First impressions of Acer Aspire V15 Nitro Black Edition (VN7-592G) – more of a refresh than an upgrade but keeps all what’s good from its predecessor
The previous version of the Aspire V15 Nitro Black Edition was praised for its well-balanced build quality and powerful hardware that’s capable of running the latest games. Also, the thin and light body appealed even to users who aren’t into gaming, but still need a powerful daily driver.
Coming to the VN7-592G, we see minor cosmetic changes, but big things happening under the hood. For example, we’ve got the new Core i7-6700HQ CPU on board, the usual GTX 960M GPU, M.2 SSD support, and, of course, high-quality IPS panel.
Head over at Amazon.com to see all the available configurations of the new Aspire V15 Nitro.
Design
As you’ve noticed from some of the press renders on the net or the product images below, the new Aspire V15 Nitro doesn’t go too far from its predecessor in terms of appearance. The same rubberized finish with aluminum base is used for the making of this machine thanks to the so-called Nanoimprint lithography process (NIL). This adds to the rigidity and lightweight chassis that the V15 offers.
The bottom line is that we have good-looking solid construction, well-tightened hinges and thin profile on our hands. Also, the new Aspire V15 Nitro has reduced weight and trimmed down profile. For instance, the old variant had 23.9 mm profile and 2.4 kg weight in contrary to the new one with 22.86 mm height and weighing just 2.3 kg. The new machine didn’t lose too much fat, but it’s an improvement that the Y700 didn’t deliver.
As for the input devices, there’s a small but notable change in the keyboard design. Now the keys appear to be a bit curved for better ergonomics and feel a bit nicer than the previous generation. However, the touchpad seemed a bit inconsistent with the swipes and gestures, but we will make sure to check that out in our full review. Furthermore, the interior now has a small red LED light complementing the design of the notebook near the screen hinges.
Last, but not least, we would like to address our concerns about the port placement. Almost all connectors are located on the right and this might get in the way when using an external mouse. We’ve got the DC charging port, LAN, HDMI, two USB 3.0 ports and one USB 3.1 Type-C connector between the latter. We are quite puzzled why the Type-C is placed between the USB 3.0 ports.
Hardware
Specifically for the V15 Nitro Black Edition configurations, Acer is only using the quad-core Core i7-6700HQ CPU from Intel and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M GPU with 4GB of GDDR5 VRAM. Since the notebook uses Skylake chip with newer motherboard, the system now supports up to 64GB of DDR4 RAM, but base configurations go as high as 16GB. Anything over that amount is kind of an overkill for the general user.
We are welcoming the M.2 SSD support again for expandable storage and faster data transfer. And again Acer is relying on LG Display for its panels. The 15-inch model uses LP156WF6-SPB1 matrix. You can check our initial test here.
How it looks on the inside
Here are two shots of the internals. It seems like the new Aspire V15 Nitro hasn’t changed at all on the inside. You will easily access the 2.5-inch drive, cooling system and M.2 SSD slot, but you will have to perform a full disassembly to reach the RAM slots.
Specs sheet
Processor | Intel Core i7-6700HQ (4-core, 2.60 – 3.60 GHz, 6MB cache) |
---|---|
RAM | 8GB (2x 4096MB) – DDR4, 2133MHz |
Graphics card | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M (4GB GDDR5) |
HDD/SSD | 1TB HDD (5400rpm) |
Display | 15.6-inch (39.62 cm) – 1920×1080 (Full HD) IPS, matte |
Optical drive | – |
Connectivity | LAN 10/100/1000 Mbps, Wi-Fi 802.11 2×2 AC, Bluetooth 4.0 |
Other features |
S |
Battery | 3-cell, 4605 mAh |
Thickness | 22.86 mm (0.9″) |
Weight | 2.3 kg (5.07 lbs) |