The Acer Aspire 1 is an excellent budget-friendly option for general use, such as web browsing, word processing, and video streaming, with a decent screen for everyday tasks. It's lightweight and has a silent, fanless design, making it a good choice for those who prioritize quiet operation and portability over performance. However, it falls short for more demanding tasks like gaming, 3D rendering, or engineering work due to its basic processor and lack of a dedicated GPU.
On the other hand, the Lenovo LOQ 16i offers a significant performance boost with its more powerful Intel i7 processor and dedicated Nvidia RTX 4050 graphics card, making it suitable for gaming, machine learning, and engineering tasks. It also has a higher-quality IPS display with better color accuracy and a higher refresh rate, which is beneficial for fast-motion content and gaming. The LOQ 16i is slightly heavier and larger, but it still maintains a fair level of portability. It's a better all-around laptop if you're willing to invest more for enhanced performance and a superior display. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Acer Aspire 1
Good portability
Advantages of the Lenovo LOQ 16i
Good for general use
Good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Good for software development
Good for content creation
Good overall display quality
Good overall build quality
Very good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
5.8/10
7.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
TN
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
200.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
329.0 nits
6.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
6.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
7.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.3/10
The Lenovo LOQ 16i is good for general use, while the Acer Aspire 1 is poor.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Gaming and AI
5.6/10
7.5/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.0/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The Lenovo LOQ 16i is good for gaming and AI, while the Acer Aspire 1 is poor.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Engineering and Design
5.5/10
7.9/10
3.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.9/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.0/10
4.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo LOQ 16i is good for engineering and design, while the Acer Aspire 1 is poor.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Content Creation
5.9/10
7.5/10
3.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
4.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
TN
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Lenovo LOQ 16i is good for content creation, while the Acer Aspire 1 is poor.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
6.1/10
7.5/10
3.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.9/10
4.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
6.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Lenovo LOQ 16i is good for software development, while the Acer Aspire 1 is only fair.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Screen Quality
5.2/10
7.2/10
15.6in
SIZE
16.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
TN
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
200.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
329.0 nits
The Lenovo LOQ 16 has a better screen than the Acer Aspire 1 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Portability
Good
Fair
15.6in
SIZE
16.0in
4.1 lbs
WEIGHT
5.7 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Acer Aspire 1 has good portability, while the Lenovo LOQ 16i has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
5.5/10
7.4/10
The Lenovo LOQ 16i has good build quality, while the Acer Aspire 1 has poor build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$244
$1,360
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Acer Aspire 1 has a price of $244 and the Lenovo LOQ 16i costs $1,360.
"There are no surprises and nothing's extraordinary here but this laptop's price. For those in need of an inexpensive Windows laptop for undemanding tasks, though, the Acer Aspire 1 offers just enough to get the basics done and a larger screen to do them on."
"Gaming laptops with an RTX 4060 are available starting from about 1,000 Euros (~$1,060), even in 16-inch format. For the supposedly affordable Lenovo LOQ 16 (1,500 Euros, ~$1,591), the manufacturer particularly saves in the equipment and materials compared to the more expensive Legion series. In addition, the LOQ is slightly heavier and more bulky. What remains is anything but a laptop full of difficult compromises. Instead, this is a more than solid gaming laptop that focusses on the 3D performance.Q is slightly heavier and more bulky."
Get a great deal on the Acer Aspire 1 or the Lenovo LOQ 16i
About Acer
Acer is a prominent Taiwanese electronics brand which makes a wide range of laptops, with multiple product lines catering to personal use, gaming, and business use. They are renowned for having exceptional value for money, as they frequently offer good specifications at a lower price than other manufacturers.
About Lenovo
Lenovo is a Chinese technology company, and one of the largest personal computer vendor. They are well known for a variety of technology products, including laptops. Their consumer series include their entry level IdeaPad and LOQ series and mid-to-high-end Yoga and Legion series. On the business-oriented side, their series include their entry-level ThinkBook series and mid-to-high-end ThinkPad series. Lenovo laptops offer strong performance for reasonable prices, and are often on sale.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
By the numbers
380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
123,795
Recommendations made
26,823
Consumer hours saved
About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.
Chandradeep Chowdhury
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
Craig Russell
Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.