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Nitro 5 17
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Surface Laptop 6 15"
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What we think

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The PerfectRec laptop team Learn more
Updated June 22, 2024·

For a balance of performance and portability with a touch of gaming prowess, the Acer Nitro 5 17 is a solid choice with its powerful AMD Ryzen processor and Nvidia RTX 3080 graphics, though it's bulkier and has a shorter battery life. On the other hand, the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" offers a more premium, business-oriented experience with a high-resolution touchscreen, excellent color accuracy, and longer battery life, making it ideal for general use and professional tasks, but it falls short in gaming and intensive computational tasks due to its less powerful Intel Arc GPU. 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
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15"
  • Good portability
  • Very good speakers

Key differences

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Gaming and AI

7.7
Nitro 5 17
Surface Laptop 6 15"
6.6
7.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2496 x 1664
360Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The Acer Nitro 5 17 is good for gaming and AI, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" is only fair.

Screen Quality

8.2
Nitro 5 17
Surface Laptop 6 15"
8.1
17.3in
SIZE
15.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2496 x 1664
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
360Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
307.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
The Acer Nitro 5 17 has a better screen than the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" for gaming and AI, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" has a better screen for general use, engineering and design, and content creation.

Battery

6.0 Hours
Nitro 5 17
Surface Laptop 6 15"
9.0 Hours
The Acer Nitro 5 17 has 6 hours of battery life. The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" has 9 hours of battery life.

Portability

Fair
Nitro 5 17
Surface Laptop 6 15"
Good
17.3in
SIZE
15.0in
5.9 lbs
WEIGHT
3.7 lbs
0.9in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 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
Nitro 5 17
Surface Laptop 6 15"
$1,200
Product image
Product image

$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 Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" costs $1,200.
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Key similarities

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General Use

7.8
Nitro 5 17
Surface Laptop 6 15"
7.7
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2496 x 1664
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
307.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
6.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
9.0 Hours
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
6.0/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.9/10
The Acer Nitro 5 17 and Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" are both good for general use.

Engineering and Design

8.0
Nitro 5 17
Surface Laptop 6 15"
7.8
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.7/10
7.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Acer Nitro 5 17 to be very good for engineering and design, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" is good.

Content Creation

7.8
Nitro 5 17
Surface Laptop 6 15"
7.8
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.7/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2496 x 1664
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Acer Nitro 5 17 and Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" are both good for content creation.

Software Development

7.4
Nitro 5 17
Surface Laptop 6 15"
7.8
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.7/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2496 x 1664
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" and Acer Nitro 5 17 are both good for software development.

Build Quality

7.2
Nitro 5 17
Surface Laptop 6 15"
7.4
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" and Acer Nitro 5 17 both have good build quality.

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How the Acer Nitro 5 17 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" compare to other laptops

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Spec Comparison

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Acer Nitro 5 17Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15"
Acer Nitro 5 17Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15"

GENERAL

Price
$830
$1,200
Release Date
February 1, 2023June 1, 2024
Overall Dimensions
15.9'' x 11'' x 0.98''13.4'' x 9.6'' x 0.67''
Weight
5.95 lbs3.7 lbs
Width
15.89"13.39"
Depth
11.02"9.61"

INTERNAL

Processor
AMD Ryzen 7 5800HIntel Core Ultra 7 165H
RAM
16 GB16 GB
DDR Memory Version
45
RAM Slots
20
Storage
1024 GB256 GB

BATTERY

Battery Life
6 Hours9 Hours
Battery Capacity
57.5 Wh47 Wh

SCREEN

Diagonal Size
17.3"15"
Display Technology
IPSIPS
Resolution
1920 x 10802496 x 1664
Refresh Rate
360Hz120Hz
Display Brightness
307 nits400 nits

RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS

Build Quality Score
7.2/107.4/10
Portability Score
6.1/107.9/10
Gaming Laptop Appearance
YesNo
Premium Business Laptop
NoYes
Fan Noise Score
7.5/108/10

HARDWARE FEATURES

Keyboard Quality Score
7/107/10
Speaker Quality Score
7.5/108/10
Webcam
720p1080p
Fingerprint Reader
NoYes
Backlit Keyboard
YesYes
Number Pad
YesNo

CONNECTIVITY

USB Type-A
31
USB-C ports
13
USB-C Charging
NoYes
Display Outputs
11
Thunderbolt Version
N/A4

Shopping

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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."

Get a great deal on the Acer Nitro 5 17 or the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 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 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.

By the numbers

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Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
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126,495
Recommendations made
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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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