There have been mint ofsolid alternatives to the 16 - inch MacBook Prorecently , but the 14 - inch model is a number heavy to vie with . Outside of gaming laptops , there are very few options that have the GPU carrying out to vie with the M3 Pro or M3 Max .
But here do the Acer Swift X 14 , a portable laptop for creators with up to an RTX 4070 . Throw in the 2.8 K OLED video display and an affordable cost shred , and you have the makings of quite a compelling laptop computer — which is exactly what the Swift X 14 is .
Specs and configurations
The Swift X 14 is available in two shape . The first is priced at $ 1,400 and admit an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H chipset , 16 GB of RAM , a 1 TB SSD , an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU , and a 14.5 - inch 2.8 K OLED display . For $ 1,700 , you get 32 GB of RAM , a 1 TB SSD , and an RTX 4070 .
While those are premium prices , they ’re relatively attractive for a originative - orient 14 - in laptop computer that can be had with a very libertine GPU . By comparison , the Swift X 14 ’s most important competition , the Dell XPS 14 , costs $ 2,500 when configured with the same chipset , RAM , computer storage , and GPU as Acer ’s stem model . The RTX 4050 is the XPS 14 ’s maximum , however , and elevate it to 32 GB of tup price $ 2,700 . While the XPS 14 can be purchased with 64 GB of RAM and up to 4 TB of storage , it wo n’t be as fast in the form of originative apps that these two laptop computer are aimed at .
As we ’ll see , the Swift X 14 is a sinewy competitor to the XPS 14 while cost $ 1,000 less . That ’s pretty telling . remark that as of properly now , the RTX 4070 configuration ca n’t yet be purchased . It ’s expected to be available presently after this reexamination is put out , however .
Design
While Acer tune up the Swift X 14 ’s public presentation to be more of a power user and God Almighty ’s workstation , the laptop ’s design is a little more like a gaming laptop computer . That is , its angles and rear blowhole , while not over the top , do n’t have the same kind of New esthetic that you ’ll find on the Dell XPS 14 and a contemporary 2 - in-1 like theLenovo Yoga 9i Gen 9 . It run without saying , but it also does n’t have the clean elegance of the MacBook Pro 14 .
Overall , though , that ’s not as prejudicial as it might sound . The Steel Gray color dodge carry through fair consistently , with only a chrome Acer logo on the lid breaking it up . It ’s a conservative look — not as sleek and “ stylish ” as some other 14 - inch options . Probably the one panorama that take away the most are the pliant display bezels , which are n’t overlayer large but look a turn sometime schooling .
The chassis quality is very good , with no deflexion , flexing , or deform in the all - Al human body , lid , or keyboard pack of cards . It ’s not quite as unbending as the XPS 14 , but I ca n’t plain . The hinge opens swimmingly , albeit without the same feel as Dell ’s duple - clutch interpretation . While the Swift X 14 is light-headed than the XPS 14 at 3.4 pounds versus 3.7 pound , it ’s considerably thicker at up to 0.80 inches versus 0.71 column inch . It ’s also slightly wider and deeper . The MacBook Pro 14 is a slight heavier than the Acer at 3.6 dog pound , but thin than both it and the Dell at 0.61 inches . That makes the Swift X 14 a moderately portable machine , but not quite as thin as some of its direct competitors .
The Swift X 14 is n’t the most attractive , modernistic , or svelte 14 - inch laptop around . But it ’s more than proficient enough , particularly when considering its reasonable price .
Keyboard and touchpad
The keyboard is a quality entry , with slightly small keycaps but plenteousness of key spacing . The switches are the tiniest spot steady , but still resilient and exact . I find it comfortable enough while typecast this review and well-to-do to get used to than the XPS 14 ’s zero - lattice keyboard , which has less cardinal travel . The MacBook ’s Magic Keyboard remains my favorite with its evenly shallow key but incredibly snappy and precise switch .
The touchpad is large enough to be comfortable , with a exact swiping surface and quiet , convinced chink . It ’s as good as most mechanical touchpads , but agio laptops are moving toward haptic touchpads , which I like a flock better . The XPS 14 ’s hidden tactual touchpad is very good , and once again , the MacBook ’s Force Touch tactile touchpad remains the diligence standard for a reasonableness .
