Acer has a wide variety of laptops to choose today — from ultraportable thin notebooks to larger gaming rigs — and we know how hard it is to make the right selection.
Acer has a wide variety of laptops to choose today — from ultraportable thin notebooks to larger gaming rigs — and we know how hard it is to make the right selection.
Below we cover the the best Acer laptops available in 2020, no matter which kind of hardware you need or what type of software you utilize.
Best Acer Laptops In 2023
Beyond the Acer Swift 3’s average surface, you’ll find an impressive laptop that boasts plenty of power for work and study. The Swift 3 is an affordable laptop; however, that plain chassis is all-aluminum and filled with robust parts. In terms of performance, it gets amazingly close to the far more costly Microsoft Surface Laptop
Its display is a little lower-res, but the two are otherwise strikingly similar – apart from the value. This laptop is unbelievable to use as well, with its spacious trackpad as well as its backlit keyboard that offers a comfortable typing experience with decent travel. If you’re going to be writing a lot – whether you’re traveling or at your workplace, this is one of the best recommended Acer laptops 2020 for you.
One of the finest selections Acer made when they developed the Acer Swift 3 was the inclusion of legacy ports – the foremost noteworthy of those are two USB 3.0 ports and an SD card slot. Even so, laptop futurists needn’t worry, since there’s also a single USB 3.1 Type-C port sitting firmly on the left side of the chassis.
With powerful components and a more than decent battery life, the Acer Swift 3 doesn’t just rock the most delicate profile or even offer standout appearances. It also boasts the specs of a device that should set you back several hundred dollars more. In addition, a large trackpad, backlit keyboard and wide array of ports give even the MacBook Air a run for its money.
In addition, the keyboard feels significantly higher than Apple’s 12-inch clamshell of yesteryear and is brilliantly complemented by attractive backlighting, of which there are four levels including ‘off’.
Hardware Specifications for Acer Swift 3
CPU: 10th Generation Intel Core i5-1035G1 Processor (Up to 3. 6GHz | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics | RAM: 8 GB RAM | Screen: 14. 0″ Full HD (1920 x 1080) Widescreen LED-backlit IPS Display | Storage: 256 GB | Operating System:Windows 10 Home | Battery Life: 11 hours | Weight: 4.29 lbs
Acer Predator Helios 300 – Gaming and 3D rendering
The Acer Predator Helios 300 is a stylish and powerful laptop that’s squarely geared toward professionals and creatives who require loads of graphical oomph – and with some of Nvidia’s latest and greatest GTX graphical tech.
While Acer’s gaming laptops typically go with huge and brash ideas – especially its Helios range which doesn’t necessarily go in line with its positioning as a ‘serious’ professional device. However it produces results and its one of the best 3D rendering and gaming laptops that Acer has.
Hardware Specifications for Acer Predator Helios 300
CPU: 9th Generation Intel Core i7-9750H 6-Core Processor | Graphics:NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Graphics with 6 GB of dedicated GDDR6 VRAM | RAM: 16 GB | Screen: 15. 6″ Full HD (1920 x 1080) Widescreen LED-backlit IPS display | Storage: 512 GB| Operating System: Windows 10 Home | Battery Life: 3 hours | Weight: 5.29 lbs
Acer Swift 5 – Lightweight yet functional
Acer’s Swift 5 may be a productivity-oriented, ultra-light laptop, and the latest model introduces a 15.6-inch screen to the series. The laptop’s form factor and weight are offset by higher performance internals that are made for a capable laptop that weighs to the likes of the LG Gram.
A stylish layout with some premium ability sets the Acer Swift 5 up to run against other premium Ultrabooks. And, whereas the price may not be as high as some of its competition, it costs less than a lot of those laptops additionally.
The chassis is primarily metal, made from a mixture of magnesium-lithium and magnesium-aluminum alloys that save the laptop light and provide it with that premium metal look. However, to the touch, these metals don’t feel quite as ‘metal’ as the straight aluminum bodies.
The chassis finishes up feeling nearly like a stiff plastic, and not the stiffest one at that. The area below the keyboard will flex under a little pressure and the thin display flexes too simply.
Hardware Specifications for Acer Swift 5
CPU: 8th Generation Intel Core i5 8265u Processor (Up to 3. 9GHz) | Graphics:Intel HD Graphics 620 | RAM: 8 GB RAM| Screen: 15. 6″ Full HD (1920 x 1080) widescreen LED backlit IPS Multi Touch Display | Storage: 256 GB | Operating System: Windows 10 Home| Battery Life: 10 hours | Weight: 2.2 lbs
Acer Predator Triton 500 – Best Gaming
The best gaming laptops keep going thinner and thinner, apparently by the day, and the Acer Predator Triton 500 continues this trend. This thin and light gaming machine is filled with some of the most powerful laptop hardware on the market, while still being small enough to move in your backpack.
This technique does bring some compromises when it comes to building quality and thermals. However, the high power and winning style could find yourself making up for it. That is until you take a look at the price tag.
