The HP OMEN 15 and the Acer Nitro 5 are similar in several ways. But it is the details of each that make the difference when purchasing one over the other. Both are excellent gaming laptops, but you should look into the specs to know which is best for your gaming experience. To help you with that, we will be looking at both the HP OMEN 15 and Acer Nitro 5 in today’s review. Let’s get going.
Design
Who Presents Better?
The HP OMEN 15 is the lighter of both laptops at 2.63 kg, while the Nitro 5 comes at 2.7kg. The build quality of the OMEN feels better as well, as the Nitro’s all-plastic design feels a bit cheaper and more flexible. The OMEN is smaller in all ramifications, and you can notice it in depth, while the Nitro feels a bit bigger and chunkier.
Both screens have the same 15.6-inch 1080p 144Hz screens, and each are available with a 1440p option. Neither has an MUX switch to disable Optimus, but the OMEN has a FreeSync while the Nitro does not. These laptops flex the keyboards and lids, but the OMEN has a more high end feel than the Nitro.
Each laptop has an array of port choices:
The OMEN
- Ethernet port
- 3.5mm audio jack
- One USB Type-A port
- Power input
- HDMI 2.1
- SD Card Slot
- Air exhaust
- USB Type-C port
- Mini display port
The Nitro
- Ethernet port
- 3.5mm audio jack
- Two USB Type-A port
- Kensington lock
- Air exhaust vent
- USB Type-C
- HDMI 2.1 display port
Winner: OMEN 15
Why?: The OMEN’s lighter build, varied port selection, premium feel leave the Nitro looking bland by comparison.
Display
Which Looks Better?
When it comes to color gamut, the OMEN was ahead, but the Acer Nitro 5 has better contrast. The OMEN was also able to get brighter at maximum brightness. The Nitro could not make it to 300 nits, but it is brighter at lower levels.
The OMEN was also ahead when screen response time at more than twice as fast as the Nitro 5.
Winner: By a slight margin: OMEN 15
Why?: The faster response times, with the higher color gamut, gave the OMEN 15 a slight edge when we thought about it’s need in gaming.
Keyboard and Touchpad
Who has the Better Feel and Touch?
The keyboard on the OMEN has one level of white backlighting, while the Nitro 5 has four levels of RGB lighting with four zones for customization. The OMEN does not have a Numpad while the Nitro does. Typing experience felt the same on both laptops.
The precision touchpads were alright, but I prefer the larger one on the OMEN 15 as it felt a little less loose and was not loud to click.
Winner: Nitro 15
Why?: The customization and size of the keyboard on the Nitro 15 made up for the smaller touchpad.
Performance
Who is More Powerful?
Both have the AMD 6 Core Ryzen 5 5600h CPU, and a NVIDIA’s RTX 3060 graphics.
The OMEN let us swap between the balanced and performance modes, while the Nitro does not customize performance modes. Due to higher power limits, the OMEN was ahead in clock speeds, both for CPU and GPU. Although the GPUs ran up to the same 95-watt limit, the OMEN could boost up to 100 watts with the CPU less loaded up.
OMEN comes with a 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD, while the Nitro comes with a 512GB drive. The Nitro s keyboard shortcuts for screen brightness, keyboard brightness, and volume worked, while the OMEN did not.
Winner: OMEN 15
Why?: The options for optimization was too much for the Nitro to compete with.
Battery
Who Lasts Longer?
The battery in the OMEN 15 is about 24 percent larger in terms of watt battery power compared to the Nitro. The OMEN lasted longer than the Nitro battery in the YouTube playback test and a bit more in the game test.
Winner: OMEN 15
Why?: It’s size and long lasting nature made it clear that the OMEN came out on top.
Final Verdict
Considering all things, I think the HP OMEN 15 is a better gaming laptop. If you didn’t get it you can sell your laptop to us for cash and buy the one you like. The Nitro 5 is generally one of the more affordable options available, but in this case, the OMEN is not all that more expensive. The OMEN does not have a Numpad, like the Nitro. But compared to the aggressive gamer feel of the Nitro, the OMEN has a more professional design.
The OMEN has a better screen with FreeSync that gets brighter with a better color gamut and is twice as quick in response time. The performance on most applications was generally better on the OMEN due to its higher power limits, plus it has more control over the performance through the software. The OMEN’s battery life is better as the Nitro has a smaller battery due to its 2.5-inch drive bay.
The OMEN 15 has all of these advantages while being smaller and lighter, and that is why I think the OMEN 15 is better than the Nitro 5..
For more info on the latest tech or replacing your old tech, visit our blog.
