The market for portable consoles running Windows 11 is expanding rapidly. Valve kicked things off with the Steam Deck, and Lenovo and Asus followed up with their entries, the Legion Go and ROG Ally. Now, Acer is joining the fray with its new device, the Acer Nitro Blaze 7. As hardware for these portable consoles continues to advance, Acer aims to make a significant impact with this latest offering.
| Acer Nitro Blaze 7 | |
| Screen | 7 inches Resolution 1920 x 1080 Refresh rate 144Hz 10-point touch panel |
| Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS 8 cores, 16 threads @ 3.3-5.1 GHz |
| Graphics | AMD Radeon 780M |
| Memory | 16GB LPDDR5X |
| Storage | Up to 2TB NVMe SSD |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.3 Wi-Fi 6E |
| Ports | 1x USB-C 4 (data, DisplayPort and charging) 1x microSD card reader |
| Battery | 50.04 Wh |
| Dimensions | 256 × 113.5 × 22.5 mm |
| Weight | 670 g |
| Operating system | Windows 11 24H2 |
Acer Nitro Blaze 7 stands out for its screen: 144 Hz and FreeSync Premium
The design of the Acer Nitro Blaze 7 isn’t groundbreaking, as portable consoles typically follow a similar format. It resembles the Steam Deck and Lenovo Legion Go, with familiar controls on either side of the seven-inch screen, including buttons, joysticks, a D-pad, and triggers on top.
The screen itself, while compact, features an IPS panel with Full HD resolution and a 144 Hz refresh rate, and it supports FreeSync to sync the refresh rate with the frame rate of your games. However, the brightness is somewhat limited at 500 nits, and the 7ms latency might affect online gaming performance.
The AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS brings AI, power, and graphics
The new Acer Nitro Blaze 7 comes equipped with AMD’s latest technology, featuring the AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS CPU. This processor is one of AMD’s newest offerings for ultraportable computers and gaming consoles, striking a balance between power, graphics, and AI capabilities.
The Ryzen 7 8840HS is built on AMD’s Zen 4 architecture uses a 4nm FinFET process from TSMC. It boasts 8 cores and 16 threads, making it well-suited for games that leverage multi-core processing.
For graphics, the Nitro Blaze 7 includes the AMD Radeon 780M, which has 12 RDNA 3 cores. This GPU is similar to the one in the Ryzen Z1 Extreme used in the Lenovo Legion Go and Asus ROG Ally X, so its performance is well-established.
The AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS in the Acer Nitro Blaze 7 is quite similar to the Ryzen Z1 Extreme, with the main difference being the inclusion of a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) that offers up to 16 TOPS. While this NPU doesn’t turn the device into a Copilot+ PC, it enhances GPU performance by aiding in tasks like Radeon Super Resolution scaling.
The Nitro Blaze 7 is equipped with 16 GB of LPDDR5x RAM and offers storage options up to 2 TB with NVMe SSDs. Additionally, there’s support for expanding storage via microSD cards.
Enough connectivity to turn the Acer Nitro Blaze 7 into a desktop computer
The Acer Nitro Blaze 7 makes the most of its compact size by offering robust connectivity options. With a USB-C 4 port, you can connect a monitor and charge the device simultaneously, transforming it into a desktop gaming console.
The console also features WiFi 6E, which minimizes latency in online games, and Bluetooth 5.3 for connecting peripherals like an Xbox controller. This setup ensures that the Nitro Blaze 7 provides a seamless gaming experience both on the go and at home.
Windows 11 and Acer Game Space are the focus of the software
Unlike the Steam Deck, the Acer Nitro Blaze 7 runs on Windows 11. This choice ensures broad compatibility with most games and popular launchers like Steam and Epic Games, making it a strong contender in the portable console market.
To enhance the user experience, Acer has included its software, Acer Game Space PC. This custom launcher can be controlled directly with the console’s buttons, allowing users to access games without navigating through the Windows 11 interface. This move helps bridge the gap while Microsoft optimizes the Windows UI for portable consoles.
Acer Nitro Blaze 7 Price and Availability
Acer has yet to announce the official price for the Nitro Blaze 7, but it is expected to be in direct competition with the Asus ROG Ally X, which starts at 899 euros. The release date for the device has also not been confirmed, so we’ll need to wait for further details on when it will be available for purchase.
