Acer Nitro Acer Nitro 60 Desktop Computer Review

The Acer Nitro 60 is a strong, sensible gaming desktop built around a fantastic CPU and a capable RTX 5060 GPU. It excels at 1440p gaming and offers an easy upgrade path. The 16GB of RAM is its weak point, so plan to add more. With prices varying by $400, snagging this near $1400 makes it a terrific value. If you want a no-fuss performer you can grow with, this is it.

The Acer Nitro 60 is a solid, no-nonsense gaming desktop that gets the fundamentals right. It's not trying to win any design awards or cram into a tiny case. Instead, it's a straightforward tower built around a powerful 14th Gen Intel Core i7 processor and the new NVIDIA RTX 5060, promising a great 1440p gaming experience without a ton of fuss.

This machine is for the gamer who wants strong out-of-the-box performance but also appreciates the option to tinker later. The chassis has room for more drives and RAM, and the 650W power supply leaves some headroom for a future GPU upgrade. It's a practical choice over flashier, more expensive pre-builts that might lock you into a proprietary ecosystem.

What makes it interesting is the balance. The CPU performance lands in the 79th percentile, which is excellent for gaming and multitasking. But the GPU is a bit more middle-of-the-pack at the 67th percentile. That tells you this is a system built for smooth, high-frame-rate gaming today, with a CPU that won't bottleneck you for years. It's a smart, forward-looking spec sheet.

Let's talk numbers. That Intel Core i7-14700F is a 20-core beast, and in our database, its multi-threaded performance puts it ahead of nearly 80% of desktop CPUs. For gaming, this means you'll have plenty of overhead for streaming, Discord, and a dozen Chrome tabs without your frame rate taking a hit. It's the kind of CPU that makes the system feel snappy and responsive in everything you do.

The RTX 5060 with 8GB of the new GDDR7 memory is the star for gaming. Its performance percentile (67th) might sound modest, but that's against all GPUs, including last-gen flagships. In reality, it's a perfect match for 1440p gaming. You'll max out settings in most current titles and still have DLSS 3.5 and Frame Generation in your back pocket for the most demanding games. The 1TB NVMe SSD, sitting in the 71st percentile, ensures your games and Windows load in a blink.

Here's where the Nitro 60 gets interesting. The price can swing from $1400 to $1799 depending on the retailer. At the lower end, this system is a steal. You're getting a top-tier CPU and a very capable modern GPU for the price some competitors charge for just one of those components. At the higher end, near $1800, you start to rub shoulders with systems that might include more RAM or a better GPU.

Our take? If you can find it for around $1500 or less, the value is exceptional. You're paying for performance where it matters most (the CPU and platform), and you can use the money you saved to immediately bump the RAM to 32GB, which we'd recommend. That $400 spread is huge, so shop aggressively.

Stacked up against the competition, the Nitro 60's philosophy is clear. The HP Omen 45L and Dell Alienware Aurora often come with more brand prestige, flashier designs, and sometimes better customer support. But you almost always pay a premium for that, and you often get locked into more proprietary parts that make upgrading a headache. The Nitro 60 wins on upgrade flexibility and pure price-to-performance.

The Lenovo Legion Tower 5i is a more direct competitor. It often has similar specs. The trade-off usually comes down to momentary deals, the exact configuration offered, and which brand's design you prefer. The MSI MEG Vision X and especially the compact ROG NUC are in a different league price-wise, targeting users who want a specific form factor or extreme performance. For most gamers, the Nitro 60 represents the sensible middle ground: no frills, just solid gaming chops without the boutique price tag.

If you're a competitive esports player chasing 360Hz+ frame rates in games like Valorant or CS2, the RTX 5060 is capable, but you might find a system with a higher-tier GPU (like an RTX 5070) paired with a slightly lesser CPU would deliver more frames for your dollar. Similarly, creative professionals doing heavy video editing, 3D animation, or large-scale code compilation should skip the base model. The 16GB RAM will be a severe bottleneck immediately. Look for a pre-built that starts with 32GB or one where you can customize that upgrade from the factory without a huge markup.

Finally, if you have a tiny desk or need your PC to fit in a specific media cabinet, remember this scored a 53/100 for compactness. It's a full-sized tower. In that case, look at mini-ITX pre-builts or small form factor options, but be prepared to pay more for the engineering required to fit similar power into a smaller box.

For the gamer building their first serious PC or upgrading from an older system, the Acer Nitro 60 is an easy recommendation, provided you find it at the right price. Its combination of a future-proof CPU and a great 1440p GPU in a standard, upgrade-friendly chassis is a recipe for long-term satisfaction. Just budget for an extra 16GB of RAM right off the bat.

We'd steer power users or hardcore enthusiasts toward something else. If your work involves heavy video editing, 3D rendering, or you demand the absolute highest frames in competitive esports, the GPU might hold you back, and the base RAM configuration is a non-starter. In those cases, look for a system with an RTX 5070 or higher and 32GB of RAM from the get-go, even if it costs a bit more.