Acer Swift X laptop review

It’s hard to get out of the game in the Ultrabook segment. If the class did not welcome a lot of manufacturers in its infancy, since it was really difficult to succeed in this format, the chips of the past two years have made the task a lot easier. Manufacturer Acer decided to join AMD for the Swift X, an option that allows it to combine power and autonomy … But were any sacrifices made at the same time? This is what we will see in this test.

Acer Swift X Features

Screen Size	14 inches
screen type	IPS-LCD
Screen definition	1920 x 1080 pixels
refresh rate	60 Hz
Healer	AMD Ryzen 7 5800U
Graphics Card	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050
RAM	16 GB LPDDR4X
storage	512 GB PCIe 4.0 SSD
connectors	1 power port, 1 HDMI 2.0, 1 combo jack, 1 USB-C, 2 USB A
Dimensions	32.28 x 21.22 x 1.79 cm
weight	1.5 kg

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Design and ergonomics: light, but not in the right place

On paper, the Acer Swift X has everything you want from a very portable device these days. If its 1.4kg doesn’t put it in the lighter PC category, we’ll forgive it by looking at its technical sheet. The look is respectful anyway, with a completely discreet metallic body that plays two tones here: metallic and navy blue. The formula works and the computer is fine as expected, but a few touches here and there distort the whole.

Finishes, first of all. Where most manufacturers offer a unified design in this category, Acer does not. You can feel the space between the chassis and its bottom plate when holding it, far from the nice approximation of other references in the industry. Its wide gray pillowcases are also a stain, a sign that the manufacturer preferred functionality over aesthetics.

The keyboard and touchpad in particular are the ones that annoy you. The keys themselves may be just the right size, their feel is definitely plastic. A good run doesn’t forgive a typing experience that we put on the same level as a mid-range or even entry-level Chromebook: functional, again. And the touchpad, which is smaller and more grippy than average, reinforces that feeling.

We can add the fingerprint reader, which is affixed to the chassis at the bottom rather than integrated into the start button, as a final sentence. Get it right: The Acer Swift X isn’t badly built. It’s not ugly. But… it’s not pretty either. In the domain that wants to sublimate the product, the Swift X assumes it’s a tool. Simple tool. There to do its job and disappear.

Screen: to be calibrated

The Acer Swift X benefits from a 14-inch Full HD display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, which gives a 16:9 ratio, for a classic refresh rate at 60 Hz. The screen has a matte anti-reflective treatment and is touchable, but not tactile in compensation . This is a sacrifice one readily accepts when the computer is not transferable.

The board itself is not bad. Thanks to our probe, we note that it covers 107% of the sRGB area and 75% of the area of ​​\u200b\u200bDCI P3, which is acceptable. But again, other competitors position themselves much better in the same place. A color temperature of 6164K, slightly off the video standard at 6500K, emphasizes colors that are warmer than nature, even if they are hard to see with the naked eye.

Especially on the side of its maximum brightness is what disappoints the panel. At 362 cd/m², the Acer Swift X will still be readable in direct sunlight, but you still have to stare. It’s a pity that the IPS LCD screen has the advantage of great brightness, and the matte processing makes the picture naturally darker. Especially since its contrast for 1927:1 is excellent.

Software: minimal service

In one word and two numbers: Windows 11. This is what you’ll often get with Acer in the software space, since the latter doesn’t offer much in the aspect of computer management services.

Ah yes: there are advertising apps, too. And get ready because the computer is loaded with it. If we at least avoid the strict McAfee software, that does not prevent Norton Antivirus, Booking.com, Firefox, Dropbox and many other applications pre-installed on the device from being found. So they are cleaned as soon as they come out of the box.

Performance: no disappointment

At this point, the Acer Swift X delivers more than is expected of it. It’s equipped in our test configuration with an AMD Ryzen 7 5800U, an 8-core, 16-thread Zen 3 processor that can boost up to 4.4 GHz, which ties into a GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card.

In Cinebench r23 we can see that its performance is in the middle of similar CPU configurations. So no big deal, except that the twelfth generation Intel has now overtaken the computer at the same prices. The same goes for the GPU, with the RTX 3050 coming out on top with a score of 3767 on 3DMark. Acer didn’t really tie in on her husband, and that’s okay.

In the game, we can quickly see it. Shadow of the Tomb Raider runs at an average of 51 frames per second while pushing its graphics high, without ray tracing. Using ray tracing, rely on 27fps instead. Same on the Cyberpunk 2077 side, averaging 30 fps in height. An RTX 3050 is required, you can take advantage of DLSS 2.0 from Nvidia to increase your average FPS with just a few clicks and enjoy a comfortable gaming experience.

Perhaps this is where the Acer Swift X stands out: it allows, at an affordable price, to play many games comfortably. Other small portable devices on the market do not necessarily take this into account, or they sell for a much higher price. On the other hand, it tends to get hot, even if that heating is relatively excused.

Autonomy: could be better

On autonomy, don’t expect to break records. The Acer Swift X will still run 8 hours before bed on office tasks, which is respectable without being a file. It must be said that its composition pulls a little more than average, so we are not surprised.

What’s really surprising, on the other hand, is its power source. At 90W, it doesn’t use USB C Power Delivery but the classic cylindrical connector, in its smallest version. Because it is fragile, this connection is no longer based on our test model, which was moved from the editorial office to the editorial office … and therefore its resistance is not guaranteed.

This choice is quite peculiar since the USB C ports are compatible with the Power Delivery standard, and therefore can be used to power and recharge the device. Why the existence of this obsolete port, not to say tacky, in this case?

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Conclusion