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What we think
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Updated January 10, 2024·
The Acer Aspire 3 15 is a budget-friendly laptop, generally suitable for tasks like web browsing, document editing, and light media consumption. Its larger screen is beneficial for those who prefer a more spacious display, and it offers quiet, fanless operation, which is great in noise-sensitive environments. However, the tradeoff comes with lower storage capacity and weaker graphics, meaning it's not ideal for heavy graphics work or gaming. On the other hand, the Acer Swift X is a more powerful machine with a dedicated graphics card, making it capable of handling more graphically intensive tasks such as 3D rendering, machine learning, and casual gaming. Additionally, it has a larger battery capacity and higher storage, but these features come at a higher price. Despite its smaller screen, the Swift X is more portable due to its lighter weight, and it also includes a backlit keyboard and features that may appeal to more demanding users. In conclusion, for general use without the need for high performance, the Aspire 3 is more cost-effective, while the Swift X is better suited for users needing performance and portability despite the higher cost. 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 (2021).
Advantages of the Acer Swift X (2021)
- Good for general use
- Good for engineering and design
- Good overall build quality
- Very good portability
- Very good battery life
- Very good speakers
- Very good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.6
7.4
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
244.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
372.0 nits
9.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
10.0 Hours
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Acer Swift X (2021) is 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
6.3
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.4/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The Acer Swift X (2021) is only fair for gaming and AI, while the Acer Aspire 3 15 is poor.
The Acer Aspire 3 15 offers modest gaming capabilities with its AMD Radeon 610M GPU and a standard screen refresh rate, which pairs with its economical pricing for casual gaming and 3D applications. Comparatively, the Acer Swift X (2021) steps up performance for more serious gaming and 3D tasks with its Nvidia RTX 3050 GPU, while maintaining the same screen refresh rate, but at a higher price point due to its more powerful hardware.
Engineering and Design
5.9
7.0
4.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.6/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.4/10
8.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The Acer Swift X (2021) is good for engineering and design, while the Acer Aspire 3 15 is poor.
The Acer Swift X (2021) outperforms the Acer Aspire 3 15 for engineering and design use due to its more capable Nvidia RTX 3050 graphics card compared to the Aspire's AMD Radeon 610M, providing better handling of graphics-intensive tasks. Additionally, the Swift X features a brighter screen with higher color accuracy, making it more suitable for design work while maintaining a high level of portability and lower operating noise, contributing to an overall better user experience for engineering and design professionals.
Screen Quality
6.2
6.9
15.6in
SIZE
14.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
244.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
372.0 nits
The Acer Swift X 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 has fair screen quality for general use due to its standard resolution and brightness, but these features are not outstanding. For engineering and design, its fair screen quality stems from adequate coverage of color gamuts, but it might not meet the demands of professionals requiring high color accuracy. On the other hand, its poor screen quality for gaming and 3D is due to a lower refresh rate which doesn't support the smooth visuals often needed in these applications, even though it has a satisfactory resolution and panel type.
Portability
Good
Very Good
15.6in
SIZE
14.0in
3.9 lbs
WEIGHT
3.0 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Acer Swift X (2021) 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
7.6
The Acer Swift X (2021) 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
$580
$0
$200
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
The Acer Aspire 3 15 has a price of $330 and the Acer Swift X (2021) costs $580.
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Key similarities
Content Creation
7.0
7.5
4.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Acer Swift X (2021) and Acer Aspire 3 15 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
7.0
7.3
4.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.6/10
8.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Acer Swift X (2021) and Acer Aspire 3 15 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.
Battery
9.5 Hours
10.0 Hours
The Acer Aspire 3 15 has 9.5 hours of battery life. The Acer Swift X has 10 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.
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How the Acer Aspire 3 15 and the Acer Swift X (2021) compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Acer Aspire 3 15 | Acer Swift X (2021) |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$330 | $580 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | January 1, 2023 | June 1, 2021 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 14.3'' x 9.4'' x 0.74'' | 12.7'' x 8.4'' x 0.7'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 3.97 lbs | 3.06 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 14.29" | 12.7" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 9.35" | 8.4" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | AMD Ryzen 3 7320U | AMD Ryzen 5 5600U | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 8 GB | 8 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 | 10 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 40 Wh | 59 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 | 372 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 6.3/10 | 7.6/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 7.7/10 | 8.6/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | No | No | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 10/10 | 8/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 6.3/10 | 8/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 6/10 | 8/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 720p | 720p | |
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 | 1 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 2 | 2 | |
Thunderbolt Ports | |||
Thunderbolt Ports | 0 | 0 | |
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 X (2021)
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Sebastian Jentsch | March 2022
"The Swift X is an Acer for entry-level gaming. With the entry-level graphics chip, our Acer not only beats every single current AMD and Intel iGPU, but also Intel's dGPU Iris Xe Max. However, despite being a GDDR6 version, the GTX does not match the expectations set by its own counterparts from our database. This may be a result of the single fan, which only produces moderate noise levels under load. The performance level of the thin and light 1.4 kg (~3.09 lbs) 14-inch laptop is impressive nonetheless."
Get a great deal on the Acer Aspire 3 15 or the Acer Swift X (2021)
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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