Acer Nitro V 16 (ANV16-41) review – This One Could Be One of the Best Budget Laptops in 2024

    The gap between the Acer Predator devices and their Nitro siblings is getting smaller year after year. This is quite good, but some Nitro machines aren’t budget offerings anymore since they are full of powerful hardware and other useful extras. Not all hope is lost because the V-series of the Nitro lineup is striking the laptop market with devices that boast modern hardware at a fair price.

    In 2023, we saw that the Acer Nitro V 15 (ANV15-51) is a well-performing machine with some compromises here and there. Specs-wise, the Nitro V 16 (ANV16-41) looks even better with its Zen 4 Hawk Point-HS CPUs, tons of GPU options (including some RTX 4000 chips), and good upgradability. The device isn’t full of ports but there is no sign of 5Gbps connectors which is great, especially for such a not-so-expensive machine.

    You get a choice of three IPS 165Hz displays – two 1200p and the top-tier variant is a 1600p unit. The latter is the best option here if you prefer crisper image quality (if money isn’t a problem). Interestingly, there is nothing to moan about the other characteristics of the notebook – a backlit keyboard and Wi-Fi 6E + Bluetooth 5.3 for connectivity. You also get a MUX switch to unleash the full GPU power when the charger is connected.

    You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/acer-nitro-v-anv16-41/

    Contents


    Specs, Drivers, What’s in the box

    Acer Nitro V 16 (ANV16-41) - Specs

    • AUO B160UAN05.K (AUO80AD)
    • Color accuracy  2.6  1.0
    • HDD/SSD
    • up to 8000GB SSD
    • RAM
    • up to 64GB
    • OS
    • Chrome OS, Windows 11 Home, Windows 11 Pro, Windows 10 Home, Windows 10 Pro, Windows 11, No OS
    • Battery
    • 57Wh
    • Body material
    • Plastic / Polycarbonate
    • Dimensions
    • 361.24 x 278.4 x 24.74 - 25.46 mm (14.22" x 10.96" x 0.97")
    • Weight
    • 2.50 kg (5.5 lbs)
    • Ports and connectivity
    • 1x USB Type-A
    • 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps)
    • 1x USB Type-A
    • 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), Sleep and Charge
    • 1x USB Type-C
    • 4.0, Power Delivery (PD), DisplayPort
    • HDMI
    • 2.1
    • Card reader
    • Ethernet LAN
    • 10, 100, 1000 Mbit/s
    • Wi-Fi
    • Wi-Fi 6E
    • Bluetooth
    • 5.3
    • Audio jack
    • 3.5mm Combo Jack
    • Features
    • Fingerprint reader
    • Web camera
    • HD
    • Backlit keyboard
    • Microphone
    • 3x Microphone Array with AI noise-canceling
    • Speakers
    • Stereo Speakers, DTS X: Ultra
    • Optical drive
    • Security Lock slot
    • Kensington Lock

    All Acer Nitro V 16 (ANV16-41) configurations

    #CommissionsEarned

    Drivers

    All drivers and utilities for this notebook can be found here: https://www.acer.com/us-en/support/product-support/Nitro_ANV16-41/downloads?suggest=Acer_Nitro%20V%2016%20(ANV16-41);1

    What’s in the box?

    Inside the box, you will find a bit of paperwork and a 135W barrel plug charger.


    Design and construction

    When the lid of the Acer Nitro V 16 (ANV16-41) is closed, only the glossy Nitro logo at the center hints that this is a gaming laptop. Speaking of which, the lid is averagely flexible but when we tried to twist it we heard some squeaky sounds. The base is solid, you can press down a bit the zones below the Space key and the NumberPad but all looks good during typing or gaming. Expectedly, the whole device is made of plastic.

    You need just one hand to open the lid. The laptop weighs 2.5 kilos and its profile thickness is 24.74 – 25.46 mm. That’s fairly normal for a budget 16-incher with a decent cooling solution.

    We can see the Nitro logo on the fatty “chin” below the panel and also engraved on the right palm rest area. The other three bezels around the IPS display are thin-ish. The top one houses a dual-mic 720p@30 FPS Web camera with Temporal Noise Reduction.

