Acer Swift X 16 Assessment: Glorious Efficiency and Show Held Again by Meh Design

[ad_1]

7.7

Acer Swift X 16 SFX16-61G

Like

Robust software and graphics efficiency
Roomy 16-inch, 120Hz OLED show

Do not like

Drab design
Abysmal battery life
Poor audio output

Designers and creators might balk on the uninspired appears of the Acer Swift X 16, however hiding beneath its plain exterior is a laptop computer well-equipped for content material creation. For starters, its OLED panel gives glorious coloration efficiency and stellar distinction. Plus, the three.2K-resolution 16-inch display screen is a big canvas, and its 120Hz refresh charge retains movies trying clean. And beneath the hood is a formidable CPU/GPU duo for ample energy to run intensive graphics apps.

Sadly, the Swift X 16’s AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS CPU and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU do the battery life no favors. Usually, a 16-inch laptop computer is not the primary selection for normal journey or every day commutes, however its comparatively quick runtime means you may usually be looking for energy shops. The smaller Swift X 14 is the higher choice for wandering creators due to its dimension and battery efficiency. And for one thing in between that gives a giant show backed by loads of energy and all-day battery life, the Samsung Galaxy E book 3 Extremely sits within the candy spot and stays our content material creation laptop computer advice.

Configuration as examined

Worth as reviewed	$1,600
Show dimension/decision	16-inch 3,200 x 2,000 120Hz OLED show
CPU	4GHz AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS w/ Radeon Graphics
Reminiscence	16GB DDR5 6,400MHz RAM
Graphics	6GB Nvidia RTX 4050 graphics
Storage	1TB SSD
Networking	IEEE 802.11ax Gigabit Ethernet Bluetooth 5.1
Working system	Home windows Residence 22H2

Acer sells two fashions of the Swift X 16. The baseline mannequin prices $1,250 and incorporates a 16-inch LCD show powered by a Ryzen 7 CPU and older RTX 3050 graphics. Our $1,600 check system (mannequin SFX16-61G) incorporates a higher-resolution 3,200×2,000-pixel OLED show together with a higher-powered Ryzen 9 processor and the newest RTX 4050 graphics. The lower-end mannequin is obtainable for £1,299 within the UK whereas the higher-end mannequin we examined is listed on Acer’s UK web site however will not be but obtainable. We discovered a Swift X 16 product web page on Acer’s Australian web site, however it’s not at present obtainable for buy.

With a Ryzen 9 7940HS CPU that has eight bodily cores, 16 processing threads and a base clock of a blazing 4GHz and a most of 5.2GHz together with a GeForce RTX 4050 GPU with 6GB of devoted video RAM, our Swift X 16 is a powerhouse for content material creation. And the entry-level RTX 4050 dGPU additionally gives some gaming functionality.

Acer Swift X 16 all-metal body on a green table covering — Matt Elliott/CNET

The Swift X 16 competed effectively with Intel-based content material creation laptops on our lab exams, incomes prime marks on PCMark 10 and JetStream 2 software benchmarks. It was much less profitable on Geekbench 6, however the outcomes had been all tightly grouped with the competitors on that check.

On our graphics exams, it completed second solely to the Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 on Cinebench, however the Dell has the benefit of utilizing RTX 4060 graphics, a step above what’s within the Swift X 16 and the remainder of the laptops you may see within the charts beneath. The Swift X 16 did effectively on our sport exams, too, producing playable framerates at 1080p that can allow you to make use of the 120Hz show. It averaged 117 frames per second on our Guardians of the Galaxy check and 119 fps on Shadow of the Tomb Raider, which was really a couple of frames per second sooner than the Dell.

The flip aspect of getting a big, high-res OLED show and high-powered elements is what this mix does to battery life: It isn’t good. The Swift X 16 could not final even 5 hours on our battery drain check, a decidedly poor end result. You may eke out a barely longer runtime with some energy administration (and when you aren’t continuously streaming a YouTube video). However even then, the Swift X 16 will not allow you to stray too removed from a wall outlet.

OLED and RTX

For a lot of laptops, dismal battery life is a deal breaker. For the Swift X 16, it is positively a demerit, however would not kill the deal. The explanation the Swift X 16 deserves consideration regardless of its quick runtime is as a result of it gives the 2 components most essential to content material creators: an superior OLED show and robust, RTX-backed efficiency.

Not too long ago, I reviewed 16-inch content material creation laptops with one or the opposite. For instance, the Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 is a powerful performer with a Core i7 H-series CPU and RTX 4060 graphics however options a mean LCD show. And Acer’s personal Swift Go 16 provides the identical, high-resolution OLED show because the Swift X 16 however is saddled with built-in Intel graphics. Our $1,600 Swift X 16 check system prices $300 greater than the Inspiron 16 Plus and $400 greater than the Swift Go 16, however it’s cash effectively spent for graphics professionals who want the show high quality and graphics efficiency for work.

