The Acer Aspire Go 14 is a budget-friendly option with decent general performance for everyday tasks, thanks to its AMD Ryzen 3 processor and 8GB of RAM. It offers a practical 14-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1920 x 1200, which is suitable for standard use. The laptop is lightweight and portable, making it a good choice for on-the-go activities. However, its AMD Radeon 610M GPU limits its capabilities for gaming, 3D rendering, or machine learning tasks. The battery life is respectable, providing around 9 hours of typical usage, and it has a durable build with a backlit keyboard.
On the other hand, the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is a high-performance machine designed for more demanding tasks, including gaming, 3D rendering, machine learning, and engineering workloads. Its M1 Pro chip with a 14-core GPU and 16GB of RAM delivers exceptional performance. The 14.2-inch Mini LED display boasts a high resolution of 3024 x 1964, offering vibrant colors and deep contrasts, which is particularly beneficial for creative professionals. The MacBook Pro also features a superior build quality, an excellent keyboard, and an outstanding webcam and speakers. It supports Thunderbolt connectivity and offers a good range of ports, along with a high-quality touch ID sensor for security. The battery life is impressive, lasting up to 13.5 hours, and the laptop's slim design adds to its portability despite its robust performance capabilities.
In summary, if you prioritize portability, general productivity, and value for money, the Acer Aspire Go 14 is a solid choice. However, if you require a powerful machine for intensive tasks, demand a superior display, and can justify the higher price, the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is the better investment. 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 Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021).
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021)
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Excellent overall display quality
Best in class overall build quality
Excellent battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.7/10
8.4/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
3024 x 1964
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
280.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
479.0 nits
9.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
13.5 Hours
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
8.2/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) 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
6.8/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.7/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
3024 x 1964
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.7/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) 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
6.8/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.7/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) 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
8.4/10
4.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.8/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
3024 x 1964
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) 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
6.8/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
3024 x 1964
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) 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
9.2/10
14.0in
SIZE
14.2in
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
3024 x 1964
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
280.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
479.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has a better screen than the Acer Aspire Go 14 for general use, 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
13.5 Hours
The Acer Aspire Go 14 has 9 hours of battery life. The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has 13.5 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.
Build Quality
7.4/10
10.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) has best in class build quality, while the Acer Aspire Go 14 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$350
$1,905
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Acer Aspire Go 14 has a price of $350 and the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) costs $1,905.
"In the Apple MacBook Pro 14 2023, the M2 Pro is slowed down. From the improved 5nm process, the new M2 Pro is a very solid upgrade. Graphics performance has increased by about 25% in tandem with a clear improvement in efficiency. The processor has also seen a performance leap of up to 20%, but this is accompanied by an increase in consumption of up to 25%. Fundamentally, Apple its maintaining its advantage over AMD and Intel, particularly in optimized applications where the results are very good in view of the comparatively low power consumption."
Get a great deal on the Acer Aspire Go 14 or the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021)
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 Apple
Apple, an American technology company, is one of the world’s largest company in terms of market capitalization. Their MacBook laptops feature a slim, minimalistic design, class-leading battery life, and premium display and speaker quality. In 2020 Apple switched from using Intel processors to their own silicon chips which have excellent performance and efficiency. The macOS operating system is the second most widely used OS, after Windows.
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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Joe Golden, Ph.D
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Staff Expert & Software Engineer
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