Nitro 5 AN515-55-53E5 Gaming Laptop | Intel Core i5-10300H | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 GPU | 15.6" FHD 144Hz IPS Display | 8GB DDR4 | 256GB NVMe SSD | Intel Wi-Fi 6 | Backlit Keyboard

Good sub-$1000 gaming laptops are hard to find, but The Nitro 5 gives great value without breaking the bank. The 10th Gen Core i5 processor is 2 generations old at this point, but it has plenty of power to run pretty much all modern games at a decent setting. The Nvidia RTX 3050 graphics processor is an entry level to the new Ray-Tracing sexiness that's the next big thing in graphics. On newer games you probably won't be able to get past the 60fps barrier at 1080p with the settings cranked, but dialing the details down a bit will give you better rates. The display is rated for 1080p and 144hz, and while it's not the brightest or most vibrant screen out there, it's fine for this price point. There is also a (full size) HDMI out, but I have not had occasion to connect this to an external monitor yet. The cooling fans do a good job of keeping this machine within temp specs... but do note they can get pretty loud under load (honestly that's almost inevitable on a gaming laptop, it's hard to keep things cool in such a small box. Anyone who games on a laptop should invest in a good headset IMHO.)I have opened this computer up to install a few upgrades (more on that below) and I will say I'm pretty impressed with the build quality for a computer in this segment. The components are reputable makes rather than mystery off-brands (WD for the SSD, looks like Micron on the single 8gb RAM stick.) All the panels fit together nice and go back together easily after disassembly, making upgrades something you don't have to dread.Speaking of those upgrades... for a computer at this price point you have to live with a few compromises and here is where they may be found. The storage this model comes with is a paltry 256gb m.2 drive... If you do plan on gaming on the Nitro, either be ready to upgrade this quickly or learn to love delete-ing and re-installing games and apps constantly. Fortunately, there is a second un-used m.2 PCIe slot on the motherboard to accommodate an upgrade (this processor and motherboard supports PCIe up to gen-3 speeds.) There is also an open 2.5 inch bay for an SSD. Memory-wise, this unit comes with a single 8gb DDR4 SODIMM RAM stick installed. This should be fine for most gaming- if you don't run big apps in the background- but since this has two slots total for an upgrade I removed it and installed 2 8gb sticks of Kingston FURY Impact DDR4 RAM, just for a bit of extra headroom (the max speed the i5 10300H will operate memory at is 2933 Mhz, so it's not worth it to spend more on faster RAM.)All in all, this is a fine machine for someone who's interested in a good no-fuss entryway into PC gaming, or a seasoned gamer who wants an inexpensive but capable machine to go mobile with. Highly Recommended!

- I can run most games on default settings and the ones I can't are made easily playable with a few minor adjustments.- Compared to other gaming PCs of similar capabilities, this laptop tends to be far cheaper, so it's great for a budget laptop.- The battery life isn't great, but isn't unusable. I tend to keep my laptop on the charger.It is a lot bulkier than most laptops.- The display is rather dim compared to most screens.- Sometimes the graphics mess up and text will disappear or black boxes will cover the window. This only happens to me in browsers and on Discord.The pros heavily outweigh the cons, especially if you're looking for a decent gaming laptop on a budget.