The Acer Swift X SFX14-41G is a productivity-focused premium machine with powerful hardware that can easily take on your daily tasks. As of reviewing this machine, the newer Swift X has already been launched with much more power than before.
However, we will review this machine from the perspective of buying it for cheap compared to its original price tag and how it stacks up compared to the newer budget devices on the market.
Initially, the Acer Swift X SFX14-41G was launched with a $1000 price tag. Since then, it has dropped in price, and now you can find it around $700 dollars.
We would be comparing the Acer Swift X SFX14-41G to other laptops available around the same price range. And we will evaluate if the Acer Swift X SFX14-41G is still worth buying.
Specs at Glance
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5800u | GPU: RTX 3050 | RAM: 16GB DDR4| Display: 14” 1920×1080 | Storage: 512GB NVME SSD | Battery: 59Wh | OS: Windows 11 Pro
Design and Chassis
When it comes to design, the Acer Swift X SFX14-41G is what you come to expect from a premium laptop. The body is entirely made of aluminum with a very clean design. However, the gold color on the lid and the vents is a bit tacky.
Despite that, the Acer Swift X SFX14-41G won’t stand out like a sore thumb like a gaming laptop with tons of RGB lighting. It is still a perfect machine if you want to take it into a formal environment.
As for the rigidity of the Swift X, it has noticeable deck flex, though it’s not to be concerned about.
Weighing around 3.06 lbs (1.39kg), the Acer Swift X SFX14-41G may not be the lightest 14-inch laptop. However, compared to something like the Lenovo Ideapad 3i 15 inches and HP Pavillion 15, which is on par with the Acer Swift X SFX14-41G in terms of performance, the Swift X ends up being quite light.
I/O Ports and Connectivity
The I/O ports on the Acer Swift X SFX14-41G are pretty good, especially compared to the competition. It has dual USB Type-A ports, one Type-C port that supports both Displayport and charging, and an audio combo jack.
It would have been great if it had a card reader, as this laptop is primarily targeted for creative work. So if you are a photographer or a videographer, you would have to use a dongle.
Still, though, when we look at the competition, both the Ideapad 3i and the HP Pavillion lag behind in I/O. Though both laptops have the newer HDMI 2.1, they lack USB C charging and display out support.
Furthermore, Lenovo decided to cheap out with the Ideapad 3i by including only one USB 3.2 Type-A port and one USB 2.0 Type-A port instead of providing a dual USB 3.2 type port.
The Acer Swift X SFX14-41G is pretty much on par when it comes to wireless comms. It has WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0. Though the HP Pavillion is still stuck on WiFi 5.
Also, on a side note, one thing to keep in mind is that HP Pavillion’s WiFi card seems to die within the first few months of using the device, so keep that in mind if you plan to buy it.
Keyboard and Touchpad
Keyboard
The keyboard on the Acer Swift X SFX14-41G is where it falls apart a little. For starters, since the keyboard deck is already silver, this means that this blends well with the white backlit.
This means that with backlit on, the keys are harder to read. So if you are working in a well-lit room and have yet to memorize the keyboard layout, you are gonna face some problems.
Furthermore, the keyboard lacks a dedicated caps lock. Was Acer pretending they were working on a Chromebook? God knows. Anyway, the page up and down buttons also feel cramped so you might accidentally hit them while trying to use the arrow keys.
As for the typing experience, it might feel mushy to some as the keys have very little travel, and they actuate easily. This is where I would happily recommend the Lenovo Ideapad 3i, as even on budget devices, Lenovo is known to provide a great typing experience.
Even the HP Pavillion also provides a significantly better experience than the Acer Swift X SFX14-41G, so that’s something to keep in mind.
Touchpad
The touchpad is fine and what you would come to expect. It tracks accurately and registers all the gestures fine. And it’s pretty much on par with what the competition has to offer.
Speakers and Webcam
Speakers
Despite having the DTS logo, the speakers sound just average. Their sound is nothing to write home about. Though we recommend using headphones or external speakers, if you still want a laptop with decent speakers, something like the Ideapad 3i is a better option.
