Acer Swift X 16 review: Packs a punch at reasonable price

Price When Reviewed

$1,599.99

Best Prices Today: Acer Swift X 16

Want a cushty laptop computer with a big show that additionally packs nice efficiency on a funds? Acer’s Swift X 16 is price a glance. Though it makes just a few unforced errors in its port choice and ho-hum design, it redeems itself with AMD’s Ryzen 9 CPU with Nvidia RTX 4050 graphics—a robust one-two punch that beats many opponents.

Looking for extra choices? Check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best laptops.

Acer Swift X 16: Specs and options

The Acer Swift X 16 differs from a lot of its opponents on account of its AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS processor. We’ve reviewed a number of Ryzen 7000-series laptops to this point, however that is the primary Ryzen 9 7940HS on our bench. Its efficiency relative to Intel’s Core i7-13700H might make or break this laptop computer. Acer additionally packs RTX 4050 graphics, which is typical for a laptop computer of this dimension, however ups the ante with a excessive most graphics energy of 100 watts.

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS
• Memory: 16GB LPDDR5
• Graphics/GPU: Nvidia RTX 4050 (100-watt graphics energy)
• Display: 16-inch 3,200 x 2,000 120Hz non-touch OLED 
• Storage: 1TB PCIe Gen4 SSD
• Webcam: 1080p 
• Connectivity:  2x USB-C 3.2, 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 1, 1x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, 1x HDMI, 1x 3.5mm combo audio
• Networking: WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2
• Biometrics: Fingerprint reader
• Battery capability: 76 watt-hours
• Dimensions: 14.02 x 9.81 x .7 inches
• Weight: 4.2 kilos
• MSRP: $1,599.99

Pricing leans in Acer’s favor. The mannequin I examined retails at simply $1,599.99. That undercuts many comparable laptops together with the MSI Prestige 16 Studio, Lenovo Slim Pro 9i, and Dell XPS 15, to call just a few. Shoppers can discover comparable {hardware} at a cheaper price in a handful of gaming laptops, however they’re normally funds fashions that weigh a number of kilos greater than the Swift X 16. 

Acer Swift X 16: Design and construct high quality

IDG / Matthew Smith

The Acer Swift X 16 is an easy metallic slab roughly 0.7 inches thick, 14 inches broad, and 10 inches deep. Like different Acer laptops, it has few design thrives and is recognized solely by a small Acer emblem on the again of the show lid. The Swift X 16 is just out there in a darkish grey shade referred to as “Iron.”

At this level, it’s honest to say understated simplicity is the Acer Swift line’s defining attribute. Whether this matches your preferences is a matter of style. It’s a good selection if you happen to desire a laptop computer that doesn’t draw consideration.

The Swift X 16 is compact for a laptop computer with a 16-inch show. The show bezels are small on all sides and the laptop computer’s thickness of 0.7 inches is modest for the class. The similar may be stated for the Swift X 16’s weight of 4.2 kilos. A number of options, just like the LG Gram SuperSlim, are thinner and lighter, however most opponents are not less than as heavy because the Acer.

Acer’s construct high quality, very like its design, doesn’t stand out. It feels sturdy when dealt with at first brush with solely slight flex within the show lid and decrease chassis. However, the supplies used really feel skinny and bend underneath extra direct stress. It’s fantastic for typical use and corresponding to options just like the LG Gram TremendousSlim and Asus VivoBook line, however not as luxurious as Dell’s XPS 15 and Apple’s MacBook Pro 16.

Acer Swift X 16: Keyboard, trackpad

IDG / Matthew Smith

A roomy show permits for a big keyboard, and the Acer Swift X 16 takes full benefit of this with a spacious keyboard structure that features a numpad. Most keys are giant and simple to search out though some, just like the numpad keys, are smaller than standard.

Key really feel is appropriate. There’s ample key journey, however the bottoming motion of every key feels obscure and mushy. Alternatives such because the Dell XPS 15 and Lenovo Slim Pro 9i provide a greater tactile expertise. The keyboard comes commonplace with a white LED backlight that provides two brightness settings.

A spacious touchpad stretches beneath the keyboard. It’s roughly 6 inches broad and 3.5 inches deep, making it one of many largest touchpads on a contemporary Windows laptop computer: the Razer Blade 16 is the one Windows laptop computer we’ve examined in 2023 that delivers a considerably bigger touchpad. 

There’s loads of room for Windows multitouch gestures, and the touchpad’s floor is responsive. Due to its dimension, my palms often touched the touchpad edges whereas typing, however I had no downside with unintended inputs.

My solely gripe is the off-center touchpad structure, which shifts the touchpad in the direction of the laptop computer’s left facet. It forces me to hunch barely in the direction of that facet which, after just a few hours, provides a pinch in my left shoulder. This is frequent on laptops with a numpad, nonetheless, so it’s not an obstacle in comparison with the competitors.

