Acer Swift X 14 (2024) assessment: An inexpensive creator laptop computer with savage efficiency

Desk of contents

The Acer Swift X 14 has already made me yawn—and I have not even gotten previous the primary sentence of this introduction. Nonetheless, the Swift X 14 is not a flashy laptop computer that grabs your consideration as a result of it is the “world’s first laptop computer.” no matter neither is it the thinnest, sleekest and most elegant laptop computer within the historical past of laptops.

It is only a gray laptop computer that wishes that can assist you create – and it does that completely. With a value that is most likely inexpensive, the Swift X 14 gives a – er – quick CPU and an environment friendly GPU that impressed us in its benchmarks and makes it the most effective laptops we have examined this 12 months. And all this with a lovely OLED show.

Whereas the Swift X 14 has its strengths, it additionally has its weaknesses. Learn on to seek out out if its flaws (and there aren’t many) are a deal-breaker for you.

Acer Swift X 14 (2024) value and specs

The Acer Swift X 14 is on the market from Amazon beginning at $1,299 and has the next specs:

• Intel Core Extremely 7 155H processor

• Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU with 8 GB VRAM

• 16GB RAM

• 512 GB SSD storage

• 14.5 inch, 2,880 x 1,800 pixels, OLED show with a refresh fee of 120 Hz

The assessment unit I’ve bumps up the specs to 32GB of RAM, 1TB of storage, and a 4070 GPU. (This configuration is not out there but.)

Design of the Acer Swift X 14 (2024)

Yawn! If the Swift X 14 have been a style, it might be elevator music—and that is by design (no pun meant). It isn’t meant to seize your consideration, nor to entice you to be too expressive. As a substitute, the Acer Swift X 14 is designed to mix into an workplace surroundings and have a subdued, unobtrusive presence. Sure, the Acer Swift X 14 is just a little boring, however you recognize what? That is superb with me. Not everybody needs a laptop computer that is loud, intrusive, and obtrusive.

The Swift X 14’s chassis is completed in “Metal Grey” and has a shiny silver “Acer” brand situated on the high heart of the lid. The construct high quality can be glorious. Once I apply stress to the deck, there may be little to no give. The whole aluminum chassis of the Swift X 14 feels sturdy.

At first, I used to be disillusioned that the Swift X 14 does not have a lip (or some type of groove between the deck and lid), however I nonetheless discovered it simple to open the lid and reveal a 14.5-inch OLED panel and island-style keyboard. Above the keyboard, between the hinges, is an air consumption grill. There are vents on the underside.

Acer Swift X 14 (2024) Show

The Acer Swift X 14 has a 14.5-inch show with 2,880 x 1,800 pixels and a refresh fee of 120 Hz.

Subsequently, navigation on this 400-nit panel is far smoother in comparison with a typical 60Hz display screen. It has a 16:10 side ratio, which suggests it is a bit bigger than the typical laptop computer, which frequently has a 16:9 side ratio. In different phrases, you get extra vertical display screen actual property.

The show of the Acer Swift X 14 is really a surprise. I’ve the Deadpool and Wolverine Trailer on YouTube, and whoa-ho-ho, I might see nearly each crevice in Hugh Jackson’s facet profile as he sat somberly in a bar as Wolverine. As he lay on the ground in his vivid yellow swimsuit, I might see refined scuff marks on his clothes that confirmed slight put on and tear. Heck, I even noticed web-like pink veins operating by means of his eyeballs in one other intense scene. This unhealthy boy’s OLED panel is unquestionably enjoyable for my eyeballs.

The Swift X 14’s bezels are comparatively skinny, particularly on the perimeters, however the high bezel is noticeably thicker to make room for a 1080p webcam.

Connections of the Acer Swift X 14 (2024)

The Acer Swift X 14 has a wide variety of contemporary and older ports.

On the left:

• HDMI 2.1 port

• USB Kind-A port (3.2 Gen 2)

• Two USB Kind-C ports (helps USB4, Thunderbolt 4)

• Headset jack

On the precise facet:

On the precise facet of the Swift X 14 additionally, you will discover a microSD card reader, a nod to the builders.

Acer Swift X 14 (2024) Audio

The Swift X 14 is provided with upward-facing audio system and you may see that Acer has somewhat shunned integrating these audio system into this laptop computer.

I launched “Not Like Us” on the Acer Swift X 14 by way of Spotify and sadly the confrontational diss monitor sounded a bit too tinny for my style. The sound is OK, however the bass might be extra highly effective. On the plus facet, the audio system have been loud sufficient to fill my medium-sized room.

