Update 9/10/2021
Kept it for a couple of weeks to see if I could learn to live with the 2 main issues (see below)
Sorry to say I can't... The HDMI supports the 144Hz so not having a DisplayPort is not as terrible as I initially thought. A small compromise for the great price. The fans on the side are still a bother though and since I only connect it to the gaming monitor on the weekends, the rest of the week I get to feel the heat. I would give it another 1/2 star if possible and if it was a 4 star laptop, I would keep it. Maybe Black Friday will send something my way...
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I just got it the Acer Nitro 5 AN517-41-R7FP Gaming Laptop a few days ago and I was pretty excited about it. I have been wanting a decent gaming laptop and this one had the specs and price. Hundreds less for similar setup. It didn't take me long to decide to return it though.
2x Major issues for me (and some nitpicks):
1.- It does NOT have a display port so if you have a gaming monitor, you are out of luck displaying anything more than what and HDMI can provide. The 17" 144Hz screen that comes with it is all you get. I'm not sure why I assumed a 3060 would come with one but a gaming laptop that does not have a way to connect a gaming monitor to it, is a big fail. (see pics for connector available)
2.- The fans vent to the right and the left of the laptop (see pics). Right where the external mouse would be. It is warm air blowing constantly on your hand (lefties would have the same problem... 1 vent for you as well). That is the second big fail.
Either one of those is a return reason for me but if you are buying a gaming laptop and not planning on playing games with it (or little gaming), you might be ok with this. It does have decent specs and the price is good for what you get (today).
On the nitpicks...
The touch pad will interfere with the typical WASD gaming movement. You will need to disable it for gaming if you are using the laptop keyboard. Also the CTRL key on the left is small and not quite where it needs to be. My game is Valorant and the CTRL key is important. Though I can mostly adjust at having the keys in not the right place, it is one more thing to distract you and get you head shot. I use an external half keyboard (that also gets hot thanks to the fan).
I wanted to like it and keep it but sorry to say it is going back
| Brand | Acer |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Acer |
| Series | AN517-41-R7FP |
| Colour | Black |
| Form Factor | Laptop |
| Item Height | 0.98 Inches |
| Item Width | 11.02 Inches |
| Standing screen display size | 17.3 Inches |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 Pixels |
| Product Dimensions | 40.36 x 27.99 x 2.49 cm; 2.7 Kilograms |
| Batteries | 1 Lithium Ion batteries required. (included) |
| Item model number | AN517-41-R7FP |
| Processor Brand | AMD |
| Processor Speed | 2.4 GHz |
| Processor Count | 6 |
| RAM Size | 16 GB |
| Memory Technology | DDR4 |
| Computer Memory Type | VRAM |
| Maximum Memory Supported | 32 GB |
| Memory Clock Speed | 3200 MHz |
| Hard Drive Size | 512 GB |
| Hard Disk Description | SSD |
| Hard Drive Interface | Ethernet |
| Audio Details | Speakers |
| Graphics Coprocessor | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 |
| Graphics Chipset Brand | NVIDIA |
| Graphics Card Description | Dedicated |
| Graphics RAM Type | GDDR6 |
| Graphics Card Ram Size | 6 GB |
| Graphics Card Interface | Integrated |
| Connectivity Type | Bluetooth, Wi-Fi |
| Wireless Type | Bluetooth |
| Voltage | 24 Volts |
| Optical Drive Type | No Optical Drive |
| Power Source | Battery Powered |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Home |
| Average Battery Standby Life (in hours) | 9 Hours |
| Average Battery Life (in hours) | 9 Hours |
| Are Batteries Included | Yes |
| Lithium Battery Energy Content | 57.5 Watt Hours |
| Number of Lithium Ion Cells | 4 |
| Included Components | Laptop, Power Cord, AC Adapter |
| Manufacturer | Acer |
| Country of Origin | USA |
| Item Weight | 2 kg 700 g |