    The ventilation grill is positioned above the single-color backlit keyboard with NumPad and big Arrow keys. The unit offers shortcuts for cycling between the power presets (the “Mode” key in the top left corner), starting the Nitro Sense app, and for Copilot. The full-sized board is literally great for an inexpensive machine. The keycaps with long travel and clicky feedback are large and well-spaced – pretty comfy for gaming or work.

    The touchpad is big enough for normal usage. It could be more smoother but its accuracy is on point.

    The bottom of the laptop is home to many ventilation grills, four rubber feet, and two speaker cutouts. The hot air is pushed via two vents on the back and two on the sides.

    Ports

    On the left, there is a Kensington lock, followed by a 2.5Gbps LAN, a USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 2) port, and an Audio combo jack. On the back, we can see a power plug, an HDMI 2.1 connector, and a 40 Gbps USB4 port with DisplayPort and 65W charging capabilities. The right side houses just one USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 2) port that supports the power-off charging function.


    Display and Sound Quality, Get our Profiles

    Acer Nitro V 16 (ANV16-41) is equipped with an IPS WUXGA panel, model number AUO B160UAN05.K (AUO80AD). It comes with a 165Hz refresh rate. Its diagonal is 16″ (40.6 cm), and the resolution – 1920 x 1200p. Additionally, the screen ratio is 16:10, the pixel density – 141 ppi, and their pitch – 0.18 x 0.18 mm. The screen can be considered Retina when viewed from at least 61 cm (this is based on the pixel density and the typical viewing distance at which individual pixels cannot be distinguished by the human eye).

    Viewing angles are good. We offer images at different angles to evaluate the quality.

    Also, a video with locked focus and exposure.

    The maximum measured brightness is 353 nits (cd/m2) in the middle of the screen and 330 nits (cd/m2) average across the surface with a maximum deviation of 10%. The Correlated Color Temperature on a white screen and at maximum brightness is 6940K.
    In the illustration below you can see how the display performs from a uniformity perspective. The illustration below shows how matters are for operational brightness levels (approximately 140 nits) – in this particular case at 29% Brightness (White level = 141 cd/m2, Black level = 0.13 cd/m2).
    Values of dE2000 over 4.0 should not occur, and this parameter is one of the first you should check if you intend to use the laptop for color-sensitive work (a maximum tolerance of 2.0 ). The contrast ratio is good – 1110:1.

    To make sure we are on the same page, we would like to give you a little introduction to the sRGB color gamut and the Adobe RGB. To start, there’s the CIE 1976 Uniform Chromaticity Diagram that represents the visible specter of colors by the human eye, giving you a better perception of the color gamut coverage and the color accuracy.

    Inside the black triangle, you will see the standard color gamut (sRGB) that is being used by millions of people on HDTV and on the web. As for the Adobe RGB, this is used in professional cameras, monitors, etc for printing. Basically, colors inside the black triangle are used by everyone and this is the essential part of the color quality and color accuracy of a mainstream notebook.

    Still, we’ve included other color spaces like the famous DCI-P3 standard used by movie studios, as well as the digital UHD Rec.2020 standard. Rec.2020, however, is still a thing of the future and it’s difficult for today’s displays to cover that well. We’ve also included the so-called Michael Pointer gamut, or Pointer’s gamut, which represents the colors that naturally occur around us every day.

    The yellow dotted line shows Acer Nitro V 16 (ANV16-41)’s color gamut coverage.

    Its display covers 100% of the sRGB/ITU-R BT.709 (web/HDTV standard) in CIE1976, and 81% of DCI-P3, ensuring a super vibrant and attractive picture.

    We tested the accuracy of the display with 24 commonly used colors like light and dark human skin, blue sky, green grass, orange, etc.

    Below you can compare the scores of the Acer Nitro V 16 (ANV16-41) with the default settings sRGB.

    The next figure shows how well the display is able to reproduce really dark parts of an image, which is essential when watching movies or playing games in low ambient light.

    The left side of the image represents the display with stock settings, while the right one is with the “Gaming and Web Design” profile activated. On the horizontal axis, you will find the grayscale, and on the vertical axis – the luminance of the display. On the two graphs below you can easily check for yourself how your display handles the darkest nuances but keep in mind that this also depends on the settings of your current display, the calibration, the viewing angle, and the surrounding light conditions.

    Response time (Gaming capabilities)

    We test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “black-to-white” and “white-to-black” method from 10% to 90% and vice versa (these terms refer to the time it takes for pixels to change from one color to another (black to white and back to black in this case), a shorter time reduces picture blur with fast moving images).