Acer Swift X 16: Display, audio

IDG / Matthew Smith

The Acer Swift X 16 has a 16-inch OLED show with a 16:10 facet ratio, 3,200 x 2,000 decision, and 120Hz refresh price. It’s a typical OLED show panel present in a number of Acer Swift laptops in addition to Asus Vivobook and ProArtwork laptops. Some opponents present the next show decision: Dell’s XPS 15, for instance, has a decision of 3,456 x 2,160. It’s a small distinction, although, and never one you’re more likely to discover.

Image high quality is excellent. The OLED panel has an successfully infinite distinction stage, an ideal minimal brightness of zero nits, and excessive shade accuracy. It helps a large shade gamut, too, which spans 100 % of sRGB, 97 % of AdobeRGB, and 100 % of DCI-P3. These are wonderful outcomes and translate to a vibrant, immersive, and lifelike picture when viewing images, motion pictures, and video games. 

Brightness is the show’s weak point. The Swift X 16 hits a most SDR brightness of 377 nits. HDR boosts that to 534 nits, however HDR isn’t out there on battery energy. The Acer’s show is shiny sufficient to be used in a house workplace however can really feel a bit dim in a room with sunlit home windows and no gentle management (like a fishbowl company workplace or airport foyer).

The show’s excellence returns in movement readability, nonetheless, because the 120Hz panel gives buttery-smooth movement with minimal movement blur. Fast-moving objects present good element and scrolling photos are principally readable, although some small particulars (like a roughly 12-point font or fantastic textures in supplies) will stay laborious to see. PC avid gamers will probably be happy. 

Unfortunately, the Swift X 16’s audio system don’t stay as much as the show. They do hearth upwards, which suggests the quantity and tone of audio doesn’t change considerably relying on the floor the laptop computer is positioned on, however the laptop computer’s most quantity is low and audio sounds harsh. Less demanding media, like podcasts and YouTube movies, sound acceptable, however music can devolve right into a buzzy mess. It’s not the worst I’ve heard, but additionally a great distance from one of the best. 

Acer Swift X 16: Webcam, microphone, biometrics

Acer packs a 1080p webcam within the Swift X 16’s skinny high show bezel. It gives good sharpness and first rate shade copy. Image high quality is nowhere close to sufficient for YouTube or Twitch, however it’s greater than sufficient to deal with video calls.

The similar is true of the microphone array. It simply picked up my voice after I spoke at a traditional quantity at a distance three to 4 ft from the laptop computer. Some repetitive background noises, like a window air conditioner, had been obscured. Less common sounds, like typing on a mechanical keyboard, steadily got here by way of. The microphone’s total efficiency is nothing particular however once more appropriate for video or audio calls.

A fingerprint reader is baked into the Swift X 16’s energy button, however it didn’t work nicely in my testing. The fingerprint reader steadily didn’t register my fingerprint and barely labored on the primary attempt. Any quantity of wetness or grit on my finger—even the sweat of a soda can—threw it off. I desire to make use of facial recognition on Windows laptops for precisely these causes, however the Swift X 16 lacks this function. 

Acer Swift X 16: Connectivity

IDG / Matthew Smith

The Swift X 16 has a mixture of contemporary and legacy USB connectivity. The left flank gives two USB-C 3.2 ports, whereas on the appropriate flank you’ll discover two USB-A 3.2 ports, a full-size HDMI output, and a micro SDcard reader. The solely notable absence is wired Ethernet, however most of Acer’s opponents additionally ditch that port.

That’s a wholesome checklist of connectivity, however there’s some points. All the ports are located comparatively ahead on the laptop computer’s flanks, which suggests the wires from these ports usually tend to be in your manner. 

While the laptop computer consists of two USB-C ports, it ships with a 135W barrel-plug energy adapter for charging. I might’ve most popular a USB-C energy adapter, one thing practically all of Acer’s opponents present. The USB-C ports can energy the laptop computer, although, so you may substitute the default energy brick with a USB-C charger.

I additionally observed the USB-C ports lack DisplayPort Alternate Mode. I confirmed this with two transportable screens. Both powered on however didn’t obtain a video sign. That’s an issue if you happen to personal a USB-C monitor, transportable or in any other case.

Wireless connectivity is nice with help for Bluetooth 5.2 and the newest Wi-Fi 6E commonplace. Download speeds are wonderful when linked to a Wi-Fi 6E router and usually match what’s doable over wired gigabit Ethernet, not less than at brief ranges. Of course, those that want a wired connection can obtain it by way of a USB-C to Ethernet adapter.

Acer Swift X 16: Performance

Unlike the smaller Acer Swift X 14, which depends on Intel processors, the Acer Swift X 16 gives AMD Ryzen 7000-series {hardware}. The laptop computer I examined had AMD’s Ryzen 9 9740HS, an eight-core, 16-thread processor with a base clock of 4GHz and most increase clock of 5.2GHz. It was paired with 16GB of RAM and a 1TB PCIe4 strong state drive. 

IDG / Matthew Smith

Our checks start with PCMark 10, a holistic system benchmark. It reviews a robust rating of 7,290, which defeats {most professional} efficiency laptops. Only the MSI Prestige 16 Studio defeated the Swift X 16, and solely by a small margin. Acer’s sturdy efficiency on this benchmark hints on the respectable scores it receives in different checks. 

