Acer Nitro 16 AN16-73 Review

Introduction and Technical Specifications of the Acer Nitro 16 AN16-73

In this Review of Acer Nitro 16 AN16-73 We find a gaming device from Acer’s Nitro line, equipped with an Intel Core i7-14700HX processor from the familiar Raptor Lake Refresh with a total of 20 cores (8 P-Cores and 12 E-Cores). Along with it, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 with 8 GB and a limitation of 110 W is in charge of the graphics section

They are accompanied by 32 GB of DDR5 RAM and a RAID 0 of two M.2 PCIe Gen 4 SSDs of 1 TB each, which exceed 12 GB/s read speed. All this in a gaming laptop equipped with a 16-inch IPS panel with a resolution of 2,560 x 1,600 pixels at 165 Hz.

Technical Characteristics of the Acer Nitro 16 AN16-73

• Intel Core i7-14700HX processor
• RAM memory: 32 GB DDR5
• Storage: 2 x1 TB M.2 PCIe Gen 4 SSD in RAID 0
• Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 110W
• 16″ IPS screen, 2,560 x 1,600 at 165 Hz.
• RGB backlit keyboard.
• Connectivity:

  • 1 x HDMI 2.1.
  • 1 x USB 3.1 (3.2 gen 2) type A.
  • 2 x USB 3.0 type A
  • 2 x Thunderbolt 4 40Gbps
  • 2 x USB-C 3.1 (3.2 gen 2)
  • 1 x microSD reader.
  • Webcam
  • WiFi 6E + BT 5.3.
  • 1 x Audio mini jack
  • 1 x RJ45 2.5Gbps

• 4 x 2W Speakers + 2 x 2W SubWoofers
• 90 WHrs battery.
• 230W charger.
• Weight of 2.45 kg.
• Dimensions: 357.8 x 277.5 x 22.70mm mm
• Price: 1,899 euros (basic version with Core i7-14650HX, 16 GB of ram and 1 TB of SSD)

Design and Connectivity

Acer has refined the design of its Nitro series, now with a logo that forms an N from the middle of the Predator series logo. In this case, the Acer Nitro 16 AN16-73 has a gray finish where the two large air vents on the back stand out, covered by two translucent plastic trims in orange.

It is precisely in this area where we find the first physical connectivity options that complement WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. Thus, between the two air nozzles we have two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4, an HDMI 2.1 and a charging port for the 230W adapter.

On the right side we can see another output and, next to it, two 5 Gbps USB-A 3.0 ports. The jump to USB 3.1 or 3.2 is missing here.

Connectivity is complemented on the left side with a 2.5 GbE RJ-45 for wired networking, a 10 Gbps USB-C 3.1 and a combined input and output minijack.

All this in a device with a thickness of 22.70 mm that, although it is not exactly thin, can be considered content for this type of laptop.

When opening the screen we can see a hinge system located a few centimeters inward, leaving the air outlet area protruding.

The screen has a 16-inch diagonal in 16:10 format with fairly small bezels. By having the hinges in the upper area, the lower frame is thicker, but it does not stand out too much.

It is integrated into a base where the keyboard draws attention with translucent keys on the edges and zoned RGB system.

The keyboard is comfortable and has good key travel, while the trackpad is a good size and has a curious return click sound. The inclusion of a number pad on the right side is appreciated.

Acer Nitro 16 AN16-73 screen

The Acer Nitro 16 AN16-73 screen It is based on a 16″ IPS panel with a matte finish that helps avoid reflections. It has a resolution of 2,560 x 1,600 pixels, ideal between resolution and sharpness for this diagonal, along with a 165 HZ refresh rate.

Contrast and brightness

The maximum brightness in SDR and full screen mode is remarkable, reaching 400 nits without problems and facilitating viewing in environments with strong lighting. As for contrast, at maximum brightness the black color shows 0.51 nits, so it remains somewhat below the 800:1 ratio.

• SDR white maximum brightness: 398 cd/m².
• Maximum black brightness: 0.51 cd/m².
• Contrast ratio: 777.7:1.

Color coverage

The entire sRGB range, more than 83% DCI-P3 and 79.1% Adobe-RGB. These are not values ​​to use the laptop at a professional edition level, but it more than meets what can be expected from a gaming computer for games.

sRGB color and calibration tests

The good factory calibration stands out, placing it at the top of our comparison table. There is some tendency towards greenish tones in the gray scale, but it is something that can easily be solved by adjusting the color a little. The fidelity of the rest of the colors is very good in general.

Autonomy and Charger

With a processor that can reach more than 155W in Boost, and if we add it to that in balanced mode it continues to deliver a lot performance, the autonomy of 1:59 hours that it achieved in our test is as expected.

By reducing the brightness and with the most conservative plan you can reach 3 and a half hours more or less with modest use, but it is clear that it is not a laptop to get too far from the plug.

The included charger has a power of 230 W and a size to take into account when moving with the equipment.