    We recorded Fall Time + Rise Time = 7.7 ms. Short pixel response time is a prerequisite for a smooth picture in dynamic scenes. Gamers should be happy.

    After that, we test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “Gray-to-Gray” method from 50% White to 80% White and vice versa between 10% and 90% of the amplitude.

    Health Impact: PWM (Screen flickering)

    Pulse-width modulation (PWM) is an easy way to control monitor brightness. When you lower the brightness, the light intensity of the display is not lowered, but instead turned off and on by the electronics with a frequency indistinguishable to the human eye. In these light impulses, the light/no-light time ratio varies, while brightness remains unchanged, which is harmful to your eyes. You can read more about that in our dedicated article on PWM.

    Acer Nitro V 16 (ANV16-41)’s display doesn’t use PWM for brightness adjustment. This makes the screen pretty comfortable for long periods of use.

    Health Impact: Blue light emissions

    Installing our Health-Guard profile not only eliminates PWM but also reduces the harmful Blue Light emissions while keeping the colors of the screen perceptually accurate. If you’re not familiar with the Blue light, the TL;DR version is – emissions that negatively affect your eyes, skin, and your whole body. You can find more information about that in our dedicated article on Blue Light.

    Health Impact: Gloss-level measurement

    Glossy-coated displays are sometimes inconvenient in high ambient light conditions. We show the level of reflection on the screen for the respective laptop when the display is turned off and the measurement angle is 60° (in this case, the result is 50.2 GU).

    Sound

    Acer Nitro V 16 (ANV16-41)’s speakers produce a sound of very good quality. Its low, mid, and high tones are clear of deviations.

    Buy our profiles

    Since our profiles are tailored for each individual display model, this article and its respective profile package are meant for Acer Nitro V 16 (ANV16-41) configuration with 16.0″ AUO B160UAN05.K (AUO80AD) (1920×1200) IPS.

    *Should you have problems with downloading the purchased file, try using a different browser to open the link you’ll receive via e-mail. If the download target is a .php file instead of an archive, change the file extension to .zip or contact us at [email protected].

    Read more about the profiles HERE.

    In addition to receiving efficient and health-friendly profiles, by buying LaptopMedia's products you also support the development of our labs, where we test devices in order to produce the most objective reviews possible.

    Office Work

    Office Work should be used mostly by users who spend most of the time looking at pieces of text, tables or just surfing. This profile aims to deliver better distinctness and clarity by keeping a flat gamma curve (2.20), native color temperature and perceptually accurate colors.

    Design and Gaming

    This profile is aimed at designers who work with colors professionally, and for games and movies as well. Design and Gaming takes display panels to their limits, making them as accurate as possible in the sRGB IEC61966-2-1 standard for Web and HDTV, at white point D65.

    Health-Guard

    Health-Guard eliminates the harmful Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) and reduces the negative Blue Light which affects our eyes and body. Since it’s custom tailored for every panel, it manages to keep the colors perceptually accurate. Health-Guard simulates paper so the pressure on the eyes is greatly reduced.

    Get all 3 profiles with 33% discount


    Performance: CPU, GPU, Storage

    All benchmarks and tests were conducted with the “Turbo” preset activated in the NitroSense app. Also, the “Best Performance” mode is applied in the Windows “Power & Battery” menu and the “NVIDIA GPU-only” mode is selected in the BIOS.

    CPU options

    This laptop can be found with AMD Ryzen 5 8645HS or AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS.

    Our laptop is with Ryzen 7 8845HS.

    GPU options

    You can choose from a lot of different GPUs – GeForce RTX 2050, GeForce RTX 3050 (Laptop, 70W, 6GB), GeForce RTX 4050, or GeForce RTX 4060.

    Gaming tests

    Metro ExodusFull HD, Low (Check settings)Full HD, High (Check settings)Full HD, Extreme (Check settings)
    Average FPS103 fps44 fps20 fps

    Borderlands 3Full HD, V.Low (Check settings)Full HD, Medium (Check settings)Full HD, High (Check settings)Full HD, Badass (Check settings)
    Average FPS128 fps90 fps59 fps46 fps

    Far Cry 6Full HD, Low (Check settings)Full HD, High (Check settings)Full HD, Ultra (Check settings)
    Average FPS96 fps70 fps60 fps

    Gears 5Full HD, Low (Check settings)Full HD, Medium (Check settings)Full HD, High (Check settings)Full HD, Ultra (Check settings)
    Average FPS148 fps97 fps79 fps61 fps

    The 6GB GeForce RTX 3050 is still a decent choice for 1080p / 1200p gaming on High details.

