Here we go again. Another vendor has decided to make their own PC gaming handheld and this time it's Acer with the Nitro Blaze 7.
It is once again using Windows, as most vendors shy away from Linux still apart from Valve with the SteamOS-powered Steam Deck and OrangePi Neo with Manjaro. And again, it's another hardware vendor attempting to deal with the mess that is Windows with their own "Acer Game Space app".
With an AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS processor, AMD Radeon 780M Graphics and a 1080p 144 Hz refresh rate FreeSync IPS touch panel it sounds like a pretty nice unit overall. However with no trackpads and no back buttons, I imagine plenty will be writing it off for something else already.
Specifications:
|
Product Name |
Acer Nitro Blaze 7 |
|
Model |
GN771 |
|
Operating System |
Windows 11 Home |
|
Processors |
AMD Ryzen™ 7 8840HS (8-Core, 16-threads, 24 MB cache, up to 5.1 GHz max boost) AMD Ryzen AI, Supports up to total 38 AI TOPS |
|
Graphics |
AMD Radeon™ 780M (Up to 2.7 GHz, AMD RDNA™ 3 12 CUs) |
|
Screen |
7" Full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS Display, 144 Hz, 500 nits, 10-point touch panel, 7 ms response time, 100% sRGB, AMD FreeSync™ Premium |
|
Memory |
16GB LPDDR5x SDRAM, 7500 MT/s (onboard) |
|
Storage |
Up to 2 TB M.2 NVMe™ PCIe® 4.0 x4 Gen 4 SSD |
|
I/O Ports |
2 x USB4® (Type-C 40 Gbps), Micro SD Card (SD 4.0) |
|
Control and Input |
A B X Y buttons, D-Pad, LB/RB Bumpers, LS/RS Sticks, LT/RT Hall effect triggers, Power button with fingerprint reader, volume button, view button, menu button, Acer Game Space button, Pop-up keyboard button, Acer quick menu button, Mode switch button, |
|
Audio |
Speaker: 2 x 1W Microphone: 2 x D-Mic Audio Jack: 3.5 mm CTIA |
|
Battery, Battery life |
50.04 Wh Li-Polymer battery |
|
Power Supply |
65 W Type-C AC Adapter |
|
WLAN and Bluetooth |
Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 |
|
Software |
Acer Game Space, PC Game Pass (3 months) |
|
Dimensions |
25.6 (W) x 11.35 (D) x 2.25 (H) cm |
|
Weight |
670 g |
Note: their official press release says 39 AI TOPS, but AMD's own specifications for the processor say 38 AI TOPS as does Acer's product page. So I assume Acer had an error in the press release specifications.
There's no price, region availability or release date being shared just yet. They're jumping into a still quite small market against the Steam Deck LCD and Steam Deck OLED, ASUS ROG Ally and Ally X, Lenovo Legion Go, ZOTAC Zone, various devices from AYANEO, GPD and others I've forgotten. It's a crowded market already.
Apart from being just another handheld, I'm not really seeing anything to make it properly stand out. It's going to need a seriously competitive price considering the competition.
The question is: how long will it be from release to Linux working on it? We have many great Linux distributions designed for handhelds now including Bazzite, ChimeraOS, HoloISO and the latest SteamFork.
Direct Link
A shame.
Last edited by Bumadar on 4 September 2024 at 2:46 pm UTC
QuoteThere's no price, region availability or release date being shared just yet.But it will have a crappy UI. That's a given.
Am not saying that as a linux fanboy either, I wouldn't recommend a desktop distro either.
Valve spent all that time and effort on the deck UI for a reason!
!TO MAKE IT USABLE AND EASY!
TheRiddick Sep 4
Windows is going to continue to get worse and worse for handhelds as they keep introducing more 'services' to the payload, especially Microsofts big shift to everything 'online' AI assistance stuff.
Last edited by TheRiddick on 4 September 2024 at 3:10 pm UTC
pleasereadthemanual Sep 4
QuoteIt is once again using WindowsAnd I have already stopped caring.
the Nitro will have better performance but at the cost of battery life and at that price I'd rather just get a laptop or a deck, and that's not even talking about the ecosystem.
- Windows and the “I hate that type of d-pad” type d-pad. Don't want that.
- It looks like an Acer device. Don't want that either.
Mohandevir Sep 4
This said, when fully supported by a Linux handheld distro... I'm so fed up with Asus, I would give it a shot first, but I'll wait for the Steam Deck 2.
Patreon
PayPal
See more from me