Gamers urged to ignite their gaming experience with Acer's latest mini PC, modeled after a toy race car.
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Hanging back in a race isn't always a bad thing. It means you can observe your competitors and profit from their mishaps, then make your move for victory. Acer believes its strategy to challenge the Steam Deck is with the Nitro Blaze 7. This device arrives with a distinct, racecar-influenced design and the most 4/20-friendly names we've seen for the emerging world of handheld gaming PCs. Beyond its eccentric look, the device's main selling point as a Windows 11 handheld gaming rig is its astounding 2 TB of SSD storage.
First, let's talk about the design. It boasts a form factor echoing an Asus ROG Ally X mixed with a Lenovo Legion Go. It sports a flat face, and a 7-inch IPS LCD touchscreen at a resolution of 1920 x 1080. Unlike more ergonomic handhelds we've used, there's a steep dropoff leading into the grips, somewhat resembling the Legion Go. The backplate features two rounded vents that look like a car's speed gauges. The front plate also dons sporty car decals, as if the "Nitro" moniker wasn't enough to evoke the speed of a hot rod.
Both the Legion Go and Asus ROG Ally max out with the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme CPU, but Acer is opting for a slightly different approach with the Hawk Point era AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS. In terms of specs, the two chips are quite comparable. Both support the same RDNA 3 integrated graphics. The 8840HS supports up to 30 W TDP, like the Z1 Extreme. In addition, Acer asserts the chip has 39 total TOPs for AI performance in its CPU, though I'm struggling to find a legitimate use case for AI processing on such a small, gaming-centric machine.
Other than its CPU, the device runns on 16 GB of LPDDR5X RAM. The 7-inch display is capable of refresh rates up to 144 Hz and features AMD FreeSync. While it's hard to beat Valve's OLED display on its latest handheld, at least it offers a good baseline. Regarding battery life, it boasts a 50Wh battery, equivalent to the Steam Deck OLED, but falls short compared to the Ally X's 80Wh battery.
The controls are standard, from the face buttons to the d-pad and left and right hall effect triggers. There's no trackpad; surprisingly, there are no rear bumpers, as found on most other big-name PC makers' handhelds. Instead, there's a specific button to open Acer Game Space, a new app resembling Lenovo's Legion Space or Armoury Crate that allows users to bypass Windows and quickly access their games.
The handheld weighs in at 670 grams, or 1.4 pounds. This is just slightly lighter than the Ally X and a tad heavier than the original ROG Ally or Steam Deck OLED. It's considerably lighter than the Legion Go with its attached controllers, but then again, most handhelds are. With dimensions of just over 10 inches wide, it's going to be slightly more compact than an Ally or Deck, which could be a plus for portability.
The device does come with two USB-C ports and a microSD card slot, in addition to its massive 2 TB of storage. My advice for any handheld shopper is to grab the minimum SSD you think you'll need to play your games on the go, then pick up a less expensive microSD card on sale for your more casual titles or for emulation. Historically, you'll see 2 TB on the higher-end gaming laptop or desktop configurations for gamers who want to avoid uninstalling games as often as possible.
Acer previously informed Tom's Guide it was "watching" the gaming handheld space. This statement seems rather ironic, considering the Nitro Blaze's racecar design doesn't stand out in any meaningful way, save for its larger SSD. I'm hoping to develop a greater appreciation for its design over time, but I'm not sure the specs are concealing something more significant.
- Acer's strategy to challenge the Steam Deck with the Nitro Blaze 7 is not just about its distinctive design resembling a racecar, but also its technological standout feature: a 2 TB SSD, a significant advantage in the handheld gaming PC market.
- The Nitro Blaze 7's design echoes the Asus ROG Ally X and Lenovo Legion Go, with a flat face, 7-inch IPS LCD touchscreen, and a backplate featuring rounded vents reminiscent of a car's speed gauges.
- In terms of technology, the Nitro Blaze 7 uses the AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS, a chip that, while comparable to the Ryzen Z1 Extreme in specs, offers 39 total TOPs for AI performance in its CPU, a potential advantage in the realm of small, gaming-centric machines.
- Despite its ambitious tech offerings, the future of the Nitro Blaze 7 remains uncertain, as its racecar design does not stand out in any meaningful way compared to competitors, save for its larger SSD storage.
