The Acer Nitro 5 17 offers high performance with a powerful processor and graphics card suitable for gaming, 3D work and intensive engineering software, but is less portable due to its larger size and weight. Conversely, the ASUS Vivobook S 15 is more portable and offers improved battery life, making it a good fit for general use and on-the-go productivity, but may not handle gaming or heavy engineering tasks as effectively. Both laptops are similarly priced and have comparable storage and memory, but their differences lie in performance capabilities and 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 17
Very good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Very good overall display quality
Good speakers
Good keyboard
Advantages of the ASUS Vivobook S 15
Good portability
Key differences
Gaming and AI
7.7/10
6.3/10
7.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.7/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
360Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The Acer Nitro 5 17 is good for gaming and AI, while the ASUS Vivobook S 15 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
8.0/10
7.1/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
7.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.7/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Acer Nitro 5 17 is very good for engineering and design, while the ASUS Vivobook S 15 is good.
The Acer Nitro 5 17 is very good for engineering and design largely due to its high-end Nvidia RTX 3080 GPU, which outperforms the graphics in the ASUS Vivobook S 15 that uses integrated Vega 8 graphics; this makes a significant difference in tasks that require heavy graphical processing power such as 3D rendering.
Screen Quality
8.2/10
6.3/10
17.3in
SIZE
15.6in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
360Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
307.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
267.0 nits
The Acer Nitro 5 17 has a better screen than the ASUS Vivobook S 15 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, and content creation.
The Acer Nitro 5 17 likely boasts a high-resolution display with vibrant colors and brightness suitable for everyday tasks, but its lower refresh rate hampers gaming performance where smooth motion is critical. The ASUS Vivobook S 15's screen quality is suitable for general use and engineering tasks, balancing resolution and acceptable color reproduction, yet it doesn't excel in any specific area. Neither laptop, however, offers the high refresh rate desired for 3D applications, where fluid visuals are key to an immersive experience.
Battery
6.0 Hours
9.0 Hours
The Acer Nitro 5 17 has 6 hours of battery life. The ASUS Vivobook S 15 has 9 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
17.3in
SIZE
15.6in
5.9 lbs
WEIGHT
3.9 lbs
0.9in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The ASUS Vivobook S 15 has good portability, while the Acer Nitro 5 17 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$830
$908
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
The Acer Nitro 5 17 has a price of $830 and the ASUS Vivobook S 15 costs $908.
The Acer Nitro 5 17 and ASUS Vivobook S 15 are both good for general use.
The Acer Nitro 5 17 and ASUS Vivobook S 15 both have robust CPUs and ample RAM, ensuring smooth performance for general use; they also offer quality IPS screens with standard resolutions, providing clear images. However, while the Nitro 5's larger screen size may appeal for immersive experiences, it's less portable and has a shorter battery life compared to the lighter, longer-lasting Vivobook S 15, which may suit users on-the-go despite its slightly smaller display.
Content Creation
7.8/10
7.6/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Acer Nitro 5 17 and ASUS Vivobook S 15 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
7.4/10
7.4/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
6.7/10
The ASUS Vivobook S 15 and Acer Nitro 5 17 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
7.2/10
7.0/10
The Acer Nitro 5 17 and ASUS Vivobook S 15 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 17 and the ASUS Vivobook S 15 compare to other laptops
"The Acer Nitro 5 17 is a solid mid-range gamer. The Nitro 5 does not belong to the top group of RTX 3070 notebooks: Compared with the RTX 3070 notebooks tested so far, the computer delivers below-average frame rates - this is due to the 100-watt TGP. The GPU performance can be increased a bit with a firmware update. The device scores with a high level of CPU performance. Throttling is not a concern. CPU and GPU can produce their performance constantly. The laptop heats up moderately under load. The noise development is on the usual class level."
"Internals make Asus VivoBook S15 laptop a compelling option. The Asus multimedia laptop may look rather below-average with its modest black chassis, lack of a dedicated GPU, limited RAM and meagre port selection without Thunderbolt support. But your impression of the device will start changing once you set your eyes on its high-contrast OLED capable of producing deep blacks and highly accurate colours. And your opinion will change completely when the VivoBook is switched on. The AMD CPU can effortlessly keep up with powerful rivals from Intel. The integrated Radeon graphics blows away Intel's iGPU when it comes to graphics workloads such as rendering and simpler games."
Get a great deal on the Acer Nitro 5 17 or the ASUS Vivobook S 15
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 ASUS
ASUS, a Taiwanese electronics brand, is one of the largest personal computer vendor by market share. The majority of their laptops are targeted towards personal use or gaming. Their most popular product lines include the budget-friendly VivoBook, more premium ZenBook, and their TUF and ROG gaming laptops, the latter of which has a reputation for excellent gaming performance.
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
111,195
Recommendations made
24,093
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.