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Nitro 5 15
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Surface Laptop Go 3
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What we think

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The PerfectRec laptop team Learn more
Updated January 10, 2024·

The Acer Nitro 5 15, with its dedicated Nvidia graphics card and higher RAM, is a better fit for gaming, 3D rendering, machine learning tasks, and intensive engineering work. However, it's heavier and has a lower battery life compared to the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3, which is more portable with its lighter weight and longer battery life. The Surface also features a touchscreen and a higher screen resolution but comes with a less powerful integrated GPU and less RAM, making it more suitable for general use, light productivity, and on-the-go tasks rather than heavy-duty computing. Both laptops are similarly priced, so your choice should align with your primary use case and portability needs. 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 engineering and design
  • Good for gaming and AI
  • Very good keyboard
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3
  • Excellent portability
  • Good battery life
  • Very good speakers

Key differences

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Gaming and AI

7.5
Nitro 5 15
Surface Laptop Go 3
6.1
7.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The Acer Nitro 5 15 is good for gaming and AI, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 is only fair.

Engineering and Design

7.9
Nitro 5 15
Surface Laptop Go 3
6.8
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.4/10
7.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The Acer Nitro 5 15 is good for engineering and design, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 is only fair.

Screen Quality

6.9
Nitro 5 15
Surface Laptop Go 3
6.8
15.6in
SIZE
12.4in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
262.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
337.0 nits
The Acer Nitro 5 15 has a better screen than the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 for gaming and AI, software development, and content creation, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 has a better screen for engineering and design.

Battery

5.5 Hours
Nitro 5 15
Surface Laptop Go 3
8.0 Hours
The Acer Nitro 5 15 has 5.5 hours of battery life. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 has 8 hours of battery life.

Portability

Fair
Nitro 5 15
Surface Laptop Go 3
Excellent
15.6in
SIZE
12.4in
5.5 lbs
WEIGHT
2.4 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 has excellent portability, while the Acer Nitro 5 15 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.

Build Quality

7.2
Nitro 5 15
Surface Laptop Go 3
7.8
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 and Acer Nitro 5 15 both have good build quality, though the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 has somewhat better build quality.
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Key similarities

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General Use

7.6
Nitro 5 15
Surface Laptop Go 3
7.2
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
262.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
337.0 nits
5.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
8.0 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
6.3/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
9.2/10
The Acer Nitro 5 15 and Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 are both good for general use.

Content Creation

7.5
Nitro 5 15
Surface Laptop Go 3
7.3
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.4/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Acer Nitro 5 15 and Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 are both good for content creation.

Software Development

7.4
Nitro 5 15
Surface Laptop Go 3
7.1
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Acer Nitro 5 15 and Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 are both good for software development.

Cost

$800
Nitro 5 15
Surface Laptop Go 3
$800
Product imageProduct image

$400

$600

$800

$1,000

$1,200

The Acer Nitro 5 15 has a price of $800 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 costs $800.

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How the Acer Nitro 5 15 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 compare to other laptops

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Spec Comparison

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Acer Nitro 5 15Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3
Acer Nitro 5 15Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3

GENERAL

Price
$800
$800
Release Date
May 1, 2023October 1, 2023
Overall Dimensions
14.2'' x 10.7'' x 1.06''11'' x 8.1'' x 0.62''
Weight
5.51 lbs2.49 lbs
Width
14.19"10.95"
Depth
10.67"8.12"

INTERNAL

Processor
Intel i5-12500HIntel i5-1235U
RAM
16 GB8 GB
DDR Memory Version
55
RAM Slots
20
Storage
512 GB256 GB

BATTERY

Battery Life
5.5 Hours8 Hours
Battery Capacity
59 Wh41 Wh

SCREEN

Diagonal Size
15.6"12.4"
Display Technology
IPSIPS
Resolution
1920 x 10801536 x 1024
Refresh Rate
144Hz60Hz
Display Brightness
262 nits337 nits

RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS

Build Quality Score
7.2/107.8/10
Portability Score
6.4/109.3/10
Gaming Laptop Appearance
YesNo
Premium Business Laptop
NoNo
Fan Noise Score
7.5/107.5/10

HARDWARE FEATURES

Keyboard Quality Score
8/107/10
Speaker Quality Score
7/108.4/10
Webcam
720p720p
Fingerprint Reader
NoYes
Backlit Keyboard
YesNo
Number Pad
YesNo

CONNECTIVITY

USB Type-A
31
USB-C ports
11
USB-C Charging
YesNo
Display Outputs
21
Thunderbolt Version
4N/A

Shopping

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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."

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3

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Dig into reviews and images

PCMag

Joe Osborne | October 2023
"When it comes to affordably priced laptops, the numbers after the dollar sign are crucially important—more so than in any other price category. By increasing the starting price of its Laptop Go line by $200 and not changing much else, Microsoft irrevocably altered the calculus surrounding the decision of whether to buy the Surface Laptop Go 3. Sure, it has a newer processor and longer battery life, but don’t think for a second you’re not paying dearly for that extra RAM and SSD capacity at that new price."

Get a great deal on the Acer Nitro 5 15 or the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 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 Microsoft

Microsoft is an American technology corporation. Microsoft is best known for their Windows operating system and Surface laptop series. The Surface Laptop is their standard notebook offering, while their Surface Go, Surface Pro, and Surface Studio are their 2-in-1/tablet offerings in order of increasing capability. Although Microsoft charges a premium price tag for their laptops, buyers can expect a well integrated and packaged device since Microsoft develops the Windows operating system.

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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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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.

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