The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is a budget-friendly option, more portable and has a touchscreen, making it suitable for general use with a longer battery life. On the other hand, the Acer Predator Helios 16, while more expensive, offers a considerable performance boost for 3D rendering, machine learning, gaming, and engineering tasks due to its powerful processor and graphics card, larger storage, and better screen quality, but with a shorter battery life and more weight, making it less portable. Choose the Spin 14 for cost-effectiveness and mobility or the Helios 16 for higher performance and display quality in more demanding applications. 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 Spin 14
Very good portability
Advantages of the Acer Predator Helios 16
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Good for software development
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Good overall build quality
Good speakers
Good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.5/10
8.0/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
250.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
498.0 nits
8.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.5 Hours
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
8.1/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.3/10
The Acer Predator Helios 16 is very good for general use, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is only fair.
The Acer Predator Helios 16 offers better performance for general use compared to the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 because it is equipped with a more powerful CPU and more RAM, which translates into smoother multitasking and faster processing speeds. Despite that, the Aspire Spin 14 might be more portable and offer better battery life, making it a fair option for those who prioritize mobility over higher performance.
Gaming and AI
5.8/10
8.5/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.9/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The Acer Predator Helios 16 is very good for gaming and AI, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is poor.
The Acer Predator Helios 16 excels in gaming and 3D performance because it has a high-end Nvidia RTX 4070 graphics card and a high refresh rate screen, providing smoother visuals and better handling of intensive graphics tasks. In contrast, the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is equipped with a significantly less powerful Intel UHD Graphics Xe and a standard refresh rate screen, which is adequate for casual use but not optimized for demanding gaming and 3D applications.
Engineering and Design
5.9/10
8.7/10
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Acer Predator Helios 16 is very good for engineering and design, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is poor.
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14, equipped with an Intel i3 processor and integrated graphics, is designed for lighter tasks and is fanless for silent operation, making it suitable for basic engineering and design work but may struggle with more complex computations.
Content Creation
7.0/10
8.2/10
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Acer Predator Helios 16 is very good for content creation, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 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
6.9/10
7.9/10
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
The Acer Predator Helios 16 is good for software development, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is only fair.
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
8.8/10
14.0in
SIZE
16.0in
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
250.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
498.0 nits
The Acer Predator Helios 16 has a better screen than the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 likely has a screen that offers adequate resolution and brightness for typical tasks and some level of design work, but its color gamut coverage may be lacking for professional engineering uses. The Acer Predator Helios 16 boasts superior resolution, brightness, and color accuracy, making it suited for intricate engineering and design applications where color precision is critical. However, for gaming and 3D applications where motion clarity is key, both laptops fall short, presumably because they have lower refresh rates that do not match the higher standards required for smooth visual experiences in fast-paced games and 3D rendering.
Battery
8.0 Hours
6.5 Hours
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has 8 hours of battery life. The Acer Predator Helios 16 has 6.5 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
Very Good
Fair
14.0in
SIZE
16.0in
3.3 lbs
WEIGHT
5.7 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has very good portability, while the Acer Predator Helios 16 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.2/10
7.4/10
The Acer Predator Helios 16 has good build quality, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$418
$1,599
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has a price of $418 and the Acer Predator Helios 16 costs $1,599.
Olivier Martin, Ryan Lim, and Yannick Khong | November 2023
"The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is okay for school use. It feels reasonably well-built, and its compact design makes it easy to carry around. The battery lasts around seven hours of light use, so you only have to plug it in for a short time to get through a typical school day. The overall user experience is so-so; the display looks sharp but dim, and the touchpad is fairly responsive, albeit small."
"The Predator Helios 16 stacks up well against its closest competition in benchmark comparisons. The Acer Predator Helios 16 isn't perfect. It's bulky, its lid feels flimsy and some of its keys are just too damned small – but none of its problems are fatal, and it shines where it counts. The powerful graphics and processor combo are spot on for this price point, the fans stop it getting hot under pressure, and the display is as good as you’ll find under $2,500. It's simply one of the best laptops to play demanding games on."
Get a great deal on the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 or the Acer Predator Helios 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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