Acer does not offer a touch screen with the Swift X 14 . While many citizenry do n’t care , I do opt a mite display . So , I lack one here .
Connectivity
The Swift X 14 has better connectivity than the XPS 14 . Where the Dell is limited to just USB - C with Thunderbolt 4 , the Acer has a solid mixture of both modern and legacy ports . Like the XPS 14 , the Swift X 14 has a microSD card lecturer , though I ’d rather see a full - size version . The MacBook Pro 14 also has one , along with its own mix of embrasure .
Wireless connectivity on the Swift X 14 is good , with Wi - Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 . Some laptop computer are at Wi - Fi 7 , but that standard wo n’t weigh for years . The webcam is a 1080p version that supply a lineament paradigm .
Acer has its PurifiedView software package that includes several AI - raise features and form with Windows Studio effect for automatic frame , advanced background blur , and regard discipline . Microsoft ’s public utility company can take advantage of the Meteor Lake chipset ’s Neural Processing Unit ( NPU ) for carrying out and efficiency , and Acer links to Gimp , which has a few NPU - enabled feature . For the most part , though , the NPU is n’t currently of much utilisation .
There ’s no infrared camera for Windows 11 Hello facial recognition , which I prefer . It ’s a picayune odd for it be miss on a agiotage laptop computer , but I suppose these are the area Acer compromised on to cut price . as luck would have it , the fingerprint reader embedded in the power clitoris works well enough .
Performance
The Swift X 14 is a uncommon stock of laptop computer . There are n’t many non - gaming 14 - inch machines that can be configured with an RTX 4070 , and as accentuate throughout this review , Acer ’s biggest competitor is the XPS 14 . While the XPS 14 habituate the same 28 - watt Core Ultra 7 155H chipset , which has 16 cores ( six Performance , eight Efficient , and two Low Power Efficient ) and 22 threads , it ’s only available with the much slower RTX 4050 .
Both laptop computer have a system caloric innovation power ( TDP ) of 80 watts , which bear on the Acer more than the Dell . The RTX 4070 can take up to 115 watts , while the RTX 4050 takes a maximum of 50 James Watt . That means that the XPS 14 can give both the CPU and GPU their full magnate ( not count Turbo Power ) , while the Swift X 14 has to balance things a little more cautiously by give 30 watts to the C.P.U. and 50 Watt to the GPU . And it should be notice that the Swift X 14 is still a 14 - inch laptop with less thermal headway than the 16 - inch machine where you typically feel the RTX 4070 .
That entail that performance will naturally be more limited even with the Acer ’s very aggressive cooling system that has fans that speed up quite a bit in performance and turbo modes . Some 16 - inch machines , like the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra and Dell XPS 16 , also limit office to 80 watts ( 60 Isaac Watts to their RTX 4070s ) , while the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 gives 130 James Watt to its RTX 4060 and 45 - watt Core Ultra 9 185H chipset . It ’s a drawing card among Windows laptops .
We reviewed the XPS 14 with the slimly faster Core Ultra 7 165H , so it would be just slightly slower in mainframe - intensive tasks with the Core Ultra 7 155H that you could configure today .
As we see in our benchmarks , the Swift X 14 is militant with the 16 - inch Windows laptops , outside of the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 , a bona fide gaming laptop . It ’s much faster across the instrument panel than the XPS 14 in all but Geekbench 6 . Most importantly , it ’s 46 % faster than the XPS 14 in the PugetBench Premiere Pro benchmark that runs in a live version of Adobe ’s Premiere Pro television - editing app . In Windows , that creative app uses the GPU to speed up various tasks , and the Swift X 14 ’s much faster GPU makes it a speedier originative workstation than the XPS 14 .
Overall , these are impressive outcome for a non - gaming 14 - column inch laptop computer . The MacBook Pro 14 with the M3 Max chipset is much faster ( I ’m using the MacBook Pro 16 ’s scores in this comparison , but the 14 - column inch model is roughly as fast ) , but the MacBook is also a lot more expensive .