Webcam
The 720p camera is serviceable when provided with enough light, and it does a fine job for occasional zoom meetings. Just don’t expect it to provide a Macbook level of quality.
Display
Acer Swift X SFX14-41G shines thanks to its color-accurate display. It has acceptable DeltaE variations and easily covers the entire sRGB color gamut., while also covering 66.2% of Adobe RGB and 68.2% of DCI P3.
And it does not disappoint when it comes to brightness. It comfortably gets bright at around 350 nits. This means that unlike the Ideapad 3i or the HP Pavillion, you can use it easily outside on a sunny day.
Not only do the HP and the Lenovo have dim displays, but they also lack color accuracy, which means that they are awful for any sensitive color work.
If your top priority is a color-accurate display available under a grand, then the Acer Swift X SFX14-41G is a great option hand down.
Performance
CPU
This is where things get a bit complicated. The eight-core Ryzen 5800u packs in tons of power for multi-threaded power. However, since the launch of Acer Swift X SFX14-41G, Intel has made a comeback with its 12th gen CPU.
And the Ideapad 3i and HP Pavillion provide tough competition to the Acer Swift X SFX14-41G.
The Intel Core i5 1235u inside the Lenovo Ideapad 3i beats the Ryzen 5800u in single-core performance. In Geekbench 5, the Core i5 was 14% faster, and in Cinebench R23, it was 13% faster.
Though the Ryzen 5800u manages to pull through just slightly in multi-core benchmarks, where it was just 2% faster in Geekbench and 22% faster in Cinebench R23.
This is quite close, and considering that the Ideapad 3i is around $200 cheaper, it might seem like a no-brainer to go with the Ideapad 3i.
What makes this situation worse is the HP Pavillion which costs the same as the Acer Swift X yet provides way better CPU performance.
The Core i7 1255u annihilates the Ryzen 7 5800 in both single and multi-core performance. In single-core benchmarks, the Core i7 is 20% faster in single-core and 29% faster in Cinebench R23. And in multi-core, the Core i7 is 12% faster and 6% faster in Cinebench R23.
At this point its quite clear that the Acer Swift X SFX14-41G is struggling to hold up when it comes to CPU performance.
However, the Acer Swift X SFX14-41G has one thing for itself that makes it better than both the HP and Lenovo.
GPU
What the Ideapad 3i and HP Pavillion do not have is a dedicated GPU. And this is where the Acer Swift X SFX14-41G strikes back. The RTX 3050 40W 4GB is powerful enough to help you in video rendering. Furthermore, this means that unlike the HP and Ideapad 3i, the Acer Swift X SFX14-41G can run games too.
This makes the Acer Swift X SFX14-41G a great gaming machine for someone who wants to relax after a busy day at work. You can run Warzone and Far Cry 5 at 60FPS if you lower down the settings enough. However, you can run games like Valorant and GTA V at medium to high settings.
So if a powerful GPU is what you need, then the Acer Swift X SFX14-41G holds up quite well and might be worth considering.
Battery
The battery life is pretty solid on the Acer Swift X SFX14-41G, and it’s pretty much on par with what the competition offers.
The 59Wh battery manages to last around 8-10 hours on moderate use. And the competition offers similar battery backup.
Though, as you might expect, if you decide to game or render a video on battery, it would barely last an hour.
Expandability and Upgradability
This is where the Ideapad 3i and the HP takes a win. Unfortunately, the 16GB RAM on the Acer Swift X SFX14-41G is soldered and can not be upgraded. This sucks especially considering you might need more RAM as you work on bigger projects. And then you would have no option but to buy a new laptop.
However, if you mainly work on lighter projects and only do creative work from time to time, you should be fine.
As for the storage, you can replace the 512GB SSD if you need more storage. That’s the only expandability that is available on the Acer Swift X SFX14-41G
Conclusion
So, should you buy the Acer Swift X SFX14-41G? Or should you go with the cheaper yet more powerful Ideapad 3i? As long as you need a color-accurate display and dedicated GPU, the Acer Swift X SFX14-41G holds up to be a great option.
But if you prioritize a good typing experience while getting better CPU performance for cheap, then the Ideapad 3i is an obvious choice.
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