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日本Acer Nitro V 15 (ANV15-51) vs MSI Thin GF63 (12Vx) – Which Is the Best Entry-Level Gaming Laptop?
Just like fashion, gaming laptop trends seem to come back every once a while, like a vicious circle. A few years ago, we had office gaming laptops, pretty much souped-up versions of Pavilions and Ideapads. Now, thin and light gaming laptops are more popular than ever, thanks to advancements in hardware and cooling.
Today we’ve got a battle between two of the more popular entry-level gaming laptops, both of which are pretty thin and light (for gaming laptop standards). One in fact even has “Thin” in its name, which is rather bold. Today we’re comparing the Acer Nitro V 15 against the MSI Thin GF63 in pretty much every possible category, from chassis and durability to displays, cooling, and performance. We also can’t forget about upgradeability, which is a meaty topic with any laptop.
Acer Nitro V 15 (ANV15-51): Full Specs / In-depth Review
MSI Thin GF63 (12Vx): Full Specs / In-depth Review
Acer Nitro V 15 (ANV15-51) configurations:
MSI Thin GF63 (12Vx) configurations:
Specs table
| Specification | Acer Nitro V 15 (ANV15-51) | MSI Thin GF63 (12Vx) |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i7-13620H Intel Core i5-13420H | Intel Core i7-12650H Intel Core i5-12450H |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 (Laptop) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 (Laptop, 65W, 6GB) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (Laptop, 45W) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 (Laptop, 45W) |
| Display | 15.6”, Full HD (1920 x 1080), 144 Hz, IPS 15.6″, Full HD (1920 x 1080), 165 Hz, IPS | 15.6”, Full HD (1920 x 1080), 144 Hz, IPS |
| Memory | up to 64GB | up to 64GB |
| Battery | 4-cell, 57Wh | 3-cell, 52.4Wh |
| Weight | 4.7 lbs (2.11 kg) | 4.1 lbs (1.86 kg) |
| Dimensions | 14.26″ x 9.44″ x 0.90″ (362.3 x 239.89 x 22.9 – 26.9 mm) | 14.13″ x 10.00″ x 0.85″ (359 x 254 x 21.7 mm) |
| Ports |
|
|
Unboxing
Since these are more portable and lighter laptops, They have smaller more compact chargers, with a 135W adapter for the Acer Nitro V 15 and a 120W adapter for the MSI Thin GF63. Besides the mandatory paperwork, there isn’t anything more inside.
| Acer Nitro V 15 (ANV15-51) | MSI Thin GF63 (12Vx) | |
|---|---|---|
| Charger power | 135W | 120W |
Acer Nitro V 15 (ANV15-51)
MSI Thin GF63 (12Vx)Design and construction
When it comes to construction, both laptops are made of plastic. The MSI model is both thinner and lighter, so we’ll see if that has any negative effect on the performance. In terms of pure looks and aesthetics, the Nitro V 15 is the better laptop of the two, with a sleeker design and no fake brushed aluminum finish on the lid (seriously MSI, it’s time for a change).
| Acer Nitro V 15 (ANV15-51) | MSI Thin GF63 (12Vx) | |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 4.7 lbs (2.11 kg) | 4.1 lbs (1.86 kg) |
| Dimensions | 14.26″ x 9.44″ x 0.90″ (362.3 x 239.89 x 22.9 – 26.9 mm) | 14.13″ x 10.00″ x 0.85″ (359 x 254 x 21.7 mm) |
Acer Nitro V 15 (ANV15-51)
MSI Thin GF63 (12Vx)Keyboard and touchpad
The Nitro V 15 has a lot of functionality built into the keyboard and touchpad. You can type endlessly on the board, as it’s comfortable and has enough key travel, as well as a backlight. It’s a bit shallow for gaming standards, however, keep in mind that this chassis was borrowed from Aspire 7. The touchpad has a fingerprint reader which doesn’t interfere with the accuracy at all, something we’re glad to see.
As for the Thin GF63, the deck does show a bit of flex, but the board is more than usable, thanks to the clicky feedback. There’s a red backlight, which helps during nighttime use. The touchpad is smooth, however, it moves around its housing, which is a first for us. The click that it makes is also quite loud.
