For general use, the Acer Aspire 3 15 offers good value and is less expensive than the HP Spectre x360, while still providing satisfactory performance, a standard 15.6-inch display, and decent battery life, making it suitable for everyday tasks. However, if you need higher performance for tasks like 3D rendering, engineering, or machine learning, the HP Spectre x360 with its more powerful Intel processor, better graphics capabilities, and a larger, higher-resolution touchscreen display would be more appropriate, albeit at a higher cost. The Spectre x360 also features a backlit keyboard, better portability, and longer battery life, making it a versatile choice if those factors are important to you. 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 HP Spectre x360.
Advantages of the HP Spectre x360
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Very good battery life
Best in class speakers
Very good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.6/10
8.2/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3072 x 1920
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
244.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
406.0 nits
9.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
11.0 Hours
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.3/10
The HP Spectre x360 is very good for general use, while the Acer Aspire 3 15 is only fair.
The HP Spectre x360 is better equipped for general use than the Acer Aspire 3 15, largely thanks to its superior CPU and double the RAM, which contribute to faster and smoother performance, as well as a higher resolution screen that supports touch and offers better color accuracy for a sharper and more vibrant visual experience. While the Acer Aspire 3 15 offers good portability and long battery life, the HP Spectre x360, despite being slightly heavier, also features a significantly larger battery capacity and convertible 2-in-1 design, enhancing its usability and flexibility for various tasks.
Gaming and AI
5.8/10
6.6/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.8/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3072 x 1920
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The HP Spectre x360 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
5.9/10
8.0/10
4.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.8/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The HP Spectre x360 is very good for engineering and design, while the Acer Aspire 3 15 is poor.
The Acer Aspire 3 15, with its AMD Ryzen 3 and Radeon graphics, provides adequate power for engineering and design tasks but could be limited in more intensive scenarios, while its full HD screen offers reasonable detail and color accuracy for its price.
Content Creation
7.0/10
8.2/10
4.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3072 x 1920
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The HP Spectre x360 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
8.3/10
4.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3072 x 1920
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The HP Spectre x360 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
7.6/10
15.6in
SIZE
16.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3072 x 1920
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
244.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
406.0 nits
The HP Spectre x360 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 screen suffices for general tasks thanks to its adequate resolution and brightness, but for engineering and design, the limited color gamut restricts its precision in color-sensitive work. The HP Spectre x360 shines in general use and design fields due to its higher resolution, brighter display, and wider color gamut, ensuring finer detail and more accurate colors. However, both laptops fall short for gaming and 3D applications because they lack the high refresh rates required for smooth motion rendering, despite the HP's marginally better resolution and panel type.
Battery
9.5 Hours
11.0 Hours
The Acer Aspire 3 15 has 9.5 hours of battery life. The HP Spectre x360 has 11 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
8.5/10
The HP Spectre x360 has very 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
$1,000
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Acer Aspire 3 15 has a price of $330 and the HP Spectre x360 costs $1,000.
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."
"As we said, Lenovo's Yoga 9i is a tough competitor to the Spectre with an equally admirable OLED display. We're sad that neither of them has an HDMI port nor a niche or slot to hold the stylus, though the HP wins points for its bundled mini docking station and magnetically attached pen. Your choice will come down to screen shape—and in our eyes, just as seeing an OLED screen spoils you for an IPS panel, enjoying a tall 3:2 display spoils you for a more conventional view. The HP Spectre x360 13.5 is our new favorite 2-in-1."
Get a great deal on the Acer Aspire 3 15 or the HP Spectre x360
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.
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