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Updated January 10, 2024·
When deciding between the Acer Swift 3 and the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i, consider how you will use the laptop. The Acer Swift 3 is more budget-friendly and portable, making it suitable for general use and easy to carry around, with a compelling battery life. However, the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i, while more expensive and heavier, offers a significant boost in performance for 3D applications, machine learning, and gaming due to its advanced processor and graphics card. It also has a higher resolution display and a better build quality but comes with a shorter battery life. Choose the Acer Swift 3 for everyday tasks and portability or the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i if you need high performance for specialized tasks and can manage a slightly bulkier machine with less battery time. 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 Lenovo Legion Slim 5i
- Very good for engineering and design
- Very good for gaming and AI
- Very good for content creation
- Very good overall display quality
- Good speakers
- Very good keyboard
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.3
8.0
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 Slim 5i is very good for gaming and AI, while the Acer Swift 3 is only fair.
The Lenovo Legion Slim 5i offers superior gaming and 3D capabilities primarily because of its Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU, that is well-suited for graphic-intensive tasks, and its high screen refresh rate of 165Hz, resulting in smoother visuals during gameplay.
Engineering and Design
7.1
8.4
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion Slim 5i is very good for engineering and design, while the Acer Swift 3 is good.
The Lenovo Legion Slim 5i, having a higher-end CPU and dedicated GPU, is better suited for intensive engineering and design tasks compared to the Acer Swift 3 which, despite its good performance, relies on integrated graphics and a lower-tier CPU, impacting tasks like 3D modeling. Additionally, the Legion offers superior screen quality with a higher resolution and refresh rate, although it is heavier and less portable than the lighter and more compact Swift 3.
Screen Quality
6.8
8.0
14.0in
SIZE
16.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
309.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
343.0 nits
The Lenovo Legion Slim 5i 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 offers a balance for general tasks with a display that provides clear visuals and adequate brightness, making it suitable for everyday activities like browsing and document editing. For engineering and design tasks, its color reproduction is competent, ensuring that designs and models look reasonably accurate, but it may lack the wide color gamut needed for the most color-critical work. However, due to its lower refresh rate, the Acer Swift 3's display is less ideal for gaming and 3D modeling, where smoother motion and quicker screen updates are crucial for the best experience.
Battery
12.0 Hours
7.0 Hours
The Acer Swift 3 has 12 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Legion Slim 5i has 7 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
16.0in
2.7 lbs
WEIGHT
5.2 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Acer Swift 3 has very good portability, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$500
$1,055
$200
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
The Acer Swift 3 has a price of $500 and the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i costs $1,055.
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Key similarities
General Use
7.7
7.9
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
309.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
343.0 nits
12.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
7.0 Hours
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
8.9/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.7/10
The Lenovo Legion Slim 5i and Acer Swift 3 are both good for general use.
The Acer Swift 3, with a capable Intel i5 processor, 16GB of RAM, and solid battery life, is a lightweight and portable choice for everyday tasks, featuring a quality touch-enabled display suited for general use. On the other hand, the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i, while also equipped with 16GB of RAM but with a more powerful Intel i7 processor and high-end Nvidia graphics, offers a larger, higher-resolution screen and superior performance that can handle more demanding applications, but it is heavier and has a shorter battery life, making it less portable.
Content Creation
7.6
8.0
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Lenovo Legion Slim 5i 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
7.8
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Lenovo Legion Slim 5i 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
7.4
The Acer Swift 3 and Lenovo Legion Slim 5i both have good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
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How the Acer Swift 3 and the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Acer Swift 3 | Lenovo Legion Slim 5i |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$500 | $1,055 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | May 1, 2023 | May 1, 2023 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 12.6'' x 8.3'' x 0.63'' | 14.2'' x 10.3'' x 0.99'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 2.76 lbs | 5.29 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 12.6" | 14.16" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 8.3" | 10.25" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Intel i5-1240P | Intel i7-13700H | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 16 GB | 16 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 4 | 5 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 0 | 2 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 512 GB | 1024 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 12 Hours | 7 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 56 Wh | 80 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 14" | 16" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 2560 x 1600 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 60Hz | 165Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 309 nits | 343 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.4/10 | 7.4/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 8.9/10 | 6.7/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | No | Yes | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 8.8/10 | 6.5/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 7/10 | 8.5/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 6.5/10 | 7/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 1080p | 1080p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | Yes | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | No | Yes | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 2 | 2 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 2 | 2 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 3 | 3 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | 4 | N/A | |
Shopping
Acer Swift 3
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Sebastian Jentsch | February 2022
"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."
Lenovo Legion Slim 5i
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Dig into reviews and images
PCMag
Mark Knapp | August 2023
"The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 Gen 8 acknowledges that a gaming laptop doesn’t have to be as thick as possible and can still ensure adequate cooling when the muscles need flexing. To this end, in the Slim 5 Gen 8, it finds a neat balance of refined, trimmed-down design that still lets its internals cruise (even above their max power ratings). Lenovo then added in some high-end build quality with an altogether excellent keyboard that’s useful for both work and play."
Get a great deal on the Acer Swift 3 or the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i
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.
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