Acer Aspire V15 Nitro Black Edition VN7-591G-74LK / 74SK Slim Gaming Laptops

The Acer Aspire V15 Nitro Black Edition VN7-591G-74LK and VN7-591G-74SK are 15.6-inch gaming laptops with slim design. With prices starting at mere $1,100, the Nitro Black Edition is a serious competitor against the already available gaming notebooks with similar components and slim form factor, such as the popular Lenovo Y50 or Asus G551.

The Nitro gaming rigs are based on the upper-mid-range Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M 2GB dedicated video card, paired with the speedy i7-4710HQ quad-core processor. All the specs are identical instead of RAM size and data storage solution. The VN7-591G-74LK has 8GB of RAM and a 1-Terabyte 5,400rpm hard drive, whereas the VN7-591G-74SK sports 16GB of RAM and a 256GB M.2 solid state drive to accompany the same 1TB HDD. These goodies add around $200 to the overall price, but they do offer a great value for the extra money. Both laptops lack DVD optical drives.

This pair of Acer Aspire V15 Nitro Black Edition models has 1080p display resolution and In-Plane Switching (IPS) wide viewing angle technology. IPS is Nitro’s advantage over the competing counterparts by other manufacturers. The V15 will be also available soon with a 4K display resolution and a 17.3-inch variant is already present on the market.

Touchscreen is not supported, so data input relies on the backlit chiclet-style keyboard with numeric pad and trackpad with integrated click buttons.

For audio experience, the Nitro notebooks include four speakers enhanced by Dolby Digital Plus Home Theater surround sound technologies.

Other notable features are a 720p web camera, Wi-Fi 802.11n wireless, Gigabit LAN, Bluetooth, HDMI video out, three USB 3.0 ports, and a media card reader.

Considering it incorporates powerful components which are usually packed in thick cases, the Aspire Nitro is quite thin with a profile measuring 1″. It’s not heavy for a gaming notebook too, weighing 5.3 pounds, but it doesn’t stand out with greater portability against the aforementioned slim gaming-class competitors.

“Using industry leading soft touch NIL (Nanoimprint Lithography) technology on its cover, it creates a unique tactile effect that you can truly feel. Moreover, the beautifully curved hinge design ensures the screen and the operating area are visually balanced for a smooth appearance,” the product description says.

According to Acer, the battery life on the VN7-591G-74LK and VN7-591G-74SK is “up to four hours”. Presumably with light computing tasks involved, not heavy gaming.

Specifications of the Acer Aspire V15 Nitro Black Edition VN7-591G-74LK / 74SK

Here are the specs of the Acer Aspire V15 Nitro Black Edition VN7-591G-74LK / 74SK with descriptions of its features. For comparison against other laptops, you can use the "Compare Specs" button.

Brand	Acer
Screen Size	15.6-inch This is by far the most popular laptop screen size. It provides a lot of screen real estate, while avoiding bulkiness of the 17.3" laptops.
Screen Resolution	1920x1080 pixels Full HD Full HD is the most common laptop screen resolution today. It provides a good image sharpness and a decent amount of space on the display for the user interface and programs. However, it isn't as good as the top-tier 4K Ultra HD.
Touchscreen	No This laptop doesn't support touchscreen input.
Other Display Specs	IPS type Displays based on IPS technology provide much wider viewing angles than the budget-class TN screens.
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core i7-4710HQ 4th Gen quad-core 2.5-3.5GHz 6MB cache (User Benchmark CPU score: 57)
Graphics (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M 2GB GDDR5 Dedicated Video Card
System Memory (RAM) Size	8GB RAM The 8GB RAM size is the standard one in 2023. It provides comfortable multi-tasking for the most home and office users. 16GB RAM 16GB and greater RAM sizes are recommended for heavy multitasking, gaming, and specialized programs that require a lot of RAM.
Data Storage	1000GB (1TB) HDD 1TB is an excellent storage capacity, but HDD is a slow type of storage. 1000GB (1TB) HDD + 256GB SSD This is an excellent capacity, but the HDD portion is a slow type of storage.
DVD Optical Drive	None
Keyboard & Input	Backlit keyboard with dedicated number pad The keyboard has backlit keys and a separate numeric pad on the right side of the keyboard. Touchpad with click buttons built into the surface The left and right click buttons are built into the surface of the touchpad, as opposed to separate physical buttons.
Speakers & Audio	Stereo speakers As usual, the device features a pair of built-in stereo speakers.
Camera	Front-facing web camera Laptops usually feature a frontal webcam located on the display bezel. This laptop is no exception.
Wi-Fi Wireless	802.11N 802.11N is an old Wi-Fi standard, precursor of the 802.11AC and the latest 802.11AX with improved data transfer speeds and connectivity. 802.11N is rarely used in modern laptops.
Ethernet Network Port	Yes This laptop has an Ethernet LAN port for wired internet and networking connectivity.
Mobile broadband (4G LTE)	No
Bluetooth	Yes This laptop has a built-in Bluetooth module. It enables you to connect the computer to Bluetooth mice and other Bluetooth peripherals, smartphones, and other Bluetooth-equipped devices.
USB Ports	3 x USB 3.0 Three full-size USB Type A ports.
Video Output Ports	1 x HDMI HDMI is a widely used digital video output port. You can find HDMI-in ports on most computer monitors and TVs.
Media Card Reader	SD card reader The laptop has a slot for full-size SD memory cards, used in many digital cameras. You can also use microSD cards with a card adapter.
Battery	"Up to 4 hours" battery life, 3-cell Li-ion 4605 mAh
Weight	5.3 pounds
Height	1"
Width	15.3"
Depth	10.1"
Windows Version	Windows 8.1 Windows 8.1 is eligible for free upgrade to Windows 10 Home. Check Windows.com for more info.
Warranty	1-year A typical laptop warranty.