To better navigate the assortment of the company, we have made this small guide.

Acer Aspire: middle class for reasonable money

One of the most famous and popular lines in the range of Acer. In the minds of buyers, it is strongly associated with simple laptops for office work or study. However, the Aspire range is quite versatile, ranging from ultra-low-cost $250 models to fairly powerful gaming laptops.

For internal separation, there is a digital watershed:

  • Aspire 3 is the youngest in the line, equipped with TN+Film screens, Core i3/Celeron dual-core processors, 4 GB of RAM and cost from $250 to $400.
  • The Aspire 5 usually has a slightly more serious configuration with a Core i5, 8 GB of RAM, an SSD and a simple graphics card like the MX250. The case uses metal, adds USB-C ports, a larger battery, and even a sixth-generation Wi-Fi receiver.
  • The Aspire 7, however, goes up a notch with a Core i7, 16GB of RAM, a massive 512GB SSD, and a solid GTX 1050 Ti-caliber graphics card. The price at the same time will be more than $ 1000, and this is already a direct entry into the territory of performant work and gaming laptops, where the competition is a little different.

Interestingly, among all three Aspires there are models with both a regular 15-inch screen and a 17-inch one. Also recently, Acer began to play more boldly with design and blue, red and green Aspire began to fall into the range, which in many ways look more interesting than the usual black and grey models.

Acer Extensa: workhorses


Acer Extensa laptops are the perfect expression of the workhorse term. These are simple, strict and affordable laptops in a thin plastic case with energy-efficient processors and capacious batteries that allow you to work without recharging all day. The technical parameters are quite simple (usually a dual-core processor + 4 GB of RAM), but they are quite capable of solving most simple work tasks such as typing, filling out tables, posting on social networks, etc.

Acer TravelMate: affordable business laptops


Although we associate the name TravelMate with a thin and light as a feather ultrabook, it would be more correct to call the models of this series inexpensive business-class laptops. According to Acer itself, this is perfect for working outside the office. In terms of characteristics, these are mostly simple Extensa and Aspire models, but with a bias towards high-quality webcams for video conferencing and enhanced security.

TravelMate laptops feature TPMs, webcam shutters, fingerprint scanners, and Windows Hello integration. Their design is not the most modern, usually there are no thin frames, but the cases are assembled to last, and metal is used along with plastic. Well, battery life is at a high level, with a moderate load and a display brightness of 50%, the new TravelMate P259 is able to work for about 8 hours on a single charge. Displays most often work on the basis of a simple TN + film matrix, but sometimes there are also options with IPS.

Acer Swift: stylish and ultrabooks for every taste


Until 2019, the Swift lineup included both regular models with a 15-inch display and 14-inch ultrabooks. But over time, it seems that the manufacturer has found a growing niche of portable systems, the potential audience of which is willing to pay a reasonable price for the appropriate set of features. Pretty good IPS-matrix, fast SSD, up-to-date processor and even discrete graphics from NVIDIA. All this in a stylish and compact aluminium case weighing about 1.5 kg. Often cost less than ultrabooks from competing manufacturers. For example, the top modification with Ryzen 7, 12 GB of RAM, 512 GB SSD can be purchased for $900. Or you can take exactly the same model, in the same case, with the same functionality, but much simpler hardware for $550. How much will it cost for others?

Aspire R/Spin: transformers with a touch screen


The Aspire Spin series features thin, compact and elegant convertible laptops. Their screens can be rotated 360 degrees and quickly change the mode of operation. Excellent performance combined with a compact size makes them suitable for school, business and entertainment. As is the case with other Acer lines, these little ones take their price first. If the average transformer from other manufacturers is, usually, an expensive device stuffed with modern technologies, then the average R / Spin look more modest. It is rare that a model costs more than $ 1000, where rather simple options come across with Core i3 of previous generations, 8 GB of RAM, integrated video and a small SSD at a price of $ 600 – 700.

There are sizes for every taste: from compact 13" to standard 15. The case is always ultra-thin, mostly made of aluminium. The screen, usually, is of high quality — IPS is above average. The frames are almost always thick and this is perhaps the main disadvantage of the design. But battery life is excellent, 10 hours at moderate load is common for a regular Aspire Spin. Also, some modifications support working with a stylus.

Acer Nitro: gaming laptops to the masses


There is an unspoken rule that a gaming laptop should cost as much as a good bike. Because you need more powerful hardware, a brighter screen, and don't forget about fashionable backlighting and other bells and whistles. With the Nitro line, Acer has gone against that belief by saturating the market with relatively inexpensive Nitro gaming laptops. They are excellent value for money and provide enough performance to comfortably play almost any modern game at high graphics settings. Usually, they are equipped with performant Core i5 "stones" of the latest generations, 8 – 16 GB of RAM and mid-range graphics cards like the GTX 1050 Ti / GTX 1660 Ti.

Invariable attributes are displays with oblique bezel cuts, a catchy red keyboard backlight, a high-quality IPS screen and a rather thick (23 – 27 mm) plastic case. The average check for such a model is around $1000, the simplest modification can cost $800, and the most fancy one can cost $1200 and more. In general, a great option for beginners or not too demanding gamers.

Acer Predator: any games at maximum speed


Pick up almost any line of Acer laptops and you will immediately see that the affordable price tag is almost always the cornerstone. But not in the case of the Predator gaming line, here Acer engineers usually come off to the fullest. Take, for example, the new Acer Predator Helios 500 PH517-61 (PH517-61-R7AM) , which looks like an endangered species of big and heavy gaming laptops that can show their teeth and fully compete with stationary gaming PCs. Laptop dimensions 428x298x38.7 mm and weight 4 kg. Imagine a jeep trying to park in a scooter spot — that would be the Helios. You won’t carry this one in a backpack, but as Acer designers say, no one thought about portability. The main thing here is internal power: for such a laptop, games on ultra settings should be akin to a fight between a wolf and a squirrel. That is, it is easy and in one gate.

In turn, the Predator Triton is made in a thin body, which positions them as mobile gaming machines. In addition to powerful internals, the laptops feature exceptional screens, high colour reproduction and, optionally, high refresh rates. In general, an avid gamer who is looking at a model for the future will have plenty to choose from. Prices for all this goodness fluctuate in the range from $1200 to $2000, but sometimes there are absolutely crazy options for $3500 with Core i9, 32 GB of RAM and GTX 1070 level cards.

Acer ConceptD: mobile design studio


A new line in the range of Acer, which is positioned as a premium level of multimedia devices for creatives. The elegant design, thin white body made of solid aluminium, powerful hardware, excellent screen with perfect colour reproduction and price at the MacBook level should impress digital content developers. The older models have an extra ace up their sleeve in the form of a 4K display. Yes, all this stuff costs a lot of money (from 2 to 4K dollars), but in fairness, there are not so many laptops on the market that can fully replace a powerful PC for working with multimedia content. Well, there are practically no options with a 4K display, Delta E<2 colour accuracy and Pantone certification. Yes, and a graphics card of the GeForce RTX 2080 caliber is rarely seen even in gaming laptops.