A comparison of specs, key information, reviews, and best pricing from top retailers
Last updated -- hours ago | Report incorrect information
Company ProductName Specs
Company ProductName Specs
What we think
The PerfectRec laptop team Learn more
Updated January 10, 2024·
The Acer Nitro 5 15 has a newer Nvidia RTX 4050 GPU ideal for intensive gaming and engineering applications, supporting the latest features like hardware ray tracing and DLSS, and comes with a higher RAM capacity, which is beneficial for multitasking and high-performance tasks. While it may cost more, it offers a higher refresh rate display, providing smoother visuals for fast-paced gaming. Conversely, the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3, with its Nvidia RTX 2050 GPU, is generally less expensive but offers less power for demanding applications and a lower refresh rate screen. The IdeaPad, however, may provide adequate performance for general use and lighter gaming at a more budget-friendly price. Both have similar screen sizes and resolutions, but the Acer model is slightly heavier, which may affect portability. 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
- Good speakers
Advantages of the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3
- Good overall display quality
- Good portability
- Good battery life
Key differences
Gaming and AI
7.5
6.5
7.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
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 Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 is only fair.
The Acer Nitro 5 15 has a better GPU and higher screen refresh rate than the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3, providing smoother and more detailed visuals which is crucial for gaming and rendering 3D applications. While both have IPS panels for good screen quality, the stronger GPU in the Acer and its faster refresh rate translates to improved gaming performance and more fluid motion on screen.
Engineering and Design
7.9
7.2
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.9/10
7.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The Acer Nitro 5 15 and Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 are both good for engineering and design, though the Acer Nitro 5 15 is somewhat better.
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.
Screen Quality
6.9
7.2
15.6in
SIZE
15.6in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
262.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
329.0 nits
The Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 has a better screen than the Acer Nitro 5 15 for general use, gaming and AI, and engineering and design.
For general use, a laptop with a high-resolution display, clear image, and good brightness ensures comfortable viewing, which is why both the Acer Nitro 5 15 and the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 excel in this area with their screens. In engineering and design tasks, accurate color representation is crucial, making the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 superior due to its wider color gamut coverage. However, for gaming and 3D applications where smooth motion is key, neither laptop is ideal due to their lower refresh rates despite their acceptable resolution and panel types.
Battery
5.5 Hours
8.0 Hours
The Acer Nitro 5 15 has 5.5 hours of battery life. The Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 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
Good
15.6in
SIZE
15.6in
5.5 lbs
WEIGHT
5.1 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
0.8in
The Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 has good portability, while the Acer Nitro 5 15 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$780
$549
$200
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
The Acer Nitro 5 15 has a price of $780 and the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 costs $549.
Let Us Help Find Your Perfect Laptop
Find your new laptop
Key similarities
General Use
7.6
7.4
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
262.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
329.0 nits
5.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
8.0 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
6.3/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Acer Nitro 5 15 and Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 are both good for general use.
The Acer Nitro 5 15 is suitable for general use due to its combination of a solid Intel CPU, ample RAM, and a quality screen, although it's slightly less portable and has lower battery life than the Lenovo. The Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 also fits general use with a competitive AMD CPU and a high-quality display, but comes with less RAM, which may limit multitasking; however, it does offer better heat management and battery life, enhancing its portability.
Content Creation
7.5
7.4
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Acer Nitro 5 15 and Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 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
7.9/10
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 Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 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
7.2
The Acer Nitro 5 15 and Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 both have good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Acer Nitro 5 15 and the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Acer Nitro 5 15 | Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$780 | $549 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | May 1, 2023 | May 1, 2023 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 14.2'' x 10.7'' x 1.06'' | 14.2'' x 10.5'' x 0.86'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 5.51 lbs | 5.1 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 14.19" | 14.16" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 10.67" | 10.49" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Intel i5-12500H | AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 16 GB | 8 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 5 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 2 | 2 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 512 GB | 512 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 5.5 Hours | 8 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 59 Wh | 60 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 | 120Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 262 nits | 329 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.2/10 | 7.2/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 6.4/10 | 7.1/10 | |
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 | 7/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 8/10 | 8/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 7/10 | 6.8/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 720p | 720p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | No | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | Yes | Yes | |
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
See more
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."
Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3
See more
Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Florian Glaser | October 2022
"The Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 is one of the most powerful RTX 3050 Ti laptops. If you disregard the mediocre quality of the case in terms of the material and workmanship, Lenovo has created a successful budget gaming laptop with the IdeaPad Gaming. Thanks to high TDPs and constant performance development, the Core i5-12500H and GeForce RTX 3050 Ti are able to show their full power, while in contrast, the (mostly slower) competitors deliver a better battery life. However, hardly any of the alternative laptops are able to reach the image quality of the Gaming 3. Most of the competitors are left behind in terms of the color space and brightness."
Get a great deal on the Acer Nitro 5 15 or the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3
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 Lenovo
Lenovo is a Chinese technology company, and one of the largest personal computer vendor. They are well known for a variety of technology products, including laptops. Their consumer series include their entry level IdeaPad and LOQ series and mid-to-high-end Yoga and Legion series. On the business-oriented side, their series include their entry-level ThinkBook series and mid-to-high-end ThinkPad series. Lenovo laptops offer strong performance for reasonable prices, and are often on sale.
Give feedback
We're constantly perfecting our model
Laptop guides you might be interested in
More comparisons for you
Compare Acer Nitro 5 15 vs. Dell Inpsiron 14 7435
VS
Compare Acer Nitro 5 15 vs. Lenovo Flex 5 16
VS
Compare Acer Nitro 5 15 vs. ASUS Zenbook 14X
VS
Compare Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 vs. ASUS Vivobook 17
VS
Compare Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 vs. Acer Swift 3
VS
Compare Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 vs. ASUS Vivobook Pro 14
VS
FAQs
FAQs about laptops
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
380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
125,895
Recommendations made
27,278
Consumer hours saved
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.
Featured in
