The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is a more budget-friendly option, slightly less expensive with a decent touchscreen and fanless operation making it silent, but has lower storage and performance specs, suited mostly for general use. The Acer Swift 3, while slightly more expensive, comes with more storage, higher performance capabilities including a better processor and more RAM, and a superior color range on its screen, making it suitable for more demanding tasks such as engineering and 3D work, and also features a backlit keyboard and a longer battery life. The Swift 3 is also lighter and slightly thinner, enhancing its portability. Choose the Aspire 3 Spin 14 for a more affordable and silent option for everyday tasks or the Swift 3 if you need better performance, screen quality, and portability for more intensive usage. 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
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has no clear advantages over the Acer Swift 3.
Advantages of the Acer Swift 3
Good for general use
Good for engineering and design
Good for software development
Good overall build quality
Very good battery life
Good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.5/10
7.7/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
250.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
309.0 nits
8.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
12.0 Hours
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
8.1/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.9/10
The Acer Swift 3 is good for general use, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is only fair.
The Acer Swift 3 outshines the Aspire 3 Spin 14 due to its more powerful i5 processor, double the RAM, and significantly better screen quality, which contributes to its higher rating for general use. Additionally, the Swift 3's greater battery life and lighter weight lend to better portability, though both models have comparable build quality and manage heat and operating noise well, with the Aspire offering fanless operation.
Gaming and AI
5.8/10
6.3/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.7/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.7/10
The Acer Swift 3 is only fair for gaming and AI, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is poor.
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 and the Acer Swift 3 are both deemed fair for gaming and 3D tasks because they are equipped with integrated graphics, specifically the Intel UHD Graphics Xe and Iris Xe respectively, and both have a standard screen refresh rate of 60Hz; while the graphics can handle less demanding games and 3D applications, dedicated GPUs and higher refresh rates are preferred for more intensive gaming and the Acer Swift 3's slightly more powerful CPU and better overall screen quality offer a modest performance improvement over the Aspire 3 Spin 14 in these tasks.
Engineering and Design
5.9/10
7.1/10
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.1/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.7/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Acer Swift 3 is good for engineering and design, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is poor.
The Acer Swift 3 stands out for engineering and design use with its more powerful Intel i5 processor, double the RAM, and superior Iris Xe graphics when compared to the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14's more modest Intel i3 processor and graphics. Additionally, the Swift 3's screen offers better color accuracy and brightness, enhancing visual work, whereas the Aspire 3 Spin 14, while more portable with a silent operation, falls short in performance and display quality for intensive tasks.
Content Creation
7.0/10
7.6/10
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.1/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Acer Swift 3 and Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 are both good for content creation, though the Acer Swift 3 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
6.9/10
7.6/10
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.1/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Acer Swift 3 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
6.8/10
14.0in
SIZE
14.0in
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
250.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
309.0 nits
The Acer Swift 3 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.
When considering the screen quality for general use, the Acer Swift 3 comes out ahead due to its higher resolution and brighter display, offering clearer images and better visibility under various lighting conditions. For engineering and design, the Swift 3's display covers a wider range of colors, which is crucial for accuracy in color-intensive tasks. However, both the Aspire 3 Spin 14 and the Swift 3 have lower refresh rates, which means they aren't ideal for gaming and 3D applications where smoother motion and quicker screen updates are key.
Battery
8.0 Hours
12.0 Hours
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has 8 hours of battery life. The Acer Swift 3 has 12 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
Very Good
14.0in
SIZE
14.0in
3.3 lbs
WEIGHT
2.7 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Acer Swift 3 and Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 both have very good portability, though the Acer Swift 3 has somewhat better portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.2/10
7.4/10
The Acer Swift 3 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
$500
$200
$300
$400
$500
$600
$700
$800
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has a price of $418 and the Acer Swift 3 costs $500.
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."
"With the Swift 3, Acer delivers a 14-inch laptop with a sleek, slim metal chassis. The latter is of high quality and sturdy enough for everyday use, which is a real plus point among the 700-Euro (~$798) models. A new feature is Thunderbolt 4 in the Type-C format for peripherals or even displays (DisplayPort via Type-C). Unfortunately, a card reader is still missing, and the RAM is completely onboard, so there are no upgrade options here. Acer's 14-incher is affordable, yet it does everything most would want from a truly mobile laptop: Long battery life, a great display, quality, sufficient ports, light weight, and low noise and heat emissions."
Get a great deal on the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 or the Acer Swift 3
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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