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Updated January 10, 2024·
The Acer Nitro 5 17 is a more budget-friendly option with a midrange price and generally costs significantly less than the Lenovo Legion 9i, which has a high-end price. For more demanding applications like engineering and 3D modeling, the Lenovo Legion 9i may perform better with its superior processor and graphics card. The Lenovo also has a substantially larger battery capacity and higher screen resolution but offers less battery life than the Acer Nitro when it comes to typical usage. Although both have the same amount of storage, the Lenovo offers twice the RAM of the Acer. Portability is fairly similar, with the Lenovo being slightly lighter. If you prioritize performance and display quality and don't mind a higher cost, the Lenovo Legion 9i could be a better choice, whereas the Acer Nitro 5 17 offers a balance between price and performance for less-intensive gaming and general use. 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
- Good battery life
Advantages of the Lenovo Legion 9i
- Very good for general use
- Best in class for engineering and design
- Excellent for gaming and AI
- Very good for software development
- Very good for content creation
- Best in class overall display quality
- Very good overall build quality
- Best in class speakers
- Excellent keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.8
8.4
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
307.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
682.0 nits
6.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
3.0 Hours
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
6.0/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.3/10
The Lenovo Legion 9i is very good for general use, while the Acer Nitro 5 17 is good.
The Acer Nitro 5 17 is well-suited for general use with a capable CPU and a good amount of RAM that can handle everyday tasks; however, it's less portable and has a shorter battery life than the Lenovo Legion 9i. In contrast, the Legion 9i not only excels in general use due to a more powerful CPU and double the amount of RAM for multitasking but also boasts a higher quality screen and longer battery life, which enhances its versatility and usability in various situations.
Gaming and AI
7.7
9.2
7.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.8/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
360Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Lenovo Legion 9i is excellent for gaming and AI, while the Acer Nitro 5 17 is good.
The Lenovo Legion 9i stands out for gaming and 3D applications with its superior Nvidia RTX 4080 GPU and a vivid Mini LED screen with a higher pixel density, although its screen refresh rate is lower than that of the Acer Nitro 5 17. However, the Acer Nitro 5 17, while offering a powerful Nvidia RTX 3080 GPU, provides a higher screen refresh rate conducive to smooth gaming, yet it has a lower resolution IPS screen with fewer pixels per inch.
Engineering and Design
8.0
9.6
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
7.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.8/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion 9i is best in class for engineering and design, while the Acer Nitro 5 17 is very good.
The Lenovo Legion 9i stands out for engineering and design use due to its high-quality Mini LED screen, superior CPU and GPU, and double the RAM compared to the Acer Nitro 5 17, enabling more efficient multitasking and handling of demanding applications. However, the Nitro 5 17, while slightly less portable, offers a solid CPU and GPU for such tasks but has a lower-quality screen and half the amount of RAM, which may limit performance in the most intensive workloads.
Content Creation
7.8
8.7
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
The Lenovo Legion 9i is very good for content creation, while the Acer Nitro 5 17 is good.
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
8.3
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The Lenovo Legion 9i is very good for software development, while the Acer Nitro 5 17 is good.
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
8.2
9.7
17.3in
SIZE
16.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
360Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
307.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
682.0 nits
The Lenovo Legion 9i has a better screen than the Acer Nitro 5 17 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The Acer Nitro 5 17, with solid resolution and brightness, offers a comfortable viewing experience for everyday tasks and fine detail work required in engineering, but its lower refresh rate isn't ideal for smooth rendering in gaming and 3D applications. The Lenovo Legion 9i stands out with exceptional brightness and resolution, enhancing its suitability for both general and engineering uses, while providing wide color gamuts ensuring accurate color representation for professional design work. Despite these strengths, like the Acer Nitro 5 17, the Legion 9i's refresh rate is not optimized for gaming and 3D content, which demands fast screen updates for fluid visuals.
Battery
6.0 Hours
3.0 Hours
The Acer Nitro 5 17 has 6 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Legion 9i has 3 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.
Build Quality
7.2
8.5
The Lenovo Legion 9i has very good build quality, while the Acer Nitro 5 17 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$830
$3,420
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The Acer Nitro 5 17 has a price of $830 and the Lenovo Legion 9i costs $3,420.
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Key similarities
Portability
Fair
Fair
17.3in
SIZE
16.0in
5.9 lbs
WEIGHT
5.6 lbs
0.9in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Lenovo Legion 9i and Acer Nitro 5 17 both have only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
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How the Acer Nitro 5 17 and the Lenovo Legion 9i compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Acer Nitro 5 17 | Lenovo Legion 9i |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$830 | $3,420 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | February 1, 2023 | October 1, 2023 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 15.9'' x 11'' x 0.98'' | 14.1'' x 10.9'' x 1.01'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 5.95 lbs | 5.64 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 15.89" | 14.08" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 11.02" | 10.93" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 5800H | Intel i9-13980HX | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 16 GB | 32 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 4 | 5 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 2 | 2 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 1024 GB | 1024 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 6 Hours | 3 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 57.5 Wh | 99.9 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 17.3" | 16" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | Mini LED | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 3200 x 2000 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 360Hz | 165Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 307 nits | 682 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.2/10 | 8.5/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 6.1/10 | 6.4/10 | |
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 | 6.5/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 7/10 | 9/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 7.5/10 | 9.8/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 720p | 1080p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | No | Yes | |
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 | 3 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | No | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 1 | 3 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | N/A | 4 | |
Shopping
Acer Nitro 5 17
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Sascha Mölck | August 2021
"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."
Lenovo Legion 9i
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Dig into reviews and images
PCMag
Matthew Buzzi | December 2023
"The Lenovo Legion 9i is meant as a top-end flagship showcase for enthusiasts, and on that, it delivers. You'll find flashier designs in this price tier—Razer’s all-metal build in a similarly sized laptop like the Blade 16, or monstrous 18-inch machines—but this is a well-thought-out laptop. The chassis is trim for a 16-inch powerhouse, the lid is unique, and bespoke liquid cooling takes performance to the next level."
Get a great deal on the Acer Nitro 5 17 or the Lenovo Legion 9i
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.
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