    Storage performance

    Our laptop is equipped with a 1TB HFS001TEJ9X110N. The temperatures of this Gen 4 NVMe during benchmarking are a bit high but still within reasonable limits – 66°C.

    [eBook Guide + Tools] How to MAX OUT Your Laptop

    You can make your laptop Faster. LaptopMedia has tested thousands of models in the last 15 years, and we have yet to see a notebook that couldn't be made more powerful through modifications.

    That's why we decided to bundle everything we know about how to achieve this in an Easy-to-Follow, Step-by-Step, and Laboratory-Tested, all in one project.

    Read more about it here:
    [eBook Guide + Tools] How to MAX OUT Your Laptop

    [eBook Guide] How to MAX OUT your Laptop

    🛠️ GPU Modifications: vBIOS, Overclocking, Undervolting
    ⚙️ Building Fast/Reliable RAID configuration
    💻 Hardware upgrade tips for best results
    🖼 Display enhancing
    💾 OS Optimization for best performance


    Temperatures and comfort, Battery Life, Performance presets comparison

    Max CPU load

    In this test we use 100% on the CPU cores, monitoring their frequencies and chip temperature. The first column shows a computer’s reaction to a short load (2-10 seconds), the second column simulates a serious task (between 15 and 30 seconds), and the third column is a good indicator of how good the laptop is for long loads such as video rendering.

    Average core frequency (base frequency + X); CPU temp.

    AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS (45W TDP)0:02 – 0:10 sec0:15 – 0:30 sec10:00 – 15:00 min
    Acer Nitro V 16 (ANV16-41)4.78 GHz @ 70°C @ 64W4.64 GHz @ 67°C @ 54W4.51 GHz @ 74°C @ 54W
    Lenovo Legion Slim 5 (16″, Gen 9)4.78 GHz @ 92°C @ 123W4.73 GHz @ 100°C @ 119W4.59 GHz @ 100°C @ 88W

    The clocks of the Ryzen 7 8845HS inside this budget Acer machine are almost on par with the ones of the much more expensive Legion Slim 5 with the same processor. Interestingly, the Lenovo device needs a lot higher package power to maintain these frequencies (yes, we triple-check that).

    Real-life gaming

    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 6GBGPU frequency/ Core temp (after 2 min)GPU frequency/ Core temp (after 30 min)
    Acer Nitro V 16 (ANV16-41)1845 MHz @ 66°C @ 64W1837 MHz @ 69°C @ 64W
    Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i (14″, Gen 8)1444 MHz @ 72°C @ 56W1502 MHz @ 72°C @ 60W
    Acer Nitro V 15 (ANV15-51)1819 MHz @ 63°C @ 63W1816 MHz @ 64°C @ 63W

    The 6GB version of the RTX 3050 can maintain a high 1837 MHz and 64W TGP in long gaming sessions – good!

    Gaming comfort

    The four performance presets alongside other goodies can be found in the Acer Nitro Sense app. You can bump the fans to their max speed of 5000 / 5900 RPM and you can expect around 1800 / 2200 RPM in idle. While playing games in “Turbo” mode, the keyboard feels warm but not too hot to the touch and you can use the laptop for long hours of gaming. Interestingly, the noise levels are average – the fans aren’t too noisy but they aren’t quiet either.

    In long CPU loads, the “Turbo” mode offers the highest clocks and fan RPM. Any other mode is suitable for daily tasks since the frequencies remain pretty high and the noise levels are lower.

    The GPU reaches a 64W TGP when the “Turbo” preset is applied. If we don’t count the “Quiet” mode, the other presets are also suitable for demanding games since the GPU power limit isn’t heavily hindered but the fans are also quieter.

    Battery

    Now, we conduct the battery tests with the Windows Power Efficiency setting turned on, screen brightness adjusted to 140 nits and all other programs turned off except for the one we are testing the notebook with. This notebook’s 57Wh battery pack lasts for 7 hours and 33 minutes of video playback. To achieve that, you have to apply the “Best Power Efficiency” preset in the Windows “Power & Battery” menu and select the “Balanced” and “Optimus” modes in the Acer Nitro Sense app.

