Acer Swift 3 Review: Specs, Performance, Pros, Cons & More

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Acer Swift 3

Acer Swift 3

USD
8.7

Value for Money Score

8.2/10

Reliability Score

9.5/10

Performance Score

8.5/10

Specifications and Features Score

8.5/10

Design Score

9.0/10

Pros

  • Low temperature
  • Good input devices
  • Affordable
  • Solid chassis
  • Good Design

Cons

  • Memory not expandable
  • Shocking WLAN performance
  • SD performance
  • Not available everytime
  • Not good for high end.

Verdict

With strong performance and long-going battery life, Acer Swift 3 rocks in the league of the ultra-thin beauties sport a standout design. Apart from having a masculine body, the device comes with some wonderful specifications. The metallic cover gives it a shining look and solid strength.

The device is annoyingly plain on the surface and it is enough for some buyers to turn their back on the model. What is more, the speaker situation do no justice to it.

Acer Swift 3 & Variant Laptops Price

Introduction

Acer Swift 3 is a smart device. It’s made super-thin and super-fast! Being an ultra-light model, Acer Swift 3 device is easy to take wherever you travel.

Wrapped around powerful processor, a large full HD display screen, shining aluminium chassis, fastest wireless connection and long battery life, it is designed to help you stay creative and productive on the go.

It won’t take much of time before you realize the system delivers memorable and monstrous multimedia performance.

Acer Swift 3

Buy for: Affordable and solid chassis

Beware of: Memory not expandable and WLAN performance

Best uses for: College students, small business, home use, Grand Theft Auto 5 and other purposes.

The alternatives:

Specs Details:

Reliability

Acer Swift 3 does not come with a truckload of features but packs in the right components under the lid.

Bundled with 7th generation Intel core processor having clock speed up to 3.1GHz, 8GB DDR4 memory and 256GB SSD, the device produces striking display on its 14-inch wider screen and offers extended battery life running for up to10 hours.

The super-thin Acer device allows the users to stay connected, entertained and productive with the right elements tossed into the box.

Performance – Processing Power

Of all the most redeeming qualities of Acer Swift 3 is its blistering performance.

Irrespective of the model you pick up, you will get to max out potentials of Intel Core U-series processor unlike the low-frequency Y series chip tucked into the Swift 7 model.

This feature puts the device on the same bracket as several expensive models.

On performance front, it’s not too far away from the contemporary tech giants such as, Surface Laptop or Asus ZenBook UX310UA.

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Despite mediocre screen resolution, its spec sheet shares similarities with both of these laptops.

During our comprehensive tests, Acer Swift 3 handed defeat to Asus ZenBook in terms of performance as well as graphics.

The mention-worthy point is Swift 3 achieved almost double the frame rate when compared to the ZenBook during Cinebench OpenGL testing.

Therefore, Acer Swift 3 has some obvious advantages over many of its compatriots on the ground of graphical outputs.

It’s undoubtedly the perfect pick for everyday works, multimedia-oriented tasks and light gaming needs.

Benchmarks

CPU

1. In a study of 6339 samples that was conducted by CPU Benchmarks, the experts concluded that the Intel Core i5-7200U achieved an average CPU mark of 3392. This dual-core Intel processor has a single-thread rating of 1767.

The overall rank of this Intel i5 processor is 1565. The AMD Ryzen 5 3500U, which has a single thread rating of 1,979, is its closest competitor. In this regard, this AMD processor is a superior option to Intel’s Core i5-7200U.

This AMD chip enables the ASUS VivoBook F512 to deliver better and smoother processing than this Acer laptop.

2. According to User Benchmark, the Intel Core i5-7200U achieved an average bench score of 56.9%. Taking into consideration 1357 processors of this kind which have been reviewed by the experts of this website, this processor holds the 613th position out of the 1357 processors.

3. Geekbench 5, another popular benchmarking scale gives the Intel Core i5-7200U a score of 481 for single-core performance and 1245 for multi-core performance.

GPU

1. According to videocard Benchmarks, Intel HD Graphics 620 achieved an average score of 923 on the G3D benchmark. The average G2D mark for this integrated graphics chip is 218. According to the analysis of 10391 samples, this GPU has an overall rank of 905.

At present, there are many powerful dedicated graphics cards available in the stores. Comparing this integrated GPU with them is pointless. It can be argued that this integrated graphics card is good enough to allow the user to process only a few casual graphics files with ease.

This GPU is not good enough for gaming, and this is the biggest problem with it.

2. The integrated graphics card achieves a 3DMark rank of 194. A score of 337 is achieved by Intel HD Graphics 620 in 3DMark Time Spy Graphics. This website gives this processor a rank of 200 in terms of popularity.

3. An average score of 4.58% was achieved by Intel HD Graphics 620 on the User benchmark. Out of 682 GPUs of this type, this chip ranked 392nd.

