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[Review] Acer Swift 3 SF314-43-R2YY: This Is Your Next Laptop

Pros
  • Full HD display
  • Stunning Battery Life
  • 512 GB of SSD/ 8 GB of LPDDR4X RAM
  • Backlit keyboard, fingerprint reader, fan control
  • Extensive connectivity options
Cons
  • No ethernet port
  • No SD-card reader
When it comes down to finding the perfect mid-range laptop it can be a hard call. There are dozens if not hundreds of options to choose from. Some opt for stunning designs but opt for poor internals whilst others neglect the design completely and come at you with solid internals but also an HD display as if we were in 2015 - here's looking at you HP 15-ef2025nr -.

Hence why we get so excited when we find a mid-range laptop that not only comes with a solid set of internals but also presents an attractive and innovative design that implements extra features such as a fingerprint reader, user-controlled fans, and a truly immersive display that takes up 85% of the panel instead of your standard 80%.

We're talking about the Acer Swift 3 SF314-43-R2YY of course. Acer's newest flagship laptop for the mid-range sector that's poised to take over the market with its stunning design, high-end features, and ridiculously competitive price point. But, is this the right notebook for you? That's what we're here to help you figure out!

Acer Swift 3 SF314-43-R2YY Review of a Killer Laptop

Design, Display & Keyboard



The Acer Swift 3 SF314-43-R2YY laptop is an incredibly good-looking piece of hardware. It sports a metallic chassis with a gunmetal grey finish that looks and feels premium, especially given the price point. The design is also very minimalistic and sleek which is perfect for students or professionals who are looking for something that doesn't stand out in a negative way.

Weight has also been accounted for and the SF314-43-R2YY weighs a meager 2.65 pounds, substantially below most of its competitors, which when coupled with its substantial battery life make it a truly portable laptop.

As we mentioned when we started out this review, the screen has not been an afterthought as it often is in mid-range devices. Instead, Acer provided its new flagship with a 14-inch Full HD IPS display with a 300 nits brightness and anti-glare technology to be able to use it under harder lighting conditions - though we don't recommend using it under direct sunlight either -.

For comparison's sake, most mid-range laptops will offer 200-250 nits and if you've ever seen a MacBook Air, that laptop features up to 400 nits of brightness, meaning that Acer's signature student notebook only falls short of that by 100 nits.

However, when it comes to screen quality you don't need to take our word for it, many customers have talked about the screen quality in this notebook.

Finally, with regards to the keyboard, it's your standard chiclet keyboard for a 14-inch notebook. As in, there's no dedicated numeric pad on the side. You've also got a backlight which is something you'd think would be standard by now yet many mid-range laptops still lack in this department, such as the HP 15-eg0025nr.

The keyboard also provides a couple of additional features worth pointing out such as a fingerprint reader located on the palm rest right below the arrow keys and a user-controlled fan function whereby the user can select the speed at which fans function by pressing the function key (fn) and the f key, switching from low, moderate to high speed.

Let's talk about performance

After covering the design it's time to tackle the performance of the Acer Swift 3 SF314-43-R2YY.

Specifically, this laptop comes with an AMD Ryzen 7 5700U octa-core processor that clocks in at a base speed of 1.8 GHz and can go up to 4.3 GHz when needed.

Combined with 8 GB of LPDDR4X RAM and a 512 GB SSD, this notebook is set up to take on whatever you might need it to.

In terms of graphics, the AMD Radeon Graphics card is nothing to sneeze at and provides a good experience for most users looking to do some light photoshop retouches or video editing, though gamers and graphic professionals should probably refrain from this laptop as they'll want something that opts for a dedicated graphics card instead.

Overall, with this set of key specs, you can expect Acer's newest flagship to be able to tackle just about anything you can throw at it that doesn't require a dedicated graphics card.

That means you can use this laptop for programming (back end and front end), editing documents, working with virtual machines, running numerous programs at a time, streaming high-definition video, rendering spreadsheets, and just about anything you can think of. This truly is a powerhouse device.


What Are Customers Saying?


For the most part, customers have had positive experiences with the Acer Swift 3 SF314-43-R2YY, appreciating its performance, portability, and value for the price. The laptop's processing speed, memory, and lack of crashes have been highlighted as strong points, making it a great choice for multitasking and everyday use. The aluminum body is also praised for its durability and lightweight design, although it can feel cold to the touch in cooler environments.

Customers have also mentioned the impressive battery life and the convenience of easily connecting the laptop to external monitors and TVs. The screen display is commended for its vibrant colors, and the keyboard is noted for its responsiveness. However, a few customers have expressed issues with the keyboard, finding the letters to be thin and hard to read, especially when entering passwords.

In terms of drawbacks, some customers have mentioned the lack of an indicator light for the CAPS LOCK key, which can be frustrating when entering passwords. The absence of a hardware-based CAPS LOCK indication and the reliance on a software-based symbol on the screen have been criticized. Additionally, the default behavior of the backlit keyboard, which turns on at startup regardless of the ambient light conditions, has been seen as a minor inconvenience.

Overall, customers have found the Acer Swift 3 SF314-43-R2YY to be a reliable and efficient laptop, offering good performance and features for its price. While there are a few minor issues mentioned, such as keyboard readability and default keyboard backlight behavior, the positive aspects of the laptop, including its speed, portability, and battery life, make it a recommended choice for everyday use.

Battery Life & Connectivity features

Laptops in the mid-priced category usually have a battery life of 5 to 7 hours. The Acer Swift 3 SF314-43-R2YY, however, has a battery life that reached the 12.5-mark if the manufacturer is to be believed.

However, as most of you know by now, battery life claims are very fickle and a good rule of thumb is to assume that battery life is roughly 25% lower than advertised. That still leaves us with a solid 8-9 hours of real battery life so we're still pretty happy with that as you can have a full day of classes or of work without having to carry around the laptop's charger.

In terms of connectivity, the SF314-43-R2YY only lacks two items we would've liked to see: an ethernet port and an SD card reader. Other than that you've got two USB Type-A ports, a single USB Type-C port, HDMI port, DC power port, and audio jack.

When it comes to wireless connectivity we're happy to report a dual-band WiFi 6 connectivity (also known as WiFi 802.11 ax). There's also Bluetooth 5.2 to connect your peripherals and an HD webcam and a noise-suppression microphone.

Overall, we're pretty happy with the connectivity suite on this notebook though we would've liked to see the aforementioned SD card reader, however, there are adapters for that.

Wrapping it up: Is this laptop worth it?

All in all, if you're looking for a mid-priced laptop that provides great performance, good battery life, and a slew of connectivity features, the Acer Swift 3 SF314-43-R2YY reviewed today is definitely a laptop worth considering.

Whether you're a student, a professional, or simply a casual user looking for a lightweight powerhouse laptop to carry along with you without noticing it on your back this is the notebook for you.

What's more, if you fancy yourself a bit of an artist and you're looking for a laptop with a good display that doesn't cross over the 1000-dollar mark then the 100% sRGB color gamut coupled with its 300 nits of brightness on the 14-inch Full HD display is definitely something to take into account.

In conclusion: a killer laptop at a killer price that's well worth its compelling price point.

Buy now