    Brightness: 180 nits; Display Mode: SDR
    Time to Full Discharge: Higher is Better


    Disassembly, Upgrade options, and Maintenance

    To gain access to the internals, you have to undo 11 Phillips-head screws. You can pop up the bottom panel by carefully raising it while holding firmly the two plastic exhausts on the rear. The plate should be fully popped to the level of the LAN connector. Don’t push too hard because you can break the plate there. Then, use a thin plastic tool to pry the rest of the panel, including the front side. The other method is to lift the plate close to one of the top two corners to open a small gap. Pry and lift the back and work your way around the other sides.

    There are two metal plates with thermal pads for the SSDs on the inside of the bottom plate.

    This laptop has a 57Wh battery. To remove it, detach the connector from the motherboard and undo the two Phillips-head screws that fix the unit to the base. The capacity is enough for 7 hours and 33 minutes of video playback.

    The RAM section is covered with a metal shroud that is held in place by a single Phillips-head screw. You can pop the cap with a lever tool. We found two thermal pads on the inside of the metal plate for cooling the memory.

    According to Acer, the two SODIMMs can handle up to 32GB of DDR5-5600MHz memory in dual-channel mode. However, since the CPU can support up to 256GB, this laptop likely wouldn’t have issues running a larger amount of memory than the official manufacturer’s specified limit.  The memory sticks are additionally cooled by dedicated thermal pads placed on the motherboards below the modules. The device that we have bought has only one memory stick installed and that’s why the RAM operates in single-channel mode. This means that the overall power is a bit hammered because the AMD CPUs are hungry for memory bandwidth and the dual-channel mode is a welcomed addition.

    Storage-wise, you can rely on two M.2 slots for 2280 Gen 4 SSDs. The Wi-Fi card is positioned below the NVMe slot on the left.

    The thermal system looks good for such a laptop. It has two fans different in size and shape. We can spot one long heat pipe shared between the CPU and the GPU and one more for each chip. The cooling is complemented by four heat sinks, the top-mounted ones are notably taller. The two metal plates over the processor and graphics card are also big, the larger one on the right is for the GPU and its VRMs and memory.


    Verdict

    The Acer Nitro V 16 (ANV16-41) has the potential to be a blockbuster in the budget category. It has a good cooling solution that allows high CPU and GPU clocks under load. At the same time, the fans aren’t too noisy. The upgradability is great – two SODIMM slots for DDR5 memory and two M.2 slots compatible with Gen 4 SSDs, It’s nice to see that Acer has included additional thermal pads for the RAM modules and for the two NVMe drives as well.

    The 1200p display (AUO B160UAN05.K (AUO80AD)) is a rare find in this price class. The 165Hz unit impresses with snappy response times for an IPS panel, high max brightness of 353 cd/m2, and full sRGB coverage. Not only that, but the color accuracy is superb when our “Design and Gaming” profile is applied.

    The Zen 4 CPUs are efficient and that’s why the modest 57Wh battery has enough juice for 7 hours and a half of video playback which is a respectable result. The port selection is quite nice – one USB4 port and two Type-A Gen 2  alongside an HDMI 2.1.

    When you add the nice and comfortable keyboard to the mix, it seems that the Acer Nitro V 16 (ANV16-41) is a capable budget laptop with a PWM-free color-accurate display, snappy hardware, and a MUX switch.

    You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/acer-nitro-v-anv16-41/

    Pros

    • 2x M.2 Gen 4 slots + 2x DDR5 RAM SODIMMs
    • Covers 100% of the sRGB color gamut and has accurate color representation with our “Design and Gaming” profile (AUO80AD)
    • Fast panel with quick response times and 165Hz refresh rate (AUO80AD)
    • No PWM  (AUO80AD)
    • High max brightness of 353 nits  (AUO80AD)
    •  MUX switch
    • Modern port selection – USB4 + two Gen 2 connectors
    • Comfortable input devices
    • Good battery life given the small capacity and the snappy hardware
    • Solid base
    • The CPU can maintain high frequencies during full load (4.50 GHz)
    • The fans aren’t too noisy even in “Turbo” mode


    Cons

    • The lid could be more stable
    • Plastic build

    Subscribe
    Notify of
    guest
    0 Comments
    Inline Feedbacks
    View all comments