If your focus is on general computer use and budget is a priority, the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 offers a lower price with decent performance and solid battery life for everyday tasks. It's lightweight and has a fanless design for silent operation, making it suitable for general productivity and multimedia consumption. Conversely, the ASUS ROG Flow X16 is pricier but provides much higher performance suitable for intensive gaming, 3D rendering, and engineering applications, thanks to its powerful processor and graphics card. It also has a higher resolution touchscreen and a sleek gaming appearance but comes with a shorter battery life and is heavier, making it less portable. If you require a laptop for more demanding tasks and can afford the higher price, the ASUS ROG Flow X16 would be the better choice. 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
Good battery life
Advantages of the ASUS ROG Flow X16
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Good for software development
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Best in class speakers
Very 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
502.0 nits
8.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.5 Hours
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
8.1/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.4/10
The ASUS ROG Flow X16 is very good for general use, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is only fair.
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 offers a more modest performance with its Intel i3 processor and 8GB of RAM compared to the ASUS ROG Flow X16, which boasts a more powerful AMD Ryzen 9 processor and 16GB of RAM, making it better suited for demanding tasks.
Gaming and AI
5.8/10
7.6/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.2/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The ASUS ROG Flow X16 is good for gaming and AI, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is poor.
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has a lower-end GPU and a standard screen refresh rate which makes it fair for gaming and 3D tasks, while the ASUS ROG Flow X16, equipped with a high-performance Nvidia GPU and a much higher screen refresh rate, is better suited for those applications, providing smoother visuals and better handling of graphically intense tasks. Additionally, the ASUS model benefits from a more powerful CPU and higher quality screen, adding to its superior performance in gaming and 3D scenarios.
Engineering and Design
5.9/10
8.3/10
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.1/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.2/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The ASUS ROG Flow X16 is very good for engineering and design, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is poor.
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is less suited for engineering and design due to its basic Intel i3 processor, integrated graphics, and lower RAM, affecting its ability to handle complex tasks, along with a screen that has fair color coverage and brightness for such work.
Content Creation
7.0/10
8.0/10
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.1/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The ASUS ROG Flow X16 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
7.7/10
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.1/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The ASUS ROG Flow X16 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
8.5/10
14.0in
SIZE
16.0in
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
250.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
502.0 nits
The ASUS ROG Flow X16 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.
For general use, a laptop with a bright screen and high resolution provides clear and vibrant images, hence the ASUS with its superior panel type and resolution outperforms the Acer Aspire. In engineering and design tasks, accurate color reproduction is crucial; the ASUS with its better coverage of color gamuts like DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB ensures more precise color work compared to the Acer. However, for gaming and 3D applications, a high refresh rate is key for smooth visuals, and despite the ASUS having a better screen overall, if both laptops have poor refresh rates, they will both fall short in this area.
Battery
8.0 Hours
5.5 Hours
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has 8 hours of battery life. The ASUS ROG Flow X16 has 5.5 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
Good
14.0in
SIZE
16.0in
3.3 lbs
WEIGHT
4.6 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has very good portability, while the ASUS ROG Flow X16 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.2/10
8.5/10
The ASUS ROG Flow X16 has very 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
$1,300
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has a price of $418 and the ASUS ROG Flow X16 costs $1,300.
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."
"Above all else, the Asus ROG Flow X16 is one thing - versatile! It is a thin, mobile work device, it's a 2-in-1, tablet, a powerful workstation and even a gaming PC. But something even more surprising: It does all of these things really well without making any big blunders. It's anything but a lazy compromise. Because, despite its compact dimensions and 2-in-1 functionality, the hardware isn't throttled and boasts, at least in turbo mode, above-average performance."
Get a great deal on the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 or the ASUS ROG Flow X16
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 ASUS
ASUS, a Taiwanese electronics brand, is one of the largest personal computer vendor by market share. The majority of their laptops are targeted towards personal use or gaming. Their most popular product lines include the budget-friendly VivoBook, more premium ZenBook, and their TUF and ROG gaming laptops, the latter of which has a reputation for excellent gaming performance.
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
124,095
Recommendations made
26,888
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.