Best Acer Laptops in 2024: A Comprehensive Guide

Acer remains a powerhouse in the PC market, offering a vast selection of laptops to suit diverse needs and budgets. Whether you're a student seeking a productivity powerhouse, a creative professional demanding exceptional performance, or a casual user prioritizing affordability, Acer has you covered. This guide explores the best Acer laptops in 2024, categorized by their strengths to help you make an informed choice.

The top 3 Acer laptops in 2024

Acer has been known in our region for a long time for its laptop computers . However, the Taiwanese brand is quite far behind Lenovo, HP, Dell and Apple in terms of the number of global PC sales. But in France, the brand enjoys great popularity. For many people, Acer is synonymous with an affordable laptop . However, there is a whole complete range, including gaming PCs costing over 2,000 euros. In recent years, the brand has also stood out with its Chromebooks .

In short, like all competing manufacturers (Asus, Lenovo, HP, etc.), Acer offers a laptop for every need and every price range. We have therefore made a small selection of the most interesting Acer computers, in our opinion. Note that we were, however, unable to test many of the brand's models in writing: this selection is therefore mainly based on a study of the various opinions published on the internet, feedback from buyers and the opinions of our colleagues. In 2024, the situation should change, since we have the opportunity to take charge of the new PC products from Acer.

Is your budget limited? We have a comparison of the best laptops under 1,000 euros.

The Acer Swift range: thin and light ultrabooks

The best Acer laptop: Acer Swift Edge 16 (SFE16-43)

With the latest Swift Edge 16, Acer is stepping into the footsteps of LG and its LG Gram . The promise: a very light 16-inch ultrabook, in this case only 1.2 kg. The aluminum alloy chassis is excellently made and extremely sober, ideal for an ultrabook. The full-size keyboard with number pad is nice.

The other big strong point of this model is its screen: a very beautiful 16-inch Oled panel with 3200 x 2000 pixels, or a 3.2k definition. The maximum refresh rate can go up to 120 Hz. With its 16:10 format and its thin borders, it is particularly pleasant for viewing video content. The calibration is perfect, since the average color temperature is recorded at 6468K, the standard being 6500K. We would have liked a bit more brightness, but the screen is overall very successful.

. On the connectivity, nothing to complain about since everything is there: two USB-C 4.0 ports, two USB-A 3.2 ports, an HDMI 2.1 port, a jack socket and a microSD card reader. We will welcome the integration of a beautiful 1440p webcam, in a market where 720p still reigns too often.

What's in his stomach? An AMD Ryzen 7 7840U SoC, 16 GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and a large 1 TB SSD hard drive. The performance is really good for an ultraportable, the latter will be very versatile. In terms of autonomy, it is satisfactory since the lifespan is between 8 and 9 hours.

If you want a big screen but not a brick in the bag, this Acer laptop is ideal.

The Acer laptop for mobility: Acer Swift 5 (SF514-56T)

Great success for this new model of Acer's flagship portable ultrabook. In 14-inch format, it comes in a very classic chassis, all in aluminum. It weighs only 1.2 kg, and is a real pleasure to have under your fingers. We like the two-tone gray and gold, with this play on stitching, which gives a touch of originality to everything. The chassis is generally of excellent quality, with a very rigid screen and hinge.

If the keyboard is really nice, the touchpad is unfortunately a little lacking, mainly because of its size, which is too modest.

The Acer Swift 5 offers very satisfactory connectivity for a computer of its diagonal: you will find two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, a full-format HDMI port and a USB-A port on the left edge, while the right edge recovers a USB-A port and a combo jack. A rare enough fact to be highlighted: the 1080p webcam is of good quality, perfect for videos.

This Acer laptop benefits from a 14-inch IPS LCD panel (unfortunately, no Oled…) supporting a maximum definition of 2560 × 1600 pixels, or a ratio of 16:10. The panel maxes out at 60 Hz maximum: we could have expected 90 Hz.

