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Updated January 10, 2024·
When choosing between the Acer Nitro 5 17 and the MSI GF65 Thin, consider their strengths relative to your needs. The Acer Nitro 5 17 with its powerful AMD Ryzen processor and premium Nvidia RTX graphics is ideal for more intensive tasks such as gaming, 3D modeling, or engineering software. It comes with more storage and memory, which offers a smoother overall experience. However, it is larger, heavier, and may have a shorter battery life, making it less portable. The MSI GF65 Thin is lighter and more portable with its smaller screen and lower weight, better suited for general use and carrying around. It has an Intel CPU and decent graphics capabilities, which are sufficient for many games and applications, but might fall short for very demanding tasks. Although typically pricier than the Acer, its slim form factor might be appealing for those who prioritize mobility over maximum performance. 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 for general use
- Very good for engineering and design
- Good for gaming and AI
- Good for software development
- Good for content creation
- Very good overall display quality
- Good overall build quality
- Good battery life
- Good speakers
Advantages of the MSI GF65 Thin
- Good portability
Key differences
General Use
7.8
6.5
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
307.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
262.0 nits
6.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.5 Hours
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
6.0/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.3/10
The Acer Nitro 5 17 is good for general use, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Gaming and AI
7.7
6.8
7.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
6.1/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
360Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Acer Nitro 5 17 is good for gaming and AI, while the MSI GF65 Thin 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
6.7
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.6/10
7.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
6.1/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The Acer Nitro 5 17 is very good for engineering and design, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.
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.
Content Creation
7.8
6.8
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Acer Nitro 5 17 is good for content creation, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.
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
6.3
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Acer Nitro 5 17 is good for software development, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.
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
6.8
17.3in
SIZE
15.6in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
360Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
307.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
262.0 nits
The Acer Nitro 5 17 has a better screen than the MSI GF65 Thin for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Acer Nitro 5 17's screen stands out in general use due to its larger size, higher resolution, and superior brightness, making text clearer and colors more vibrant, enhancing overall viewing experience. For engineering and design tasks, its color accuracy and wider color gamuts present more precise hues, essential for detailed and color-sensitive work. However, for Gaming and 3D applications, its lower refresh rate hampers the ability to render fast-moving images smoothly, which is less suitable for high-paced interactive visuals that benefit from quicker screen refreshes.
Battery
6.0 Hours
4.5 Hours
The Acer Nitro 5 17 has 6 hours of battery life. The MSI GF65 Thin has 4.5 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
4.1 lbs
0.9in
THICKNESS
0.8in
The MSI GF65 Thin has good portability, while the Acer Nitro 5 17 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$830
$1,100
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
$1,800
The Acer Nitro 5 17 has a price of $830 and the MSI GF65 Thin costs $1,100.
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Key similarities
Build Quality
7.2
6.7
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Acer Nitro 5 17 to have good build quality, while the MSI GF65 Thin has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
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How the Acer Nitro 5 17 and the MSI GF65 Thin compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Acer Nitro 5 17 | MSI GF65 Thin |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$830 | $1,100 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | February 1, 2023 | January 1, 2021 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 15.9'' x 11'' x 0.98'' | 14.1'' x 10'' x 0.85'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 5.95 lbs | 4.1 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 15.89" | 14.13" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 11.02" | 9.99" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 5800H | Intel i5-10500H | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 16 GB | 8 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 4 | 4 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 2 | 2 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 1024 GB | 512 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 6 Hours | 4.5 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 57.5 Wh | 51 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 17.3" | 15.6" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 1920 x 1080 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 360Hz | 144Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 307 nits | 262 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.2/10 | 6.8/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 6.1/10 | 7.4/10 | |
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 | 7/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 7.5/10 | 6.8/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 720p | 720p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | No | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | Yes | No | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 3 | 2 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 1 | 2 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | No | No | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 1 | 1 | |
Thunderbolt Ports | |||
Thunderbolt Ports | 0 | 0 | |
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."
MSI GF65 Thin
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Allen Ngo | March 2021
"The MSI GF65 Thin offers a GeForce RTX 3060 on a budget. The MSI GF65 is a relatively inexpensive RTX 3060 laptop and, perhaps not coincidentally, it also comes with a slower-than-average RTX 3060 GPU. Other laptops we've tested thus far with the same GPU are about 10 to 15 percent faster. CPU performance is also slightly slower than average unless if users decide to enable Cooler Boost mode. Colors, black-white response times, Thunderbolt, and DisplayPort are either average or completely omitted. Gamers who want to maximize performance-per-dollar without sacrificing RAM or SSD upgradeability will find the lightweight MSI GF65 attractive."
Get a great deal on the Acer Nitro 5 17 or the MSI GF65 Thin
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 MSI
MSI, also known as Micro-Star International, is a Taiwanese technology corporation. MSI is known for their wide range of gaming devices. Their series include the entry-level Cyborg/Thin and Sword/Katana series, the mid-range Bravo/Delta and Crosshair/Pulse series, and their high-end Vector, Raider, Stealth, and Titan GT series. At every performance level, MSI offers a variety of devices with varying balances between performance, battery life, weight, and price, making them a solid option to consider at every price point.
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