Acer Nitro V 15 (ANV15-51)
MSI Thin GF63 (12Vx)Ports
The Nitro V 15 has 2 Type-A and 2 Type-C ports, while the Thin GF63 has 3 Type-A ports and 1 Type-C port. The Nitro also supports the newer HDMI 2.1 standard, which offer higher resolution and refresh rates, if you decide to pair the laptop with an external monitor.
| Acer Nitro V 15 (ANV15-51) | MSI Thin GF63 (12Vx) | |
|---|---|---|
| Ports |
|
|
Acer Nitro V 15 (ANV15-51)
MSI Thin GF63 (12Vx)Display and Sound Quality
The two laptops that we bought have very similar displays in terms of specs, with two Full HD IPS 144Hz panels. However, you can upgrade the Nitro V 15 with a 165Hz Full HD IPS panel if you so choose.
| Acer Nitro V 15 (ANV15-51) | MSI Thin GF63 (12Vx) | |
|---|---|---|
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 1920 x 1080 |
| Aspect ratio | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Panel technology | IPS | IPS |
| Pixel density | 142 PPI | 142 PPI |
| Dot pitch | 0.18 x 0.18 mm | 0.18 x 0.18 mm |
| Retina distance | 23.62″ (60 cm) | 23.62″ (60 cm) |
Acer Nitro V 15 (ANV15-51)
MSI Thin GF63 (12Vx)Here you can compare the viewing angles of both laptops, as we’ve taken videos at 45 degrees to evaluate the quality.
The display on the Nitro V 15 gets slightly brighter while having a higher contrast ratio too. The color temperature is also closer to 6500K that’s optimal for sRGB creator work.
| Full HD 16:9 IPS panel | Acer Nitro V 15 (ANV15-51) | MSI Thin GF63 (12Vx) |
|---|---|---|
| Peak brightness (middle of the screen/average for the entire display area) | 279/260 nits | 255/249 nits |
| Max deviation | 11% | 8% |
| Color temperature (on white screen) | 6870K | 7270K |
| Contrast ratio | 1470:1 | 1250:1 |
Acer Nitro V 15 (ANV15-51)
MSI Thin GF63 (12Vx)Color coverage
Here are some illustrations (Fig. 1) & (Fig. 2). The whole “sail-shaped” map below consists of all the colors we can see, while the black crooked line shows all the colors from real-world scenes and nature around us.
Then, we’ve drawn some of the most important and interesting color spaces, compared to the colors that the panels of the laptops can display:
Standard/For Web: sRGB – widely used color space for most consumer devices, ideal for Web design and development
For Print: AdobeRGB – used in professional photo editing, graphic design, and print
For Photographers/Video Editors: DCI-P3 – used in high-end film production, post-production, and digital cinema
Premium HDR: Rec.2020 – the widest consumer ITU color standard, covering a massive 75.8% of the visible spectrum, a benchmark for premium HDR content
The yellow dotted line shows the color coverage of the Acer Nitro V 15 (ANV15-51) and the MSI Thin GF63 (12Vx).
| Full HD IPS panel | Acer Nitro V 15 (ANV15-51) | MSI Thin GF63 (12Vx) |
|---|---|---|
| sRGB | 56% | 56% |
| DCI-P3 | 44% | 44% |
Acer Nitro V 15 (ANV15-51)
MSI Thin GF63 (12Vx)Color accuracy
Now let’s see how big is the difference between the real colors and the ones you’ll see on the three laptops. We measure that distance in DeltaE – the bigger the number, the more different they look.
For the next illustration, we’ve chosen 24 common colors like dark and light skin, blue sky, green grass, etc.
Below you can see the results of the two laptops with our Web Design and Office Work profile applied. Both laptops aren’t accurate enough for professional design work, but the Acer Nitro V 15 is slightly more accurate with a dE of 3.0.
Acer Nitro V 15 (ANV15-51)
MSI Thin GF63 (12Vx)Acer Nitro V 15 (ANV15-51) 15.6″ Innolux N156HRA-EA1 (CMN1521) (1920 x 1080) IPS: Buy our profiles
MSI Thin GF63 (12V) 15.6″ AUO B156HAN15.1 (AUOD0A2) (1920 x 1080) IPS: Buy our profiles
PWM
Pulse Width Modulation or flickering, is a way for displays to adjust brightness. By constantly switching on and off with a high frequency, you get less light into your eyes, thus perceiving the display as darker and more dim. However, this has its drawbacks, as while you don’t distinguish the flickers, your eyes do and constantly have to adjust their aperture, which can cause headaches and tire the eye itself.
Thankfully, both displays show no PWM usage across all brightness levels.
Acer Nitro V 15 (ANV15-51)
MSI Thin GF63 (12Vx)Sound
Both laptops have their speakers positioned in the same location, on the bottom panel. Quality is good on both devices, with clear sound and no deviations across the entire frequency range.
