Acer Nitro V 16 review: Affordable mid-range gaming mastery

IDG / Ryan Whitwam

IDG / Ryan Whitwam

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    </div></figure><p class="imageCredit">IDG / Ryan Whitwam</p></div>

When it’s closed, the Acer Nitro V 16 doesn’t scream “gaming PC,” but it does cut an imposing silhouette with its 16-inch display and thick 1.24-inch profile. It’s an all-black affair, save for the silver Acer Nitro logo in the middle of the lid. Opening the lid, there’s another inlaid Nitro logo on the wrist rest and one below the display.

The Nitro V16 is all plastic, and you will notice that immediately upon touching it. It doesn’t seem cheaply made, but you can feel the plastic body flexing around the trackpad and cooling vents. While plastic might not be as robust as metal, the Nitro V 16 feels generally sturdy. The hinge is smooth, if a bit stiff. However, it stays put, and there’s next to no wobble, even when you pound away on the keyboard.

The chassis has tapered edges that make it a bit easier to pick up, but it’s got more heft than a business laptop, even with the plastic body. This laptop weighs in at 5.5 pounds, which is heavy compared to most laptops but competitive for a 16-inch gaming PC. I like the oversized rubber feet on the underside, which help keep the machine from moving around on your desk.

The Nitro V 16 has fewer ports than you’ll find on a productivity laptop or a higher-end gaming machine. It’s more than good enough for the average gamer, though. You get two high-speed USB-A ports, one on each side. There’s also a full Ethernet port on the left side. Around back, you get the DC power plug, HDMI out, and the laptop’s lone USB-C port. This isn’t a convenient location for that port, but at least it’s fast, with support for USB4 at 40Gbps.

The Acer Nitro V 16 has a robust cooling system featuring two internal fans that pull in air from the top and bottom of the machine. That’s handy if one of the vents is temporarily obstructed, but you can hear the fans droning through the large vents above the keyboard.

Warm air is accelerated out the sides of the PC through sizable exhaust ports, maintaining low thermals inside the machine. You might have to watch where you put your mouse—the exhaust blasts outward a good distance from the computer and it is hot.

Next to the cooling vents, the V 16 has a small glowing button to switch performance modes. With each press, the color changes and the system overlay tells you which mode you’ve activated. This is a handy way to switch from battery-efficient modes to high-power for playing games. Alternatively, you can press the “Nitro” key to launch the performance tuning client for even more control.

Acer Nitro V 16: Display and Speakers

IDG / Ryan Whitwam

            <div class="lightbox-image-container foundry-lightbox"><div class="extendedBlock-wrapper block-coreImage undefined"><figure class="wp-block-image size-large enlarged-image"><img decoding="async" data-wp-bind--src="selectors.core.image.enlargedImgSrc" data-wp-style--object-fit="selectors.core.image.lightboxObjectFit" src="" alt="Acer Nitro V16 hero" class="wp-image-2451567" width="1200" height="800" loading="lazy" /></figure><p class="imageCredit">IDG / Ryan Whitwam</p></div>

    </div></figure><p class="imageCredit">IDG / Ryan Whitwam</p></div>

This 16-inch IPS LCD has a resolution of 1920×1200 and a refresh rate of 165Hz. There’s plenty of screen real estate, but there’s no option for a touchscreen here. That’s fine, considering it has a standard non-convertible hinge and it’s aimed mostly at gamers. There’s a 720p webcam squeezed in just about the screen. It’s fine in a pinch, but the picture is grainy and flat. There’s no support for IR-based Windows Hello, so you’ll need to use a password or PIN to unlock this laptop.

The display brightness is on the weak side at 300 nits, but the colors and viewing angles are good for the price. You could spend a few hundred more to get a sharper LCD or even an OLED, but this panel is great for gaming, particularly if you’re into twitchy shooters like Fortnite or Counter-Strike. The RTX 4060 has no trouble rendering modern games at 1200p, and the 165Hz refresh rate offers smooth movement in fast-paced scenes.

The stereo speakers are tucked under the edge of the laptop, which is true of most notebooks. The speakers get reasonably loud, but the audio is hollow and garbled at high volumes. The sound is serviceable as long as you leave it at a modest level. If you want more immersive sound, you’ll need headphones or external speakers.

Acer Nitro V 16: Keyboard and trackpad