By Robin Owens 20 days ago, Hardware
What are the best Acer laptops that have solid performance?
Acer is a reputable brand that pleases buyers with a huge variety of products for all budgets and needs. Looking through the offers, you can find stylish ultraportables, advanced gaming laptops, powerful machines for resource-intensive tasks, as well as average laptops under 350 dollars for office/home/college use.
Frankly speaking, the developer does its best to cater to the needs of all segments of clients. Acer laptops are valued for amazing performance and utmost reliability and this overview cover 5 best models you can currently buy.
When you start looking for a laptop, you may get totally confused with all the characteristics that can affect your decision. This primarily refers to processors, available RAM, the amount of storage, and graphics cards.
However, if you read this article till the end, you’ll know what specs really matter and we’ll be able to make a truly informed choice.
CPU: Intel Core i7-9750H | GPU: GeForce GTX 1660 Ti | RAM: 16GB | Storage: 512GB | Display: 15.6-inch | Weight: 5.29 pound
⊕ Stylish and robust body
⊕ Powerful GPU
⊕ Speedy Wi-Fi
⊖ Disappointing blue lighting in the dark
⊖ Noisy fans when the laptop gets hot
If you are looking for a machine that can withstand your most severe battles and being equally efficient in all in-game situations, you definitely need to consider this Acer gaming laptop. It has a 15.6-inch screen and support for Full HD. The colors are bright and accurate at a 1920x1080 display, ensuring better immersion in what’s happening on the screen. However, the image gets less vibrant if direct sun rays hit the screen. The 144 Hz refresh rate is a great value, which means no motion delays in gaming. The best thing is that all these features are available at a very moderate price.
In terms of design, this laptop resembles many similar models with its black and red body embellished with an angular pattern that complements the well-known Predator branding without distracting attention from the on-screen action. All in all, if you need a gaming laptop with the price and specs being perfectly balanced, you should definitely consider Acer Predator Helios.
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 4700U | GPU: AMD Radeon Vega 8 | RAM: 8GB | Storage: 512GB | Display: 14-inch | Weight: 2.65 pound
⊕ Reasonably-priced ultrabook
⊕ Great temperature controls
⊕ Doesn’t get hot during work
⊕ Stylish metal finishing
⊖ Cramped keyboard
⊖ You have to charge it quite often
The task of finding a budget-friendly laptop that delivers smooth and impressive performance can be really overwhelming. However, this option is one of the cheap Acer laptops that are no inferior to more expensive devices in terms of efficiency. You can get Acer Swift 3 in several modifications, namely a 13-inch or 14-inch models, and they all amaze with new specs, well-though-out thermal system, and the design inspired by MacBook Pro.
Such an eye-pleasing styling is bound to attract many buyers, who can’t splurge on Apple products but still want to get as close as possible to those running Windows. However, don’t get carried away with its eye-pleasing look, as the build quality plays a more important role and here it is far from perfect. Unlike Apple-native laptops, Acer Swift has a plastic frame so requires more gentle handling. A 1,920x1,080 screen may be a bit dim for some users, but it offers great viewing angles and allows tilting back 180º to eliminate possible glare.
CPU: 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9750H | GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 | RAM: 16GB | Storage: 256GB | Display: 15.6-inch | Weight: 5.7 pound
⊕ Powerful and affordable laptop
⊕ Doesn’t get hot during work
⊕ Numerous ports
⊕ Not really compact
⊖ Finicky trackpad
⊖ Poor audio
If you need a laptop for dealing with casual tasks or feel like playing simple games, Nitro 5 is probably the best Acer laptop for such activities. There are many cool features it offers, so many buyers are interested in this model. Primarily, it has a mighty 9th Gen i5 CPU that ensures smooth operation, while GTX 1650 delivers bright graphics. The design of the laptop corresponds to current requirements. Developers embedded powerful fans to prevent overheating and supplied the laptop with many ports, so you can connect as many peripherals as needed.
The glowing keyboard lined in red is a nice move that appeals to many gamers as well as office workers, who need to type in poor lighting. The refresh rate of 2.3GHz is another advantage. You can also make good use of 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD storage. The battery life isn’t impressive and hit the average limit of 5.5 hours of independent work. Though the touchpad can be finicky, you can fully rely on the keyboard as it works flawlessly.
CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 3200U | GPU: AMD Radeon RX Vega 3 | RAM: 4GB | Storage: 128GB | Display: 15.6-inch | Weight: 3.97 pound
⊕ Performant
⊕ Capacious battery
⊕ Bright, 1080p display
⊕ Good price
⊖ Disappointing graphics
⊖ Poor build quality
With a price tag of $350 that usually goes as low as $310, this Acer 15 inch laptop is a wonderful variant for people with a tight budget, who still want to get a performant device from a popular brand. The strong points of Acer Aspire are a Full HD 15.6-in display, a thin chassis, and smooth operation on a regular basis. Besides, it has a crisp 1080p display and a compact profile.
