Acer Swift 3 vs Dell Inspiron 14 5420

If you're into general computing, the Acer Swift 3's high resolution and bright display make it a solid choice over the Dell Inspiron, which has a fair display, but it might not be as sharp or as bright. For engineering and design tasks, the Acer again stands out with a screen that shows colors more accurately due to better coverage of professional color gamuts, while the Dell has decent, but not top-tier color performance. However, for gaming and 3D work, both laptops' screens lag in refresh rate, making them less ideal for fast-paced visuals, but the Acer's better resolution and panel type are less relevant here compared to refresh rate needs.

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

The Acer Swift 3 is known for general use due to its solid combination of a strong CPU, ample RAM, and quality IPS display with touchscreen functionality, enhanced by its great portability and long battery life. The Dell Inspiron 14 5420 also serves well for general use with a higher-tier CPU and dedicated graphics, a higher resolution screen without touch, and good build quality, but it is slightly heavier and has a shorter battery life, though still offering robust performance for a range of tasks.

The Acer Swift 3 has an integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics, which is less powerful for gaming and 3D applications compared to the dedicated Nvidia MX570 GPU found in the Dell Inspiron 14 5420, although both have similar screen refresh rates and sizes. However, the Inspiron has a higher screen resolution which can offer a crisper image but potentially requires more power from the GPU for gaming and 3D tasks.

The Acer Swift 3, with an Intel Iris Xe GPU and a good balance between portability and screen quality, is adept for engineering and design tasks, while the Dell Inspiron 14 5420 steps up performance with its Nvidia MX570 GPU and a higher resolution display, appealing to those needing more graphic-intensive capabilities. However, the Dell is slightly heavier, which impacts portability, but both laptops have sufficient CPU and RAM to handle demanding applications, although the Dell has a more powerful CPU. Both have quality keyboards and manage operating noise well, but tradeoffs include the Acer's better portability and speaker quality against the Dell's superior screen and GPU for graphic tasks.

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.

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