For general use with a need for portability and longer battery life, the Acer Swift 3 excels due to its lighter weight and its ability to last longer on a charge. However, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro offers superior performance in 3D tasks, machine learning, and gaming thanks to a dedicated graphics card, albeit with a heavier build and slightly shorter battery life. Bear in mind the Acer Swift 3 has a lower resolution but touch-enabled screen, while the IdeaPad 5 Pro provides a higher resolution and a larger display, enhancing the viewing and engineering experience despite lacking touch functionality. The IdeaPad also boasts a better keyboard and has advanced features like a higher screen refresh rate and hardware ray tracing that could benefit specific professional and gaming applications. Choose the Swift 3 for lightness and general tasks, or the IdeaPad 5 Pro for intensive engineering, 3D work, and better gaming capabilities at the expense of some portability. 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
Advantages of the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro
Good overall display quality
Good speakers
Very good keyboard
Key differences
Screen Quality
6.8/10
7.8/10
14.0in
SIZE
16.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
309.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
409.0 nits
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro has a better screen than the Acer Swift 3 for general use, gaming and AI, and engineering and design.
If you value a clear and vivid display for everyday tasks or professional design work, both the Acer Swift 3 and Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro offer screens that shine in resolution and brightness, which is essential for reading text, watching videos, and detailed design work. For creatives concerned with accurate color representation, these laptops may not fully satisfy your needs as their coverage of pro-level color gamuts like DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB, vital for precision in design, may not be as comprehensive. Gamers and those into 3D work may find these models less appealing, as their screens don't refresh as rapidly as specialized gaming laptops, nor do they prioritize the fast panel response times critical for smooth gameplay and dynamic 3D rendering.
Battery
12.0 Hours
10.0 Hours
The Acer Swift 3 has 12 hours of battery life. The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro has 10 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
Good
14.0in
SIZE
16.0in
2.7 lbs
WEIGHT
4.3 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Acer Swift 3 has very good portability, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
The Acer Swift 3 and Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro are both good for general use.
The Acer Swift 3 and Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro both offer ample processing power and memory for fluid general use, high-quality screens with good color coverage, and are lightweight and slim for easy portability. The Swift 3 boasts a longer battery life for on-the-go use, while the IdeaPad 5 Pro provides a sharper, larger display and improved audio and keyboard quality, making it better suited for multimedia tasks and prolonged typing sessions.
Gaming and AI
6.3/10
6.5/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.3/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro and Acer Swift 3 are both only fair for gaming and AI.
The Acer Swift 3's integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics and 60Hz screen refresh rate limit its gaming and 3D performance compared to dedicated GPUs, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro's Nvidia RTX 3050 and higher 120Hz refresh rate give it an edge in rendering games and 3D applications more smoothly. However, both laptops' screen quality and CPU capabilities are sufficient for less demanding gaming and general 3D tasks.
Engineering and Design
7.1/10
7.2/10
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.4/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.3/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro and Acer Swift 3 are both good for engineering and design.
The Acer Swift 3, with its Intel processor and integrated GPU, offers strong performance for engineering and design, and is also very portable and quieter under load due to its lower power components. In contrast, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro, featuring a more powerful AMD processor and dedicated Nvidia GPU, excels in graphics-intensive tasks but is heavier and might produce more operating noise, trading off some portability and quietness for higher performance.
Content Creation
7.6/10
7.5/10
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.4/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Acer Swift 3 and Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 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
7.6/10
7.4/10
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Acer Swift 3 and Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 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
7.6/10
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro and Acer Swift 3 both have good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$500
$516
$200
$300
$400
$500
$600
$700
$800
The Acer Swift 3 has a price of $500 and the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro costs $516.
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How the Acer Swift 3 and the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 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 Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro turns out a successful all-rounder that, aside from 3D applications, always strikes a good or very good figure. This begins with the elegant metal case that isn't particularly light but fairly robust, giving a high-quality impression. The input devices are also better than those of many competitors. Both the keyboard and the touchpad are attractive and comfortable. In addition, the performance of the Ryzen 5 6600HS is easily able to keep up with the Intel competitors."
Get a great deal on the Acer Swift 3 or the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro
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 Lenovo
Lenovo is a Chinese technology company, and one of the largest personal computer vendor. They are well known for a variety of technology products, including laptops. Their consumer series include their entry level IdeaPad and LOQ series and mid-to-high-end Yoga and Legion series. On the business-oriented side, their series include their entry-level ThinkBook series and mid-to-high-end ThinkPad series. Lenovo laptops offer strong performance for reasonable prices, and are often on sale.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.