Performance-wise, there's nothing to complain about though, thanks to the excellent Intel Core i7-1260P which is working wonders in laptops this year, coupled with 16 GB of life memory. Add to this very effective cooling and a battery life of 10 hours, and you get a well-balanced laptop PC.

The Swift 5 therefore ultimately has few faults, apart from the touchpad and a version of Windows that is a little weighed down by third-party software implemented by Acer.

Furthermore, alongside the Swift 5, which is the most affordable of Acer ultraportables, we find the Swift Edge (below) and the Swift X.

The Acer Aspire range: laptops for good value for money

The inexpensive Acer laptop: Acer Aspire Vero 14 (2022)

Are you looking for a reliable machine with good value for money? The Aspire Vero 14 is an option to consider. You will quickly notice its slightly different chassis: the latter is partly made of recycled plastic. In addition, this computer opens very easily to access the components, a good point.

If the 14-inch screen is not bad in itself, it still deserves better calibration, the colors being too warm. The maximum brightness could also have been better. Apart from that, we're looking at something very classic for this price, with Full HD resolution and a refresh rate of 60 Hz.

With its Intel Core i5-1235U chip, 16 GB of LPDDR4X RAM as well as 512 GB PCIe 3.0 storage memory, this model is very balanced and will be perfect for office and multimedia use. If the keyboard is good and pleasant to use, we will however regret the small size of the touchpad.

Its 56 Wh battery will allow it to last 9 to 10 hours in typical use, even longer in energy saving. The Power Delivery charger will also allow you to charge all your other devices.

The new Aspire Vero 15 model (2023)

Acer continues its momentum this year with an updated model for 2023, available in 15 inches. The recycled plastic chassis remains similar, with this rather original look - small difference, the percentage of recycled plastic increases. The Intel chip goes to the 13th generation (i7-1355U for our test version), and the RAM is LPDDR5, faster.

Acer therefore manages to maintain a good formula for a family PC. If you are looking for a 15 inch for less than 1,000 euros, which can be easily repaired and upgraded , this is an excellent option.

Good value for money Acer: Acer Aspire 5 (A515-45)

If your budget is limited, turning to an Acer laptop may be a good idea: the brand actually offers quite a few entry-level laptops. Sold for under 700 euros, the Aspire 5 is a modest computer with a 15.6-inch screen. However, it offers completely decent services for its price. Of course, as is often the case, it is available in many different configurations, with a choice of AMD or Intel chips.

For example, it can be found at 700 euros on Amazon with a Ryzen 7 5700U, which is far from ridiculous. It will be perfect for office and multimedia use. With a more modest Ryzen 3 5300U, you will find it for 100 euros less on the Acer website .

Of course, at this price, compromises will have to be made. Starting with the chassis, which is made of plastic and not aluminum or magnesium, reserved for higher ranges. The keyboard is also a little soft, but it has the good taste of integrating a numeric keypad. Ditto for the screen (in Full HD), which clearly lacks brightness, and, not being based on Oled technology, does not work miracles on contrasts.

On the other hand, we appreciate the autonomy, which reaches almost ten hours, which is really appreciable for a 15 inch at this price.

If it doesn't make the mark, this Aspire 5 is a solid choice for people on a small budget and wanting an Acer brand computer, as well as a good-sized screen. However, if you are not particularly keen to stay loyal to the brand, we advise you, for an equivalent price, to take a look at laptops from Huawei and Honor.

The Aspire 5 also comes with a 17-inch panel if you want a larger screen for your computer.

The Acer Nitro range: cutting-edge gaming laptops

The affordable Acer gaming PC: Acer Nitro 5 (AN515-45)

In the affordable gaming laptop genre , Acer has also positioned itself in the niche with its Acer Nitro 5. It obviously comes in a multitude of configurations, with different processors and different GPUs. For our part, we recommend the nicely named “AN515-45” which itself offers several possibilities. Depending on the site, you can choose between a GeForce RTX 3050 or 3060 and a Ryzen 5 or 7 processor. Overall, the prices range from 999 to 1,300 euros. References that start with AN515-57 run on Intel chips.

