Three months ago, the biggest war in the galaxy unfolded on the big screen with Avengers: Infinity War. With a massive fan base worldwide, it’s not a surprise to see that the Disney-distributed film has captured not only the hearts but also the marketing teams of several companies, to get an official license and brand the world’s mightiest heroes on their products. Sinister villains however, don’t usually get the same amount of attention as the good guys, so when the limited edition Acer Nitro 5 Thanos was delivered to our headquarters, we simply had to give it the attention we knew it deserved.
Design: 5/5
Matching the mad titan’s menacing toughness, Acer chose their Nitro 5 gaming laptop to represent Thanos in their Infinity War line. Premium-looking, the device is built upon a solid aluminum shell with a brushed finish. Its front panel parades a Thanos sketch with an ink blot design in gold. Lifting the lid reveals a 15.6-inch, Full-HD, IPS display, the built-in 1280 x 720px webcam and the the golden hinge that connects it to the body and its red-backlit keys. The charging port, LED notification lights, two USB 2.0 ports and a 3.5 mm audio jack are placed on the right side. Resting on its left are the Kensington lock, an Ethernet port, an SD card reader, and single ports for USB 3.1 Type-C, HDMI, and USB 3.0.
Hardware: 4/5
Unlike the standard Nitro 5, the Thanos version exclusively features a 7th generation Intel Core i5 processor clocked at 2.5 GHz, along with NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 1050 GPU, with a whopping 8 GB of RAM on board. In terms of storage, the Thanos-inspired laptop has a lot to offer with 1 TB of HDD storage, coupled with a 128 GB SSD for faster file transfer and boot-up. Despite having an i5 versus an i7 processor, this machine still delivers decent gaming performance especially when used with the laptop’s dual speakers powered by Dolby Audio Premium technology. Running Windows 10, the device features a pre-installed wallpaper of the Thanos and his minions. Fans has have the perk of seeing an exclusive Avengers: Infinity War logo upon boot up.
User Experience: 4/5
Using it as an office and entertainment laptop, I must say that the battery left me impressed.
It took me up to 7 and a half hours of standard usage with Wi-Fi connection turned on, which is still pretty amazing for a gaming laptop. It may not have the fast-charge attribute that I’m looking for, but its 135 W power brick can charge the device a little bit faster than average. And since it is made to withstand long hours of gaming, Acer’s temperature mitigation systems were designed to keep pace. Surprisingly, the keyboard and the touchpad are unaffected by the CPU’s increasing temperature, thanks to fans that might be loud, but are extremely effective.
The mid-range laptop can handle less strenuous games at higher resolutions, however, AAA titles will need to drop down slightly to keep higher frame rates. Its 15.6-inch wide-angle IPS screen displays accurate, vibrant, and clear images great for multimedia consumption. The laptop has a red backlit keyboard, with “W,”A,”S,” and “D” done in red, to show off its gaming intentions.
The included Dolby Audio Premium application in the device enables you to switch and customize audio preference according to your needs, and while both drivers perform well volume-wise, turning them up produces noticeable distortion.
Value: 3/5
If I let my Marvel fan heart decide, the Thanos edition of Acer Nitro 5 is a must-have gaming laptop due to its fine craftsmanship. But if we’re going to be practical, I might not feel the same way. Without a doubt, it performs decently in terms of everyday tasks, but the question remains: is the price difference from the standard model worth the design? If you’re
a true believer, maybe it is.
Bottomline:
It’s a Thanos-approved gaming laptop, though with a hefty price.
Also published in GADGETS MAGAZINE July 2018 Issue.
Reviewed by Jewel Sta. Ana