Acer Nitro V 15 (ANV15-51)
MSI Thin GF63 (12Vx)Performance – CPU, GPU, Gaming, Storage
Here we’ve highlighted the exact components that each configuration uses.
| Acer Nitro V 15 (ANV15-51) | MSI Thin GF63 (12Vx) | |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i7-13620H Intel Core i5-13420H | Intel Core i7-12650H Intel Core i5-12450H |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 (Laptop) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 (Laptop, 65W, 6GB) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (Laptop, 45W) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 (Laptop, 45W) |
CPU benchmarks
The Core i5-13420H is 2% faster in Cinebench R23 and 0.1 seconds quicker in Photoshop.
Here, we evaluate the CPU's performance using a real-world 3D rendering task, assessing its ability to handle complex computations and rendering workloads efficiently.
Results are from the Cinebench 2024 Multi-Core test (higher is better)
GPU benchmarks
Comparing the RTX 3050 to the 4050, we see the performance gains that the 4050 makes. It’s 30%, 43%, 20%, and 45% faster in 3DMark Time Spy, Fire Strike, Wild Life, and Unigine Superposition, respectively.
The results are from 3DMark Time Spy (Graphics). Higher is better.
Results are from 3DMark Fire Strike (Graphics) benchmark (higher the score, the better)
The results are from 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Unlimited. Higher is better.
Results are from the Unigine Superposition benchmark (higher the score, the better)
Gaming tests
Acer Nitro V 15 (ANV15-51)
MSI Thin GF63 (12Vx)
| Assassin’s Creed Valhalla | Full HD, Low (Check settings) | Full HD, Medium (Check settings) | Full HD, High (Check settings) | Full HD, Ultra (Check settings) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acer Nitro V 15 – RTX 3050 (65W 6GB) | 95 fps | 76 fps | 62 fps | 51 fps |
| MSI Thin GF63 – RTX 4050 (45W 6GB) | 117 fps (+23%) | 99 fps (+30%) | 82 fps (+32%) | 66 fps (+29%) |
| Borderlands 3 | Full HD, V.Low (Check settings) | Full HD, Medium (Check settings) | Full HD, High (Check settings) | Full HD, Badass (Check settings) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acer Nitro V 15 – RTX 3050 (65W 6GB) | 138 fps (+5%) | 96 fps | 64 fps | 49 fps |
| MSI Thin GF63 – RTX 4050 (45W 6GB) | 132 fps | 101 fps (+5%) | 68 fps (+6%) | 52 fps (+6%) |
| Far Cry 6 | Full HD, Low (Check settings) | Full HD, High (Check settings) | Full HD, Ultra (Check settings) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acer Nitro V 15 – RTX 3050 (65W 6GB) | 91 fps | 69 fps | 60 fps |
| MSI Thin GF63 – RTX 4050 (45W 6GB) | 101 fps (+11%) | 80 fps (+16%) | 71 fps (+18%) |
| Gears 5 | Full HD, Low (Check settings) | Full HD, Medium (Check settings) | Full HD, High (Check settings) | Full HD, Ultra (Check settings) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acer Nitro V 15 – RTX 3050 (65W 6GB) | 153 fps | 100 fps | 83 fps | 64 fps |
| MSI Thin GF63 – RTX 4050 (45W 6GB) | 162 fps (+6%) | 119 fps (+19%) | 101 fps (+22%) | 80 fps (+25%) |
Storage
The SSD of the Nitro V is a lot, lot faster in terms of Write speeds, while making decent gains in Read speeds too.
Acer Nitro V 15 (ANV15-51) – 512GB SSD
MSI Thin GF63 (12Vx) – 512GB SSDBattery life
The Acer Nitro V 15 offers 24 minutes more in terms of web browsing and 1 hour and 2 minutes more in terms of video playback.
Brightness: 180 nits; Display Mode: SDR
Time to Full Discharge: Higher is Better
In order to simulate real-life conditions, we used our own script for automatic web browsing through over 70 websites.
[eBook Guide + Tools] How to MAX OUT your Laptop
If you want to maximize the performance of your laptop, our MAX OUT guides are tailored to each model. They give you upgradeability tips, as well as teach you how to overclock and undervolt your components so you can extract the best performance out of them.
Your laptop can be Faster. LaptopMedia has tested thousands of models in the last 15 years, and we're yet to see a notebook that couldn't be made more powerful through modifications. And have you seen the most popular search on Google related to "how to make my ..."? No? OK, here it is:
As you see, having a faster laptop is more important than having more hair.