The Acer Predator Triton 500 isn’t precisely going to blend into an office space, with its angular designs and giant blue logo on the back. But, it’s not the most garish gaming laptop on the block, either.
At just 0.7 inches thick and weighs 4.41 pounds, this 15-inch gaming laptop is quite convenient to bring around. The Acer Predator Triton 500 has a lightweight metal build and for the most part it’s extremely solid – at least until you take a glance at the lid of the laptop.
You see, in order to make the Triton 500 as slim and light as it is, there had to be a cut to the chassis somewhere, and these cuts are almost entirely in the display lid. It’s incredibly thin, and even minor pressure can cause it to flex. This isn’t the foremost tough build in the world, and it will bend easily – make sure you put it in a case if you take this laptop with you on your travels.
Hardware Specifications for Acer Predator Triton 500
CPU: 9th Generation Intel Core i7 9750H 6 Core Processor (Up to 4. 5GHz) | Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Graphics with 6 GB of dedicated GDDR6 VRAM| RAM: 16 GB RAM | Screen: 15. 6″ Full HD (1920 x 1080) Widescreen LED backlit IPS Display (144Hz Refresh Rate, 3ms Overdrive Response Time, 300nit Brightness & 72 percent NTSC) | Storage: 512 GB | Operating System: Windows 10 Home| Battery Life: 2.5 hours | Weight: 4.41 pounds
Acer Aspire 5 – Best For Students
Describing Acer’s 15.6-inch Aspire 5 laptop couldn’t be easier. It has all the things you want, all the things you don’t want, and all the things you thought were buried with the ET Atari 2600 carts in that New Mexico landfill.
That may be a little obscure, so here are some clearer details: it has a Numpad keyboard, optical drive, and VGA port. Correlated to today’s high-end computers, we wouldn’t blame you for looking for the VHS slot (Betamax versions are releasing soon – we kid).
In all seriousness, the Acer Aspire 5 is a precise laptop. Better than fine, actually. This laptop could play games, it multitasks, it connects with everything and, yes, it really does emphasize an optical drive. It’s an inexpensive laptop that will get you through all of your daily responsibilities (just don’t expect to play the Witcher 3 on its highest settings).
It’s quite a large laptop, though – which it needs to be to fit all of those features in. For some, a five-pound device doesn’t warrant a second look. However, if you’re on a budget, you really should consider the Acer Aspire 5.
Hardware Specifications for Acer Aspire 5
CPU: 10th Generation Intel Core i5-10210U Processor | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620| RAM: 8GB | Screen: 15 6″ Full HD (1920 x 1080) widescreen LED-backlit IPS Display | Storage: 256 GB SSD | Operating System: Windows 10 Home | Battery Life: 9 hours | Weight: 5.74 pounds
Acer Chromebook Spin 11- Best Budget
Acer is known for their variety in laptops ranging from cheap to expensive. The Acer Chromebook Spin 11 is definitely cheap but it is certainly reliable despites its low specs. It also has a really low storage space of 32 GB which really puts it to shame when you compare it with mid end smartphones.
But despite all this, the Acer Chromebook Spin 11 is still worth the buy. It weighs only about 2.76 pounds and makes it easy to carry around. Lastly, it has a 9 hour battery life making this budget chromebook worth it if you don’t like charging all the time.
Hardware Specifications for Acer Chromebook Spin 11
CPU: Intel Celeron N3350 | Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 500 | RAM: 4GB RAM| Screen: 11.6-inch HD (1,366 x 768) IPS touch | Storage: 32GB eMMC SSD | Operating System: Chrome OS| Battery Life: 9 hours| Weight: 2.76 pounds
Acer TravelMate X5 – Portable business laptop
A lot of portable laptops don’t necessarily have good specs to back them up which makes them hard to use when you’re juggling multiple tasks at once. Thankfully, the Acer TravelMate X5 is a portable business laptop with decently powerful specs.
This laptop also weighs about 2.1 lbs making it extremely light and easy to carry around. Its 14 inch display is just the right size for easy portability as well as allowing t users to work without having to squint their eyes.
Hardware Specifications for Acer TravelMate X5
CPU: 8th Generation Intel Core i5-8265U Processor (Up to 3 9GHz) | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620| RAM: 8 GB RAM| Screen: 14 0″ Full HD (1920 x 1080) Widescreen LED-backlit IPS Multi-Touch Display | Storage: 256 GB SSD | Operating System Windows 10 Pro | Battery Life: 10 hours | Weight: 2.1 lbs
Acer TravelMate P6 – Long Battery Life
The Acer TravelMate P6 features decently high specs with its 8th generation i7 processor, 16 GB of RAM, and MX250 graphics card. Now these specs are by no means meant for gaming but they were designed to provide ample power without sacrificing battery life.
One of the best travel laptops around, the Acer TravelMate P6 was certainly designed to be used over those long commercial flights that last for almost half a day. Having over 20 hours of battery life, this laptop ensures that you won’t need to charge over those long flights.
