If you're looking for a laptop primarily for general usage and prioritize portability and cost, the Acer Swift 3 is a solid choice due to its lighter weight and significantly lower price. However, if you need high performance for activities such as gaming, 3D design, or machine learning, and are willing to invest more, the HP Omen 17 would be more suitable as it has more powerful components, including a better graphics card and processor. Keep in mind the HP Omen 17 is heavier and less portable, and it will have a shorter battery life due to its more power-hungry hardware. 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 Swift 3
Very good portability
Very good battery life
Advantages of the HP Omen 17
Very good for engineering and design
Excellent for gaming and AI
Very good for content creation
Good overall display quality
Very good speakers
Very good keyboard
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.3/10
9.0/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.8/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The HP Omen 17 is excellent for gaming and AI, while the Acer Swift 3 is only fair.
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
7.1/10
8.8/10
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.8/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The HP Omen 17 is very good for engineering and design, while the Acer Swift 3 is good.
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
6.8/10
7.9/10
14.0in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
309.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
350.0 nits
The HP Omen 17 has a better screen than the Acer Swift 3 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, and software development.
The Acer Swift 3's screen presents crisp and vibrant visuals for everyday tasks due to its decent resolution and brightness but lacks the high refresh rate crucial for smooth 3D content and gaming experiences. The HP Omen 17, with superior brightness and resolution, delivers a more immersive experience for both general use and engineering tasks; however, its lower refresh rate might detract from the fluidity required by intense gaming and 3D applications. Neither laptop is ideal for high-end gaming or 3D work, but for users focusing on general use and detailed engineering or design work, both provide suitable screen quality, with the HP offering a slight edge in visual clarity.
Battery
12.0 Hours
3.5 Hours
The Acer Swift 3 has 12 hours of battery life. The HP Omen 17 has 3.5 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.
Portability
Very Good
Fair
14.0in
SIZE
17.3in
2.7 lbs
WEIGHT
6.1 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Acer Swift 3 has very good portability, while the HP Omen 17 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$500
$2,099
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
The Acer Swift 3 has a price of $500 and the HP Omen 17 costs $2,099.
The HP Omen 17 and Acer Swift 3 are both good for general use.
The Acer Swift 3, with its capable Intel i5 CPU and 16 GB RAM, offers reliable performance for general use, complemented by its portability and long battery life, making it suitable for mobile users who need efficiency on-the-go. In contrast, the HP Omen 17, although heavier and with shorter battery life, boasts a more powerful Intel i7 CPU and superior screen quality, and is a better fit for users who prioritize high-end performance and display over portability.
Content Creation
7.6/10
8.0/10
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers HP Omen 17 to be very good for content creation, while the Acer Swift 3 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
7.6/10
7.7/10
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The HP Omen 17 and Acer Swift 3 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.
Build Quality
7.4/10
7.4/10
The Acer Swift 3 and HP Omen 17 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 Swift 3 and the HP Omen 17 compare to other laptops
"With the Swift 3, Acer delivers a 14-inch laptop with a sleek, slim metal chassis. The latter is of high quality and sturdy enough for everyday use, which is a real plus point among the 700-Euro (~$798) models. A new feature is Thunderbolt 4 in the Type-C format for peripherals or even displays (DisplayPort via Type-C). Unfortunately, a card reader is still missing, and the RAM is completely onboard, so there are no upgrade options here. Acer's 14-incher is affordable, yet it does everything most would want from a truly mobile laptop: Long battery life, a great display, quality, sufficient ports, light weight, and low noise and heat emissions."
"The HP Omen 17 (2022) gaming laptop has a stylish case and hardware with lots of potential. The HP Omen 17 is a fairly unobtrusive gaming laptop. A material combination of plastic and metal gives the case a high stability and a quality surface feel. The unspectacular design is pleasing and is hardly indicative of the laptop's high performance potential. The Intel Core i7-12700H in particular is able to perform well once again. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti is also strong in the gaming notebook. Demanding games run smoothly in Full HD resolution. The HP Omen 17 is a good gaming laptop that delivers partly excellent performance. But even at this performance level, cheaper alternatives are available."
Get a great deal on the Acer Swift 3 or the HP Omen 17
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 HP
HP, also known as Hewlett-Packard, is an American technology company that develops personal computers and computer peripherals. In the laptop industry, HP is known for its entry level Essential series laptops, its mid-range Pavilion, Envy, and Victus series, and high-end Omen and Spectre series, in addition to its business-oriented EliteBook, ProBook, and Dragonfly series laptops. HP laptops generally undercut other mainstream competitors in terms of price, placing itself as the value-oriented mainstream brand.
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
131,295
Recommendations made
28,448
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.