The chassis of the Nitro 5 is rather imposing and the device weighs 2.3 kg, which is not nothing in 2024. The latter is clearly not the strong point of the device, it is made of plastic. It also has a very marked “gaming” style, with beveled edges and a pattern of lines on the cover, in short, a style that will not please everyone. The connectivity is made up of three USB 3.2 ports, a Thunderbolt 4 port, an HDMI 2.1 port and an HDMI 2.1 port. If it manages to cool down quite well, we cannot say that the silence is there...

Concerning the screen, it is a matte LCD panel in Full HD. Nothing exceptional so far, except that it displays an excellent refresh rate of up to 144 Hz. A great advantage for gaming.

The battery life is not impressive (around 4 to 5 hours), and you will have to remember to take your charger with you, which is worth its weight in peanuts with its 900 grams on the clock...

The fact remains that for around 1,000 euros, the Nitro 5 still includes fairly recent components which will allow a large number of recent games to run correctly.

The Acer Predator range: accessible power

The best performance at Acer: Acer Predator Helios 300 (PH315-55)

Want even more power in your laptop? The Predator range incorporates the most recent components. Thus, the Predator Helios 300 has 12th generation Intel SoCs (i5 or i7), and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070, 3070 Ti, 3080 GPUs, depending on the configuration chosen.

In the end, the Helios 300 is a very classic, rather high-end gaming laptop. It features the same components as many of its competitors, all of which work well together to provide excellent performance. We will also recognize an efficient screen with an exceptional refresh rate of 165 Hz, even up to 240 hHz depending on the configurations. It turns out to be very pleasant to play with, with fairly accurate colorimetry. On the chassis, Acer sticks to gaming codes, which are always a matter of taste. We appreciate the particularly thin borders around the screen. If the PC manages to cool properly, however, it will be at the cost of rather noisy fans.

In short, it is an option like any other for a gaming laptop, without it really managing to stand out. If you find it on sale, it may be a wise choice.

Acer Chromebooks

Looking for a small, inexpensive Chromebook ? Acer produces a number of Chromebooks, generally of good quality.

In this case, we recommend the Acer Chromebook Plus 514 , equipped with a 14-inch Full HD panel, an AMD Ryzen 3 processor, 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB SSD, all for less than 500 euros. ChromeOS allows lightweight configurations to run smoothly and offer excellent battery life.

Why choose an Acer laptop?

What is the origin of the Acer brand?

Acer was founded in 1976 in Taiwan by engineer Stan Shih, who called it "Multitech" at the time. In 2007, the company strengthened itself by purchasing major computer brands such as Packard Bell and Gateway. Acer is one of the largest PC manufacturers in the world, but it also produces monitors and video projectors. The brand also tried, for a time, to sell smartphones, but these did not meet with the expected success.

How is the Acer laptop range organized?

Acer has divided its laptops into four ranges:

• Swift  : ultrabooks

• Aspire  : affordable entry- and mid-range computers

• Spin  : convertible PCs dedicated to creatives

• Nitro  : the affordable gaming range

• Predator  : the gaming range with the latest and most powerful components

The Aspire are undoubtedly Acer's best-known PCs, because they offer attractive value for money, being very affordable. Also add to this Acer Chromebooks, which run not Windows, but ChromeOS.

Which Acer laptop to choose?

It all depends on your needs and the use you will make of your Acer laptop. The budget is also a crucial point, since it is often the most important limiting factor.

It's important to determine what you want from your laptop first. If you want to play video games on it, choose a PC designed for it, a gaming laptop from the Predator or Nitro range. If you plan to take your computer everywhere with you and work on the go, an Acer ultrabook (i.e. a Swift) is what you need. And if you simply want the cheapest possible PC, we advise you to go for the Aspire.

Of course, it's not just Acer laptops on the market: also look at what the competition is doing, notably Asus and Lenovo.