Main Differences Between Acer and Asus
Can’t decide if Acer or Asus is the better brand? Then I am glad you found this blog. I tried out 7 different laptops from both brands. This includes the popular Acer Swift 5, Asus Zenbooks, and Vivobooks.
Oh, and I tested out their customer services for speed and efficiency as well across various platforms. Here’s what you need to about both companies before buying.
Acer Overview and Review
Acer is one of the oldest laptop brands on the market and was founded in 1976 under the original name Multitech by Stan Shih. They are a Taiwanese brand with headquarters in New Taipei City, Taiwan. You can also find their office in San Jose, California.
While Acer is better known for its laptops, they have diversified their product range. So don’t forget to check out their range of desktop PCs, monitors, and projectors.
Their range doesn’t stop there. If you are an Acer fan, you would also want to try out their range of smartphones and tablets. But for now, we’ll stick to the laptops.
So here’s all you need to know about them.
Build
If you live your life on the go and need a laptop with a sleek and lightweight design, then an Acer laptop could be for you. Their Swift 7 and Swift 3 weigh about 4lbs, putting them at par with the MacBook Air, which also weighs about 4lbs.
Not to forget, they are pretty damn compact as well. This means you should have no trouble using them in tight spaces. I have used it on the plane and the subway with ease.
Plus, it is also super easy to carry as it will fit in your backpack or laptop bag along with all your other stuff. Acer is also one of the few brands to create ultra-thin gaming laptops with their Predator Triton.
Also, are you bored with the same black or black-red designs of the laptops?
Then you will be happy to know, that Acer laptops like the Predator Helios 300 and Helios 300 Special Edition have brought about a much-needed change with their turquoise and black and While and Gold designs (sure to grab a few eyes and even get you a couple of compliments)
The same goes for the Chromebooks like Chromebook 11 and Chromebook 13.
The Chromebook 13 also features an aluminum chassis and hinge that gives the keyboard that slight lift that makes typing a whole lot easier (trust me on that, this is a must-try).
But while their whiskey is great, their beer’s a bit of a drab. Yup, laptops like Spin 3, Chromebook 11 come with plastic parts, and while they tend to be cheaper, they are not very durable, and the features are lackluster.
Innovation
I think Acer’s biggest innovation when it comes to laptops is their Swift Series that has integrated a 15.6-inch display into a laptop that weighs less than 2 lbs.
This is also something they have done with many of their gaming laptops, as well. So whether it is work or play, you should now be able to carry your laptop anywhere and everywhere. The Swift Series has a 0.35-inch frame, which makes it one of the sleekest laptops you will find on the market.
It also has a pretty good battery life of about 9-10 hours (enough to last you for a day without recharging). And whether you are using high-end video editing software or games, the 0.03-inch heat pipe ensures the laptop remains cool as a cucumber.
Another of their excellent cooling innovations is the LiquidLoop fanless cooling system employed in the Acer’s Switch 7 Black Edition. This is a 2-1 laptop ideal for graphics designers.
As for the headline-grabbing Predator Triton 900, it comes with special CNC-machined Ezel Aero Hinges that allow you to switch modes in seconds.
Lastly, if you are interested in a Chromebook Flagship, Acer R13 is a convertible Chromebook with a competitive price tag that allows for hassle-free usage everywhere.
Customer Support and Warranty
Acer has been improving with the phone-based customer service. That is because we received more correct answers on our recent evaluation and that too in quick time while maintaining the right tone and friendliness.
On the other hand, the live chats and social media helplines were not that great as they lacked the expected level of efficiency.
In case you too find their customer service a tad tedious, the knowledgebase has some FAQs we are sure you will find helpful.
Then there is the YouTube channel as well where there are plenty of support videos that will provide you with stepwise solutions to many of the common problems like the battery running out quickly, etc.
And if all else fails, a user from the Acer community should have the solution for you.
As for warranty, most of the Acer laptops come with a 1-year warranty while some of the higher models have a warranty of 2-3 years. You can also extend your warranty if needed at an additional cost.
Value for Money (4/5)
Whether you want a cheap laptop/Chromebook or a premium laptop, Acer has got you covered.
You can get the Acer Chromebook 15 for less than $200 and features a full-metal chassis and a full-HD display.
