If you're on a tighter budget and need a laptop for everyday activities like browsing, office work, and streaming, the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is a practical and economical choice. The Spin 14's convertible design offers versatility for presentations and casual use, but its less powerful hardware may struggle with demanding tasks. On the other hand, if you require a machine capable of handling power-intensive applications like gaming, 3D rendering, or video editing, investing in the ASUS TUF Gaming A15 can be worthwhile. The A15's robust performance is accompanied by reduced battery life and increased weight, making it less ideal for frequent travel. 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 ASUS TUF Gaming A15
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
Good overall display quality
Good overall build quality
Very good battery life
Good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.5/10
7.9/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
250.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
271.0 nits
8.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
11.0 Hours
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
8.1/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.1/10
The ASUS TUF Gaming A15 is good for general use, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is only fair.
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 offers moderate capabilities with a basic CPU and RAM, a smaller screen with touch capability, and a lightweight build for better portability but limited battery life and less vibrant screen colors. In contrast, the ASUS TUF Gaming A15 provides a powerful CPU, more RAM, a larger and higher refresh rate screen designed for gaming, along with a robust battery life, but it is heavier and not as easy to carry around.
Gaming and AI
5.8/10
8.0/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.9/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.7/10
The ASUS TUF Gaming A15 is very good for gaming and AI, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is poor.
The ASUS TUF Gaming A15 is better for gaming and 3D because it has a higher-end Nvidia RTX graphics card and a screen refresh rate of 144 Hz, compared to the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 which has Intel UHD Graphics and a refresh rate of 60 Hz; these factors contribute to smoother visuals and better rendering performance which are critical for demanding games and 3D applications.
Engineering and Design
5.9/10
8.2/10
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The ASUS TUF Gaming A15 is very good for engineering and design, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is poor.
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is considered fair for engineering and design use due to its base level Intel i3 processor, integrated graphics, and a standard screen, which may struggle with intensive tasks. In contrast, the ASUS TUF Gaming A15 is very good for these tasks as it is equipped with a high-performance AMD Ryzen 7 processor, powerful Nvidia RTX graphics, and has a higher-quality screen suited for detail-oriented work, despite being less portable and noisier under load.
Content Creation
7.0/10
8.0/10
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The ASUS TUF Gaming A15 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
7.6/10
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The ASUS TUF Gaming A15 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
7.2/10
14.0in
SIZE
15.6in
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
250.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
271.0 nits
The ASUS TUF Gaming A15 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, the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 offers a balanced screen with adequate resolution and brightness, but it's not as vibrant or sharp as the ASUS TUF Gaming A15, which has a better panel that provides richer colors and clearer images. When it comes to engineering and design, the Acer's screen falls short on color accuracy and range, making the ASUS TUF Gaming A15 a preferred choice for its superior color reproduction, crucial for detailed and color-sensitive work. For gaming and 3D, both laptops' screens lack high refresh rates, reducing the smoothness of motion; however, their resolutions and panel types are acceptable, but not ideal, for less demanding visual tasks.
Battery
8.0 Hours
11.0 Hours
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has 8 hours of battery life. The ASUS TUF Gaming A15 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.
Portability
Very Good
Good
14.0in
SIZE
15.6in
3.3 lbs
WEIGHT
4.8 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has very good portability, while the ASUS TUF Gaming A15 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.2/10
7.2/10
The ASUS TUF Gaming A15 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
$1,300
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has a price of $418 and the ASUS TUF Gaming A15 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."
"With the release of the TUF Gaming A15, Asos have concentrated on the essentials: gaming performance. Our base version, which can be had for around $1,169, already provided enough power to play current games smoothly in a native resolution of 1080p and with maximum details - thanks to its new Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop. If you utilize upscaling, then you can even manage to run ray tracing."
Get a great deal on the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 or the ASUS TUF Gaming A15
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.
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