Acer Swift X 14 (2024) keyboard and touchpad

I am a self-professed keyboard snob. For the typical consumer, the Acer Swift X 14 is completely superb and most of the people will not be irritated by the keys. Nonetheless, I do want the keyboard was snappier. (As a laptop computer reviewer, I am properly conscious that there are snappier keyboards available on the market, together with the HP Spectre x360 14.)

Nonetheless, the Swift X 14’s island-style keyboard is greater than ample. It is springy sufficient to offer a exact and correct typing expertise. The touchpad is spacious, from the spacebar to the copilot key. I additionally like the best way it feels. It is neither too mushy nor too resistant. It is excellent.

It is usually price mentioning that the keyboard has a backlight that’s simpler to see at evening. You’ll be able to modify the brightness to 2 ranges utilizing the Home windows key and the F11 key.

Additionally, do not be fooled by the facility button within the high proper nook of the keyboard. It additionally features as a fingerprint reader.

Acer Swift X 14 (2024) benchmarks and efficiency

Whereas the Acer Swift X 14’s design is unassuming, the followers get fairly loud. There are three efficiency modes: Silent, Regular, Efficiency, and Turbo. Even in Regular mode, and I am doing nothing, the followers begin to sound like they do on a windy day.

Silent mode clearly fixes this drawback, but it surely’s price noting that the fan noise is definitely audible even while you’re not utilizing apps that put quite a lot of work into the interior parts.

The optimistic factor is that the interior parts of the Swift X 14 are undoubtedly working additional time – which can be mirrored within the commendable benchmarks.

With the mode switched to Turbo, we examined the Acer Swift X 14’s Intel Core Extremely 7 155H CPU within the Geekbench 6 check. It delivered a powerful multi-core rating of 13,386. We have examined different laptops with the identical chip, just like the Lenovo Slim 7, and the Swift X 14 outperformed all of them.

• Acer Swift 5 15.6″ (Intel Core i7 10750H) – 13,386

• Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14 (Intel Core i7 1650H) – 12,267

• HP Spectre x360 14 (Intel Core i7 16500U) – 12,955

• Asus Zenbook UX333UA (Intel Core i7 1650H) – 10,344

We additionally examined the Acer Swift X 14’s Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU with the GFXBench 5.0 benchmark, which performs stress exams on graphics rendering duties (e.g. movement blur, dynamic shadows, and particle simulation). It achieved a rating of 168 photographs per second (fps). For comparability, this outperforms the M2 chip within the MacBook Air, which has a rating of 99and the M3 MacBook Air (additionally 121).

Lastly, the developer-focused Acer Swift X 14 shouldn’t be touted as a gaming laptop computer, but it surely does have a discrete GPU. For individuals who wish to play after work, I examined the Swift X 14 with the Cyberpunk2077 Benchmark. With the preset “Excessive” at 1080p, the Acer Swift X 14 achieved a 77 frames/s Common. With DLSS enabled, a function that makes use of AI upscaling to squeeze out extra frames, I bought a whopping 118 frames/s. Fairly!

Battery lifetime of the Acer Swift X 14 (2024)

The Acer Swift X 14 survived a 1080p video rundown at 50% brightness. It took 8 hours and 35 minutes with a single battery cost.

Which may not sound nice to the typical individual, however contemplating that the Swift X 14 has a devoted graphics card and different power-hungry parts, the runtime is definitely fairly good.

When gaming, nonetheless, the Swift X 14 lasts about an hour earlier than giving up the ghost.

Acer Swift X 14 (2024) Webcam

The Swift X 14 has a 1080p webcam on the highest bezel, and, properly, there’s not a lot to write down house about.

I took a photograph with the webcam and there was quite a lot of noise within the photograph. My hair was not clearly outlined. And the colours on my high regarded just a little too muted for my style. Nonetheless, as I typically say as a reviewer, mediocre webcams are regular on laptops.

Is the Acer Swift X 14 (2024) price it?

The Acer Swift X 14 encompasses a highly effective Nvidia RTX 40-series GPU and a strong CPU, all for simply $1,299. That is a very nice deal!

Total, the Acer Swift X 14 has a beautiful OLED show that is a visible deal with. And for photograph and video editors who want a machine that may deal with their workload, the Swift X 14 has loads of graphics and processing energy (although you may hear them working from the fan noise). There’s additionally a microSD card for creatives and a fingerprint reader for security-conscious customers.

Moreover, you will get greater than 8 hours out of the Acer Swift X 14, which is not unhealthy for a laptop computer with devoted graphics.

Every thing else, together with the webcam, audio, and keyboard, is bland, however not horrible both. Total, I’d undoubtedly suggest the Swift X 14 to customers in search of a Home windows PC that may deal with their artistic duties in the course of the day and allow gaming within the night.