A brand new challenger has entered the hand-held gaming PC scene, as Acer is throwing its proverbial hat into the ring with the Nitro 7. Introduced this week at IFA 2024, the Acer Nitro Blaze 7 has some nice {hardware} that makes it a sexy various to the opposite handhelds available on the market.
The Nitro Blaze 7 is supplied with a seven-inch 1080p display screen that has a 144Hz refresh charge, and it makes use of a Ryzen 7 8840HS chip with a Radeon 780M built-in GPU. It additionally has 16GB of RAM, a 50-watt-hour battery, and as much as 2TB of SSD storage. The processor it makes use of is one that you just’d sometimes discover in high-end gaming laptops, so this system might probably boast higher efficiency when in comparison with its rivals, however that would drain ihe battery in a short time.
For the controls, there’s an asymmetrical analog stick structure, the standard face buttons, shoulder buttons, and the everyday unfold of shoulder and set off buttons. There are not any again buttons–an odd omission contemplating that the majority PC handhelds are geared up with them.
It makes use of a Home windows 11 working system, and whereas it isn’t superb, this does present flexibility as customers can obtain video games from Steam, the Epic Video games Retailer, GOG, and a number of other different marketplaces. Here is a better take a look at the related specs from Acer:
| Working System | Home windows 11 Residence |
| Processors | AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS (8 core, 16 threads, 24 MB cache, 5.1 GHz max enhance). Helps Ryzen AI |
| Graphics | AMD Radeon 780M (As much as 2.7 GHz, AMD RDNA 3 12 CUs) |
| Display screen | 7″ Full HD (1920×1080) IPS Show, 144 Hz, 500 nits, 10-point contact panel, 7 ms response time |
| Reminiscence | 16GB LPDDRTx SDRAM, 7500 MT/s |
| Storage | As much as 2 TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 x4 Gen 4 SSD |
| Ports | 2 x USBR 4 ports, Micro SD Card (SD 4.0) |
| Battery | 50.04 Wh Li-Polymer Battery. 65 W Sort-C AC Adapter |
| Weight | 670 grams |
A launch date or pricing hasn’t been revealed but, however in case you are out there for a handheld PC that makes use of a Home windows working system particularly, there are a number of choices. The Asus ROG Ally X is well the most effective of the bunch, because the Nitro 7 pales compared when in comparison with it. Though it is a pricy system at $800, this mannequin options 24GB of RAM, a chunky 80Wh battery, and a number of other enhancements over the earlier fashions.
The 2023 Asus ROG Ally items are nonetheless fairly first rate in their very own proper, particularly the Z1 Excessive model. This one is extra inexpensive at $650, though it does not have the most effective battery life. For a fair greater financial savings, the bottom mannequin is $500 however it does lose a few of the {hardware} energy that the Z1 Excessive has. There’s additionally the Lenovo Legion Go, a rock-solid machine that has been steadily enhancing since launch thanks to some updates. It is a huge system that has an AMD Ryzen Z1 Excessive processor, a 1600p display screen, and a Change affect within the type of removable controllers.
The 512GB mannequin is on sale for $589 (usually $700) at Amazon, whereas the 1TB model is priced at $700. Lastly, there’s the MSI Claw, a handheld PC that’s admittedly the weakest of the bunch. Whereas it has very spectacular specs, it does not use them to their full potential and it does not have the most effective battery life. It is not the worst handheld available on the market, however the ROG Ally and the Legion Go do outperform it considerably. It can save you some money on one should you really feel like taking of venture, as Amazon is offering the 512GB version for $569, which is a considerable low cost from its typical $700 value.