Reviewing the Acer Swift X Creator a 14-inch laptop with an RTX 3050Ti. It’s compact and lightweight packing many features.
Design and Build
Inside the box, you’ll find a 90W power adapter with a barrel pin connector and a USB-C port for charging the Swift X. An extension cord and various documents, including a warranty card, are also included. The Acer Swift X features a stylish two-tone color mix of gold and silver and weighs just 1.39kg making it highly portable.
On the left edge, you have a power port, a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port (for data transfer, charging and display output), an HDMI 2.0 port and a USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port. The right side includes a combo jack for headphones and microphones, another USB-A port, and a Kensington lock port. While it lacks an SD card reader and Thunderbolt 4 port due to its AMD chipset, it still offers a solid selection of ports.
The single-stage backlight is bright but may be challenging to see in certain lighting conditions due to the white backlight on silver keys. but it’s useful in dim environments. The precision touchpad is slightly small but responsive, with smooth scrolling and all expected gestures.
The 2021 Swift X features a 720p webcam with 30 fps. While it performs well for the price, it lacks a physical shutter for improved security and privacy, and it does not support Windows Hello face recognition. However, it does include a fingerprint scanner below the keyboard for Windows Hello login, which works accurately and was easy to set up.
Display and Audio
The Acer Swift X features a Full HD display with a resolution of 1920×1080. It has an IPS panel with an anti-glare coating which minimizes reflections and glare compared to glossy screens. The display excels with deep blacks, superb contrast and a Delta E score of 1.69 indicating excellent color accuracy. It covers 100% of the sRGB, 71% of Adobe RGB, 71% of DCI-P3, and 66% of NTSC color gamuts making it ideal for content creators using tools like Lightroom, Photoshop, and video editing software.
The 16:9 aspect ratio is great for media consumption, ensuring no black bars during streaming on Netflix, Amazon, or YouTube. However, it offers less screen real estate for productivity compared to a 16:10 aspect ratio, which is generally preferred for work tasks.
Overall, the display performs well with good brightness, reaching 342 nits (above Acer’s 300 nits claim). The matte finish ensures minimal glare making it suitable for both indoor and outdoor use.
Regarding audio, the Swift X has two bottom-facing speakers that deliver good volume but could be louder. The sound quality is decent with adequate mid-range and a hint of bass, filling a room effectively, though a bit more volume would be beneficial.
There is an issue displaying Amazon products. Please contact the administrator to check that.Performance and Benchmarks
| Benchmarks | Score |
|---|---|
| PCMARK 10 | 6129 |
| GEEKBENCH 5.1 (Single-Core) | 1432 |
| GEEKBENCH 5.1 (Multi-Core) | 7527 |
| CINEBENCH R20 | 4465 |
| CINEBENCH R15 | 1876 cb | 151.32 fps |
| 3DMARK Time Spy | 3885 |
| 3DMARK Fire Strike | 8717 |
The Acer Swift X performs well with its Ryzen 7 5800U and RTX 3050 Ti, as shown by the benchmarks. It’s an excellent all-around laptop for everyday tasks like Microsoft Office, email and web browsing handling these effortlessly. It’s also capable of video editing and using Photoshop with the right settings it can even handle some gaming providing playable frame rates for popular titles.
| Games | FHD Normal | FHD Ultra |
|---|---|---|
| Far Cry 5 | 62 FPS | 53 FPS |
| Shadow of the Tomb Rider | 98 FPS | 51 FPS |
| Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon | 59 FPS | 45A FPS |
The surface temperature of the laptop stays manageable, never exceeding 45.2 degrees Celsius in the middle of the keyboard. The fan does activate but is relatively quiet, minimizing distractions and allowing you to work comfortably.
Battery Life
Acer Swift X Creator excels in battery life, thanks to its 59-watt-hour, four-cell battery. It lasted 15 hours and 12 minutes during my continuous web surfing test at 150 nits brightness. For everyday use, you can expect 12 to 13 hours of battery life, which is excellent. The 90-watt power adapter charges the battery fully in about 90 minutes, which is quite fast.
Final Thoughts
I’m quite impressed with the 2021 Acer Swift X despite 14-inch size it packs significant power into a thin and light body. The sharp Full HD display and excellent battery life are standout features. The all-metal build gives a premium feel and the backlit keyboard is comfortable to use. However, it may throttle under heavy loads due to its slim design, and it benefits from upgradeable Wi-Fi. Importantly, there is no screen flickering thanks to the absence of PWM.
On the downside, the Swift X lacks an SD card reader and has a mediocre 720p webcam. Additionally, the RAM is soldered onto the motherboard, so it’s not user-upgradable.
Acer Swift X with its RTX 3050Ti is a great choice for those seeking powerful performance in a portable package. It offers a solid Full HD display with a 16:9 aspect ratio—though I’d prefer 16:10. Battery life is impressive, with over 15 hours in web surfing tests and 12 to 13 hours in typical use.