6 Ultimate Acer laptops for December 2023 (Price range: $390-$2930)

With this comprehensive laptop guide, I'll pay tribute to the first laptop I've owned – Acer. I bought an Acer laptop 10 years ago for the same reason many are still buying them now – Acer offers some of the best hardware for the money, especially if you're on a budget. While it is not a high-end brand, you can be confident that you are getting a good deal most of the time. Nonetheless, only some Acer laptops are worthy of our attention.

That's where I come in.

Before the year 2022 comes to a close, I've compiled a list of the best Acer laptops available right now to save you time (and money)!

What's the best processor for Acer?

When it comes to laptops, there are two main types of processors on the market: those from Intel, and those from Apple. Both have their pros and cons, but in general, Intel processors are more versatile and offer better performance, while Apple processors offer better battery life.

If you're looking for a Windows laptop, the choice of processor gets more complicated, as there are many different types of processors available. The three main categories are: H-series (high performance), U-series (ultraportable), and P-series (performance-optimized). The "U" in U-series stands for "ultra", so these chips will have higher TDP than their counterparts with an H or P suffix.

For most people, the CPU is the most important factor when choosing a laptop because it determines how fast your applications will run and how well you can handle gaming or video editing. However, if you're looking to buy a professional workstation, you may want to consider getting one with an Nvidia GPU instead of an AMD one, as Nvidia has better support for CUDA and OpenCL acceleration libraries that are used in many engineering applications, such as AutoCAD and SolidWorks.

When comparing CPUs, I use Cinebench R20 scores to compare single core performance and multi-core scores to compare general performance. Other benchmarks, such as PassMark, could be used as well, but I prefer Cinebench due to its popularity among professionals who need high single thread performance in their daily workflows.

Keep in mind that you won't be able to find a top-of-the-line CPU in a budget laptop – that's just not possible without making some sacrifices elsewhere. Instead, focus on finding a good balance between price and performance by considering which features matter most to you (e.g., port selection, display quality).

A Look at the Laptop Processor Market

MacBooks

Apple has released several MacBooks with their own ARM-based M1 system-on-chip modules. These modules offer exceptional single-core performance and battery life.

The M1 Pro is the high-end model, offering the best performance and longest battery life. The M1 Max is a mid-range model, offering good performance and battery life. The M2 is the entry-level model, offering decent performance and shorter battery life.

Windows Laptops

We're still waiting for Intel's 13th-gen processors to reach laptops, where 12th generation is Intel's latest. In the meantime, AMD has managed to take 20% of the CPU market with their 6th generation Ryzen processors.

Intel's and Apple's silicon chips have adopted hybrid performance/efficiency core design (based on big.LITTLE). This means that they have both high-performance cores and low-power cores. The high-performance cores are used when needed, while the low-power cores are used for tasks that don't require as much power, such as browsing the web or checking email. This results in better performance and battery life.

Ryzen models are best if you need a good battery life in a PC laptop. They offer similar single-core performance to Intel's H-series processors, but with better multi-core performance and longer battery life.

When Do You Need a Fast CPU?

The answer to this question depends on what you plan to use your laptop for. If you just need it for general tasks like browsing the web, checking email, and watching videos, you won't need a particularly powerful processor. An Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5 will suffice.

However, if you plan to do more demanding tasks like video editing or gaming, you'll need a more powerful processor. An Intel Core i7 or AMD Ryzen 7 will be better suited for these tasks.

How to Know if a Laptop Has a High-End Processor or Not?

Unfortunately, there's no easy way to tell if a laptop has a high-end processor or not. You'll need to do some research on the specific model that you're interested in and look at the specs. Pay attention to the clock speed (measured in GHz) and the number of cores/threads. A higher clock speed and more cores/threads will result in better performance.

Table of Recommended Processors for Various Budget Levels

Budget	MacBook	Windows
Minimum	M1	i5-1235U
		Ryzen 5
		6600U
Recommended	M1 Pro	i5-12500H
		Ryzen 5
		6600H

The right graphics

How to Know if a Laptop Has a High-End GPU or Not?

The model of the GPU is a good indicator of graphics performance. To get an exact idea of how powerful a GPU is, however, you need to look at its wattage. The amount of power allotted to a specific GPU will affect its performance, so I use 3DMark to compare different GPUs. It's an industry standard for testing graphics performance.

Once you have an idea of the wattage, you can get an exact idea of how powerful a GPU is.

That said, it's worth noting that Acer is a cost-conscious laptop manufacturer, so they often manage to pack in a much better graphics card at the same price as other manufacturers. So be sure to compare the specs of different models before you make your final decision.

Choosing a memory

Ultimately, the decision of how much RAM to get for your laptop depends on what type of games you play and how much you're willing to spend.

