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Updated January 10, 2024·
For better performance, particularly for intensive tasks like engineering, consider the Acer Swift 3, which has a more robust processor and higher onboard memory, which can handle more applications at once and process tasks faster. However, if you prioritize cost savings and a larger screen size, the Acer Aspire 3 15 may be the way to go, keeping in mind that it has a less powerful processor and less memory, impacting multitasking and demanding programs. The Swift 3 also boasts better portability due to its lighter weight and smaller size, which could be beneficial if you travel often or commute with your laptop. 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 15
- The Acer Aspire 3 15 has no clear advantages over the Acer Swift 3.
Advantages of the Acer Swift 3
- Good for general use
- Good for engineering and design
- Good overall build quality
- Very good portability
- Very good battery life
- Good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.6
7.7
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
244.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
309.0 nits
9.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
12.0 Hours
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.9/10
The Acer Swift 3 is good for general use, while the Acer Aspire 3 15 is only fair.
The Acer Aspire 3 15 has less RAM and a less powerful CPU than the Acer Swift 3, making it less capable of handling multiple tasks smoothly, while its fair screen quality and battery life limit overall usage experience. In contrast, the Acer Swift 3's higher RAM, better CPU, and superior screen quality, coupled with greater portability and longer battery life, make it better suited for demanding general use applications.
Gaming and AI
5.8
6.3
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.7/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.7/10
The Acer Swift 3 is only fair for gaming and AI, while the Acer Aspire 3 15 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
5.9
7.1
4.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.1/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.7/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Acer Swift 3 is good for engineering and design, while the Acer Aspire 3 15 is poor.
The Acer Swift 3 outperforms the Acer Aspire 3 15 for engineering and design due to its superior CPU, double the RAM, better integrated graphics, and a touchscreen with higher brightness and color accuracy. While the Swift 3 offers greater portability and a higher-quality keyboard which can be significant for long design sessions, the Aspire 3 15 is less expensive and has a silent operation which could be preferable in noise-sensitive environments.
Content Creation
7.0
7.6
4.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.1/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Acer Swift 3 and Acer Aspire 3 15 are both good for content creation, though the Acer Swift 3 is somewhat better.
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
7.0
7.6
4.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.1/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Acer Swift 3 and Acer Aspire 3 15 are both good for software development, though the Acer Swift 3 is somewhat better.
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
6.2
6.8
15.6in
SIZE
14.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
244.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
309.0 nits
The Acer Swift 3 has a better screen than the Acer Aspire 3 15 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The Acer Aspire 3 15's display has adequate resolution and brightness for everyday tasks and office work, but its panel type doesn't have the wide color gamut necessary for precision in engineering and design tasks, and its lower refresh rate limits its appeal for smooth 3D rendering or gaming. The Acer Swift 3 offers better visual fidelity with higher resolution and brightness, providing a more pleasant experience for general use and better color reproduction for detailed engineering and design work, yet it still falls short for gaming and 3D due to a refresh rate that isn't as high as dedicated gaming laptops. Both laptops aren't ideally suited for gaming and 3D applications as they lack the fast refresh rates which are key for the fluid motion and quick response times those tasks require.
Battery
9.5 Hours
12.0 Hours
The Acer Aspire 3 15 has 9.5 hours of battery life. The Acer Swift 3 has 12 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
Good
Very Good
15.6in
SIZE
14.0in
3.9 lbs
WEIGHT
2.7 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Acer Swift 3 has very good portability, while the Acer Aspire 3 15 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.2
7.4
The Acer Swift 3 has good build quality, while the Acer Aspire 3 15 has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$330
$500
$100
$200
$300
$400
$500
$600
$700
$800
The Acer Aspire 3 15 has a price of $330 and the Acer Swift 3 costs $500.
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How the Acer Aspire 3 15 and the Acer Swift 3 compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Acer Aspire 3 15 | Acer Swift 3 |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$330 | $500 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | January 1, 2023 | May 1, 2023 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 14.3'' x 9.4'' x 0.74'' | 12.6'' x 8.3'' x 0.63'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 3.97 lbs | 2.76 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 14.29" | 12.6" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 9.35" | 8.3" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | AMD Ryzen 3 7320U | Intel i5-1240P | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 8 GB | 16 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 4 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 0 | 0 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 128 GB | 512 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 9.5 Hours | 12 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 40 Wh | 56 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 15.6" | 14" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 1920 x 1080 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 60Hz | 60Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 244 nits | 309 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 6.3/10 | 7.4/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 7.7/10 | 8.9/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | No | No | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 10/10 | 8.8/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 6.3/10 | 7/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 6/10 | 6.5/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 720p | 1080p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | No | Yes | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | No | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | Yes | No | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 2 | 2 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 1 | 2 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 2 | 3 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | N/A | 4 | |
Shopping
Acer Aspire 3 15
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Rtings
Alexander Tozzi, Ryan Lim, and Yannick Khong | March 2023
"The Acer Aspire 3 is okay for school use. It feels reasonably well-built, and it's easy to carry around. The display looks decently sharp and provides plenty of space for multitasking, but it doesn't get bright enough to combat glare. Its Intel Core i3-N305 CPU and integrated graphics can only handle simple tasks, like text processing, web browsing, and video playback, so it isn't ideal for students in more technical fields like 3D graphics. Unfortunately, the battery lasts only around six to seven hours of light use."
Acer Swift 3
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NotebookCheck
Sebastian Jentsch | February 2022
"With the Swift 3, Acer delivers a 14-inch laptop with a sleek, slim metal chassis. The latter is of high quality and sturdy enough for everyday use, which is a real plus point among the 700-Euro (~$798) models. A new feature is Thunderbolt 4 in the Type-C format for peripherals or even displays (DisplayPort via Type-C). Unfortunately, a card reader is still missing, and the RAM is completely onboard, so there are no upgrade options here. Acer's 14-incher is affordable, yet it does everything most would want from a truly mobile laptop: Long battery life, a great display, quality, sufficient ports, light weight, and low noise and heat emissions."
Get a great deal on the Acer Aspire 3 15 or the Acer Swift 3
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.
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