Anyway, a laptop running Windows 10 and being available at such a low price is sure to have some minuses. The first thing to consider is 4GB of RAM, which can be too little for most users. Besides, it has a 128GB SSD and short battery life. Actually, there is Aspire 5 in the same lineup, which has a longer autonomous period of work and costs just several bucks more.
CPU: Intel Celeron N4000 | GPU: Intel UHD Graphics | RAM: 4GB | Storage: 32GB | Display: 15.6-inch | Weight: 5.59 pound
⊕ Good value for money
⊕ 2 USB Type-C and 2 USB Type-A ports
⊕ Clear audio
⊕ Big screen supports touch input
⊖ Bulky and heavy chassis
⊖ Poor performance
⊖ Not the best build quality
This is an Acer touchscreen laptop that can fully satisfy average users with a limited budget. Though such a low price imposes restrictions on its performance and storage space, the laptop has other amazing features that fully justify those shortcomings. First off, users are bound to like a large 15.6-in touchscreen that is always bright, sharp and responsive. Besides, this laptop runs on Chrome OS, which means you don’t need to clutter the internal storage space with various programs, as they can be kept online.
However, the budgetary nature of the laptop becomes evident when it comes to the build quality that leaves much room for improvement. Besides, the keyboard here feels too cramped and unreliable, which can scare off some buyers interested in productivity-focused machines. In a nutshell, if you are OK with the minuses described below and a low cost is your main concern, then you can choose Acer Chromebook 315.
| Image | Name | Features | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Acer Predator Helios
Our Choice |
CHECK PRICE → | |
 |
Acer Swift
Portable |
CHECK PRICE → | |
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Acer Nitro
Budget |
CHECK PRICE → |
When it comes to style variations, Acer surely has the richest product line. You can easily find Acer 2 in 1 laptop, as well as powerful Ryzen laptops for gaming and business machines. There are some models with a touchscreen and a pen input support available at a good price (check the Spin line). If you want to enjoy flawless operation in any situation, you need to look through the Aspire line. The Predator segment is initially developed for gamers.
The most popular products developed by the brand belong to 2 groups – budget-friendly laptops and gaming machines. However, not always these categories overlap. If you are more interested in the gaming world and need the best laptop for Fortnite, have a closer look at the Predator lineup with machines featuring powerful video cards, large displays and appropriate designs. If you need a device capable of assisting you in both gaming endeavors and more casual activities, the Aspire segment surely contains something suitable.
Most Acer laptops are designed to please users with trouble-free typing experience, but you still need to examine a keyboard before making a choice. Skip models where all keys are merged into one spot in the bright sunlight because this can lead to overall poor user experience especially if you need to quickly locate arrows and a delete key.
The best Acer laptop has a convenient layout with full-sized keys and some space around the arrow keys. The keyboard provides a gentle tactile feel and is very responsive regardless of how faintly you push them.
This concept was initially used by Intel for super-light, portable laptops with long battery life that are designed to satisfy active users, who frequently need to carry a laptop with them to different locations. Ultrabooks are equipped with SSDs, Intel Core processors, have a durable body and are claimed to be efficient for the majority of purposes. Nowadays, any portable laptop is referred to as an ultrabook. Such devices are gaining more and more popularity.
If you need Acer 2 in 1 laptop, also known as convertible, you need to be very attentive as such products can be used in 2 modes – “a laptop” and “a tablet”, with every device being more optimized for a specific mode. In general, there are several ways of how you can use such a laptop – either detach a tablet side from the keyboard, or combine them into one unite and fold the keyboard behind the touchscreen.
A 2-in-1 laptop is more suitable if you want to enjoy the advantages of having both a laptop and a tablet. This means you get access to responsive touchscreen features and can use a stylus, which is perfect for some activities. However, if you need a budget-friendly option with the filling aimed at stronger performance, you’d better choose a traditional laptop.
Undoubtedly, the longer the battery life, the better. It is really annoying if your laptop dies when you are participating in the online conference or trying hard to win the battle. However, if you mostly work at home and have constant access to a power socket, battery life becomes a less important factor. But if you tend to work on the go, you need to get a laptop that can satisfy you with at least 7 hours of autonomous operation.
We believe that Acer Spin Convertible Laptop deserves this title. It has an i7 processor, 16GB RAM, 512GB of flash memory, 8 hours of battery life and other cool features that are typical of bulky traditional laptops. However, the developer managed to fit them in such a laptop>tablet device.
We have chosen Aspire 5 and Swift 3 for comparison. The former has a larger 15.6-in screen, while Swift 3 is fitted with a screen measuring 14 inches. The main characteristics are identical, with the most significant differences being a better frequency in Swift 3 and more storage space in Aspire 5.
