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MagyarAcer Spin 3 SP314-21N review: A quiet 2-in-1 laptop with pen input
The Spin 3 SP314-21N series from Acer stands for 2-in-1 laptops in the 14-inch format that are run by AMD APUs. Our test unit is equipped with a Ryzen 3-3250U APU. The convertible isn't unknown to us, since it is the identically built sibling of the Intel based Spin 3 SP314-54N. The competitors include devices such as the HP Pavilion x360 14 and the Lenovo Ideapad Flex 5 14ALC05.
Possible Competitors in Comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Best Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 81.2 % | 11/2021 | Acer Spin 3 SP314-21N-R4GU R3 3250U, Vega 3 | 1.5 kg | 16.9 mm | 14.00" | 1920x1080 | |
| 81.8 % | 07/2021 | HP Pavilion x360 14-dy0157ng i5-1135G7, Iris Xe G7 80EUs | 1.5 kg | 19.9 mm | 14.00" | 1920x1080 | |
| 82.3 % | 05/2021 | Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14ALC05-82HU006NGE R5 5500U, Vega 7 | 1.5 kg | 21.4 mm | 14.00" | 1920x1080 |
Case and Equipment - The Spin 3 offers USB 3.2 Gen 2
Acer uses a silver gray case with matte and smooth surfaces made from aluminum and plastic. The convertible does not show any faults in the workmanship. There are no uneven gaps and we did not notice any material protrusions. The amount by which the base unit can be warped is just barely acceptable. The battery is built in, and you can access the insides after removing the bottom of the case.
The 2-in-1 device offers two USB-A connections (USB 3.2 Gen 1) and a single USB-C connection (USB 3.2 Gen 2) that neither supports DisplayPort via USB-C nor Power Delivery (= power via USB-C), which is unfortunate. An external monitor can be connected via HDMI. The microSD storage card reader turns out to be one of the slower models using our AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60 reference storage card.
Acer offers some Spin 3 models that are equipped with an active input pen, such as the Spin 3 SP314-54N that we already tested. The pen is then housed in a slot on the right side of the case, and it can also be recharged there. However, the active stylus is not included with the equipment version that we are testing here. Since the pen slot is closed by a cover, you would not be able to use the slot to house the pen or recharge it.
The WLAN transfer rates that we determined under optimal conditions (no other WLAN devices in close proximity and close distance between laptop and server PC) are not up-to-date anymore. The reason is easy to find: The Qualcomm QCA6174 WLAN chip that is used only offers maximum transfer rates of 867 Mbit/s.
Windows 10 Home in S mode serves as the operating system. However, you can perform a free upgrade to the regular Home version of Windows 10, and we performed this upgrade in order to be able to run our tests.
| SD Card Reader | |
| average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14ALC05-82HU006NGE (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| HP Pavilion x360 14-dy0157ng (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC 64GB) | |
| Average of class Convertible (17.7 - 177.7, n=50, last 2 years) | |
| Acer Spin 3 SP314-54N-56S5 (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC 64GB) | |
| Acer Spin 3 SP314-21N-R4GU (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB) | |
| Average of class Convertible (22.6 - 257, n=45, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14ALC05-82HU006NGE (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| HP Pavilion x360 14-dy0157ng (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC 64GB) | |
| Acer Spin 3 SP314-21N-R4GU (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| Acer Spin 3 SP314-54N-56S5 (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC 64GB) | |
| Networking | |
| iperf3 transmit AX12 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14ALC05-82HU006NGE | |
| Acer Spin 3 SP314-54N-56S5 | |
| Average of class Convertible (138 - 1468, n=34, last 2 years) | |
| Acer Spin 3 SP314-21N-R4GU | |
| Average Atheros/Qualcomm QCA6174 (247 - 668, n=38) | |
| HP Pavilion x360 14-dy0157ng | |
| iperf3 receive AX12 | |
| Acer Spin 3 SP314-54N-56S5 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14ALC05-82HU006NGE | |
| Average of class Convertible (136 - 1585, n=34, last 2 years) | |
| Average Atheros/Qualcomm QCA6174 (247 - 657, n=38) | |
| Acer Spin 3 SP314-21N-R4GU | |
| HP Pavilion x360 14-dy0157ng | |
Input Devices - The SP314 does not offer a keyboard illumination
The chiclet keyboard is not illuminated. Its flat keys have a slightly rough surface and offer a short stroke and clear pressure point. The key resistance could have been more crisp. The keyboard has some slight give while typing. Overall, Acer delivers a keyboard suitable for everyday tasks here.
The smooth surface of the multitouch-capable ClickPad, which has a footprint of about 10.5 x 6.5 cm (~4.1 x 2.6 in), makes it easy to slide your fingers. The pad also responds to inputs in the corners. It has a short stroke and clear pressure point.
The touchscreen supports up to ten touch points and responds to inputs promptly. It can be operated with fingers as well as with an active input pen. A short test with the "Bamboo Ink" universal input pen that we used was successful. The Bluetooth connection between the pen and the Spin 3 worked flawlessly.
