Acer’s affordable Nitro V gaming laptop embraces Ryzen 8040 CPUs

Acer has fleshed out its 2023 Acer Nitro V options with the Nitro V 16, a 16-inch Nitro V based on AMD’s latest Ryzen 8040 mobile processor that will serve as a premium alternative to the existing Nitro V.

While the 13th-gen Core version of the Nitro V ranges from $699 to $999, Acer’s Ryzen 8040 version is priced at $999.99 and up, shipping in March 2024. (Intel will launch its 14th-gen “Meteor Lake” chips at an event in New York City next Thursday, which Acer could support as well.) AMD announced its Ryzen 8000 series at an event in San Jose.

Acer’s Nitro 5 (or Nitro V) laptops have typically offered killer value, though the company has been forced to cut corners here and there. Our review of the 2022 version of the Nitro V noted that while the laptop offered a lot on paper, it had an uninspired design and poor battery life (which is fairly typical for a gaming laptop.) The same holds true for the 2023 Nitro V, though its undeniable price-to-performance ratio still earns high marks for budget-minded gamers.

On paper, though, the Nitro V 16 still has our attention. Acer will build the Nitro V around the Ryzen 7 8845HS, a Zen 4 design that taps Ryzen AI for additional capabilities. Acer said that the processor will be matched to third-gen power-management variations, dual fans, and smart battery optimizations, which appears to be Acer’s response to our prior battery criticisms.

Acer didn’t disclose the exact configurations of the new Nitro V models — including the memory and storage loadouts — but did say that they’ll include up to 32GB of DDR5-5600 RAM and up to 2TB of PCIe Gen 4 SSDs. They’ll also include GPU options up to a Nvidia GeForce 4060 inside with DLSS 3.5 support. It sounds like DTS X: Ultra audio is standard.

Finally, as you might expect, display options will include high-refresh-rate displays, including a 1920×1200 (16:10 ratio) and a higher-res 2560×1600 option, with refresh rates climbing up to 165Hz.

As this first generation of AI PCs rolls out, we’re on the lookout for what features and apps take advantage of local AI. There doesn’t seem to be that many, at least here. Acer identified the webcam’s AI-supported Acer PurifiedView and Acer PurifiedVoice 2.0 featuring three microphones with AI noise-reduction technology enhancing the webcam.

Since Intel essentially refuses to certify Thunderbolt for non-Intel systems, Acer chose the traditional alternative: USB4, which offers equivalent performance to Thunderbolt. Two USB3 ports will also appear, with support for offline charging, plus an HDMI port, microSD reader, and Wi-Fi 6e. One month of Xbox Game Pass is also included to get you started.