The ASUS Zenbook S 13 offers superior performance for demanding tasks like gaming, 3D rendering, and machine learning with its powerful Intel i7 processor and integrated Iris Xe graphics, which also supports hardware ray tracing. Its OLED display boasts vibrant colors and high contrast, making it excellent for content creation and consumption, though it's not ideal for fast-motion content due to its 60Hz refresh rate. The Zenbook is also highly portable, featuring a thin and light design with long battery life, and includes premium features like a backlit keyboard and facial recognition. However, it comes at a higher price point and has limited port selection with only two USB-C ports.
In contrast, the Acer Aspire Go 14 is a budget-friendly option with a more modest AMD Ryzen 3 processor and Radeon 610M graphics, suitable for general use and light tasks but not as capable for intensive gaming or engineering workloads. Its IPS display has a lower resolution and color accuracy compared to the ASUS, but it offers a higher screen aspect ratio of 16:10, which can be beneficial for productivity. The Aspire Go 14 is also less portable, with a bulkier design and shorter battery life, but it provides a more diverse set of ports, including USB-A, HDMI, and a microSD card reader, which could be important if you use a variety of peripherals.
Ultimately, if you prioritize performance, display quality, and portability and are willing to pay more for these premium features, the ASUS Zenbook S 13 is the better choice. However, if you're looking for an affordable laptop for everyday tasks and value a wider range of ports over top-tier performance, the Acer Aspire Go 14 would be more appropriate. 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 Go 14
The Acer Aspire Go 14 has no clear advantages over the ASUS Zenbook S 13.
Advantages of the ASUS Zenbook S 13
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Best in class portability
Very good battery life
Very good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.7/10
8.6/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1800
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
280.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
365.0 nits
9.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
11.0 Hours
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
8.2/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
9.5/10
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 is very good for general use, while the Acer Aspire Go 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
6.5/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.7/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1800
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 is only fair for gaming and AI, while the Acer Aspire Go 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
6.2/10
8.2/10
4.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.7/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 is very good for engineering and design, while the Acer Aspire Go 14 is only fair.
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
7.1/10
8.5/10
4.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1800
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 is very good for content creation, while the Acer Aspire Go 14 is good.
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
7.0/10
8.3/10
4.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1800
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 is very good for software development, while the Acer Aspire Go 14 is good.
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
6.7/10
8.1/10
14.0in
SIZE
13.3in
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1800
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
280.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
365.0 nits
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 has a better screen than the Acer Aspire Go 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
9.0 Hours
11.0 Hours
The Acer Aspire Go 14 has 9 hours of battery life. The ASUS Zenbook S 13 has 11 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
Best in Class
14.0in
SIZE
13.3in
3.2 lbs
WEIGHT
2.2 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.4in
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 has best in class portability, while the Acer Aspire Go 14 has very good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$350
$1,400
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Acer Aspire Go 14 has a price of $350 and the ASUS Zenbook S 13 costs $1,400.
"The Asus Zenbook S 13 is the slimmest OLED ultrabook worldwide struggles with annoying fans. The new Zenbook S 13 leaves us with mixed feelings, particularly since last year's model was so good. Asus has completely reworked the device, making the laptop noticeably slimmer. The result also looks good and the case makes a great impression, particularly also in terms of the stability. The new plasma ceramic surface feels great, and there are no problems with fingerprints. In addition, it now includes some of the known connections such as an HDMI port and a regular USB-A connection, which is a good achievement in such a slim device."
Get a great deal on the Acer Aspire Go 14 or the ASUS Zenbook S 13
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 ASUS
ASUS, a Taiwanese electronics brand, is one of the largest personal computer vendor by market share. The majority of their laptops are targeted towards personal use or gaming. Their most popular product lines include the budget-friendly VivoBook, more premium ZenBook, and their TUF and ROG gaming laptops, the latter of which has a reputation for excellent gaming performance.
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
23,768
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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.
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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.
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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.