Asides from its battery life, the TravelMate P6 is also very portablew with its 14 inch screen as well as 2.4 lbs of weight.
Hardware Specifications for Acer TravelMate P6
CPU: 8th Generation Intel Core i7-8565U Processor (Up to 4 6GHz) | Graphics: Nvidia GeForce MX250| RAM: 16 GB RAM| Screen: 14 0″ Full HD (1920 x 1080) Widescreen LED-backlit IPS Display | Storage: 512 GB | Operating System:Windows 10 Pro | Battery Life: 20 hours| Weight: 2.4 lbs
Acer Nitro 5 – Budget Gaming
If you’re short on cash but still want to try out the newest games, then you might want to try the Acer Nitro 5. Its a good entry level gaming laptop that comes with an affordable price.
It features a 9th Gen i5 processor, A GTX 1650 graphics card, and 8 GB of RAM. This is very good considering the price. The only downside to it is its storage space of 256 GB SSD. This limits the games you can play but that’s the tradeoff for this amazing budget gaming laptop.
Hardware Specifications for Acer Nitro 5
CPU: 9th Generation Intel Core i5-9300H Processor (Up to 4. 1GHz)| Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 | RAM: | Screen: 15″ Full HD Widescreen IPS LED-backlit Display | Storage: 256 GB SSD| Operating System:Windows 10 Home | Battery Life: 4 hours | Weight: 5.07 lbs
Acer Spin 3 – High-end convertible
The Acer Spin 3 combines powerful specs with portability. The weight is about 3.7 lbs which is a little heavier than your standard chromebook but it justifies it with amazing specs.
This 14 inch convertible laptop has a powerful i7 processor and 16 GB of RAM, and a Intel UHD Graphics 620. What’s really good about the Acer Spin 3 is that it has a lot of memory despite being a convertible. Having a 512 GB SSD storage is definitely a big boon especially from a laptop that also serves as a tablet.
Hardware Specifications for Acer Spin 3
CPU: 8th Generation Intel Core i7 8565U Processor (Up to 4.6GHz) | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620 | RAM: 16 GB RAM| Screen: 14 inches Full HD (1920 x 1080) Widescreen LED backlit IPS Multi Touch Convertible Display| Storage: 512 GB SSD | Operating System: Windows 10 Home | Battery Life: 12 hours| Weight: 3.7 lbs
Picking The Best Acer Laptops In 2023
But exactly how do you choose the right model for you?
We poured over dozens of models to land on the 5 best choices to to make your shopping a breeze.
So what key points should you keep an eye on when buying a laptop? There are 4 primary components you need to consider:
- Your usage needs
- CPU Speed
- Laptop Battery Life
- Laptop Form Factor
How Do I Know What Kind Of Laptop I Need To Pick?
One of the ultimate determinants when buying a laptop is to know the reason why you need one in the first place.
It might be that you want to use it for basic tasks such as web browsing, Netflix, or general office work. Perhaps you might need one for gaming or school purposes.
On the other hand, you might be on a tight budget and still, you badly need a laptop for work or school. So if that’s the case, we got you covered with our cheap option above.
Once you have your needs defined, it’s time to pick a laptop with the corresponding CPU for your usage.
An Intel Core i3 may be perfect for entry-level users, but we went straight ahead and included an Intel Core i5 on our list for future proofing purposes.
For advanced processes and gaming, the other models in our contender lineup should be more than capable of delivering lightning-fast speeds with their Core i7 processors.
When choosing a laptop, it’s best if you go for a faster processor when possible.
In terms of physical memory, 8GB of RAM is now the minimum you should consider (unless you are buying a Chromebook, which is fine with 4GB instead).
For gamers or anyone who runs memory-intensive programs such as video editing tools, 16GB or more may be the best way to go.
What Secondary Features Should I Consider When Buying From Acer?
Besides the CPU, memory, and video card, make sure you check the battery life of the laptop as well.
Ideally, you want a laptop with a battery life with at least 5 hours of regular use. If you need a portable computer for school or work, something in the 9 – 15 hour range is preferable.
With the exception of the gaming model, all of the laptops we have on our list have a battery life of at least 5 hours of regular use. This means you can work without worries of needing a socket from time to time.
Gaming laptops will always suffer from lower battery life issues, as their dedicated graphics cards consume more power than office machines.
Aside from battery life, don’t forget about the form factor.
There are laptops today that can be folded 360 degrees and laptops with screens you can completely detach from the keyboard.
This may give a tablet feel, but unless you really need one, in general there’s no problem sticking with the traditional clam-style designed laptops.
Finding The Perfect Acer Laptop To Fit Your Needs
Now that you know what to look for in a laptop, and you have the best options you could possibly find, hopefully we’ve helped you pick the right machine!
All the laptops on our list are future-proof so it’s unlikely that you’ll need an upgrade anytime soon.
Which among our list of the best Acer laptops best suits you? Are you having a hard time picking the right one for you? Let us help you out by leaving a comment below!