Choosing between the Acer Swift 3 and the HP Spectre x360 14 depends on your priorities. If budget is your main concern, the Acer Swift 3 offers solid performance for everyday tasks at a more affordable price. On the other hand, if you're looking for a premium experience with a more stylish design, higher build quality, a better display, and the versatility of a 2-in-1 with a touchscreen, the HP Spectre x360 14 is the better choice. The Spectre also typically offers longer battery life and can handle more demanding applications, making it more suitable for tasks beyond general use, but it comes at a higher cost. 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 battery life
Advantages of the HP Spectre x360 14
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Best in class speakers
Very good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.7/10
8.7/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1800
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
309.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
12.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
9.0 Hours
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
8.9/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.4/10
The HP Spectre x360 14 is very good for general use, while the Acer Swift 3 is good.
The Acer Swift 3 delivers respectable day-to-day performance with sufficient CPU and RAM to handle most tasks, a decent screen, and good portability, but it's the HP Spectre x360 14 that stands out with its superior CPU, higher-quality RAM, a sharper and brighter screen that enhances user experience, and longer battery life, all while maintaining a sleek design for easy carrying. While both laptops have ample storage and good keyboards, the HP's edge in battery life and portability makes it better suited for on-the-go usage without sacrificing screen quality and performance.
Gaming and AI
6.3/10
6.8/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1800
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
9.5/10
The HP Spectre x360 14 and Acer Swift 3 are both only fair for gaming and AI, though the HP Spectre x360 14 is somewhat better.
The Acer Swift 3 and the HP Spectre x360 14 are both equipped with GPUs that can handle light gaming and 3D tasks, but they may struggle with high-end games or complex 3D rendering due to their limited graphics capabilities. While the Swift 3 offers solid performance for its price, the Spectre x360 14, with its higher screen quality and better CPU, provides smoother visuals and multitasking, but at a higher cost and with a screen refresh rate that is still not ideal for the most demanding gaming scenarios.
Engineering and Design
7.1/10
8.4/10
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.8/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The HP Spectre x360 14 is very good for engineering and design, while the Acer Swift 3 is good.
The HP Spectre x360 14, with a more powerful CPU, extra RAM, and better GPU, excels in demanding engineering and design tasks, while also offering a superior screen quality for detailed visuals. The Acer Swift 3, while still capable for engineering purposes, trades some performance for increased portability and comes with a satisfactory keyboard, speaker, and reduced operating noise, making it a solid choice for on-the-go productivity.
Content Creation
7.6/10
8.7/10
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.8/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1800
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
The HP Spectre x360 14 is 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
8.4/10
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.8/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1800
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The HP Spectre x360 14 is very good for software development, while the Acer Swift 3 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
6.8/10
8.6/10
14.0in
SIZE
14.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1800
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
309.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
The HP Spectre x360 14 has a better screen than the Acer Swift 3 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
For general use, the Acer Swift 3 provides a satisfactory display with enough resolution and brightness to handle everyday tasks, but the HP Spectre x360 14 offers a sharper and brighter screen which enhances viewing comfort and readability. When it comes to engineering and design, both laptops offer good color accuracy and range, crucial for detail-oriented work, though the HP might edge out with slightly broader color coverage. However, neither is ideal for Gaming and 3D due to their lower refresh rates, which can limit the smoothness and responsiveness critical for immersive gaming and fluid 3D rendering.
Battery
12.0 Hours
9.0 Hours
The Acer Swift 3 has 12 hours of battery life. The HP Spectre x360 14 has 9 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
8.5/10
The HP Spectre x360 14 has very good build quality, while the Acer Swift 3 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$500
$1,630
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Acer Swift 3 has a price of $500 and the HP Spectre x360 14 costs $1,630.
"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 numbers don’t lie — the HP Spectre x360 14 (2024) is a star, and a hell of a one at that. From performance to battery life, this machine is a dream. But why didn’t I give it a perfect score? Well, I wish the display performed better and that there were more ports to go around. If you’re itching for someone a little cheaper that offers a brighter display and significantly more battery life, I can only recommend the MacBook Pro 14 as a suitable substitute. Otherwise, the HP Spectre x360 14 (2024) is the perfect choice for those who want a reliable premium laptop."
Get a great deal on the Acer Swift 3 or the HP Spectre x360 14
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.