisingly quiet with long battery life. The inexpensive Gateway excels at maximizing performance per dollar with lots of RAM and storage, super-quiet fan, and a long battery life. It can even house up to two M.2 SSDs which we weren't expecting from such a cheap system. However, the iffy reliability of the keyboard and USB-C port on our test unit means users should double-check for these potential issues immediately after purchasing."
Get a great deal on the Acer Nitro 5 15 or the Gateway 14.1"
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 Gateway
Gateway is a laptop and tablet brand owned by Acer which sells budget-friendly laptops exclusively through Walmart. It was previously an American computer company until its acquisition by Acer in 2007, who then revived the brand in 2020. Gateway laptops are manufactured by Chinese company Shenzhen Bmorn Technology, which also makes EVOO-branded models.
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