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Nitro 17 (2024)
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Surface Laptop Go 3
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Advantages of the Acer Nitro 17 (2024)
  • Very good for engineering and design
  • Very good for gaming and AI
  • Very good for content creation
  • Very good overall display quality
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3
  • Excellent portability

Key differences

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General Use

7.8
Nitro 17 (2024)
Surface Laptop Go 3
7.2
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
326.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
337.0 nits
6.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
8.0 Hours
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
5.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
9.2/10
The Acer Nitro 17 (2024) and Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 are both good for general use, though the Acer Nitro 17 (2024) is somewhat better.

Gaming and AI

8.1
Nitro 17 (2024)
Surface Laptop Go 3
6.1
8.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
6.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The Acer Nitro 17 (2024) is very good for gaming and AI, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 is only fair.

Engineering and Design

8.5
Nitro 17 (2024)
Surface Laptop Go 3
6.8
9.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.4/10
8.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The Acer Nitro 17 (2024) is very good for engineering and design, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 is only fair.

Content Creation

8.1
Nitro 17 (2024)
Surface Laptop Go 3
7.3
9.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.4/10
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Acer Nitro 17 (2024) is very good for content creation, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 is good.

Screen Quality

8.0
Nitro 17 (2024)
Surface Laptop Go 3
6.8
17.3in
SIZE
12.4in
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
326.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
337.0 nits
The Acer Nitro 17 has a better screen than the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.

Battery

6.0 Hours
Nitro 17 (2024)
Surface Laptop Go 3
8.0 Hours
The Acer Nitro 17 has 6 hours of battery life. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 has 8 hours of battery life.

Portability

Poor
Nitro 17 (2024)
Surface Laptop Go 3
Excellent
17.3in
SIZE
12.4in
6.6 lbs
WEIGHT
2.4 lbs
1.1in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 has excellent portability, while the Acer Nitro 17 (2024) has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.

Cost

$1,250
Nitro 17 (2024)
Surface Laptop Go 3
$699
Product image
Product image

$0

$500

$1,000

$1,500

$2,000

The Acer Nitro 17 (2024) has a price of $1,250 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 costs $699.
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Key similarities

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Software Development

7.6
Nitro 17 (2024)
Surface Laptop Go 3
7.1
9.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Acer Nitro 17 (2024) and Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 are both good for software development.

Build Quality

7.4
Nitro 17 (2024)
Surface Laptop Go 3
7.8
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 and Acer Nitro 17 (2024) both have good build quality.

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How the Acer Nitro 17 (2024) and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 compare to other laptops

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Spec Comparison

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Acer Nitro 17 (2024)Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3
Acer Nitro 17 (2024)Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3

GENERAL

Price
$1,250
$699
Release Date
January 1, 2024October 1, 2023
Overall Dimensions
15.8'' x 11.6'' x 1.14''11'' x 8.1'' x 0.62''
Weight
6.62 lbs2.49 lbs
Width
15.76"10.95"
Depth
11.55"8.12"

INTERNAL

Processor
Intel i7-14700HXIntel i5-1235U
RAM
16 GB8 GB
DDR Memory Version
55
RAM Slots
20
Storage
1024 GB256 GB

BATTERY

Battery Life
6 Hours8 Hours
Battery Capacity
90 Wh41 Wh

SCREEN

Diagonal Size
17.3"12.4"
Display Technology
IPSIPS
Resolution
2560 x 14401536 x 1024
Refresh Rate
165Hz60Hz
Display Brightness
326 nits337 nits

RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS

Build Quality Score
7.4/107.8/10
Portability Score
5.6/109.3/10
Gaming Laptop Appearance
YesNo
Premium Business Laptop
NoNo
Fan Noise Score
6.8/107.5/10

HARDWARE FEATURES

Keyboard Quality Score
7/107/10
Speaker Quality Score
8/108.4/10
Webcam
720p720p
Fingerprint Reader
NoYes
Backlit Keyboard
YesNo
Number Pad
YesNo

CONNECTIVITY

USB Type-A
31
USB-C ports
21
USB-C Charging
YesNo
Display Outputs
31
Thunderbolt Ports
00

Shopping

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Acer Nitro 17 (2024)

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Dig into reviews and images

PCMag

Mark Knapp | October 2023
"The Acer Nitro 17 isn't an exceptional gaming laptop; it's kind of chunky even among 17.3-inch notebooks, with a lackluster keyboard, and it doesn't outperform comparably priced machines. But there's a lot to like about it, including a good array of ports, a screen that's sharp and bright for work and play alike, and battery life that soundly beats the competition. All this comes at an affordable price. If size and weight aren't big concerns, you'll find the Nitro 17 a dependable big-screen gaming rig. If you crave higher quality, consider a slight step down or up in screen size with the Lenovo Legion Slim 5 Gen 8 or Alienware m18 respectively."

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3

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Dig into reviews and images

PCMag

Joe Osborne | October 2023
"When it comes to affordably priced laptops, the numbers after the dollar sign are crucially important—more so than in any other price category. By increasing the starting price of its Laptop Go line by $200 and not changing much else, Microsoft irrevocably altered the calculus surrounding the decision of whether to buy the Surface Laptop Go 3. Sure, it has a newer processor and longer battery life, but don’t think for a second you’re not paying dearly for that extra RAM and SSD capacity at that new price."

Get a great deal on the Acer Nitro 17 (2024) or the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3

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 Microsoft

Microsoft is an American technology corporation. Microsoft is best known for their Windows operating system and Surface laptop series. The Surface Laptop is their standard notebook offering, while their Surface Go, Surface Pro, and Surface Studio are their 2-in-1/tablet offerings in order of increasing capability. Although Microsoft charges a premium price tag for their laptops, buyers can expect a well integrated and packaged device since Microsoft develops the Windows operating system.

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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.

By the numbers

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Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
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Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
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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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