PC gaming is not cheap. That is pretty much know though. Consider this, the latest gaming console like the Sony PlayStation 5 and the Microsoft Xbox Series X will set you back between MYR 2,500 to MYR 3,000. The latest entry level gaming PC with the latest hardware will set you back about the same amount of money to be fair if you get a desktop. The caveat is that you will not get the same 4K 120fps experience on the desktop compared to the console. If you want to talk about portable gaming, the prices are even higher.
Of course, there is more to a PC than just gaming though. When you get a gaming PC, your PC doubles as your productivity machine. It will be something that accompanies you into your work and your life. It browses the internet, it edits word documents, and it checks your emails. In the case of notebook PCs, there is more than productivity. Notebook PCs are about productivity on-the-go. Of course, gaming notebooks are about gaming and productivity on-the-go.
While gaming is not cheap, it does not have to be bank breaking though. You can get an entry level gaming notebook now from as low as MYR 3,699. Yes, we are talking about the AMD powered Acer Nitro 5 gaming notebook. Well, it is in the title.
The Nitro 5 for 2021 was technically announced in CES 2021 and is just making its way to Malaysia. The new gaming notebook comes with its own sets of cosmetic updates, as usual, and a few internal upgrades too from its previous iteration, as expected. Most of the upgrades are not really what we expected from an “entry-level” perspective though.
The base model is still pretty “entry-level” at MYR 3,699 (AN515-4S-R9RJ). You get an AMD Ryzen 5 5600H 7nm processor with Zen 3 architecture which should unlock a lot more performance from its previous generation. You also get a respectable NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 GPU for all kinds of gaming needs. If you have a 4K display, this could work too. Just do not expect Ultra graphic settings with super high refresh rates at that kind of resolution.
Still, if you just work with the 15.6-inch display on the notebook, you still get a nice Full HD resolution with 144Hz of refresh rate. With the kind of internals you get, you should hit 144fps easily. You also get 8GB of dual channel RAM too. If you want, you can up that to up to 32GB (16GB x 2). You are not trading off too much storage space either with 512GB of SSD storage. Of course, that is expandable as well.
Thing is, the Acer Nitro 5 is not just an “entry-level” gaming notebook anymore. While you do get the entry-level spec with entry-level pricing, you can spec it up to turn it into a beast too.
You can spec your Acer Nitro 5 (AN515-4S-R49W) with an all-powerful AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX processor. With that processor, you can also get a high-end NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 GPU with 8GB of DDR6 memory on board to run games at QHD (2K) resolution at a native 165Hz in refresh rate on the 15.6-inch display. With 16GB of DDR 4 RAM included, the Acer Nitro 5 turns into a beast of a gaming PC. You also get 1TB of storage to ensure that you can keep all your favourite games and still have space to spare for other things as well. All of that for MYR 8,999.
Alongside the Acer Nitro 5 gaming notebook, Acer also launches the Nitro QG1241Y P gaming monitor. The Nitro QG1 is a 24-inch display boasting Full HD resolution at 165Hz refresh rate. The VA panel support up to 1ms of response time as well alongside HDR10 support. Of course, like any modern display, there is a BlueLightShield blue light filter and flicker reduction technology to ensure the display does not strain your eyes.
The Acer Nitro 5 (AN515-4S-R9RJ) is now available for pre-order to 16th April 2021 at Acer’s Official Store on Shopee at MYR 3,699. The other variants of the Acer Nitro 5 will be available for pre-order on a later date from 27th to the 29th April 2021 (AN515-4S-R7QR) and 10th-12th May 2021 (AN515-4S-R4KB, AN515-4S-R5C7, AN515-4SR8XM, AN515-4S-R49W). The Acer Nitro QG1 (QG141Y P) 24-inch Full HD display is now available on pre-order until 16th of April 2021 on Acer’s official store on Shopee and Lazada for MYR 699. It will retail at MYR 749 after the pre-order date. For more information on the Acer Nitro 5 and Nitro QG1 gaming notebook and peripheral, do visit Acer’s website.
