Acer Aspire 5 17 vs Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023)

The Acer Aspire 5 17 offers a good balance for general use, featuring essential components like an Intel i5 CPU, and ample RAM, along with a 17.3-inch screen that provides decent screen quality and color accuracy. The Apple MacBook Air 15, on the other hand, stands out with its Apple M2 chip and higher resolution 15.3-inch display, promoting enhanced performance and screen clarity, plus it is more portable and offers a silent operation, but at the expense of a smaller screen size and a higher price point.

The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) is better suited for engineering and design due to its superior CPU and GPU performance, as both are integrated into the Apple M2 chip, which is well-regarded for its efficiency and power, complemented by a high-resolution, color-accurate screen that makes it a good choice for design work. In contrast, the Acer Aspire 5 17 has a less powerful Intel i5 CPU and Iris Xe graphics, with a lower resolution display, making it fair for engineering tasks but not as optimal for design work that requires a high-quality display; plus, its larger size and weight make it less portable than the MacBook.

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.

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.

The Acer Aspire 5 17 likely has a decent resolution and brightness but may lack the color accuracy and gamut ranges needed for professional engineering and design tasks, hence its fair screen quality assessment in these areas; for gaming and 3D work, it probably has a lower refresh rate, making it less suitable. The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023), with its high resolution and superior color coverage, offers excellent visuals for general computing and professional work that relies on color precision. However, for 3D applications where fast refresh rates are crucial, both laptops have poorer screen quality as they presumably do not prioritize high refresh rates that gaming and 3D modeling often require.

Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.

PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.

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.