The Acer Nitro 5 performs quite well in games for a gaming laptop with its specs, however
as I mentioned in my game benchmark video there was throttling in different scenarios,
so let’s put it to the test and find out just how hot it gets and what can be done
to improve performance.
I’ve got the highest specced version of the Nitro 5, so there’s an Intel i7-9750H
CPU, Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti graphics, and 16gb of memory running in dual channel. The Nitro
5 is also available with different specs, so expect different results with different
configurations. You can find examples and updated prices linked in the description.
On the bottom of the laptop we’ve got some air vents towards the back for air intake,
then air is exhausted out of the back. While it looks like there are vents on both sides,
air is only exhausted on one side, and on the back right hand side. There are a couple
of heatpipes shared between the processor and graphics, and we can see why air is only
exhausted from one corner.
The Nitro Sense software allows us to control fan speed, there’s granular control of each
separate fan, however I’ve only tested either with the auto or max setting. Unlike the Acer
Helios 300 and Acer Triton 500, no CPU undervolting is done out of the box with the latest BIOS
and version of Nitro Sense in use.
Thermal testing was completed in an ambient room temperature of 21 degrees Celsius, so
expect different results in different environments.
At idle both the CPU and GPU were on the cooler side, no issues there.
The rest of the results are from combined CPU and GPU workloads, and are meant to represent
worst case scenarios as I ran them for extended periods of time.
The gaming results towards the upper half of the graph were tested by playing Watch
Dogs 2, as I find it to use a good combination of processor and graphics. The stress test
results shown on the lower half of the graph are from running the Aida64 CPU stress test
with only the stress CPU option checked, and the Heaven GPU benchmark at max settings at
the same time to fully load the system.
Any time I had the fans on auto speed both the CPU and GPU were thermal throttling, so
92 on the CPU and 86 on the GPU, and this was still happening even with the CPU undervolted,
however we’ll see how this helped improve performance in the next graph. Simply by setting
the fans to max speed saw nice improvements to the thermals under both workloads, while
undervolting the CPU helped cool things just a little more. With the cooling pad added
into the mix temperatures drop down a little further.
These are the average clock speeds for the same tests just shown. We’re seeing the
lowest performance with the fans on auto speed due to the thermal throttling that was taking
place on both the CPU and GPU in this state. We do however see decent improvements to CPU
clock speed with the CPU undervolted, so despite still thermal throttling, it’s now throttling
less and we see higher performance. Setting the fan speed to maximum helped improve clock
speed over stock for the same reason, though we saw a much higher boost to the GPU here
as I wasn’t doing GPU undervolting, just CPU. When combining higher fan speeds with
undervolting we’re seeing much better results, though not quite the full 4GHz all core turbo
boost speed of the 9750H in any of these workloads, but pretty close.
These are the average TDP values reported by hardware info during these same tests.
We can see the GPU in the green bars failing to hit its 80 watt power limit when the fans
are on the default auto speed due to the thermal throttling. Likewise the CPU TDP is down for
the same reason until things cool down. Otherwise once we are no longer thermal throttling,
power limit throttling becomes the next limitation. The CPU was maxing out at the 45 watt PL1
limit and I was not able to boost this further with Intel XTU.
These are the average CPU clock speeds while under a CPU only workload, so with no GPU
load. In both cases we’re hitting that 45 watt power limit, so even with the best undervolt
I could achieve it still wasn’t possible to hit the full 4GHz all core turbo boost
speed, most other machines are able to hit this in this test. We can see why when we
look at the power limit, in both tests we’re averaging the same TDP, and again I couldn’t
raise this with Intel XTU. As a result we’ve got basically the same temperatures in this
case, same amount of power equals same heat.
To demonstrate how this translates into performance I’ve got some Cinebench CPU benchmarks.
While the single core performance was about as expected, the multicore scores were noticeably
lower when compared with other laptops with the same CPU I’ve tested, and this was due
to the 45 watt power limit on the i7-9750H. Undervolting did help improve performance,
but this was still noticeably lower compared to the 2600-2800 I usually see.
So how do these changes actually translate into gaming performance? I’ve tested a few
games at stock with auto fans, max fans, and then with max fans plus some CPU undervolting
and GPU overclocking.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider was tested with the built in benchmark at highest settings.
In this test there was almost no change between auto and max fans, a single frame on average,
while the custom changes just listed made a larger improvement.
Battlefield 5 was tested in Campaign mode at ultra settings. Again not too much of a
difference was seen between auto and max fans, while the CPU undervolting and GPU overclocking
made a much larger difference, this put the 1% low performance near the averages from
the others.
Far Cry 5 was tested with the built in benchmark at ultra settings. There was more of a difference
between auto and max fans in this test, but also less of a difference with the custom
settings in place, though still an improvement nonetheless.
As for the external temperatures where you’ll actually be putting your hands, at idle it
was around the normal 30 degrees Celsius. While gaming or under stress test with the
fans on auto speed it’s actually getting quite hot, mid 50s in the center and it didn’t
feel comfortable to rest my fingers on. With the fans at max speed in the exact same workloads
we’re seeing around a 10 degree reduction to the hot spots.
As for the fan noise produced by the laptop, I’ll let you have a listen to some of these
tests.
At idle there was some fan noise, however it alternated between this and being completely
silent. While gaming or under stress test with the fans on auto speed it’s about the
same, and noticeably quieter compared to most gaming laptops when under the same load. With
the fan at max speed it gets a fair bit louder in comparison, however I think this is a good
thing as we do have the option of customizing fan speed, so you should be able to find a
sweet spot that works for you.
Overall the Acer Nitro 5 gaming laptop runs on the hotter side and thermal throttles on
both the CPU and GPU while gaming with the fans on auto speed. Fortunately we do have
the option to increase fan speed, and by doing this thermal throttling was removed and the
machine became noticeably cooler to the touch. Despite the thermal throttling, in the games
I tested with the fans on auto I wasn’t actually seeing much performance loss compared
with max fans, so you do have the option of running quieter but hotter if you prefer.
Unfortunately it was not possible to raise the power limit of the CPU above 45 watts
to boost performance, though to be fair that would also raise thermals higher, and that
is technically the Intel spec.
I didn’t find the Acer Nitro Sense software or latest BIOS to perform GPU overclocking
or CPU undervolting. Given the performance and temperatures we’ve seen here, I think
it would be good for them to undervolt the CPU like they do with the Helios 300 and Triton
500 models out of the box, that way we wouldn’t need to run the fans quite as loud to compensate.
Hopefully this happens in a future update, until then you can of course change this yourself
to improve the performance.
These differences in performance shown aren’t hard and fast rules, there are different factors
which will vary results, primarily the temperature of the room you’re running in, application
of thermal paste, and even the specific hardware which comes down to the silicon lottery. You
may not be able to undervolt or overclock your hardware the same as me, it depends on
the chip and its specific power requirements, so don’t just blindly copy my settings and
do some testing to find out where your stable point is for best results.
It may be possible to further improve temperatures by swapping the thermal paste, however as
this is a review unit that I have to send back I’m not able to change the paste, otherwise
the next reviewer will unknowingly report different results due to what I’ve done.
Raising fan speed, undervolting or using a cooling pad are much easier for most people
to do than changing paste anyway, and as we’ve seen these tweaks did help improve performance
and temperatures with the Nitro 5.
Let me know what you thought about the thermals from the Acer Nitro 5 gaming laptop down in
the comments, and if you’re new to the channel you’ll definitely want to get subscribed
for the upcoming full Nitro 5 review.