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What we think
The PerfectRec laptop team Learn more
Updated January 10, 2024·
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is a budget-friendly, lighter laptop with a touch screen, longer battery life, and is more suited for general use, fanless operation evidently contributing to a quieter experience. It's less powerful, so not ideal for intensive tasks. The MSI GP66 Leopard costs more but offers superior performance for engineering, 3D rendering, or gaming due to a high-end processor and graphics card. However, it is heavier with a shorter battery life, making it less portable, and lacks a touch screen. 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 MSI GP66 Leopard
- Good for general use
- Good for engineering and design
- Good for gaming and AI
- Good for software development
- Good overall display quality
- Very good overall build quality
- Good speakers
- Very good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.5
7.5
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
250.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
362.0 nits
8.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.0 Hours
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
8.1/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.8/10
The MSI GP66 Leopard 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
7.8
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.7/10
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
6.5/10
The MSI GP66 Leopard is good for gaming and AI, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is poor.
The MSI GP66 Leopard has a higher screen refresh rate and a more powerful Nvidia GPU, which are both very important for smooth and detailed gaming and 3D experiences, whereas the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has a lower refresh rate and an integrated Intel GPU that provides more modest gaming and 3D performance.
Engineering and Design
5.9
7.9
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.7/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The MSI GP66 Leopard is good for engineering and design, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is poor.
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14, with a lower-tier CPU, less RAM, and an integrated GPU, provides adequate but more limited capabilities for engineering and design tasks compared to the MSI GP66 Leopard, which boasts a high-end CPU, double the RAM, and a powerful dedicated GPU, favoring performance-intensive tasks. However, the Aspire 3 Spin's lighter build and silent operation make it more portable and less noisy, a tradeoff against the Leopard's focus on power and performance, often with greater weight and active cooling noise.
Screen Quality
6.2
7.5
14.0in
SIZE
15.6in
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
250.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
362.0 nits
The MSI GP66 Leopard 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.
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14's fair screen quality for general use is largely due to its average resolution and brightness, which are adequate for daily tasks but don't stand out. While sufficient for engineering and design, the screen’s color gamut may not cover the wide ranges preferred by professionals in those fields. For gaming and 3D works, the lack of a high refresh rate makes it less suitable, as it can't provide the smooth visuals often required by these applications.
Battery
8.0 Hours
5.0 Hours
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has 8 hours of battery life. The MSI GP66 Leopard has 5 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
15.6in
3.3 lbs
WEIGHT
5.2 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has very good portability, while the MSI GP66 Leopard has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.2
8.0
The MSI GP66 Leopard has very 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
$1,400
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has a price of $418 and the MSI GP66 Leopard costs $1,400.
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Key similarities
Content Creation
7.0
7.4
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI GP66 Leopard and Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 are both good for content creation.
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
7.2
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
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 MSI GP66 Leopard to be 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.
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How the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 and the MSI GP66 Leopard compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 | MSI GP66 Leopard |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$418 | $1,400 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | April 1, 2023 | May 1, 2021 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 12.6'' x 9'' x 0.74'' | 14.1'' x 10.5'' x 0.92'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 3.31 lbs | 5.25 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 12.6" | 14.09" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 9" | 10.51" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Intel i3-N305 | Intel i7-11800H | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 8 GB | 16 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 4 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 0 | 2 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 128 GB | 512 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 8 Hours | 5 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 40 Wh | 65 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 14" | 15.6" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1920 x 1200 | 1920 x 1080 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 60Hz | 144Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 250 nits | 362 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 6.3/10 | 8/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 8.2/10 | 6.9/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | No | Yes | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 10/10 | 6.5/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 6.3/10 | 8/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 6/10 | 7.5/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 720p | 720p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | No | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | No | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | No | No | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 2 | 3 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 1 | 0 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | No | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 2 | 2 | |
Thunderbolt Ports | |||
Thunderbolt Ports | 0 | 0 | |
Shopping
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."
MSI GP66 Leopard
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NotebookCheck
Christian Hintze | December 2021
"The MSI GP66 Leopard is a good budget high-performance gamer. The MSI also does a lot right outside of the pure performance despite it's low price. For example, the adaptive cooling system really surprised us positively, even in Extreme Performance Mode. And the display is not a budget panel either, but at least outshines the competition in terms of brightness. Of course, you also have to accept a few compromises in this price category. These include the Leopard's poor battery runtimes and the less than optimal build quality, which is also noticeable in the more complicated maintenance."
Get a great deal on the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 or the MSI GP66 Leopard
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 MSI
MSI, also known as Micro-Star International, is a Taiwanese technology corporation. MSI is known for their wide range of gaming devices. Their series include the entry-level Cyborg/Thin and Sword/Katana series, the mid-range Bravo/Delta and Crosshair/Pulse series, and their high-end Vector, Raider, Stealth, and Titan GT series. At every performance level, MSI offers a variety of devices with varying balances between performance, battery life, weight, and price, making them a solid option to consider at every price point.
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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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