Choosing between the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 and the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i comes down to how much you value performance versus cost and portability. The Acer is more budget-friendly and very portable, making it suitable for everyday tasks and light productivity. It has a touch screen and fanless operation for quiet use, but it has lower storage capacity and performance power—fit for general use and not demanding applications. On the other hand, the Lenovo is priced higher but offers powerful processing with advanced graphics, larger storage, double the RAM, and a higher-refresh-rate screen, aligning well with intensive needs like 3D rendering, machine learning, and some gaming. However, it is heavier and has a shorter battery life, which affects portability. Choose the Acer for cost-effective, casual use or the Lenovo for higher performance at the expense of cost and portability. 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 Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i
Good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Good for software development
Good overall display quality
Good overall build quality
Good speakers
Very good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.5/10
7.7/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
250.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
409.0 nits
8.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
8.1/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.5/10
The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i is good for general use, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is only fair.
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has modest internals with an i3 processor and 8GB of RAM which may limit performance for demanding tasks, while its smaller storage capacity and lower screen quality offer less space and visual clarity compared to the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i. The IdeaPad Pro 5i, on the other hand, boasts a more powerful i7 processor, double the RAM for smoother multitasking, and a higher resolution screen, making it better suited for intensive applications, though it's heavier and may be less convenient for on-the-go usage.
Gaming and AI
5.8/10
7.4/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
6.7/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i is good for gaming and AI, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is poor.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i outperforms the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 in gaming and 3D tasks primarily due to its superior GPU and higher screen refresh rate, which are crucial for smooth and visually detailed gaming experiences. While the Acer comes with an integrated GPU suitable for basic tasks, the Lenovo's dedicated Nvidia graphics and refresh rate double that of the Acer's make it a more capable device for demanding gaming and 3D applications.
Engineering and Design
5.9/10
8.1/10
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
6.7/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i is very good for engineering and design, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is poor.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i is rated higher for engineering and design use primarily due to its superior CPU, RAM, and GPU, which are crucial for performance in these fields, as well as a higher quality display offering better resolution, brightness, and color accuracy. In contrast, the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has lower specs in these critical areas, making it less suitable for intensive tasks, although it does offer the advantage of being lighter and silent due to fanless operation, thus more portable and quiet.
Content Creation
7.0/10
7.7/10
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i and Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 are both good for content creation, though the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i 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
7.7/10
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i 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
7.8/10
14.0in
SIZE
16.0in
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
250.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
409.0 nits
The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i 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 Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i stands out with a higher resolution and brighter display, offering crisp visuals and wide viewing angles, whereas the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has a lower resolution and less vibrant screen, making it less ideal. When considering engineering and design, the Pro 5i boasts a superior color range, rendering it more suitable for tasks that demand color accuracy, compared to the Aspire 3 Spin 14 which offers adequate but not exceptional color coverage. For gaming and 3D applications, both the Aspire 3 Spin 14 and the Pro 5i fall short due to lower refresh rates, but the high resolution and panel quality of the Pro 5i may still provide a more satisfying visual experience than the Acer for casual use.
Battery
8.0 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has 8 hours of battery life. The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i has 6 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
4.3 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has very good portability, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.2/10
7.6/10
The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i 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
$950
$200
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has a price of $418 and the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i costs $950.
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."
"Lenovo’s IdeaPad Pro 5i represents an impressive opening salvo for Meteor Lake in the ultraportable space against familiar foes from AMD and Apple. Not only does the Core Ultra 5 125H processor provide good performance across the board, but battery life remains a strong point against the Acer Swift Edge 16 with its AMD Ryzen 7 7840U processor. It can’t quite match the endurance of the 15-inch MacBook Pro, but the gap is shrinking."
Get a great deal on the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 or the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i
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 Lenovo
Lenovo is a Chinese technology company, and one of the largest personal computer vendor. They are well known for a variety of technology products, including laptops. Their consumer series include their entry level IdeaPad and LOQ series and mid-to-high-end Yoga and Legion series. On the business-oriented side, their series include their entry-level ThinkBook series and mid-to-high-end ThinkPad series. Lenovo laptops offer strong performance for reasonable prices, and are often on sale.
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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