Choosing between the Acer Aspire 3 15 and the Acer Swift X 16, consider this: If you're seeking a budget-friendly option with decent general performance and longer battery life for everyday tasks, the Aspire 3 would suit you well, and it's lighter for carrying around. On the other hand, the Swift X offers significantly higher performance for activities like 3D modeling, machine learning, and engineering due to its better processor and graphics card. It also has a higher quality display and more storage, but this comes at a higher price point and with a bit less 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 15
The Acer Aspire 3 15 has no clear advantages over the Acer Swift X 16.
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
6.6/10
8.2/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
244.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
402.0 nits
9.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
8.0 Hours
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.6/10
The Acer Swift X 16 is very good for general use, while the Acer Aspire 3 15 is only fair.
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
5.8/10
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 15 is poor.
The Acer Swift X 16 is better for gaming and 3D tasks due to its Nvidia RTX 3050 GPU and a high refresh rate of 165Hz, which provides smoother visuals and can better leverage the power of its GPU. In contrast, the Acer Aspire 3 15 has a less powerful AMD Radeon 610M GPU and a standard refresh rate of 60Hz, which is adequate for less demanding tasks but lacks the fluidity and graphics processing power desired by gamers.
Engineering and Design
5.9/10
8.2/10
4.1/10
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 15 is poor.
The Acer Aspire 3 15 has lower storage, less RAM, a less powerful CPU and GPU, and a screen that offers lower resolution and color accuracy than the Acer Swift X 16, making it less optimal for demanding engineering and design tasks that benefit from higher specifications.
Content Creation
7.0/10
8.3/10
4.1/10
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 15 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
7.0/10
8.0/10
4.1/10
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 15 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
6.2/10
8.2/10
15.6in
SIZE
16.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
244.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
402.0 nits
The Acer Swift X 16 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, with its fair screen quality, offers adequacy in resolution and brightness for basic tasks but lacks the color accuracy that professionals in engineering and design need. The Acer Swift X 16's very good screen quality brings sharper images and more vivid colors due to higher resolution and broader color coverage, making it a better choice for detail-oriented work in engineering and design. However, both fall short for gaming and 3D applications because they don't have the high refresh rates required for smooth, responsive visuals that gaming enthusiasts often pursue.
Battery
9.5 Hours
8.0 Hours
The Acer Aspire 3 15 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.
Build Quality
6.2/10
7.6/10
The Acer Swift X 16 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
$1,250
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Acer Aspire 3 15 has a price of $330 and the Acer Swift X 16 costs $1,250.
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’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 15 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.
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