If budget is a major concern and you need a laptop for everyday tasks like browsing, office applications, and media consumption, the Acer Aspire 3 15 offers a more affordable option. However, for more demanding applications like modern gaming, 3D rendering, or machine learning tasks, the HP Omen 16 offers significantly better performance and would be a superior choice despite the higher cost. The HP Omen 16 also tends to have better build quality and more gaming-oriented features, but with that comes reduced portability compared to the lighter Acer Aspire 3 15, which may be easier to carry around for work or study. 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
Good portability
Advantages of the HP Omen 16
Good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Good overall display quality
Good overall build quality
Very good speakers
Very good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.6/10
7.7/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
244.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
338.0 nits
9.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.7/10
The HP Omen 16 is good for general use, while the Acer Aspire 3 15 is only fair.
The HP Omen 16 outperforms the Acer Aspire 3 15 with its more powerful CPU and double the RAM, which means it can handle more intensive tasks with ease and is better suited for multitasking. While the Acer Aspire 3 offers a lightweight design and longer battery life, making it more portable, the HP Omen 16 boasts a higher quality display and superior heat management, albeit being heavier and having a shorter battery span.
Gaming and AI
5.8/10
8.0/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.5/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The HP Omen 16 is very good for gaming and AI, while the Acer Aspire 3 15 is poor.
The HP Omen 16 trumps the Acer Aspire 3 15 in gaming and 3D capabilities largely due to its significantly more powerful Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU and a higher screen refresh rate of 165Hz, compared to the Acer's Radeon 610M GPU and 60Hz screen refresh rate. The superior GPU in the HP Omen 16 enables better handling of graphically intensive tasks and smoother visuals, which, alongside the screen's higher refresh rate, provides a more fluid and immersive gaming experience.
Engineering and Design
5.9/10
8.4/10
4.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.5/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The HP Omen 16 is very good for engineering and design, while the Acer Aspire 3 15 is poor.
The HP Omen 16 outshines the Acer Aspire 3 15 for engineering and design use primarily due to its more powerful Intel i7 processor, double the RAM, and a superior Nvidia RTX graphics card, which together provide faster and more robust performance necessary for demanding tasks.
Content Creation
7.0/10
7.8/10
4.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The HP Omen 16 and Acer Aspire 3 15 are both good for content creation, though the HP Omen 16 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
7.0/10
7.6/10
4.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The HP Omen 16 and Acer Aspire 3 15 are both good for software development, though the HP Omen 16 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
6.2/10
7.6/10
15.6in
SIZE
16.1in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
244.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
338.0 nits
The HP Omen 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.
For general use, a laptop like the Acer Aspire 3, with its fair screen quality due to acceptable resolution and brightness, offers a comfortable viewing experience for everyday tasks like browsing and document editing. The HP Omen 16, with good screen quality that includes wider color gamuts, is suitable for engineering and design because it ensures more accurate color representation, which is essential for professionals in those fields. However, for gaming and 3D applications that require smoother motion and quick visual feedback, both the Acer Aspire 3 and HP Omen 16 fall short due to their lower refresh rates, making them less ideal for these specific high-speed visual tasks.
Battery
9.5 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Acer Aspire 3 15 has 9.5 hours of battery life. The HP Omen 16 has 6 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
Fair
15.6in
SIZE
16.1in
3.9 lbs
WEIGHT
5.4 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Acer Aspire 3 15 has good portability, while the HP Omen 16 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.2/10
7.4/10
The HP Omen 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
$1,100
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Acer Aspire 3 15 has a price of $330 and the HP Omen 16 costs $1,100.
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."
"The Omen 16 has proven to be a fairly good mid-range gaming laptop with all-around improvements compared to the Omen 15. The high overall performance level across all use cases, the long battery life, and the good FHD display constitute the main advantages of this HP laptop. The main drawbacks are the faulty touchpad (one-off?) and the high latencies that can be observed even after just opening the browser. Furthermore, the useless, preinstalled 30-day trial versions of various software also fall under the category "unnecessary"."
Get a great deal on the Acer Aspire 3 15 or the HP Omen 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.
About HP
HP, also known as Hewlett-Packard, is an American technology company that develops personal computers and computer peripherals. In the laptop industry, HP is known for its entry level Essential series laptops, its mid-range Pavilion, Envy, and Victus series, and high-end Omen and Spectre series, in addition to its business-oriented EliteBook, ProBook, and Dragonfly series laptops. HP laptops generally undercut other mainstream competitors in terms of price, placing itself as the value-oriented mainstream brand.
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.
By the numbers
380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
109,395
Recommendations made
23,703
Consumer hours saved
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.