A new challenger has entered the handheld gaming PC scene, as Acer is throwing its proverbial hat into the ring with the Nitro 7. Announced this week at IFA 2024, the Acer Nitro Blaze 7 has some great hardware that makes it an attractive alternative to the other handhelds on the market.
Acer Nitro 7
The Nitro Blaze 7 is equipped with a seven-inch 1080p screen that has a 144Hz refresh rate, and it uses a Ryzen 7 8840HS chip with a Radeon 780M integrated GPU. It also has 16GB of RAM, a 50-watt-hour battery, and up to 2TB of SSD storage. The processor it uses is one that you’d typically find in high-end gaming laptops, so this device could potentially boast better performance when compared to its rivals, but that could drain ihe battery very quickly.
For the controls, there’s an asymmetrical analog stick layout, the usual face buttons, shoulder buttons, and the typical spread of shoulder and trigger buttons. There aren’t any back buttons–an odd omission considering that most PC handhelds are equipped with them.
It uses a Windows 11 operating system, and while it’s not ideal, this does provide flexibility as users can download games from Steam, the Epic Games Store, GOG, and several other marketplaces. Here’s a closer look at the relevant specs from Acer:
Operating SystemWindows 11 HomeProcessorsAMD Ryzen 7 8840HS (8 core, 16 threads, 24 MB cache, 5.1 GHz max boost). Supports Ryzen AIGraphicsAMD Radeon 780M (Up to 2.7 GHz, AMD RDNA 3 12 CUs)Screen7″ Full HD (1920×1080) IPS Display, 144 Hz, 500 nits, 10-point touch panel, 7 ms response timeMemory16GB LPDDRTx SDRAM, 7500 MT/sStorageUp to 2 TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 x4 Gen 4 SSDPorts2 x USBR 4 ports, Micro SD Card (SD 4.0)Battery50.04 Wh Li-Polymer Battery. 65 W Type-C AC AdapterWeight670 grams
A release date or pricing hasn’t been revealed yet, but if you are in the market for a handheld PC that uses a Windows operating system specifically, there are several options. The Asus ROG Ally X is easily the best of the bunch, as the Nitro 7 pales in comparison when compared to it. Although it’s a pricy device at $800, this model features 24GB of RAM, a chunky 80Wh battery, and several improvements over the previous models.
The 2023 Asus ROG Ally units are still pretty decent in their own right, especially the Z1 Extreme version. This one is more affordable at $650, although it doesn’t have the best battery life. For an even bigger savings, the base model is $500 but it does lose some of the hardware power that the Z1 Extreme has. There’s also the Lenovo Legion Go, a rock-solid machine that has been steadily improving since launch thanks to a few updates. It’s a big system that has an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, a 1600p screen, and a Switch influence in the form of detachable controllers.
The 512GB model is on sale for $589 (normally $700) at Amazon, while the 1TB version is priced at $700. Finally, there’s the MSI Claw, a handheld PC that is admittedly the weakest of the bunch. While it has very impressive specs, it doesn’t use them to their full potential and it doesn’t have the best battery life. It’s not the worst handheld on the market, but the ROG Ally and the Legion Go do outperform it significantly. You can save some cash on one if you feel like taking a gamble, as Amazon is offering the 512GB version for $569, which is a substantial discount from its usual $700 price.
Handheld gaming PC deals
Lenovo Legion Go 512GB at Amazon — $589 ($700) | $600 at Best BuyLenovo Legion Go 1TB at Best Buy — $750MSI Claw – Intel Core Ultra 7, 512GB SSD at Amazon –$569 ($700) | $650 at Best BuyMSI Claw – Intel Core Ultra 7, 1TB SSD at Best Buy — $700 ($750)MSI Claw – Intel Core Ulta 5, 512GB SSD at Best Buy — $650Asus ROG Ally X at Best Buy — $800Asus ROG Ally (AMD Ryzen Z1) at Best Buy — $500Asus ROG Ally (AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme) at Best Buy — $650
