For general use, the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 offers excellent value with its budget-friendly price, solid performance for everyday tasks, and versatile 2-in-1 design with a touchscreen. It's also highly portable due to its lightweight and fanless design, which ensures silent operation. However, its battery life is modest, and it's not suited for intensive tasks like gaming or engineering work due to its less powerful processor and integrated graphics.
In contrast, the Lenovo LOQ 16i is a more robust option for those needing stronger performance, especially for gaming, 3D rendering, and machine learning tasks, thanks to its dedicated Nvidia RTX 4050 graphics card and more powerful Intel i7 processor. It also has a larger screen with a higher refresh rate, which is beneficial for fast-moving visuals. The LOQ 16i offers better build quality, a backlit keyboard, and superior heat management, making it a more durable and comfortable choice for extended use. The tradeoff is its higher price point, increased weight, and slightly lower portability score.
Ultimately, if you prioritize portability, quiet operation, and a touchscreen on a budget, the Acer is a strong contender. But if you need a laptop that can handle more demanding tasks and are willing to carry a bit more weight and spend more, the Lenovo LOQ 16i is 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
Advantages of the Lenovo LOQ 16i
Good for general use
Good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Good for software development
Good overall display quality
Good overall build quality
Very good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.5/10
7.6/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
250.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
329.0 nits
8.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
8.1/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.3/10
The Lenovo LOQ 16i is good for general use, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is only fair.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Gaming and AI
5.8/10
7.5/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.0/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The Lenovo LOQ 16i is good for gaming and AI, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is poor.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Engineering and Design
5.9/10
7.9/10
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.9/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.0/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo LOQ 16i is good for engineering and design, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is poor.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Content Creation
7.0/10
7.5/10
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.9/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Lenovo LOQ 16i and Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 are both good for content creation, though the Lenovo LOQ 16i 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
7.5/10
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Lenovo LOQ 16i 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
16.0in
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
250.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
329.0 nits
The Lenovo LOQ 16 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.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
8.0 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has 8 hours of battery life. The Lenovo LOQ 16 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
Fair
14.0in
SIZE
16.0in
3.3 lbs
WEIGHT
5.7 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has very good portability, while the Lenovo LOQ 16i has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.2/10
7.4/10
The Lenovo LOQ 16i 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
$1,360
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has a price of $418 and the Lenovo LOQ 16i costs $1,360.
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."
"Gaming laptops with an RTX 4060 are available starting from about 1,000 Euros (~$1,060), even in 16-inch format. For the supposedly affordable Lenovo LOQ 16 (1,500 Euros, ~$1,591), the manufacturer particularly saves in the equipment and materials compared to the more expensive Legion series. In addition, the LOQ is slightly heavier and more bulky. What remains is anything but a laptop full of difficult compromises. Instead, this is a more than solid gaming laptop that focusses on the 3D performance.Q is slightly heavier and more bulky."
Get a great deal on the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 or the Lenovo LOQ 16i
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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