A comparison of specs, key information, reviews, and best pricing from top retailers
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Updated January 10, 2024·
The Acer Aspire 3 is more budget-friendly and offers good battery life, making it suitable for general use and light tasks. It's lightweight and portable with a decent screen for everyday activities. In contrast, the MSI GP66 Leopard is more expensive but brings significantly better performance for engineering, 3D rendering, and gaming, thanks to its powerful processor and high-end graphics card. However, it's heavier, which affects portability, and has shorter battery life, which means you'll need to charge it more often. The MSI also offers a better keyboard, superior cooling, and a display with a higher refresh rate, which is particularly beneficial for gaming. 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
- Good battery life
Advantages of the MSI GP66 Leopard
- Good for engineering and design
- Good for gaming and AI
- Good overall display quality
- Very good overall build quality
- Good speakers
- Very good keyboard
Key differences
Gaming and AI
5.9
7.8
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.7/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The MSI GP66 Leopard is good for gaming and AI, while the Acer Aspire 3 14 is poor.
The MSI GP66 Leopard offers a better experience for gaming and 3D applications due to its more powerful Nvidia RTX 3080 graphics unit and a higher screen refresh rate, which results in smoother visuals during fast-paced action, compared to the Acer Aspire 3 14's more modest AMD Radeon 610M GPU and lower refresh rate. The Aspire 3 might be preferable for someone looking for a lighter device with longer battery life for less demanding tasks, while the Leopard is tailored for those prioritizing top-tier gaming performance regardless of a heavier build and shorter battery life.
Engineering and Design
6.1
7.9
4.3/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.7/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The MSI GP66 Leopard is good for engineering and design, while the Acer Aspire 3 14 is only fair.
The Acer Aspire 3 14 offers reasonable performance for engineering and design with a competent AMD CPU and GPU, sufficient RAM for moderate tasks, and a quality IPS screen, making it suitable for less demanding engineering applications and offering better portability due to its lower weight.
Screen Quality
6.1
7.5
14.0in
SIZE
15.6in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
250.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
362.0 nits
The MSI GP66 Leopard has a better screen than the Acer Aspire 3 14 for general use, gaming and AI, and engineering and design.
The Acer Aspire 3 14 offers adequate resolution and brightness for everyday tasks like browsing and video streaming, which is sufficient for general use. For engineering and design, however, its limited color coverage does not ensure accurate color representation critical for these fields. Meanwhile, the MSI GP66 Leopard provides a vibrant, high-resolution display essential for both general use and professional design work, but its lower refresh rate may not satisfy gamers and professionals working with 3D applications who require smoother motion and quick screen responses.
Battery
9.5 Hours
5.0 Hours
The Acer Aspire 3 14 has 9.5 hours of battery life. The MSI GP66 Leopard has 5 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
Fair
14.0in
SIZE
15.6in
3.0 lbs
WEIGHT
5.2 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Acer Aspire 3 14 has very good portability, while the MSI GP66 Leopard has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.2
8.0
The MSI GP66 Leopard has very 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
$1,400
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Acer Aspire 3 14 has a price of $434 and the MSI GP66 Leopard costs $1,400.
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Key similarities
General Use
7.0
7.5
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
250.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
362.0 nits
9.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.0 Hours
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
8.3/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.8/10
The MSI GP66 Leopard and Acer Aspire 3 14 are both good for general use.
The Acer Aspire 3 14 has respectable battery life and portability due to its lighter weight and smaller size, along with a fanless design for silent operation, but its performance is limited by a less powerful CPU and less RAM compared to the MSI GP66 Leopard, which boasts superior performance with a high-end CPU and double the RAM, better suited for intensive tasks, but at the cost of shorter battery life and lower portability, as it's heavier and bulkier.
Content Creation
7.2
7.4
4.3/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI GP66 Leopard and Acer Aspire 3 14 are both good for content creation.
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
7.2
4.3/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The MSI GP66 Leopard and Acer Aspire 3 14 are both good for software development.
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.
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How the Acer Aspire 3 14 and the MSI GP66 Leopard compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Acer Aspire 3 14 | MSI GP66 Leopard |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$434 | $1,400 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | March 1, 2023 | May 1, 2021 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 12.9'' x 8.5'' x 0.74'' | 14.1'' x 10.5'' x 0.92'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 3.09 lbs | 5.25 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 12.9" | 14.09" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 8.5" | 10.51" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | AMD Ryzen 5 7520U | Intel i7-11800H | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 8 GB | 16 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 4 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 0 | 2 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 512 GB | 512 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 9.5 Hours | 5 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 40 Wh | 65 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 14" | 15.6" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 1920 x 1080 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 60Hz | 144Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 250 nits | 362 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 6.3/10 | 8/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 8.4/10 | 6.9/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | No | Yes | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 10/10 | 6.5/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 6.3/10 | 8/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 6/10 | 7.5/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 720p | 720p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | No | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | No | No | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 2 | 3 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 1 | 0 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | No | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 1 | 2 | |
Thunderbolt Ports | |||
Thunderbolt Ports | 0 | 0 | |
Shopping
MSI GP66 Leopard
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Christian Hintze | December 2021
"The MSI GP66 Leopard is a good budget high-performance gamer. The MSI also does a lot right outside of the pure performance despite it's low price. For example, the adaptive cooling system really surprised us positively, even in Extreme Performance Mode. And the display is not a budget panel either, but at least outshines the competition in terms of brightness. Of course, you also have to accept a few compromises in this price category. These include the Leopard's poor battery runtimes and the less than optimal build quality, which is also noticeable in the more complicated maintenance."
Get a great deal on the Acer Aspire 3 14 or the MSI GP66 Leopard
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 MSI
MSI, also known as Micro-Star International, is a Taiwanese technology corporation. MSI is known for their wide range of gaming devices. Their series include the entry-level Cyborg/Thin and Sword/Katana series, the mid-range Bravo/Delta and Crosshair/Pulse series, and their high-end Vector, Raider, Stealth, and Titan GT series. At every performance level, MSI offers a variety of devices with varying balances between performance, battery life, weight, and price, making them a solid option to consider at every price point.
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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.
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