For general use, the Acer Aspire Go 14 offers excellent value with a budget-friendly price, solid performance, and a high-quality screen with a taller 16:10 aspect ratio, making it great for web browsing and productivity tasks. However, its gaming and engineering capabilities are limited due to its less powerful GPU and CPU. It's also highly portable, lightweight, and has a good battery life, ideal for on-the-go use.
On the other hand, the MSI Prestige 15, while pricier, delivers a significant performance boost for more demanding tasks like gaming, 3D rendering, and machine learning, thanks to its dedicated Nvidia GTX 1650 Max-Q GPU and more powerful Intel i5 processor. It also has a larger screen with a standard 16:9 aspect ratio, which is better for multimedia consumption. The Prestige 15 is still portable but slightly heavier and thicker than the Acer. Its battery life is decent but not as long-lasting as the Acer's.
In summary, choose the Acer Aspire Go 14 for its portability, battery life, and suitability for everyday tasks. Opt for the MSI Prestige 15 if you need stronger performance for gaming and intensive applications, and you're willing to compromise slightly on portability and battery life. 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
Very good portability
Advantages of the MSI Prestige 15
Good for general use
Good for engineering and design
Key differences
General Use
6.7/10
7.5/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
280.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
298.0 nits
9.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
7.5 Hours
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
8.2/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.7/10
The MSI Prestige 15 is 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
6.3/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The MSI Prestige 15 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
7.2/10
4.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.1/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The MSI Prestige 15 is 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.
Screen Quality
6.7/10
6.8/10
14.0in
SIZE
15.6in
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
280.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
298.0 nits
The MSI Prestige 15 has a better screen than the Acer Aspire Go 14 for general use, 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
7.5 Hours
The Acer Aspire Go 14 has 9 hours of battery life. The MSI Prestige 15 has 7.5 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.
Cost
$350
$1,044
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Acer Aspire Go 14 has a price of $350 and the MSI Prestige 15 costs $1,044.
The MSI Prestige 15 and Acer Aspire Go 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
7.0/10
7.2/10
4.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.1/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
The MSI Prestige 15 and Acer Aspire Go 14 are both good for software development.
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.
Portability
Very Good
Good
14.0in
SIZE
15.6in
3.2 lbs
WEIGHT
3.7 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.7in
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Acer Aspire Go 14 to have very good portability, while the MSI Prestige 15 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.4/10
7.4/10
The Acer Aspire Go 14 and MSI Prestige 15 both have good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Acer Aspire Go 14 and the MSI Prestige 15 compare to other laptops
"The MSI Prestige 15 offers a dazzling 4K image quality, and solid performance. The MSI Prestige 15 appears to consistently implement the guiding principle of throttling the solid and efficient hardware to such an extent that content creation succeeds perfectly. Performance-hungry tasks, on the other hand, are slowed down a little by the reduced power consumption. Conversely, this means that the case remains relatively cool and the dual fan subdued. The battery life also benefits somewhat. So the losses aren't really dramatic because full performance is still available for short bursts."
Get a great deal on the Acer Aspire Go 14 or the MSI Prestige 15
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.
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.
By the numbers
380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
109,695
Recommendations made
23,768
Consumer hours saved
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.