Design & Build

Given the manufacturer’s history of poor choice of materials and sloppy build, you will be surprised to see how well built the laptop is, especially after considering that it is an entry-level model in the Swift family.

It’s encased in a sturdy aluminium chassis. The metallic frame gives it a decent and durable character.

Expect only little or no flex around the chassis or hood. The excellently built bezel around the screen causes no annoying bleeding on the panel.

The entire outer case sports a metallic structure whereas the inner chassis is a plastic beauty.

I personally feel that the laptop shares its resemblance with Macbook Air, with its similarly black hinge and wedged shape.

But the Acer version costs significantly less but does not lag much behind if it comes to build quality.

Acer Swift 3 sports an ergonomic architecture. It has round corners and blunt edges – the features make it an ideal piece to grab and use.

The sharp edges on the underbelly won’t go unnoticed. The smooth interior offers enough room for palm rest and features a fingerprint reader, enabling you to quickly log into Windows.

The well-made hinge keeps the real estate firmly in its place but enables the users to lift the screen singlehandedly. It even goes completely flat on its back.

This feature is particularly useful for those who will place the device on the lap while using it or set it against the thighs while reclining on bed or sofa.

Display

Acer Swift 3 features a 14-inch wide screen having a matte finishing as well as IPS panel. Surely, it’s not the best due to slightly dim displays, forcing the users to struggle little bit in well-lit conditions.

Read Also:  Asus VivoBook Pro 17 Laptop Review: Pros, Cons & More

Acer Swift 3 Display

You are less likely to be impressed with its colour reproduction as well. However, it’s far better than any TN panel. If you’re using it indoors, you will discover Acer Swift 3 good enough for your purpose.

The hinge on the device is the USP of Acer Swift 3 as it allows you to set the screen as per your convenience – a feature that is a signature mark of higher-end business-specific laptops.

Graphics Power

With Intel HD graphics 620 fitted in the box and a 14-inch FHD screen supported by LED-backlit display, Acer Swift 3 offers wideviewing angles and high picture clarity.

Acer strikes gold with crispiness in outputs and brightness in colours production as well. Find out Acer Swift 3 Details.

However, at the cost of repetition, I assert that brightness feels mediocre if compared with other devices available at the bargain price range.

Storage Capacity

Acer Swift 3 integrates a 256GB SSD unit to let the users store text and image files, songs, videos, movies, apps, games and many more in a larger number.

Acer Swift 3 SSD

The voluminous space is a wonderful warehouse to save and retrieve files on demand.

The high-spinning SSD unit takes little time to locate and open your file, thereby making no waste of your precious time.

Battery Life

An extended battery life is another great feature of Acer Swift 3. Acer Swift 3 establishes the fact that you don’t have to spend a fortune on a device for solid performance coupled with far-stretched battery life that lasts as long as 10 hours (surely for minimal uses and video steaming will surely bump it down to a considerable extent).

Acer Swift 3 Battery

With such long-lasting battery power, Swift 3 can survive a trip on a flight from Hong Kong to Dubai and still have some life remaining in it.

Additional Specs

Acer Swift 3 comes with a list of striking features. There are not plenty of them but you will find the right kind that are up to your expectations and needs.

Acer Swift 3 comes with a keyboard that is similar to what we see on many Acer ultralights. However, this keyboard features a unique layout including an additional row of keys towards its right side.

Acer Swift 3 Keyboard

Having dedicated keys for PgUP and PgDown, Home and End is a nice idea but it will take you some time to get used to the peculiarities.  Moreover, it is likely for you to miss a few strokes at the beginning while looking for Enter or Backspace.

Despite a few petty flaws, the keyboard feels pretty good. The keys, which are concave in shape, feel soft on fingers. In a word, the keyboard offers a smooth and stormy typing experience even if it’s pitch dark, thanks to its backlit character.

With Acer Swift 3, explore the power of superfast connection as it is paced with the latest 2×2 802.11ac MU-MIMO technology. In fact, you can expect 3times speedier wireless performance than before.

Acer Swift 3 Wi-Fi

Acer Swift 3 houses a fingerprint reader that is compatible with Windows Hello. The feature allows you to log into the device with just a single touch.

Acer Swift 3 Fingerprint Reader

The HD webcam, speakers and mics will function well with Skype for Business, enabling you to keep on chatting online without any compromise on audio and video quality.

Acer Swift 3 Wifi

Acer TrueHarmony speakers make an intelligent use of a paper cone design with solid frames made of advanced foam material. The design contributes to more accuracy in sound clarity and quality as well as fuller-bodied audio.

Acer Swift 3 Speaker

Last but not the least, the ports are housed on the right spots of Acer Swift 3. The roomy device offers space to accommodate two USB 3.0 slots, an USB 3.1 port, a card reader and an HDMI video output.

