Aspire V 17 Nitro is Acer's top laptop series designed for gamers who are interested in the ultimate performance at a reasonable price. The series is not new and it has recently received a refresh. In 2017, Acer bundles the latest Kaby Lake processors from Intel, as well as the latest graphics card from NVIDIA. We received for testing one of the best models that Acer has produced, with highly impressive hardware and specifications. You will find it in shops under the name Acer Aspire VN7-793G, and this is what it has to offer:
Unboxing the Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro gaming laptop
Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro Black Edition comes in a simple black cardboard box. You can see the name of the device, and that's it.
If you look on its right side, you can see a sticker with details about its hardware configuration and the exact model name. As you can see below, we received the most high-end model, Acer Aspire VN7-793G-706L, for testing
When you get to the unboxing, you will find this gaming laptop inside a smaller more stylish box, with the model and the Black Edition logo on it. The package also includes the charger, the warranty information, and the user manual.
Even though we are dealing with a high-end gaming laptop, the unboxing experience is quite simple and straightforward, without any bells and whistles.
Design and build quality
On the outside, the design is quite sober, without any bling. The top cover is made of aluminum, and it has a rubberized, matte finish, that uses only black and silver. It feels excellent to touch, and it offers a good grip when you need to carry your laptop. However, it is a fingerprint magnet, and you will have to clean it regularly if you want it to look great.
When you open the lid, you can see the keyboard, a large trackpad with a fingerprint sensor on its top-left corner and the screen. The surface where you have the keyboard and the trackpad is made of black aluminum. The hinges that hold the screen are solid enough to prevent the screen from wobbling while using it on your lap. The interior though is an even bigger fingerprint magnet than the outside of the Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro Black Edition.
The bottom is made entirely out of plastic, and here you can see the vents for the AeroBlade fans that Acer has included for cooling the graphics card. You also have five rubber feet which do an excellent job at keeping the laptop steady when you hold it on your lap or set it on just about any other surface.
Overall, we are pleased with the build quality offered by Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro Black Edition, and it's mix of plastic and aluminum.
Hardware specifications
The Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro Black Edition Series comes in many hardware configurations. The model that we tested includes a quad-core Intel Core i7 7700HQ processor running at 2.8 GHz, with eight execution threads that can go up 3.80 GHz in Turbo Mode. In the same series, Acer sells models also with Intel Core i5 processors. However, availability depends on the market you are in.
Acer Aspire VN7-793G-706L has 16GB of DDR4 RAM, running at 1200MHz, made by Hyundai. You can see its specifications in the screenshot below. You will also find models with 8 GB of RAM in the same series.
This gaming laptop has two video cards. The first is an Intel HD Graphics 630 chip that is included with the Intel processor. This graphics chip is used when performing tasks that don't require a powerful video card, like browsing the web or Office work. You can view its specifications in the picture below.
The second video card is a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 with 6GB of GDDR5 memory. This graphics card is used when gaming, video editing or when doing other graphics-intensive activities. This dual-graphics card setup is good if you are interested in power savings. In some countries, you will also find slightly more affordable models with a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 graphics card.
Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro Black Edition also comes with two storage options: an M.2 SATA SSD drive with a capacity of 256GB, made by Toshiba and a traditional SATA hard disk of 1 TB of storage space, 5400rpm, made by Seagate.
The sound is handled by a Realtek High Definition audio chip that's enhanced with Acer TrueHarmony and Dolby Audio Premium technologies. The laptop also includes threes speakers with good sound output, for a laptop.
Regarding connectivity, Acer did a great job by offering plenty of ports. On the right side, you have the power jack, two USB 3.0 Type A ports, one USB 3.1 Type C port, an HDMI port, and an Ethernet port.
On the left side of the laptop, you have the Kensington lock, two USB 2.0 ports, the microphone jack, the headphones jack and a MicroSD card reader. We would have preferred if these ports were on opposite sides because the most used ports (HDMI, USB 3.0 and USB Type C) are on the right side, where most people tend to hold their mouse.
Concerning wireless connectivity, Acer has included a Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174A System on a Chip with support for the WiFi networking standard 802.11ac Wave 2 and Bluetooth 4.2.
We also have a webcam that can record videos at a maximum resolution of 1280x720 pixels and 30 frames per second. Acer has included in the more expensive models their new Tobii Eye tracking system, which has some fun uses.
The display is a large 17.3" Ultra HD screen, with an IPS panel and a resolution of 3840x2160 pixels. It doesn't offer touch input, and it's a matte display, which we tend to prefer. There are also versions of Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro Black Edition with Full HD displays, which is ideal for users who consider Ultra HD screens to be overkill.
The laptop is powered by a four-cell 4605 mAh Li-ion battery, and it uses an 180W power adapter.
Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro Black Edition is quite large, having a size of 16.61 x 11.73 x 0.98 inches or 422 x 298 x 25 millimeters in width x depth x height. Also, it weighs a total of 6.85 lbs or 3.11 kg.
If you are interested in the official specifications of the variant that we tested, unfortunately, Acer hasn't provided a specific page for it. However, you can find information on a very similar model (Acer Aspire VN7-793G-758J) that is part of the same series, here.
Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro Black Edition is a beast concerning hardware specifications. It packs powerful and up-to-date hardware, with great connectivity options, including USB Type C.
Go to the second page of this review to see our user experience, the scores it received in benchmarks, how much bloatware Acer bundles and our final verdict.