The Acer Aspire 5 Slim is the most-selling laptop on Amazon and is one of our favorite budget laptops ideal for anyone who needs a new one for entertainment purposes and light office work.
It also has a Full-HD 15.6-inch display that is sure to give you an excellent movie experience.
ASUS Overview and Review
Asus is a Taiwanese computer and electronics company that was founded by T.H. Tung in 1989. As of 2022, Asus is the fifth-largest PC manufacturer in the world.
Their product range includes laptops, desktop computers, routers, monitors, and so on. In the laptop space, Asus has a wide variety of products from gaming laptop lines like ROG (Republic of Gamers) and TUF (The Ultimate Force) to the Ultrabook family ZenBooks.
Components
Gaming laptops weren’t always ASUS’s forte but they sure changed that over the years. With the coming of laptops such as the ROG Mothership GZ700 and the ASUS ROG Strix Scar II, they have carved out a niche for themselves as well.
And their popularity is warranted. After all, these are high-end laptops that are an absolute delight for even professional gamers that require extreme performance from their machines. But why are these laptops so highly rated?
For starters, they are equipped with the latest processors in the form of the 11th Gen Intel i9 processors. Then there are graphics cards as well capable of running pretty much anything and everything.
But I am not a gamer, what should I go for?
In that case, we would recommend checking out their ZenBook Pro Duo which is great for people who are into video editing or graphics designing.
And if you needed something on the cheap just for watching movies or to do some presentations and content writing, then the ASUS Vivobook and the VivoBook L203MA (costs just around $200) are just what you have been looking for.
Graphics Card
If you go for any of the high-end gaming laptops, you can also get better graphics as they are equipped with The RTX 3080 Graphics card. With the RTC series, you get graphics that can make anyone wonder if you were watching TV or playing games.
If you go for budget gaming and business laptops, expect these to come with the GTX series from NVIDIA like the GTX 1080, GTX 1050, GTX 1050Ti, or even the AMD Radeon Rx 560X.
Cooling
You want your laptop to remain cool as a cucumber irrespective of whether you have 10 tabs open are you are playing games like Fortnite on full settings, right?
Keeping Asus laptop such as ROG GX700 is a detachable liquid cooling module. And believe it or not, this cooling technique is something you’ll only find in high-end gaming desktops so you know it can handle pretty much anything.
It keeps the temperature low via pipes that circulate the coolant throughout the laptop. And no, there’s no chance of this coolant spilling thanks to the patented technology.
Cooling is good with most other Asus laptops as well (both gaming and business laptops) mainly because they come with multiple fans and vents for the job. Furthermore, some even have anti-dust technology that ensures you don’t have to worry about cleaning and repair for years.
Display
If you want life-like images and a large screen from your laptop, you’ll have to pay a premium for it. The sizes on the high-end laptops can vary from 15.6-inches to even 17.3-inches while resolution varies from Full-HD to 4k.
If you want something more portable, and cheap then go with smaller 11.6-inches or 13.3-inch laptops. The resolution on these can vary from 720p to 1080p (Full-HD).
For those buying a gaming laptop, refresh is an important criteria. Well, you won’t be disappointed with either brand. Both brands offer laptops with refresh rates varying from 120Hz to 240Hz ensuring you never have to worry about ghosting and blurring ruining your headshots.
Backlit Keyboard
A backlit keyboard isn’t just functional but adds to the feel of a gaming laptop and with ASUS laptops you get just that thanks to the Aura Sync Technology.
With this, you can control every aspect of the backlight like the colors of each and every key. You can also sync the colors with other ASUS products that have Aura Sync Tech like Keyboard, mice, etc. But the most fun part is synchronizing it with music so don’t forget to try that.
Design and Build
Whether we talk about the Asus TUF or ROG series, one look at most of their laptops won’t be enough. Because when the aura sync technology comes into play with the sleek metallic body on the ROG Strix series, it is a spectrum of vibrant colors.
Not just the gaming laptops, the business laptops, and Chromebooks are also pretty good. Yes, Acer has the edge here but Asus does not lag far behind.
Previously ASUS was considered to be one of the cheaper and low-quality options on the market. However, in recent years, they have considerably improved both in terms of durability and reliability.