Acer Swift 3 Left Ports

On the left edge, you can easily locate some distinct status LEDs. The point to be noted here is the USB 3.1 port housed on Acer Swift 3 is incompatible with Thunderbolt. Acer packs the right types of ports on its Swift 3, which any regular user usually requires.

Variants

There are two variants for these Acer Swift 3. One is having 256GB SSD Hard Drive, Core i5-8250U-8GB RAM with 15.6 inch screen. Another one is having 256GB SSD Hard Drive with Core i5-7200U and 14 inch screen.

What Do Users Think?

Our experts talked to Acer Swift 3 users and compiled their opinions here.

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Aesthetics is a big draw for many users. If that does not look good, they are unlikely to make a buy. From that perspective, Acer Swift 3 is not a big hit with the design-sensitive users.

But for those, who dare to delve deep into the inside picture and story despite the device’s design that is anything but outstanding, Acer Swift 3 is a beast at a bargain price.

Just like us, they are not happy with the speakers. However, though design does not melt down their heart and speakers fail to comfort them, solid performance makes up for that loss.

Acer Swift 3 offers the right kind of visual clarity and quality that you can hardly expect at such a low price.

This along with long-lasting battery life, an ample amount of storage space and backlit keyboard gives the users a good peace of mind that their investment has not gone wasted.

According to many users, Acer Swift 3 offers more at a pocket-cooling price.

Our Testing & Analysis Report

We tested the performance of the Acer Swift 3 both on casual and advanced computing tasks and found that it can take on everyday tasks quite efficiently.

It had no issues while multitasking and allowed playing some lightweight games as well such as DoTA, Team Fortress 2, and others.

We used a few demanding software such as Photoshop and Matlab. It did not show any lags or overheating issues.

We conducted some comprehensive tests based on different benchmarks to find the rating and score of the CPU and GPU. On the Cinebench OpenGL testing, the GPU was found to deliver double the frame rate in comparison to the GPU of the ZenBook in our database.

Its G3D and G2D score according to the Video Card Benchmarks is 923 and 218 on average respectively, and 4.58% on the User benchmark.

The CPU, according to User Benchmark, scored 56.9% on average, and on the Geekbench 5, it was 481 points for single-core performance and 1245 points for multi-core performance.

While typing a few documents and navigating through different web pages, we found that the trackpad is quite good, smooth, and responsive to touch to allow easier navigation.

The keyboard, on the other hand, is relatively good and allows faster typing with good response, travel, bounce, and tactility of the keys.

The display of the laptop however did not score well in our colorimeter and Delta E 2000 color accuracy and brightness tests. We found that it is quite dim and the color accuracy and coverage are just average, or a little above it.

Finally, the battery fared quite well in our battery rundown test lasting for about 10 hours when we performed simple computing tasks, surfed the internet, and watched a couple of videos.

Questions & Answers:

Would Acer Swift 3 be a good choice for you?

This is a very compact device. But this is a basic laptop. For various casual usages and multitasking tasks this one is a good option. But for gaming, this Acer laptop is not recommended.

Does Acer Swift 3 have a touch screen?

No, all the editions of Acer Swift 3 come with a non-touch display panel.

Is the RAM capacity of the Acer Swift 3 upgradable?

Unfortunately, there is no room for RAM upgradation in the Acer Swift 3.

Is there any option to upgrade the storage capacity of the Acer Swift 3 laptop?

The storage section of this laptop is non-user accessible. So one can’t easily upgrade the storage capacity of this laptop and there is no additional slot for installing any storage unit. This is truly disappointing. But the users can easily use an external storage unit to solve this issue.

About Puja Chatterjee

AvatarPuja Chatterjee, a distinguished technical writer, boasts an extensive and nuanced understanding of computer technology. She is an esteemed graduate of the Bengal Institute of Management Studies (BIMS), where she honed her skills and knowledge in the tech domain. Over the span of more than 12 years, Puja has developed a deep expertise that encompasses not only technology writing, where she articulates complex technical concepts with clarity and precision, but also in the realm of client relationship management. Her experience in this area is characterized by her ability to effectively communicate and engage with clients, ensuring their needs are met with the highest level of professionalism and understanding of their technical requirements. Puja's career is marked by a commitment to excellence in both written communication within the tech industry and fostering strong, productive relationships with clients.

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Puja Chatterjee
Puja Chatterjee, a distinguished technical writer, boasts an extensive and nuanced understanding of computer technology. She is an esteemed graduate of the Bengal Institute of Management Studies (BIMS), where she honed her skills and knowledge in the tech domain. Over the span of more than 12 years, Puja has developed a deep expertise that encompasses not only technology writing, where she articulates complex technical concepts with clarity and precision, but also in the realm of client relationship management. Her experience in this area is characterized by her ability to effectively communicate and engage with clients, ensuring their needs are met with the highest level of professionalism and understanding of their technical requirements. Puja's career is marked by a commitment to excellence in both written communication within the tech industry and fostering strong, productive relationships with clients.
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