For everyday tasks, the Acer Aspire 3 15 is a cost-effective choice with a budget-friendly price tag, adequate performance, and silent operation, though it falls short in portability due to its larger size and weight. In contrast, the Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024) is pricier but offers a significant boost in performance with its high-end processor and dedicated graphics card, making it ideal for gaming, 3D rendering, and machine learning tasks. It also has a superior display with a higher resolution and refresh rate, which is great for fast-paced motion and detailed visual work. However, its battery life is shorter, and it's bulkier, which might not be as convenient for frequent travelers. If you prioritize performance and screen quality for intensive tasks over portability and battery life, the Lenovo Legion 5 16 is the better investment. 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
Good battery life
Advantages of the Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024)
Very good for general use
Excellent for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Good overall build quality
Good speakers
Very good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.6/10
8.1/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
244.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
500.0 nits
9.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
3.5 Hours
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.6/10
The Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024) 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
8.5/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.5/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024) is very good 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
9.0/10
4.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.5/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024) is excellent for engineering and design, while the Acer Aspire 3 15 is poor.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Content Creation
7.0/10
8.2/10
4.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024) 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
9.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024) 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
8.7/10
15.6in
SIZE
16.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
244.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
500.0 nits
The Lenovo Legion 5 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.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
9.5 Hours
3.5 Hours
The Acer Aspire 3 15 has 9.5 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Legion 5 16 has 3.5 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
16.0in
3.9 lbs
WEIGHT
5.6 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Acer Aspire 3 15 has good portability, while the Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024) has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.2/10
7.4/10
The Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024) 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
$1,280
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Acer Aspire 3 15 has a price of $330 and the Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024) costs $1,280.
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."
Get a great deal on the Acer Aspire 3 15 or the Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024)
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 Lenovo
Lenovo is a Chinese technology company, and one of the largest personal computer vendor. They are well known for a variety of technology products, including laptops. Their consumer series include their entry level IdeaPad and LOQ series and mid-to-high-end Yoga and Legion series. On the business-oriented side, their series include their entry-level ThinkBook series and mid-to-high-end ThinkPad series. Lenovo laptops offer strong performance for reasonable prices, and are often on sale.
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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