I’ve lined the Swift X 16’s sturdy general efficiency (and you may see its benchmark leads to the efficiency charts beneath). The 16-inch OLED show is large, sharp and quick. OLED panels usually have incredible distinction with brilliant whites and absolute black ranges. And coloration efficiency is great. However to verify issues, I used a Spyder X Elite colorimeter to check its coloration vary, and the Swift X 16 confirmed glorious protection: it hit 100% of each sRGB and DCI-P3 and 98% of AdobeRGB.

16-inch OLED display on the Acer Swift X 16 laptop — Matt Elliott/CNET

The panel is rated for 500 nits of brightness however measured beneath that on the Spyder X brightness check. It reached a most of 390 nits and climbed solely to 399 nits with HDR enabled. The show is brilliant sufficient for indoor use beneath synthetic gentle, however you might battle when you plan on utilizing it outdoor. Whether or not at my desk in my house workplace subsequent to a north-facing window or sitting at a sunny breakfast desk in my kitchen subsequent to south-facing home windows, I had the show brightness set to round 70% for many of my time with the laptop computer. It is positively not a dim show — it is simply not as brilliant as its score. A much bigger barrier than show brightness to utilizing the Swift X 16 outdoor would be the battery life, particularly if it’s good to crank the brightness to do it.

The 1080p webcam produces crisp, well-balanced photographs however lacks each a bodily privateness shutter and an IR sensor that might enable for facial recognition logins. All will not be misplaced, nonetheless, on the biometric entrance: a fingerprint sensor is constructed into the facility button.

The Swift X 16 is healthier for content material creation than content material consumption. Many 16-inch laptops function 4 audio system for fuller sound, however the Swift X 16 has simply the usual stereo set and produces underwhelming audio. The sound is tinny with little to no bass, which is a disappointment on such a big laptop computer at this worth.

Keyboard and number pad of the Acer Swift X 16 laptop — Matt Elliott/CNET

The remainder of the Swift X 16 bundle is undeniably abnormal. The all-metal chassis is pretty inflexible however in any other case common, providing no attention-grabbing design prospers. The laptop computer weighs 4.3 kilos, which is common for a 16-inch mannequin. In case you are keen to ditch the RTX graphics, Acer’s personal Swift Go 16 not solely prices much less however is lighter at 3.6 kilos. And the Swift Edge 16 weighs simply 2.6 kilos.

The keyboard felt snug, however I query the inclusion of a quantity pad. With RTX graphics, the laptop computer is overkill for knowledge entry. I might choose to ditch the numpad and have the keyboard centered beneath the show. The touchpad is generously proportioned and felt correct with a agency click on response that had only a bit an excessive amount of journey to my liking.

Ports on the left side of the Acer Swift X 16 laptop — Matt Elliott/CNET

The port choice has no obvious omissions. You get a pair of Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, a pair of USB Kind-A ports, an HDMI out, a headphone jack and a microSD card slot. The ability connector is situated in the course of the left edge as a substitute of the extra frequent and helpful spot close to the rear of the laptop computer. This placement means you may end up combating the facility twine in sure conditions, relying on the place the closest outlet is situated.

The Acer Swift X 16 hits the mark by giving creators a roomy OLED show backed by a robust CPU/GPU combo. With out these two objects, it is tough to advocate a laptop computer to design professionals and lovers. That mentioned, it is tough to advocate the Swift X 16 over the Samsung Galaxy E book 3 Extremely as a result of Samsung’s mannequin not solely gives a incredible OLED show and a powerful CPU/GPU pair, however it additionally boasts a sleeker design and a lot better battery life.

The evaluate course of for laptops, desktops, tablets and different computer-like units consists of two elements: efficiency testing beneath managed circumstances within the CNET Labs and in depth hands-on use by our professional reviewers. This contains evaluating a tool’s aesthetics, ergonomics and options. A ultimate evaluate verdict is a mix of each goal and subjective judgments.

The record of benchmarking software program we use modifications over time because the units we check evolve. A very powerful core exams we’re at present working on each appropriate pc embody: Primate Labs Geekbench 5, Cinebench R23, PCMark 10 and 3DMark Hearth Strike Extremely.

A extra detailed description of every benchmark and the way we use it may be present in our How We Take a look at Computer systems web page.

Geekbench 6 (multicore)

Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7630 13,250Samsung Galaxy E book 3 Extremely 12,717Acer Swift X 14 12,628Acer Swift X 16 12,473MSI Cyborg 15 A13VE 11,871