Acer Nitro Blaze 7 Hands On: Staying Within the Speed Limit

There are only so many ways you may establish a hand-held console table for us ascend anthropoid with two hand and 10 digits . Even view that , theAcer Nitro Blaze 7feels too familiar despite itsovert slipstream car artistic . I’ve finally had some rightful hands - on meter with the a la mode in a develop inclination of humble - form gaming PCs , and I ’m leave wondering how this handheld could peradventure match up to theSteam Deck OLEDorAsus ROG Ally X. I ’m disquieted it may take the same , spiraling pathMSI did with the Claw .

It feels better in the hired man than I originally assumed it might establish on pictures alone . The grip conform to the hand pretty well , and there are no hot billet on your palm on the rounded corner . The joysticks find less slight than theLenovo Legion Goor the original Asus ROG Ally . They have more exercising weight to them , more like the Steam Deck OLED or ROG Ally X. The triggers feel still along the curve ball of the finger , and they are hall effect . The stick , unfortunately , do n’t admit Hall upshot detector .

There ’s a handy dedicated keyboard button , so there ’s no need for a shortcut . In helping hand , the backwash car decals are n’t too distract . Everything you ask for a handheld is there , but that ’s when things get uncanny . There are no back buttons to speak of . I asked Acer why they went that route , and reps could n’t exactly say . I do n’t use back buttons , but I know pot of gamers who do .

The Acer Nitro Blaze 7 has an option for 2 TB of SSD storage, though we still don’t know what that might cost.

The Acer Nitro Blaze 7 has an option for 2 TB of SSD storage, though we still don’t know what that might cost.Kyle Barr / Gizmodo

The build - in Acer Game Space software system needs a lot of oeuvre . you’re able to bring up a control dialog box to vary some option , like curb VRR between 60 and 144 Hz refresh rate , setting up AMD FSR , or turning on the simple functioning monitor . There are no immediate options for see to it TDP or rooter speeds . The launcher menu presently only has two tabs : games and launchers . That ’s it for option .

The software will hopefully ameliorate before release . When is that , just ? Still to be determined . ditto mark with any sort of pricing detail or even whether consumers will have dissimilar specs options at different cost levels . A 2 TB computer memory alternative would indeed be expensive , but Acer told me they ’re considering how it will compare to the high - end competition . While you may regain some non - mainstream handhelds from the like of Ayaneo for $ 1,000 or more , the Ally X and MSI Claw are the most expensive offer at $ 800 MSRP .

Beyond any of that , I ’m most interested about performance . or else of using the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme mobile processor like Asus or Lenovo , it opted for the AMD Ryzen 8840HS . In everything but name , it ’s the same crisp . I do n’t eff why Acer prefer for the specific Hawk Point check , and the company did n’t have an answer for me when I asked .

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Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo

Acer had two relatively intensive games track down on its demonstration units . In Horizon Forbidden West , it was scantily contain steady at just above 30 or 40 FPS on low options . In Shadow of the Tomb Raider , it was jump between 45 and high L in some areas . Now , we should keep in mind these handhelds were running continuously for 60 minutes on end . This was n’t the environment for any kind of true bench mark . At the same meter , Acer pick out these games for its press demonstration . The company would know first of any issues with its machine

Despite VRR and a higher - than - average refresh rate , the display is just about equivalence . At soap brightness , the screen is bright enough for a dim room , but an IPS LCD wo n’t compete with Valve ’s OLED for optical calibre or Legion Go ’s large screen with a wider color gamut .

There ’s only a 50 Whr assault and battery , which seems intermediate , though paltry compared to the Ally X ’s 80 Whr battery . It ’s tantamount to the Steam Deck OLED , though that organisation ’s screen is supposedly more vigor efficient , giving it more longevity , which Acer wo n’t benefit from . There ’s metre for things to switch , but it will be hard to win a race when challenger are so far ahead .

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