IDG / Matthew Smith

Cinebench R15 is a short-duration but closely threaded CPU benchmark. It hits a wonderful rating of two,644, which barely defeats comparable Intel-powered laptops just like the Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra and Dell XPS 15. The margin of victory is sufficiently small that it’s unlikely to make-or-break your buying choice, however a win is a win. 

IDG / Matthew Smith

The Acer Swift X 16 continues to attain nicely in Handbrake, a long-duration multi-core CPU benchmark. It completes our check, which converts a film into an .MKV format to be used on an Android pill, in 18 minutes and 9 seconds. That’s a strong consequence although, not like the Swift X 16’s efficiency in Cinebench R15, it doesn’t break free from the pack.

Acer pairs the AMD Ryzen 9 processor with Nvidia’s RTX 4050 graphics. While that is the least costly, least performant RTX 40-series {hardware} out there from Nvidia proper now, the Swift X 16 retains it well-fed with a most graphics energy of 100 watts. That’s considerably increased than most laptops on this class, which have a tendency to focus on a most graphics energy of 40 to 75 watts. 

IDG / Matthew Smith

Upping the watts gives an apparent profit in 3DMark’s Time Spy benchmark. The Swift X 16 beat comparable laptops with a rating of 7,875. It even defeats the Dell XPS 15 with Nvidia RTX 4070. That’s a little bit of a shock, however the Dell XPS 15 limits the RTX 4070 by capping its most graphics energy at 40 watts. MSI’s Prestige 16 Studio, with an RTX 4060, is the one comparable laptop computer that beats the Swift X 16.

IDG / Matthew Smith

Shadow of the Tomb Raider additionally delivers favorable outcomes for the Swift X 16. It achieves a mean of 99 frames per second at 1080p decision and the sport’s Highest element settings. DLSS was left off for this check.

This is a superb consequence for the class and proves a match for the Lenovo Slim Pro 9i, which additionally scores nicely on this sport. It’s a bit shocking to see the 2 laptops carry out so equally, because the Swift X 16 has the next most graphics energy and a bigger chassis. It’s believable that the RTX 4050’s restricted video reminiscence, which stays caught at 6GB, is an element, or that Acer chooses to throttle efficiency to maintain thermals in examine.

MSI’s Prestige 16 Studio additionally averaged 100 frames per second. This too could seem shocking, however its RTX 4060 has a decrease most graphics energy of 55 watts. It goes to indicate how tough laptop computer GPUs have develop into in 2023, as totally different laptops with the identical mannequin of GPU can differ considerably in efficiency, and in some instances a GPU with a decrease mannequin quantity can match or beat a GPU one or two tiers increased.

IDG / Matthew Smith

Metro Exodus additionally factors to a bottleneck that limits the RTX 4050’s efficiency. The Acer Swift X 16 averaged 29 frames per second within the sport’s benchmark at 1080p decision and Extreme graphics element. That’s once more no higher than the Lenovo Slim Pro 9i. 

The Acer Swift X 16’s total efficiency is superb for the class and for its worth. It went toe-to-toe with costlier laptops such because the Dell XPS 15 and Samsung Galaxy Book3 Ultra and even nips on the heels of the MSI Prestige 16 Studio, although it in the end scores higher in GPU efficiency. The Swift X 16 is a well-rounded machine for productiveness, creativity, and gaming—it doesn’t provide the perfect in anyone space, however it may deal with most duties with ease. 

Acer Swift X 16: Battery life

The Swift X 16’s sturdy efficiency is sweet information if you happen to want a robust laptop computer, however it does include a draw back: battery life. Acer features a 76 watt-hour battery, which is small for a laptop computer on this class. In reality, it’s the identical dimension because the battery within the Acer Swift X 14.

IDG / Matthew Smith

As a consequence, the Swift X16 lasted eight hours and eight minutes in our commonplace battery life check, which loops a 4K file of the brief movie “Tears of Steel.” I noticed 6 to 7 hours in my regular use, which incorporates writing in Word, modifying giant Excel spreadsheets, and browsing the net.

The Swift X 16’s battery life is greatest summed up in a single phrase: common. It’s not one of the best, however not the worst, and ought to be fantastic for buyers who don’t want a laptop computer that may deal with a full work day away from an influence socket. 

Acer Swift X 16: Should you purchase it?

Acer’s Swift X 16 is a superb alternative for buyers who desire a 16-inch laptop computer and care extra for efficiency than enticing design or lengthy battery life. The Swift X 16’s beautiful OLED show, spacious keyboard, and large touchpad make it nice to make use of in primary day-to-day duties. It additionally has an AMD Ryzen 9 processor and Nvidia RTX 4050 graphics, which mix to ship good efficiency in all kinds of productiveness purposes and video games. A number of minor errors, like poorly-placed USB-C ports that lack DisplayPort, will flip off some buyers, however those that can settle for its shortcomings will discover the Swift X 16 a flexible every day driver.