Storage for Acer

Remember that if you want a laptop under 15 inches, don't expect a multiple drive setup.

We hope this guide helped you in finding the right SSD for your Acer laptop. Good luck!

Picking a good display

When it comes to laptops, the display is one of the most important factors to consider. After all, it's the main way you'll interact with your computer. So, what do you need to keep in mind when choosing a laptop display? In this section, we'll go over the important factors to consider, as well as make some recommendations for different price levels.

Laptop Display Size Options

The first thing you'll need to decide is what size display you want. Laptops typically come in three different sizes: 11-12 inches, 13-14 inches, and 15+ inches. There are pros and cons to each size.

11-12 inch displays are the most portable, but they can be too small for some people. 13-14 inch displays strike a good balance between portability and usability, but they're not as common as the other two sizes. 15+ inch displays are the most common, and they offer the best balance between screen real estate and portability. However, they can be too large for some people.

Panel Type – TN, IPS, and OLED

The next thing you'll need to decide is what panel type you want. The three most common types are TN, IPS, and OLED. TN panels are the cheapest and most common type. They offer decent color reproduction and viewing angles, but they're not as fast as IPS panels when it comes to refresh rates. In addition, TN panels are more prone to display burn-in than IPS panels (though it's not nearly as bad as it used to be).

IPS panels are more expensive than TN panels, but they offer better color reproduction and wider viewing angles. They're also faster than TN panels when it comes to refresh rates. However, IPS panels are more prone to display burn-in than TN panels (though it's not nearly as bad as it used to be).

OLED panels are the most expensive type, but they offer the best color reproduction, widest viewing angles, and fastest refresh rates. However, OLED panels are more prone to display burn-in than IPS panels (though it's not nearly as bad as it used to be).

Does Gaming Require a High Refresh Rate?

One of the most common questions people have about laptop displays is whether or not they need a high refresh rate for gaming. The short answer is that it depends on what kind of games you're playing. If you're playing fast-paced games that require quick reflexes, then a high refresh rate will be beneficial. However, if you're playing slower-paced games or games that don't require quick reflexes, then a high refresh rate won't make much of a difference.

In general, if you're looking for a laptop for gaming, you should look for a laptop with a high refresh rate display. Most gaming laptops these days have displays with refresh rates of 144 Hz or higher. However, if you're only going to be playing slower-paced games or games that don't require quick reflexes, then you can get away with a lower refresh rate. Just keep in mind that a higher refresh rate will generally result in a better gaming experience.

Requirements for Brightness, Contrast, Color Space Coverage, and Gamut Coverage

When it comes to brightness, contrast, color space coverage, and gamut coverage, there are no hard and fast rules. However, there are some general guidelines you can follow.

In general, you should look for a laptop with a display that has at least 300 nits of brightness and 1000:1 contrast ratio. For color space coverage, sRGB is the minimum you should aim for. However, if you can find a laptop with 100% sRGB coverage or higher, that would be ideal. For gamut coverage, Adobe RGB or DCI-P3 would be ideal, but sRGB is the minimum you should aim for.

What to Expect at Each Price Level?

Now that we've gone over the important factors to consider when choosing a laptop display, let's take a look at what you can expect to find at each price level.

At the minimum price level, you can expect to find TN or IPS displays with 280 nits of brightness and 90% sRGB color space coverage. These displays will be fine for general use, but they won't be ideal for gaming or creative work.

At the recommended price level, you can expect to find IPS displays with 300 nits of brightness and 100% sRGB color space coverage. These displays will be great for gaming and creative work. However, they may not have the highest refresh rates or the widest viewing angles.

At the high-end price level, you can expect to find IPS or OLED displays with 380 nits of brightness and 100% sRGB color space coverage. These displays will be

The best battery for Acer in 2022

But with the advancements in battery technology, decently good battery life (6h) is achievable even in budget laptops.

When it comes to Acer laptops, here are my recommended models for each price bracket:

####### Minimum:

• Acer Swift 3 – 4 hours

####### Recommended:

• Acer Spin 3 – 6 hours
• Acer Aspire 5 – 6 hours

####### High-end:

• Acer Predator Helios 500 – 10 hours

6 Best Laptops for Acer

Table of the Best Laptops for 6 Ultimate Acer laptops for December 2023 (Price range: $390-$2930)

Laptop	Price (approx)
Acer Aspire 5 A515-45-R74Z	$390
Acer Swift 3 SF314-59-75QC	$580
Acer Swift X SFX14-42G-R607	$880
Acer Predator Triton 500	$1200
Acer Nitro 5 AN515-58-7583	$1950
Acer Predator Triton 500	$2930