Performance – Benchmarks

He Core i7-14700HX It is one of the Raptor Lake Refresh models for laptops that has improved the most since the previous model on which it is based, the Core i7-13700HX. We say this because it is one of the few that increases the number of cores, going from 8+8 to 8+12 (P-Cores and E-Cores).

It offers a maximum Turbo frequency of an impressive 5.5 GHz, as long as the temperatures and the situation allow it (and we will see that it is not exactly a cool processor).

It offers good multi-core performance, and also in single-core, although it is obviously not close to the higher-end models. Even so, for a gaming-oriented computer it is a processor with excellent features, and it is not necessary to go to Core i9 or Ryzen 9 of these generations.

As for the RTX 4060, it is one of the most modest models of NVIDIA’s RTX 40 series, we would say the most modest to be able to run FullHD games without many problems, since the RTX 4050 are far behind.

Despite being a good size laptop, ACER has decided to limit this GPU to 110 Wso its performance is lower than what we find in other laptops with this GPU without these restrictions. In the end, the source is 230W, and if we take into account the peaks that the processor can reach, there is not much margin left for the GPU, in fact, with that power we could not have both operating at maximum TDP.

In any case, the Acer Nitro 16 is a laptop capable of handling games at FullHD, or if we use rescaling techniques to be able to go up to 2K screen. In order to take full advantage of that resolution and 165 Hz, we should have a more capable GPU.

Special mention for the RAID 0 of two PCIe 4.0 SSDs for its brutal performance.

Multi-Core CPU Performance Test

Cinebench 2024 MP

GeekBench 6 Multi Core

1-Core CPU Performance Test

Cinebench 2024 SP

GeekBench 6 Single Core

GPU Synthetic Benchmarks

3DMark Steel Nomad – Vulkan

3DMark Speed ​​Way – DX12 Ultimate

3DMark Port Royal – RayTracing

3DMark Solar Bay – Raytracing

3DMark TimeSpy DX12

3DMark FireStrike Extreme

Cinebench 2024 – GPU

SSD

CrystalDiskMark SSD

Performance – 4K and Full HD Gaming

4K gaming (3840 x 2160)

Black Myth: Wukong – 4K – Cinematic

F1 22 – 4K – RAYTRACING – MAX

FAR CRY 6 – 4K- ULTRA + RAYTRACING

GTA V – 4K- ULTRA – DX11

FullHD games (1920 x 1080)

Black Myth: Wukong – 1080p – Cinematic

F1 22 – 1080p – RAYTRACING – MAX

FAR CRY 6 – 1080p – ULTRA + RAYTRACING

GTA V – 1080p – ULTRA – DX11

Performance – Artificial Intelligence and Scaling (DLSS, FSR, XeSS)

F1 22 – 4K – MAX – RAYTRACING – FSR 2, DLSS 2 and DLSS 3 – BALANCED

3DMark NVIDIA DLSS – DLSS 2 AND DLSS 3 – 4K – PERFORMANCE

3DMark AMD FSR2 – 4K – PERFORMANCE

3DMark INTEL XESS – 4K – PERFORMANCE

Artificial intelligence

Artificial Intelligence – Geekbench AI – ONNX GPU

Artificial Intelligence – Geekbench AI – ONNX CPU

Temperature and Noise

Internally, the GPU remains at fairly contained temperatures of only 67.4ºC maximum. However, the Intel Core i7-14700HX reaches 100 degrees, breaking the temperature performance limitation.

Externally, it is a laptop that generates a lot of noise, in exchange we have very good outside temperatures.

Analysis and Conclusion

The Acer Nitro 16 AN16-73 is a gaming laptop with several very interesting features. The processor, even with the high temperatures it reaches, is a good choice for games and represents an extra performance compared to its predecessor. The screen draws attention for its good resolution and calibration, and integrates wonderfully into the format of the device. In addition, it does not lack brightness for good viewing, even with strong lights nearby.

The RTX 4060 has left us somewhat cold due to its 110W limitation. It is not a small device, and the GPU does not reach too high temperatures and perhaps with a more powerful power supply the 140 W version of the RTX 4060 could have been implemented. In any case, it is a valid GPU for high-speed games. 1080p or upscaled, but at native 2K or above it costs more.

Special mention for the SSDs in RAID 0, which offer spectacular performance, or for the good connectivity it offers, with Thunderbolt, USB 3.1 or 2.5 GbE.

However, this variant is not sold in Spain, in fact, the price of 1,899 euros is for the model with a lower processor such as the Core i7-14650HX with four fewer cores, with 16 GB of RAM and with only a 1 SSD. TB. It seems like a high amount to us considering the GPU limitation and those cuts. Ultimately, although the processor we have tested will not have problems in games, the RTX 4060 falls somewhat short of screen resolution, at least if we want to play demanding titles with maximum quality. This laptop with this configuration and an RTX 4070 would be a great option.

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