Well, the main issue here is that there are thousands of advices on the Web. Some work, some don't. Some are easy, some are complicated. Some are safe, and some are risky. If only there could be an Easy-to-Follow, Step-by-Step, and Laboratory-Tested guide by a proven organization, right?
That's what we've done. We have hundreds of laptops scattered in our office, and we've spent a whole year testing different optimizations. We've chosen the ones that really make a difference, that are easy to implement without expert skills, and that are safe for your laptop in the long term.
🚀 What's the performance boost I could expect?
There's no general answer but we've reached more than 30% GPU Performance boost on some models, while typically it's between 10% and 20%. You could always go beyond but we want to be sure that our advice will keep your laptop on the safe side in the long term. But you want to get the absolute maximum? We'll show you how, and then it's up to you.
We even set several World Records on 3DMark, one being our first Max Out for a specific laptop model - MSI Katana B13V.
We'd be happy to compete with YOU on the 3DMark rank lists, and see what YOUR laptop can do using our guide!
📦 What's included?
📖 Our eBook includes All the tools you need, along with an Easy-to-follow guide for hassle-free:
⚡ GPU Performance boost by vBIOS replacement, Overclocking, and Undervolting
⚙️ Checking the hardware components and finding if you could get a significant boost by upgrading some of them
💾 Installing a clean Windows OS, with all the base settings you need
📋 Software optimization steps that really give a performance boost
⏩ Building a RAID Storage configuration for doubling sequential read/write speeds or protecting your data
🎯 Display Profiles bundle for a panel of your choice, enhancing the display for accurate colors, better experience, and protection of your eyes
🎁 To receive the Display Profiles bundle as a gift, simply email us your panel model through our "Contact Us" form.
💵 What is the price?
R&D on laptops isn't easy nor cheap, especially when you're not using cherry-picked review samples but real units instead. Our idea is to reinvest the profits from the sales back in our laboratory. However, we also want to make it a killer deal for everyone who is planning or has already spent on a gaming laptop, as this product would significantly boost the performance per dollar they get.
🛠️ GPU Modifications: vBIOS, Overclocking, Undervolting
⚙️ Building Fast/Reliable RAID configuration
💻 Hardware upgrade tips for best results
🖼 Display enhancing
💾 OS Optimization for best performance
✖ But if these optimizations are easy, why don't manufacturers do them?
There are a lot of reasons for the manufacturers to put boundaries on your machine, locking part of its performance:
📊 Market Segmentation: To create different product tiers, manufacturers often limit performance. This allows them to target various market segments and price points, encouraging consumers to pay more for higher-performing models.
❓Unknown Potential: Each unit's performance varies. Checking each one individually isn't feasible.
🏢 Regulatory Compliance: Certain regions have regulations regarding energy consumption, and manufacturers often place some boundaries to fit all standards.
🏭 Supply Chain Constraints: Limitations are imposed due to the current availability of components.
🫰 Cost-effective solutions: Often, less popular but important details are overlooked. For example, better RAM types can boost performance by up to 30%, but many users ignore this, and many online stores don't even provide that info.
🔒 Security concerns: Many protections impact performance while being negligible for regular users. However, manufacturers don't know if their laptops will be purchased by individuals or large corporations, so they can't disable these features by default.
Not a bad performance bump in terms of Storage Speeds:
What are the default apps that impact performance the most?
What to do when RAID drives don't show up?
How to optimize Windows further for maximum FPS gain in games?
Disassembly and upgrades
The two laptops provide ample upgradeability. The Nitro V 15 has two SODIMM slots and two M.2 slots, one Gen 4 and one Gen 3. As for the MSI laptop, it also has two SODIMM slots, one M.2 slot, and a SATA slot for either an SSD or a hard drive.
Verdict
Ultimately, the two laptops have their shortcomings, however, one of them manages to still offer a good enough package for gaming and general use for a low price. The Nitro V 15 is the better notebook of the two, with a better design, a fingerprint reader, better port selection, and longer battery life.
While the MSI Thin GF63 is pretty thin and has a more powerful GPU, however, the RTX 4050 can be configured on the Nitro as well, so thanks to its better cooling setup (that second fan is worth its weight in gold) you can expect better gaming performance with the same GPU.
Wrapping things up, we’d recommend the Acer Nitro V 15 over the MSI GF63.
Acer Nitro V 15 (ANV15-51): Full Specs / In-depth Review
MSI Thin GF63 (12Vx): Full Specs / In-depth Review
Acer Nitro V 15 (ANV15-51) configurations:
MSI Thin GF63 (12Vx) configurations:
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