With an RTX 4070 , you might be carry to game on the Swift X 14 . While it runs Nvidia ’s Studio drivers that optimize for originative and other apps and not stake , the Swift X 14 can indeed serve as a very effective 1080p gaming machine and is even passably degraded at 1440p .
We did n’t execute the XPS 14 through our serial publication of gaming benchmark because its RTX 4050 is too limit . So , I ’ll equate the Swift X 14 to some 16 - inch laptop computer . In the 3DMark Time Spy test , the Swift X 14 was ahead of the XPS 16 , but behind the Samsung Galaxy Book4 . The Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 was quite a scrap quicker . InRed Dead Redemption 2 , the Swift X 14 was again slightly obtuse across the board , but still quite playable . And inCyberpunk 2077at 1440p and ultra graphics with FSR 2.1 curing to Quality , the Swift X 14 was astonishingly fast .
You ’ll get even good performance if you drop down to 1080p . And you ’ll enjoy the OLED presentation ’s quality and the 120Hz refresh rate for bust - free gaming .
Battery life
There ’s a 76 watt - minute battery inside the Swift X 14 , mated with a reasonably efficient Core Ultra 7 155H chipset and a high - closure OLED display . In my experience , that combination does n’t render the best barrage animation .
In our web - browsing exam , the Swift X 14 managed just 7.25 minute cycling through a series of complex webpages . It ’s a sanely taxing test that gives an idea of how long the laptop computer will last with a minimum workload . In our picture test that curl through a local FHD television , the Swift X 14 survive for just 7.25 hours as well , where most laptops last 10 hours or more .
Those are n’t the best issue I ’ve seen , but they ’re not the sorry , either . The XPS 14 with its OLED display was better tat 8.25 hours and 10 hours , severally . Overall , the Swift X 14 does n’t project to last nearly a full 24-hour interval of a typical workflow , and if you ’re using the RTX 4070 , it wo n’t last for more than a couple of hr . The king of battery life in this social class is the MacBook Pro 14 , which lasts at least double as long and can make it through much of a full day of demanding body of work .
Display and audio
The Swift X 14 has one display option , a 14.5 - inch 16:10 2.8 K ( 2880 x 1800 ) OLED panel fly the coop at 120Hz . It ’s drop - dead gorgeous out of the box , as with all OLED displays I ’ve reviewed , and makes a bully first impression with vivid , dynamical colours and ink-black black .
consort to my tintometer , there ’s nothing to kvetch about . smartness was great at 405 nits , color were full at 100 % of sRGB , 95 % of AdobeRGB , and 100 % of DCI - P3 , and they were precise at a Delta - E of 0.87 ( less than 1.0 is study splendid ) . And contrast was extremely high at 13,920:1 with staring black . This is somewhat better than the XPS 14 ’s OLED display option , which was n’t as brilliant at 374 nits and did n’t have the same color gamut coverage at 85 % of AdobeRGB and 97 % of DCI - P3 .
For a Divine that essay a people of color - accurate exhibit that matches up with very good functioning in a 14 - inch laptop computer , the Swift X 14 check the placard . And for media consumer who want large HDR execution , it ’s also a great choice . Only the MacBook Pro 14 ’s mini - LED display is potential to be notably better .
The sound is n’t quite as much of a standout . Two front - firing speakers put up fine sound , with sufficient loudness and clear mids and senior high . But the bass is miss , leave the XPS 14 and , even more so , the excellent six - speaker apparatus with force out - canceling woofer in the MacBook Pro 14 , a clear winnings .
Conclusion
The Swift X 14 is n’t the good - looking 14 - inch laptop . In fact , it ’s sort of ungainly and not entirely modern . But that ’s OK , because it ’s a really fast laptop with a spectacular OLED display . It ’s one of the more portable laptops for doing real originative work .
The fact that it ’s also more reasonably price than some alternatives is what makes it a very attractive laptop . Yes , you may corrupt less expensive 14 - inch laptop , but you wo n’t get this sort of public presentation . That makes the Swift X 14 an easy laptop computer to recommend .
