Acer Nitro 5 Spin Gaming Convertible Rocks 8th Gen Intel Core i7 And GeForce GTX 1050

by Brandon Hill — Monday, August 21, 2017, 10:08 AM EDT

Acer Nitro 5 Spin display mode left facing Win10

Earlier this morning, Intel announced the first processors in its 8^th generation Core family. These mobile processors include Core i5 and Core i7 SKUs with a TDP of 15 watts, and all are quad-core designs capable of executing eight threads. As we expected, the first products based around the processors are coming to light, with Acer taking the plunge with the Nitro 5 Spin.

Acer describes the Nitro 5 Spin as a convertible notebook that is “designed for light gaming”, and we don’t disagree with that assessment. At the heart of the convertible is an Intel Core i7-i7-8550U processor, which has a core clock of 1.8GHz and a maximum Turbo clock of 4GHz. Like Intel, Acer is claiming a 40 percent performance boost over last year’s Core i7-7500U (at least according to SYSmark 2014 SE benchmarks).

The centerpiece of the convertible is of course its 15.6-inch IPS display, which has a Full HD screen resolution. That display is backed by an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 GPU, which Acer says is a perfect fit for extended Dota 2, Overwatch or League of Legends gaming sessions thanks to the Nitro 5 Spin’s 10-hour battery life.

Other features include a 512GB PCIe SSD, 802.11ac Wi-Fi with Acer’s omni-directional ExoAmp Antenna and MU-MIMO wireless technology. On the sound front, Acer has your covered with dual, front-facing speakers coupled with Dolby Audio Premium, Acer TrueHarmony and the Acer Smart Amplifier. Acer says that this audio tech helps enhance user immersion in gaming and during video playback (for you mobile movie watchers out there). You’ll also find an integrated fingerprint reader that supports Windows Hello in Windows 10, and a backlit keyboard.

“With a convertible design that features four modes, the Acer Nitro 5 Spin is a versatile gaming device that opens up exciting new usage scenarios for casual gamers on the go,” said James Lin, Acer General Manger for Commercial & Detachable Notebooks. “Power users will also appreciate the great performance and battery life of the Nitro 5 Spin, while enjoying the superb visuals and immersive audio that it delivers.”

The Acer Nitro 5 Spin will be available starting in October priced from $999.

Tags: core i7, Acer, (NASDAQ:INTC), kaby lake refresh, nitro 5 spin

Brandon Hill

Brandon received his first PC, an IBM Aptiva 310, in 1994 and hasn’t looked back since. He cut his teeth on computer building/repair working at a mom and pop computer shop as a plucky teen in the mid 90s and went on to join AnandTech as the Senior News Editor in 1999. Brandon would later help to form DailyTech where he served as Editor-in-Chief from 2008 until 2014. Brandon is a tech geek at heart, and family members always know where to turn when they need free tech support. When he isn’t writing about the tech hardware or studying up on the latest in mobile gadgets, you’ll find him browsing forums that cater to his long-running passion: automobiles.

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