The latest machine from laptop giant Acer is a high-end entertainment model with a Full HD screen and a powerful Nvidia graphics core.
It’s an impressive start, and the price is just as eye-catching – at £850, the Nitro is cheaper than most gaming notebooks – and plenty of Ultrabooks too.
Acer reckons the Nitro will turn heads, but it’s a machine with mixed aesthetics. The bottom half is better: the soft-touch material looks smart, and sheen is added by the Black Edition logo on the touchpad and a metallic band that stretches across the hinge.
The top half isn’t as impressive. The lid is coated with plastic and lined with underwhelming stripes, and little stands out about the metallic Acer logo.
It’s the same when it comes to build quality. We pushed, prodded and flexed the bottom half of this machine, but the underside barely budged and the tiny bit of movement detected on the wrist-rest is nothing to worry about. The thin lid isn’t as sturdy, with flimsy plastic used. There’s clear evidence when its edges are twisted, as the screen easily distorts and discolours.