Looking for a high-end laptop that won't compromise on a slick and portable design in favor of top-notch components? Hard, huh? Well, today we're happy to share that we've stumbled upon one such unicorn.
The Acer Swift X SFX14-41G-R1S6 is the perfect choice for those who want to do more with their laptop. It’s powerful, sleek, and stylish – and it has everything you need to get things done.
Packed with an AMD Ryzen 7 5800U processor, an NVIDIA RTX3050Ti graphics card, 16GB of LPDDRX RAM, and a massive 512GB SSD, this laptop is ready to get down with the best of 'em. Unsure if this laptop will be up to the challenge? Let's find out!
Who's it for?
=> Students - This could be a bit of an overkill for students but it's definitely not going to fall short of their needs, whatever these may be. With enough RAM to multitask like a pro and a dedicated Graphics card to allow you to work on Photoshop like a pro, we're struggling to come up with a single reason why we wouldn't recommend this laptop for students beyond the fact that they can go for something more affordable such as the Acer Aspire 5 A515-46-R14K.
=> Business Professionals - Be it a small business owner that needs to keep track of the accounting and systems in place, be it a freelance designer, this notebook has every business professional covered.
=> Graphic Artists - It's packing a dedicated Graphics card so no doubt you will be able to work with 3D rendering software or run professional programs like Premier and Photoshop without breaking a sweat.
=> Casual Gamers - While there's a dedicated graphics onboard, we would not recommend this laptop as a gaming station. However, for casual gamers who want to play here and there, it's the perfect solution for portability and performance.
Who's it NOT for?
=> Casual users - If you're just looking for a laptop to check your email, edit a couple of spreadsheets, browse the web and talk with friends we'll do you a solid and save you a few hundred dollars by pointing you in the direction of either the Acer Aspire 5 A515-55-35SE or the HP 14-fq0090nr. Both of these models will suit you perfectly whilst not costing you as much.
If your needs are relatively simple you could also consider something more flexible like a Chromebook convertible such as the HP Chromebook x360 14a-ca0022nr.
Design & Display
With a slick design that barely surpasses the 3 pounds and measures just short of 18 mm, Acer was clearly going for portable when they designed the SFX14-41G-R1S6. Quality build is solid, with the brushed metal finish on top, while the plastic body has a matte texture that keeps fingerprints at bay without feeling sticky.
When covering laptops perhaps the biggest difference we typically perceive between mid-range and high-end models is the display, and the Swift X is no different.
With a 14-inch Full HD IPS display, this thing will have you immersed from the second you start using it thanks to its narrow bezels which are industry standard at this point.
The colors are bright and vivid (thanks to 100% sRGB color gamut coverage) while the contrast ratio ensures a wide range in both lights and darks. The 300 nits of brightness are more than enough to handle outdoor sunlight without losing clarity and doing well in dim indoor lighting as well.
On that front, this laptop is definitely one we'd recommend if you're looking for a laptop for a photographer.
Keyboard and Trackpad
Being a high-end notebook Acer didn't leave anything up to chance, and that includes the keyboard. With backlighting, this full-sized keyboard features a slight tilt by the hinge that is sure to keep the most demanding typists more than happy whilst the keys have enough travel for it to be comfortable under long writing sessions.
The trackpad, on the other hand, is in line with what we've come to expect in this price range. With a smooth surface that's easy and comfortable to scroll through without feeling stiff and "cheap" like we've seen in other models.
Finally, there's a dedicated fingerprint reader, which unlike most of Acer's offerings, isn't featured on the top-right of the trackpad but rather on the far right of the palm rest, right below the arrow keys.
Hardware and Performance
With a powerful AMD Ryzen 7 5800U octa-core processor clocking at a maximum speed of 4.4 GHz paired with 16 GB of RAM, this notebook isn't going to lag behind anytime soon.
Couple that with 512 GB of NVMe SSD and you'll have no problems with speed or performance. Anything from booting the laptop to rendering photos and compiling code will be done in a matter of seconds.
The only possible drawback that we can see is that memory is soldered onto the board and limited to the aforementioned 16 GB. However, as demanding as you might be, this is enough RAM to handle any task you throw at it in 99% of the cases.
As far as graphics are concerned, the Acer Swift X SFX14-41G-R1S6 features a dedicated NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti with 4 GB of GDDR6 VRAM.
What does this mean?
Well, it means that this laptop shouldn't be looked at as a gaming station. However, it's definitely got a graphics card that will suit other needs such as photo and video editing with ease.
Ultimately, this combo of key specs is up for just about anything as many of its customers can attest to. If you can name it this laptop can probably handle it.
Battery Life
If there's one aspect that Acer has been working hard on over the past few years that would be the battery life. Even its most modest entry-level notebooks feature compelling battery lives and the Swift X at hand is not about to break that streak.
With an estimated 8 hours of average use on a single charge, this laptop is about to turn into the perfect travel companion. It's not going to last you all day but it will more than get you through the majority of your trips.
What's more, if you're really stingy with the battery settings you could easily get over 10 hours' worth of juice which is incredibly appealing on a notebook that packs a dedicated graphics card. That is just not the norm and we love this laptop for it.
Connectivity
With a pair of USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, one on each side next to the power jack, you'll be able to connect your peripherals in no time at all.
In addition, there's also a single USB Type-C port and an HDMI 2.0 port. Of course, you've got an audio jack but most notably there's neither an Ethernet port for a wired internet connection nor an SD card reader which is a bit harder to forgive.
As far as wireless connectivity is concerned, we're happy to say that we've got both the latest WiFi and Bluetooth standards. That's WiFi 6 (dual-band) and Bluetooth 5.2 in case you were wondering.
And yes, there's an HD webcam for your zoom conferences.
Verdict: Is the Acer Swift X SFX14-41G-R1S6 worth it?
In a nutshell: Yes!
This laptop is not without its faults. The RAM is soldered and there are no expansion options but beyond that, we could say many good things about it. It's fast, elegant, and well-built with excellent battery life for those long trips out of town as well as the ability to handle heavier tasks such as photo and video editing with ease, and don't even get us started on the display.
Overall, if you're looking for a 14-inch notebook that will offer you the best bang for your buck this is it. You'll be hard-pressed to find another laptop that features a dedicated graphics card yet also offers a generous battery life and enough RAM to multitask like there's no tomorrow. All in all, an excellent choice!