KIf Gizmo friends regularly follow review articles from Gizmology (and we are very grateful if you do), you may have read two reviews of Acer laptops in the Swift 3 series. Well, this Acer Swift 3X will be the third. “Wow, how come there are so many?” Maybe to make the naming more effective, because all three are targeting different types of users.
For the Acer Swift 3 , it is more affordable but still powerful plus light weight and quite thin like an ultrabook, while the Swift 3 Infinity 4 is suitable for those of you who are looking for a laptop with the cheapest Intel Evo certification—the benefits of which I have outlined in my review.
Well, this Acer Swift 3X approach is a little different. The name itself “creator laptop”, is intended for you content creators who want an affordable device, but still stylish and portable, aka you don’t just have to buy a gaming laptop. Embedded GPU is quite interesting, still have Intel, but not the standard GPU laptops with Intel Core CPUs 11 th -gen.
After about two weeks of using this laptop, I can say that the presence of the Acer Swift 3X itself is quite successful in delivering what it promises. Even though it has been released since the beginning of the year, it is still quite worthy of ogling. Here’s the full impression.
Design
Looks familiar? Naturally, well the name is still in the same series. Starting from the looks of the outer cover, hinge type, inside, side profile, the Acer Swift 3X looks exactly like the Swift 3 Infinity 4 series. But there are some parts that I think make this laptop more different and elegant.
First, the color option, where the unit that I use has a gold color that is not very dark, so it is quite calm and already looks different from most silver laptops. If it is too bright, there is a dark blue color option. And both will have a slightly striking Tosca green outer hinge list.
When the laptop is opened, the part will be in direct contact with the table surface—but don’t worry, because if you look closely, there is a special rubber that acts as a holder. Its own weight is quite light at 1.37 kilograms with a thickness of less than 18mm. Feels quite rigid, made from a combination of magnesium alloy and magnesium lithium.
Screen
The bezel dimensions are standard for a 2021 laptop release—thin in the top three left and right, while the bottom is still thick. At least, the panel used is of sufficient quality, measuring 14 inches with full HD resolution and IPS type. Able to provide high color saturation with a wider viewing angle.
The brightness itself is around 300 nits, which if used in an outdoor area is just okay, not too bright, but not too dark either. At least the anti-glare surface effectively reduces the reflection of the surrounding light. Because for content creators, of course screen accuracy is also important. The Acer Swift 3X itself supports 72% NTSC or 100% sRGB color coverage.
This screen can not be opened to a flat 180 degrees, nor does it support touch input. However, the hinge design used makes the lower body of the laptop lift slightly, so it can increase air circulation. The conventional 16:9 ratio also makes it more convenient for multimedia needs, or those of you who often run two applications side by side.
Ports & Connectivity
The types of ports on the Acer Swift 3X are actually quite complete, it’s just that they are quite limited. There are only two USB-A 3.2 ports, while only one USB-C Thunderbolt 4 port. So you have to replace it if you want to use it for data transfer while charging. The rest there is an HDMI port and audio combo jack.
Yes, there are no SD or micro SD card slots on the two sides of the Acer Swift 3X, a bit of a cons considering this is a laptop for content creators. For wireless connectivity, it supports Bluetooth 5.0 and Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac/ax, so it’s complete and supports fast connectivity. Also no problem to connect to TWS earphones.
The touchpad is not the most spacious, but it’s quite enough with good responsiveness. As for the keyboard, it’s quite comfortable, with black and backlit lights. The advantages? Lights are more visible in dark conditions. The downside? So it’s not just the same color as the lower body. While the power button is made together and a little harder, preventing wrong presses.
Performance
The Acer Swift 3X variant that I use is the lowest, with an Intel Core i5-1135G7 CPU (up to 4.2GHz) 8GB LPDDR4x RAM (already soldered or can’t be upgraded), plus 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD storage (there is still one M slot. 2 empty for additional capacity). Well, the GPU situation is not like a standard laptop.
If usually paired with Intel Iris Xe. Acer Swift 3 has a dedicated GPU Intel Iris Xe Max 4GB LPDDR4X. This GPU can be compared to an entry-class NVIDIA GPU, but is designed to be faster for running content creation applications such as video encoding.
There is a technology called Deep Link that is able to optimize the workload between the discrete GPU and the integrated GPU, maximizing performance as well as power efficiency. So for those of you who regularly access Adobe applications and want to play casual games, the Acer Swift 3X will suit you. The cooling system is also quite effective at maintaining body temperature, with a fan that can be adjusted according to need.
For the price class offered, it is very satisfying to run daily applications, can turn on quite instantly even though it has not yet pocketed the Inte Evo certification. Including when already running Windows 11, animation effects and transitions of every small element run smoothly without glitches.
Other Features
Not much bloatware is embedded in Acer into the Acer Swift 3X, a plus for Gizmo friends who don’t like there are many applications installed from the manufacturer. And even though the fingerprint sensor looks small, it’s quite accurate and instant to unlock the screen via Windows Hello.
The quality of the stereo speakers and microphone is good enough for multimedia needs and virtual calls via Zoom or Google Meet. Including the webcam above the Acer Swift 3X screen, it has a wider viewing angle and I can guarantee it is better in quality, than the Realme Book or Infinix INBook X1 .
Battery
If the two previous Swift 3 series came with a relatively satisfactory battery performance, the same is the case with the Acer Swift 3X. Although, with a capacity of 3,815 mAh, the official Acer Indonesia website provides two different estimates of the duration of use. On the official store site 7 hours, on the product specification page 14 hours.
Well maybe both of them are right, one for the duration of intensive use, the other if you just make documents without internet access. Meanwhile, for my personal use, with always connected to the internet, brightness is almost maximum and Office applications run on average 8-9 hours. If you are playing games using a discrete GPU, of course it can go down to less than 7 hours.
Of course, this is quite durable, especially when compared to entry-class gaming laptops. And the charging is also flexible, can be via the USB-C port. Even though there’s only one, so if you’re using it, you have to bring a built-in adapter that uses the DC-in port. 60 minutes can add about 70%, and it is fully charged in less than 2 hours.
Conclusion
Another understated laptop from Acer for those who prioritize performance and portability. The Acer Swift 3X isn’t the most stylish or thin, but it’s good enough to hang out in a cafe or take a meeting to the office. In other words, the design is quite neutral and still comfortable to carry around.
Who would have thought, the Intel Iris Xe label with the word “Max” affixed on the sticker made this laptop suitable for video rendering. Combined with excellent connectivity, long battery life, plus an attractive price, the Acer Swift 3X is still attractive even until the end of 2021.