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Aspire 3 Spin 14
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Modern 14
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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 tailored more towards general use with its touchscreen feature and convertibility, making it suitable for tasks like note-taking and content consumption; however, its performance is more modest compared to the MSI Modern 14, which offers better processing power suitable for more demanding tasks like 3D rendering and machine learning, thanks to its AMD Ryzen 5 processor. If portability is a major concern, the MSI Modern 14 is lighter. Both have similar screen sizes and resolutions, but only the Acer has a touchscreen. If budget is a main factor, you'll have to balance between the Acer's versatility and the MSI's higher performance. 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
  • The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has no clear advantages over the MSI Modern 14.
Advantages of the MSI Modern 14
  • Good for general use
  • Good for software development
  • Good overall build quality
  • Good speakers
  • Good keyboard

Key differences

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General Use

6.5
Aspire 3 Spin 14
Modern 14
7.2
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
250.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
311.0 nits
8.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
8.1/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.6/10
The MSI Modern 14 is good for general use, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is only fair.

Engineering and Design

5.9
Aspire 3 Spin 14
Modern 14
6.6
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.6/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The MSI Modern 14 is only fair for engineering and design, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is poor.

Screen Quality

6.2
Aspire 3 Spin 14
Modern 14
6.4
14.0in
SIZE
14.0in
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
250.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
311.0 nits
The MSI Modern 14 has a better screen than the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 for general use, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.

Battery

8.0 Hours
Aspire 3 Spin 14
Modern 14
6.0 Hours
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has 8 hours of battery life. The MSI Modern 14 has 6 hours of battery life.

Build Quality

6.2
Aspire 3 Spin 14
Modern 14
7.0
The MSI Modern 14 has good build quality, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has only fair build quality.

Cost

$418
Aspire 3 Spin 14
Modern 14
$525
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The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has a price of $418 and the MSI Modern 14 costs $525.
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Key similarities

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Gaming and AI

5.8
Aspire 3 Spin 14
Modern 14
6.0
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.7/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers MSI Modern 14 to be only fair for gaming and AI, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is poor.

Content Creation

7.0
Aspire 3 Spin 14
Modern 14
7.2
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.6/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Modern 14 and Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 are both good for content creation.

Software Development

6.9
Aspire 3 Spin 14
Modern 14
7.1
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.6/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers MSI Modern 14 to be good for software development, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is only fair.

Portability

Very Good
Aspire 3 Spin 14
Modern 14
Very Good
14.0in
SIZE
14.0in
3.3 lbs
WEIGHT
3.0 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The MSI Modern 14 and Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 both have very good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.

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How the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 and the MSI Modern 14 compare to other laptops

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Spec Comparison

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Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14MSI Modern 14
Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14MSI Modern 14

GENERAL

Price
$418
$525
Release Date
April 1, 2023October 1, 2021
Overall Dimensions
12.6'' x 9'' x 0.74''12.7'' x 8.7'' x 0.63''
Weight
3.31 lbs3.08 lbs
Width
12.6"12.68"
Depth
9"8.74"

INTERNAL

Processor
Intel i3-N305AMD Ryzen 5 7530U
RAM
8 GB16 GB
DDR Memory Version
55
RAM Slots
01
Storage
128 GB512 GB

BATTERY

Battery Life
8 Hours6 Hours
Battery Capacity
40 Wh39 Wh

SCREEN

Diagonal Size
14"14"
Display Technology
IPSIPS
Resolution
1920 x 12001920 x 1080
Refresh Rate
60Hz60Hz
Display Brightness
250 nits311 nits

RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS

Build Quality Score
6.3/107/10
Portability Score
8.2/108.7/10
Gaming Laptop Appearance
NoNo
Premium Business Laptop
NoNo
Fan Noise Score
10/108.8/10

HARDWARE FEATURES

Keyboard Quality Score
6.3/107/10
Speaker Quality Score
6/107/10
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
21
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."

MSI Modern 14

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Rtings

Alexander Tozzi, Ryan Lim, and John Peroramas | October 2023
"The MSI Modern 14 is okay for school use. It's very compact, so it's easy to carry around. It has a sharp display, a spacious keyboard, and a reasonably large touchpad. Its Intel 13th Gen CPU and integrated graphics can handle general productivity tasks like text processing and web browsing; however, don't expect to do anything intensive like 3D modeling or physics simulations. Unfortunately, the battery lasts less than five hours of light use, and the display doesn't get bright enough to combat glare."

Get a great deal on the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 or the MSI Modern 14

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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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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