Image: Acer
Today at IFA in Berlin, Acer introduced the Nitro V 16S, a thin laptop with big gaming power. These days portable gaming laptops are all the rage, especially with hardware getting smaller and cooling systems, well, getting cooler. That said, the Acer Nitro V 16S stands out because of the combination of powerful hardware and a slim design. So let’s dive in and see what all the riff-raff is about.
Build quality, hardware
Acer
For the design, how thin are we talking here? Acer says the Nitro V 16S measures 19.9mm thin and weighs 4.64 pounds. That’s more or less the same as the Razer Blade 16 2025, which we checked out recently. That’s downright sleek for a gaming laptop (they used to be massive–some still are!). Watch out, Razer. Acer’s coming for your three-headed snake.
Under the hood, the Nitro V 16S packs up to an Intel Core 9 270H and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070. Throw in up to 32GB of RAM and 2TB of fast storage, and you’re looking at smooth gameplay and high frame rates in today’s games. It also supports DLSS 4, Nvidia’s neural rendering feature.
Keeping everything nice and frosty (but not too frosty!) is Acer’s dual-fan, quad-intake, and quad-exhaust cooling system. It’s designed to maintain smooth performance while running more visually-demanding games or heavier workloads. If Acer’s cooling system works as promised, then the Nitro V 16S could be both portable and very powerful.
Performance isn’t the only highlight, though. The Nitro V 16S also gives you a few display options.
You’ve got two screens to choose from: a 16-inch 2560×1600 or a 16-inch 1920×1200, both rocking a 180Hz refresh rate. Either way, you’re getting full sRGB coverage, so colors should really pop whether you’re gaming or making art.
This laptop will also include NitroSense, a special software that lets you monitor temperatures, adjust fan speeds, and change power profiles. You can also customize the RGB keyboard lighting if you like a little flair.
The Acer Nitro V 16S is expected to launch in October with a starting price of $999.99.
Author: Ashley Biancuzzo, Associate Editor, PCWorld
Ashley Biancuzzo manages all laptop and Chromebook coverage for PCWorld. She’s been covering consumer tech since 2016, and her work has appeared on USA Today, Reviewed, Polygon, Kotaku, StarWars.com, and Nerdist. In her spare time, she enjoys playing video games, reading science fiction, and hanging out with her rescue greyhound.