The Acer Aspire 3 14 is a budget-friendly option and weighs less, making it quite portable; it's suitable for general use with a long battery life. However, for more intensive tasks such as 3D rendering, machine learning, or engineering, the Acer Swift X 16 with a more powerful processor, better graphics card, and higher screen resolution is better suited despite being more expensive and heavier which may impact its portability. The Swift X 16 also offers a larger and superior quality screen which is beneficial for entertainment and professional work where screen real estate and color accuracy are important. 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 3 14
Very good portability
Advantages of the Acer Swift X 16
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Good overall build quality
Very good speakers
Very good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.0/10
8.2/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
250.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
402.0 nits
9.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
8.0 Hours
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
8.3/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.6/10
The Acer Swift X 16 is very good for general use, while the Acer Aspire 3 14 is good.
The Acer Swift X 16 outperforms the Acer Aspire 3 14 in general use primarily because it has a more powerful CPU and double the RAM, providing faster and smoother performance for a variety of tasks. Additionally, the Swift X 16 offers superior screen quality with a higher resolution and better brightness, coupled with a larger battery capacity and superior build quality, though it is slightly less portable due to increased weight.
Gaming and AI
5.9/10
7.0/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Unknown
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The Acer Swift X 16 is good for gaming and AI, while the Acer Aspire 3 14 is poor.
The Acer Swift X 16 stands out for gaming and 3D tasks thanks to its high-performance Nvidia RTX 3050 GPU and a higher screen refresh rate of 165Hz, offering smoother visuals particularly in fast-paced games compared to the Acer Aspire 3 14, which has a more basic AMD Radeon 610M GPU and a standard refresh rate of 60Hz. While the Aspire is sufficient for casual gaming, the Swift X's superior GPU and refresh rate make it more capable of handling intense gaming and 3D applications, with the CPU and screen quality also contributing positively, albeit to a lesser extent.
Engineering and Design
6.1/10
8.2/10
4.3/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Acer Swift X 16 is very good for engineering and design, while the Acer Aspire 3 14 is only fair.
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
7.2/10
8.3/10
4.3/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Acer Swift X 16 is very good for content creation, while the Acer Aspire 3 14 is good.
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
7.1/10
8.0/10
4.3/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Acer Swift X 16 is very good for software development, while the Acer Aspire 3 14 is good.
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
6.1/10
8.2/10
14.0in
SIZE
16.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
250.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
402.0 nits
The Acer Swift X 16 has a better screen than the Acer Aspire 3 14 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The Acer Aspire 3 14's screen offers enough resolution and brightness for daily tasks and productivity applications, which suffices for general use, but its limited color gamut may not display the nuanced hues needed for professional engineering and design work. Meanwhile, the Acer Swift X 16 provides a sharper and brighter display with greater color accuracy, making it suitable for detailed engineering and design tasks that require a broader range of colors. However, both lack the higher refresh rates that are crucial for smooth visuals in 3D applications and gaming, where fast-moving images are the norm.
Battery
9.5 Hours
8.0 Hours
The Acer Aspire 3 14 has 9.5 hours of battery life. The Acer Swift X 16 has 8 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Portability
Very Good
Good
14.0in
SIZE
16.0in
3.0 lbs
WEIGHT
4.1 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Acer Aspire 3 14 has very good portability, while the Acer Swift X 16 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.2/10
7.6/10
The Acer Swift X 16 has good build quality, while the Acer Aspire 3 14 has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$434
$1,250
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Acer Aspire 3 14 has a price of $434 and the Acer Swift X 16 costs $1,250.
"Acer’s Swift X 16 is an excellent choice for shoppers who want a 16-inch laptop and care more for performance than attractive design or long battery life. The Swift X 16’s gorgeous OLED display, spacious keyboard, and big touchpad make it pleasant to use in basic day-to-day tasks. It also has an AMD Ryzen 9 processor and Nvidia RTX 4050 graphics, which combine to deliver good performance in a wide variety of productivity applications and games. A few minor mistakes, like poorly-placed USB-C ports that lack DisplayPort, will turn off some shoppers, but those who can accept its shortcomings will find the Swift X 16 a versatile daily driver."
Get a great deal on the Acer Aspire 3 14 or the Acer Swift X 16
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.
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.