If you prioritize long battery life and want a lighter, more easily portable laptop for general use, the Acer Swift 3 with its touch screen would be a better fit; it is also more budget-friendly and thus less expensive. However, if your focus is on high performance for 3D rendering, machine learning, gaming, or engineering tasks, the Lenovo Legion 7 offers superior graphics and processing power but comes at a higher price and reduced battery life. The Legion 7's larger screen and higher resolution also provide a better visual experience, though it is significantly heavier and less portable. Give Feedback
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Advantages of the Acer Swift 3
Very good portability
Very good battery life
Advantages of the Lenovo Legion 7
Very good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Very good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Very good speakers
Excellent keyboard
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.3/10
7.8/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.4/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Lenovo Legion 7 is good for gaming and AI, while the Acer Swift 3 is only fair.
The Lenovo Legion 7 outperforms the Acer Swift 3 in gaming and 3D mainly because it has a high-end Nvidia RTX 3070 GPU which is much more capable for these tasks than the integrated Intel Iris Xe GPU in the Swift 3. Furthermore, the Legion 7 offers a higher screen refresh rate, which results in smoother visuals, essential for gaming and 3D applications, compared to the standard refresh rate on the Swift 3.
Engineering and Design
7.1/10
8.2/10
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion 7 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
8.3/10
14.0in
SIZE
16.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
309.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
469.0 nits
The Lenovo Legion 7 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, with its decent resolution and brightness, offers a display that's clear and vibrant for everyday tasks but may fall short for gaming due to its lower refresh rate, which can lead to less smooth visuals in fast-paced games. The Lenovo Legion 7 steps up with higher resolution and brightness, benefiting all general tasks, and its advanced color gamut support ensures accurate colors for engineering and design work; however, despite these strengths, its lower refresh rate might not match a gamer's need for fluid motion. The importance of a high refresh rate for 3D gaming cannot be overstated, as it's critical for an immersive and responsive experience, something both laptops lack.
Battery
12.0 Hours
6.5 Hours
The Acer Swift 3 has 12 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Legion 7 has 6.5 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
Good
14.0in
SIZE
16.0in
2.7 lbs
WEIGHT
5.5 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.8in
The Acer Swift 3 has very good portability, while the Lenovo Legion 7 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.4/10
8.5/10
The Lenovo Legion 7 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
$1,500
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Acer Swift 3 has a price of $500 and the Lenovo Legion 7 costs $1,500.
The Lenovo Legion 7 and Acer Swift 3 are both good for general use.
The Acer Swift 3 with a competent CPU, sufficient RAM, and good battery life is lightweight and highly portable, making it very suitable for general use where mobility and long battery life are essential. In contrast, the Lenovo Legion 7 offers a powerful CPU, superior GPU, and excellent screen quality, designed for heavy-duty tasks but compromising on portability due to its larger size and shorter battery life, which is less ideal for on-the-go usage.
Content Creation
7.6/10
7.9/10
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Lenovo Legion 7 and Acer Swift 3 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
7.6/10
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The Acer Swift 3 and Lenovo Legion 7 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.
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How the Acer Swift 3 and the Lenovo Legion 7 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 Legion 7 is a fast 16-inch gamer with 165 Hz display. The new Lenovo Legion 7 is a very good gaming notebook that, despite its comparatively compact compact 16-inch case, does not have to do without the most powerful components. Thanks to good cooling, no compromises are made in terms of performance. Both the Core i9-12900HX and the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti perform at a very high level."
Get a great deal on the Acer Swift 3 or the Lenovo Legion 7
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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