Display - IPS onboard
At 232.4 cd/m² and 578:1 respectively, the brightness and contrast of the reflective 14-inch touchscreen (1920 x 1080 pixels) turn out too low. We consider values higher than 300 cd/m² and 1000:1 as good. We did not notice any PWM flickering.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 90 %
Center on Battery: 242 cd/m²
Contrast: 578:1 (Black: 0.4 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 4.01 | 0.55-29.43 Ø5.2
ΔE Greyscale 2.04 | 0.57-98 Ø5.4
39% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
56.8% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
37.8% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.25
| Acer Spin 3 SP314-21N-R4GU AU Optronics B140HAN04.0, IPS, 1920x1080, 14.00 | HP Pavilion x360 14-dy0157ng Chi Mei N140HCA-E5B, IPS, 1920x1080, 14.00 | Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14ALC05-82HU006NGE 5D10S39642 LCD MODULE W 81X1, IPS, 1920x1080, 14.00 | Acer Spin 3 SP314-54N-56S5 BOE081D, IPS, 1920x1080, 14.00 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 13% | 9% | 3% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 37.8 | 42.7 13% | 41.24 9% | 39.25 4% |
| sRGB Coverage | 56.8 | 63.7 12% | 61.4 8% | 58.2 2% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 39 | 44.2 13% | 42.67 9% | 40.55 4% |
| Response Times | 27% | 33% | 42% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 48 ? | 32 ? 33% | 30 ? 37% | 29 ? 40% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 28 ? | 22 ? 21% | 20 ? 29% | 16 ? 43% |
| PWM Frequency | 1000 ? | |||
| Screen | 26% | -8% | 29% | |
| Brightness middle | 231 | 269 16% | 243 5% | 271 17% |
| Brightness | 232 | 241 4% | 221 -5% | 272 17% |
| Brightness Distribution | 90 | 82 -9% | 79 -12% | 92 2% |
| Black Level * | 0.4 | 0.11 72% | 0.16 60% | 0.19 52% |
| Contrast | 578 | 2445 323% | 1519 163% | 1426 147% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 4.01 | 5.68 -42% | 6.03 -50% | 4.24 -6% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 8.23 | 9.61 -17% | 9.21 -12% | 6.38 22% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 2.04 | 4.95 -143% | 6.4 -214% | 2.51 -23% |
| Gamma | 2.25 98% | 2.17 101% | 2.41 91% | 2.25 98% |
| CCT | 6751 96% | 6628 98% | 6342 102% | 6812 95% |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 44.2 | 39 | 37 | |
| Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 63.7 | 61 | 58 | |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | 22% /
23% | 11% /
2% | 25% /
25% |
* ... smaller is better
While the display delivers a decent color reproduction in the state of delivery, the colors deviate slightly from the target. The display does not suffer from a blue tint, but it is unable to cover the AdobeRGB (39%), sRGB (57%), and DCI-P3 (38%) color spaces.
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 28 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 14 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 14 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows relatively slow response rates in our tests and may be too slow for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 65 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (22.3 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 48 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 21 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 27 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.25 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 79 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (35.1 ms). | ||
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM not detected |  | ||
In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 19046 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured. | |||
The IPS panel offers stable viewing angles and can be read from any position. However, outdoors you can hardly read it or even cannot decipher anything at all, since the low display brightness and reflective display surface prevent this.
Performance - Acer's 2-in-1 device brings a Ryzen 3 APU
With the Spin 3 SP314-21N, Acer offers a 2-in-1 device that brings sufficient performance for office and Internet applications.
Test Conditions
The Spin 3 doesn't offer any manufacturer specific power profiles, but the Windows standard profiles are used. We ran our test with the "Highest Performance" profile activated. The power limits of the APU are 25 watts (PL1) and 35 watts (PL2).
Processor
The CPU part of the Ryzen 3-3250U APU (Picasso) consists of a dual-core processor that runs at a basic clock speed of 2.6 GHz. Via Turbo, the clock speed can be increased up to 3.5 GHz. Simultaneous multithreading (two threads per core) is supported.
The processor runs through the multithread test of the Cinebench R15 benchmark at 3.4 to 3.5 GHz and through the single-thread test at 1.6 to 3.5 GHz. In battery operation, the CPU runs at 2.6 to 3.4 GHz (multithread) and 1.6 to 2.4 GHz (single-thread).
We evaluate whether the CPU Turbo can also be maintained constantly by running the multithread test of the Cinebench R15 benchmark for at least 30 minutes in a loop. The Turbo runs at varying speeds.
Cinebench R15 Multi Constant Load Test
| Cinebench R23 | |
| Multi Core | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14ALC05-82HU006NGE | |
| Average of class Convertible (616 - 19293, n=83, last 2 years) | |
| HP Pavilion x360 14-dy0157ng | |
| Acer Spin 3 SP314-54N-56S5 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 3250U (1876 - 2080, n=3) | |
| Acer Spin 3 SP314-21N-R4GU | |
| HP 255 G7 159P1EA | |
| Single Core | |
| Average of class Convertible (307 - 2016, n=83, last 2 years) | |
| HP Pavilion x360 14-dy0157ng | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14ALC05-82HU006NGE | |
| Acer Spin 3 SP314-54N-56S5 | |
| Acer Spin 3 SP314-21N-R4GU | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 3250U (768 - 810, n=3) | |
| HP 255 G7 159P1EA | |
| Cinebench R20 | |
| CPU (Multi Core) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14ALC05-82HU006NGE | |
| Average of class Convertible (242 - 7491, n=84, last 2 years) | |
| Acer Spin 3 SP314-54N-56S5 | |
| HP Pavilion x360 14-dy0157ng | |
| Lenovo V15-ADA 82C7009SGE | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 3250U (415 - 805, n=3) | |
| HP 255 G7 159P1EA | |
| Acer Spin 3 SP314-21N-R4GU | |
| CPU (Single Core) | |
| Average of class Convertible (116.8 - 773, n=83, last 2 years) | |
| HP Pavilion x360 14-dy0157ng | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14ALC05-82HU006NGE | |
| Acer Spin 3 SP314-54N-56S5 | |
| Lenovo V15-ADA 82C7009SGE | |
| HP 255 G7 159P1EA | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 3250U (234 - 303, n=3) | |
| Acer Spin 3 SP314-21N-R4GU | |
| Cinebench R15 | |
| CPU Multi 64Bit | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14ALC05-82HU006NGE | |