Acer Swift X 16 overview: The anti-MacBook Professional

Should you’re on the lookout for a bigger laptop computer for inventive work, you will discover a vary of choices. Naturally, the MacBook Professional is the primary gadget you will come throughout. However not everybody needs a Mac or has the cash to purchase one.

Acer’s newest Swift And whereas the Swift Because it seems, the Swift

Specs and configurations

Acer presents two configurations of the Swift The entry-level mannequin is available in at $1,250 for an AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS CPU, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 GPU, and a 16.0-inch WQXGA IPS show working at as much as 165Hz. For $1,600, the CPU upgrades to a Ryzen 9 7940U, the GPU to an RTX 4050, and the show to a WQXGA+ OLED panel at as much as 120Hz.

The HP Envy 16 is a bit more costly at $1,750 for an Intel Core i7-13700H processor, the identical quantity of RAM and storage, and a quicker RTX 4060 GPU. It’s a must to pay much more with HP for an OLED display, and even then, it isn’t as sharp or colourful because the Acer possibility.

Probably not skinny and light-weight

As talked about within the introduction, Acer is together with this laptop computer in its Swift lineup, which generally focuses on being skinny and light-weight. Nevertheless, the Swift It is not that heavy, however fairly a number of different 16-inch laptops with comparable specs are thinner. For instance, the HP Envy 16 weighs 5.12 kilos however is just 0.78 inches thick, whereas the Dell XPS 15 weighs about the identical at 4.23 kilos however is 0.71 inches thick. The 16-inch MacBook Professional can be thinner at 0.64 inches thick.

The Swift It is not fairly as stable because the XPS 15 but it surely’s shut, and feels extra sturdy than the Envy 16. Solely the plastic display bezels detract from the general high-quality really feel.

Aesthetically, the Swift The traces are aggressive, particularly on the again the place the underside fringe of the display is kind of angular. The XPS 15 and Envy 16 are extra engaging laptops, however the Swift Just a bit bland in comparison with one thing just like the MacBook Professional.

However I did not just like the keyboard. The keycaps are a bit small and the spacing is a bit tight, primarily to suit the numeric keypad which I do not assume would doubtless be in excessive demand on a contemporary laptop computer. The keys had been additionally very free, which is unlucky as a result of they’re very quick.

A bit firmer motion and I would fee the keyboard as near the XPS 15. Nevertheless, Apple’s Magic Keyboard on latest MacBook Professionals stays the very best. The Swift X 16’s touchpad is kind of giant and takes up many of the area on the palm relaxation, and its button clicks had been assured and quiet.

Connectivity was good, with loads of newer and older shops. That is an AMD machine, so no assist for Thunderbolt 4. The wi-fi connection was updated.

Lastly, the webcam runs at 1080p which is satisfactory on your typical video conferencing wants. There is not any infrared digital camera to assist facial recognition in Home windows 11, however the fingerprint reader constructed into the ability button works effectively.

Greater than aggressive efficiency

My Swift Its energy ranges between 35 and 54 watts, making it a powerful competitor to Intel’s 45 watt chips. My overview unit additionally geared up an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 working Nvidia’s Studio drivers.

In our benchmarks, the Swift This was particularly evident in our Handbrake benchmark, which encodes a 420MB video in H.265 format, and within the Cinebench R23 benchmark. The Swift Even with simply the RTX 4050, Acer was in a position to compete with laptops working theoretically quicker GPUs.

Typically, efficiency is the sturdy level. The Swift The Swift fortnite With 1200p decision and epic graphics.

Not surprisingly, the Swift X 16 did not have nice battery life. It has a 76 watt-hour battery, which is low for a big laptop computer, and the OLED show is power-hungry. However these outcomes aren’t horrible for a machine that may deal with powerful jobs, though in the event you’re cellular, the massive energy unit will weigh you down.

High-notch OLED display

Most OLED shows are uniformly glorious, and look nice out of the field with dynamic colours, loads of brightness, and deep, inky blacks. The HD model of the Swift

Based on my colorimeter, the Swift X 16 is among the many greatest panels we have examined. It was brighter than most, although not by that a lot, and its blacks had been excellent with the beautiful distinction we have come to anticipate from the know-how. It popped much more with its colours, with a near-perfect 100% sRGB, 99% AdobeRGB, and 100% DCI-P3 protection. Its accuracy was additionally glorious at a DeltaE degree of 0.70, effectively beneath the 1.0 mark the place the human eye can not inform the distinction. Be aware that my colorimeter wouldn’t return a distinction ratio worth, which has occurred with plenty of OLED shows. However with excellent blacks, there isn’t any doubt that the Swift X 16’s show has the identical deep distinction as different OLED panels.

It is a nice providing for productiveness professionals, creatives, and media customers. Acer presents a lower-resolution IPS panel that runs at as much as 165Hz on the low-power base mannequin, but it surely’s value the additional cash for the OLED panel alone.

Two stereo audio system are performed from the underside entrance of the chassis, and so they’re surprisingly weak. That’s, it emits minimal quantity even when totally raised. Mids and clears are loud and there is a contact of bass, in order that’s good. However if you wish to entertain a bunch of individuals, you will want exterior audio system.

One other competent possibility for lighter creativity

The Swift Creators should spend extra to get considerably higher efficiency, however for everybody else, the Swift X 16 is an reasonably priced possibility.

It additionally presents sufficient high quality to fulfill its premium worth, and its OLED show is attractive. The Swift X 16 is a stable alternative within the rising discipline of 16-inch laptops.

Editors’ suggestions