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Aspire 3 Spin 14
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Alienware m18 R1
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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 budget-friendly and typically much less expensive, offering portability and a touchscreen, suited for general use. In contrast, the Dell Alienware m18 R1 is significantly more expensive with high-end specs like a more powerful processor and graphics card, making it ideal for intensive gaming, 3D rendering, machine learning, and engineering tasks. However, its larger size and weight reduce portability. If battery life and ease of transport are priorities, the Acer may be preferable, but for peak performance in demanding applications, the Dell Alienware is the superior option despite its greater cost and reduced mobility. 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 m18 R1
  • Very good for general use
  • Excellent for engineering and design
  • Excellent for gaming and AI
  • Very good for software development
  • Very good for content creation
  • Good overall display quality
  • Very 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 m18 R1
8.2
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
250.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
281.0 nits
8.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.0 Hours
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
8.1/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.1/10
The Dell Alienware m18 R1 is very good for general use, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is only fair.

Gaming and AI

5.8
Aspire 3 Spin 14
Alienware m18 R1
9.1
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.8/10
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 Dell Alienware m18 R1 is excellent for gaming and AI, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is poor.

Engineering and Design

5.9
Aspire 3 Spin 14
Alienware m18 R1
9.1
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.8/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The Dell Alienware m18 R1 is excellent for engineering and design, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is poor.

Content Creation

7.0
Aspire 3 Spin 14
Alienware m18 R1
8.4
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Dell Alienware m18 R1 is very good for content creation, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is good.

Software Development

6.9
Aspire 3 Spin 14
Alienware m18 R1
8.0
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Dell Alienware m18 R1 is very good for software development, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is only fair.

Screen Quality

6.2
Aspire 3 Spin 14
Alienware m18 R1
7.8
14.0in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
250.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
281.0 nits
The Dell Alienware m18 R1 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 m18 R1
4.0 Hours
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has 8 hours of battery life. The Dell Alienware m18 R1 has 4 hours of battery life.

Portability

Very Good
Aspire 3 Spin 14
Alienware m18 R1
Poor
14.0in
SIZE
17.3in
3.3 lbs
WEIGHT
8.9 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has very good portability, while the Dell Alienware m18 R1 has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.

Build Quality

6.2
Aspire 3 Spin 14
Alienware m18 R1
8.5
The Dell Alienware m18 R1 has very good build quality, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has only fair build quality.

Cost

$418
Aspire 3 Spin 14
Alienware m18 R1
$2,600
Product image
Product image

$0

$1,000

$2,000

$3,000

$4,000

The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has a price of $418 and the Dell Alienware m18 R1 costs $2,600.
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How the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 and the Dell Alienware m18 R1 compare to other laptops

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Spec Comparison

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Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14Dell Alienware m18 R1
Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14Dell Alienware m18 R1

GENERAL

Price
$418
$2,600
Release Date
April 1, 2023October 1, 2022
Overall Dimensions
12.6'' x 9'' x 0.74''16.2'' x 12.6'' x 1.05''
Weight
3.31 lbs8.9 lbs
Width
12.6"16.15"
Depth
9"12.59"

INTERNAL

Processor
Intel i3-N305Intel i9-13900HX
RAM
8 GB32 GB
DDR Memory Version
55
RAM Slots
02
Storage
128 GB1024 GB

BATTERY

Battery Life
8 Hours4 Hours
Battery Capacity
40 Wh97 Wh

SCREEN

Diagonal Size
14"17.3"
Display Technology
IPSIPS
Resolution
1920 x 12002560 x 1600
Refresh Rate
60Hz165Hz
Display Brightness
250 nits281 nits

RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS

Build Quality Score
6.3/108.5/10
Portability Score
8.2/105.1/10
Gaming Laptop Appearance
NoYes
Premium Business Laptop
NoNo
Fan Noise Score
10/107/10

HARDWARE FEATURES

Keyboard Quality Score
6.3/108.5/10
Speaker Quality Score
6/108/10
Webcam
720p720p
Fingerprint Reader
NoNo
Backlit Keyboard
NoYes
Number Pad
NoYes

CONNECTIVITY

USB Type-A
24
USB-C ports
12
USB-C Charging
YesYes
Display Outputs
24
Thunderbolt Version
N/A4

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 m18 R1

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PCMag

Matthew Buzzi | July 2023
"Dell's Alienware m18 delivers on its promises: This is a large, powerful gaming laptop with the premium flair and feel you expect from an expensive purchase. The drawbacks are really the price and battery life, which in context are reasonable. (We'd also like to see more ports on the laptop's sides.) This price tier exists for deep-pocketed enthusiasts, and if you’re considering anything in this range, the m18 isn’t an outlier. For the majority of shoppers, of course, all of these mighty 18-inch systems are likely too expensive."

Get a great deal on the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 or the Dell Alienware m18 R1

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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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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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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