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Aspire 3 14
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Titan 18 HX
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What we think

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The PerfectRec laptop team Learn more
Updated March 21, 2024·

The Acer Aspire 3 is an affordable choice suitable for general use, like web browsing, office tasks, and light media consumption, offering good portability due to its smaller size and lighter weight, which often coincides with longer battery life. However, if you need top-tier performance for demanding applications such as 3D rendering, machine learning, or high-end gaming, the MSI Titan is a superior option, with significantly more power but at a higher cost, and it's less portable due to its larger size and typically shorter battery life. 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 Titan 18 HX
  • Very good for general use
  • Best in class for engineering and design
  • Excellent for gaming and AI
  • Very good for software development
  • Excellent for content creation
  • Excellent overall display quality
  • Very good overall build quality
  • Excellent speakers
  • Best in class keyboard

Key differences

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General Use

7.0
Aspire 3 14
Titan 18 HX
8.8
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
250.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
401.0 nits
9.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.0 Hours
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
10.0/10
8.3/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.0/10
The MSI Titan 18 HX is very good for general use, while the Acer Aspire 3 14 is good.

Gaming and AI

5.9
Aspire 3 14
Titan 18 HX
9.4
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The MSI Titan 18 HX is excellent for gaming and AI, while the Acer Aspire 3 14 is poor.

Engineering and Design

6.1
Aspire 3 14
Titan 18 HX
9.9
4.3/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
128.0 GB
The MSI Titan 18 HX is best in class for engineering and design, while the Acer Aspire 3 14 is only fair.

Content Creation

7.2
Aspire 3 14
Titan 18 HX
9.0
4.3/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
8.0 GB
RAM
128.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
The MSI Titan 18 HX is excellent for content creation, while the Acer Aspire 3 14 is good.

Software Development

7.1
Aspire 3 14
Titan 18 HX
8.9
4.3/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
128.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
10.0/10
The MSI Titan 18 HX is very good for software development, while the Acer Aspire 3 14 is good.

Screen Quality

6.1
Aspire 3 14
Titan 18 HX
9.2
14.0in
SIZE
18.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
250.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
401.0 nits
The MSI Titan 18 HX has a better screen than the Acer Aspire 3 14 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.

Battery

9.5 Hours
Aspire 3 14
Titan 18 HX
4.0 Hours
The Acer Aspire 3 14 has 9.5 hours of battery life. The MSI Titan 18 HX has 4 hours of battery life.

Portability

Very Good
Aspire 3 14
Titan 18 HX
Poor
14.0in
SIZE
18.0in
3.0 lbs
WEIGHT
7.9 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
1.2in
The Acer Aspire 3 14 has very good portability, while the MSI Titan 18 HX has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.

Build Quality

6.2
Aspire 3 14
Titan 18 HX
8.5
The MSI Titan 18 HX has very good build quality, while the Acer Aspire 3 14 has only fair build quality.

Cost

$434
Aspire 3 14
Titan 18 HX
$4,800
Product image
Product image

$0

$1,000

$2,000

$3,000

$4,000

The Acer Aspire 3 14 has a price of $434 and the MSI Titan 18 HX costs $4,800.
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How the Acer Aspire 3 14 and the MSI Titan 18 HX compare to other laptops

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Spec Comparison

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Acer Aspire 3 14MSI Titan 18 HX
Acer Aspire 3 14MSI Titan 18 HX

GENERAL

Price
$434
$4,800
Release Date
March 1, 2023February 1, 2024
Overall Dimensions
12.9'' x 8.5'' x 0.74''15.9'' x 12.1'' x 1.26''
Weight
3.09 lbs7.93 lbs
Width
12.9"15.9"
Depth
8.5"12.08"

INTERNAL

Processor
AMD Ryzen 5 7520UIntel i9-14900HX
RAM
8 GB128 GB
DDR Memory Version
55
RAM Slots
04
Storage
512 GB4096 GB

BATTERY

Battery Life
9.5 Hours4 Hours
Battery Capacity
40 Wh99.9 Wh

SCREEN

Diagonal Size
14"18"
Display Technology
IPSMini LED
Resolution
1920 x 10803840 x 2400
Refresh Rate
60Hz120Hz
Display Brightness
250 nits401 nits

RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS

Build Quality Score
6.3/108.5/10
Portability Score
8.4/105.1/10
Gaming Laptop Appearance
NoYes
Premium Business Laptop
NoNo
Fan Noise Score
10/107/10

HARDWARE FEATURES

Keyboard Quality Score
6.3/1010/10
Speaker Quality Score
6/109.1/10
Webcam
720p1080p
Fingerprint Reader
NoYes
Backlit Keyboard
YesYes
Number Pad
NoYes

CONNECTIVITY

USB Type-A
23
USB-C ports
12
USB-C Charging
YesYes
Display Outputs
13
Thunderbolt Version
N/A4

Shopping

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MSI Titan 18 HX

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Dig into reviews and images

NotebookCheck

Allen Ngo | January 2024
"With no new Nvidia GPU this year for laptops, MSI had to refresh everything surrounding the graphics card to make up for it. Users are getting a new 18-inch chassis design, new 14th gen Intel HX CPU, new AC adapter, larger keys, and a new 120 Hz HDR1000 mini-LED 4K display to accompany the high price tag. Most of these changes are a step up from last year's GT77, but users are ultimately getting the same gaming performance out of both models."

Get a great deal on the Acer Aspire 3 14 or the MSI Titan 18 HX

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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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.

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