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Aspire 3 Spin 14
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Alienware m17 R5
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What we think

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The PerfectRec laptop team Learn more
Updated January 10, 2024·

The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is designed for general use with an emphasis on versatility and portability, offering flexibility as a convertible laptop with a touch screen, suitable for everyday tasks, and casual usage. On the other hand, the Dell Alienware m17 R5 is a high-performance laptop intended for gaming, 3D rendering, and intensive engineering programs; it will provide superior processing and graphics capabilities but is larger and less portable, with shorter battery life due to its powerful components. If you prioritize portability and battery life for everyday tasks, go with the Acer. If you require top performance for demanding applications and gaming, and you're less concerned about portability and battery life, the Dell Alienware will serve you better. 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 Dell Alienware m17 R5
  • Good for general use
  • Very good for engineering and design
  • Good for gaming and AI
  • Good for software development
  • Very good overall display quality
  • Good overall build quality
  • Very good speakers
  • Very good keyboard

Key differences

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General Use

6.5
Aspire 3 Spin 14
Alienware m17 R5
7.8
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
250.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
301.0 nits
8.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.0 Hours
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
8.1/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.5/10
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 is good for general use, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is only fair.

Gaming and AI

5.8
Aspire 3 Spin 14
Alienware m17 R5
7.7
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.7/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
480Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 is good for gaming and AI, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is poor.

Engineering and Design

5.9
Aspire 3 Spin 14
Alienware m17 R5
8.1
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.1/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.7/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 is very good for engineering and design, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is poor.

Content Creation

7.0
Aspire 3 Spin 14
Alienware m17 R5
7.8
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.1/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 and Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 are both good for content creation, though the Dell Alienware m17 R5 is somewhat better.

Screen Quality

6.2
Aspire 3 Spin 14
Alienware m17 R5
8.1
14.0in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
480Hz
250.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
301.0 nits
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 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.

Battery

8.0 Hours
Aspire 3 Spin 14
Alienware m17 R5
5.0 Hours
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has 8 hours of battery life. The Dell Alienware m17 R5 has 5 hours of battery life.

Portability

Very Good
Aspire 3 Spin 14
Alienware m17 R5
Poor
14.0in
SIZE
17.3in
3.3 lbs
WEIGHT
7.3 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has very good portability, while the Dell Alienware m17 R5 has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.

Build Quality

6.2
Aspire 3 Spin 14
Alienware m17 R5
7.8
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 has good build quality, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has only fair build quality.

Cost

$418
Aspire 3 Spin 14
Alienware m17 R5
$1,100
Product image
Product image

$0

$500

$1,000

$1,500

$2,000

The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has a price of $418 and the Dell Alienware m17 R5 costs $1,100.
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Key similarities

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Software Development

6.9
Aspire 3 Spin 14
Alienware m17 R5
7.4
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.1/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Dell Alienware m17 R5 to be good for software development, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is only fair.

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How the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 and the Dell Alienware m17 R5 compare to other laptops

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Spec Comparison

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Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14Dell Alienware m17 R5
Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14Dell Alienware m17 R5

GENERAL

Price
$418
$1,100
Release Date
April 1, 2023June 1, 2022
Overall Dimensions
12.6'' x 9'' x 0.74''15.6'' x 11.8'' x 1.05''
Weight
3.31 lbs7.3 lbs
Width
12.6"15.64"
Depth
9"11.76"

INTERNAL

Processor
Intel i3-N305AMD Ryzen 7 6800H
RAM
8 GB16 GB
DDR Memory Version
55
RAM Slots
02
Storage
128 GB1024 GB

BATTERY

Battery Life
8 Hours5 Hours
Battery Capacity
40 Wh97 Wh

SCREEN

Diagonal Size
14"17.3"
Display Technology
IPSIPS
Resolution
1920 x 12001920 x 1080
Refresh Rate
60Hz480Hz
Display Brightness
250 nits301 nits

RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS

Build Quality Score
6.3/107.8/10
Portability Score
8.2/105.5/10
Gaming Laptop Appearance
NoYes
Premium Business Laptop
NoNo
Fan Noise Score
10/107/10

HARDWARE FEATURES

Keyboard Quality Score
6.3/108/10
Speaker Quality Score
6/108/10
Webcam
720p720p
Fingerprint Reader
NoNo
Backlit Keyboard
NoYes
Number Pad
NoNo

CONNECTIVITY

USB Type-A
23
USB-C ports
11
USB-C Charging
YesYes
Display Outputs
22
Thunderbolt Ports
00

Shopping

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Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14

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Rtings

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."

Dell Alienware m17 R5

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NotebookCheck

Christian Hintze | January 2023
"Overall, the all-AMD system in the Alienware m17 R5 is impressive, especially the graphics performance. However, various driver issues and unnecessary inconsistencies prevent us from truly enjoying such a potent gaming machine. In addition to strong 3D performance, we particularly like the build quality, the fairly bright UHD display with high color space coverage, and the fact that the gamer is often quiet when not under load and also rather quieter than some competitors under load."

Get a great deal on the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 or the Dell Alienware m17 R5

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 Dell

Dell is a highly recognizable American technology company, and is one of the largest personal computer vendor by market share. Their laptops are very popular for both personal and professional use, and they also own the Alienware brand which makes mid to high end gaming laptops. Their premium XPS range of laptops offer great build quality and portability, while Latitude and Precision laptops are known for reliability, repairability and performance for business users.

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Why trust us

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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

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Laptops evaluated
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109,395
Recommendations made
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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.

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