Customer Service and Warranty
While their laptops are good, it is their customer service that needs improvement, especially the phone service. Firstly, it isn’t 24*7. And then there’s all the holding that ensured my call with them lasted around 25 mins for a simple question like how to make the display more vivid.
Thankfully, the online chat and social media channels exist which fared better during the tests and were way better than Acer. So if you have a problem with your Asus laptop, I’d suggest you use the chat or get in touch with them via Facebook or Twitter.
As for the warranty, you’ll get a 1-year warranty with most laptops. One of the best parts about their warranty is that it includes an accidental warranty which means if you were to spill something on it or drop the laptop, they would repair it for free.
Though keep in mind, the warranty cannot be extended.
Innovation
When it comes to innovation, there’s little to complain about ASUS. One of the best examples of their innovation is the ScreenPad you’ll find on the Asus ZenBook Pro 15 which has become a user-favorite over the years.
With the ScreenPad, you have an additional screen that increases productivity as you are able to multi-task more easily and don’t have to shift between tabs all the time.
The ZenBook 13 is another standout that features a dedicated GPU and yet manages to remain light and slim.
Last but not least, there’s the mother of all gaming laptops the MotherShip which includes a detachable keyboard making it one of the most portable keyboards you will come across. But that’s not all.
Value for Money
Want something on a budget? The Vivobook L203MA costs around $300 and is well worth the money as it is powerful and fast enough for daily tasks like browsing, creating presentations, watching movies, etc.
Another great budget pick is the ASUS Vivobook Thin and Light, the Vivobook 15 while the Vivobook Flip 14 is a good budget convertible laptop.
If you are looking for a gaming laptop, the prices can vary from $800 to $5000+ depending on the specs you are looking at which means there’s something for everyone.
The ASUS FX505DD is a highly recommended budget gaming laptop that costs around $700 and yet can easily handle all your multiplayer games like Fortnite, PUBG, etc.
When it comes to Chromebooks the Asus C423NA Chromebook is our top recommendation but if you want a faster and powerful Chromebook then we’d suggest you go with the ASUS Chromebook C425. The Chromebook Flip C214 and Asus C302CA are other Asus Chromebooks worth considering.
Also Read: Best Laptop Brands for 2022
Acer Compared to ASUS: The Verdict
For gamers
If I had to pick a winner, I would go with Acer. That is because of the power-packed laptop Acer has developed in the form of the Acer Predator Triton 900 lineup (an absolute beast of a laptop for any gamer). Yes, it costs over, $3000 but if you are a professional and stream games live, this is just the kind of laptop you need.
Then there is also the Acer Predator Triton 500 and the Acer Helios which is a great mid-range gaming laptop. On the other hand, ASUS is the ideal choice for anyone looking to buy a gaming laptop on the cheap as can grab the Asus TUF FX505DT for less than $700.
Winner: Acer
For Business Laptops
On this front, Acer again has a slight edge with the Acer Spin 3 over the Asus ZenBook Flip S. Not only is the Acer Spin 3 bigger but also has a bigger display and battery life. And you don’t have to take just our word for it, even users on Amazon believe so as the Spin 3 has a 4.3 rating and is one of the most preferred 2-in-1 laptops.
Winner: Acer
Chromebooks
So which brand offers the most powerful and portable Chromebooks between Acer and Asus? If you are looking for a convertible Chromebook, then I would suggest you go with the Acer R11, but it lacks a Full-HD display.
And mainly, for this reason, I prefer ASUS when it comes to Chromebooks. It isn’t as portable since it cannot be converted but has a Full-HD display, and making it even more immersive is the 85% screen-to-body ratio.
Both Chromebooks have a powerful processor, a good amount of storage space, and RAM, but since I usually use Chromebooks for entertainment purposes, a Full-HD display is essential. Though keep in mind that the screen also comes at a higher cost.
Winner: ASUS
Acer or Asus For Budget Buyers
I have to give this to Acer as well. The Acer Aspire 5 Slim is the most-bought laptop on Amazon and for a good reason. It perfectly combines low-cost with good features making it the ideal laptop for college students, kids, or anyone that needs a budget laptop for entertainment purposes.
