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MagyarAcer Swift 3 SF314-42 in Review: A well-rounded device with Ryzen 3 4300U as well
Recently, we had the Ryzen 7 4700U-equipped SKU of Acer’s Swift 3 SF314-42 in review. Today, the Ryzen 3 4300U-equipped model found its way into our test lab. Its competitors are the Honor Magicbook 14, Asus ZenBook 14 UM431DA, Lenovo IdeaPad S540-14IWL, S540-14API, and HP 14s.
Since both Swift devices are identical in construction, we are not going to cover case, connectivity, input devices, display, and speakers in this review. Should you be interested in these aspects we would like to refer you to our Swift 3 SF314-42-R4XJ review.
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Best Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 85 % | 06/2020 | Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R27B R3 4300U, Vega 5 | 1.2 kg | 16.55 mm | 14.00" | 1920x1080 | |
| 86.5 % | 06/2020 | Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R4XJ R7 4700U, Vega 7 | 1.2 kg | 16.55 mm | 14.00" | 1920x1080 | |
| 82.7 % | 11/2019 | Acer Swift 3 SF314-41-R8HZ R5 3500U, Vega 8 | 1.5 kg | 18 mm | 14.00" | 1920x1080 | |
| 79.1 % | 06/2020 | HP 14s-dq1431ng i5-1035G1, UHD Graphics G1 (Ice Lake 32 EU) | 1.5 kg | 18 mm | 14.00" | 1920x1080 | |
| 86.5 % | 05/2020 | Honor Magicbook 14 R5 3500U, Vega 8 | 1.4 kg | 16 mm | 14.00" | 1920x1080 | |
| 81.2 % | 02/2020 | Asus ZenBook 14 UM431DA-AM020T R7 3700U, Vega 10 | 1.4 kg | 16 mm | 14.00" | 1920x1080 | |
| 84.2 % | 12/2019 | Lenovo IdeaPad S540-14API R7 3700U, Vega 10 | 1.4 kg | 15.9 mm | 14.00" | 1920x1080 |
Connectivity
Display – IPS, but too dark
The matte 14-inch IPS display with wide viewing angles runs at a native resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. It offers a decent contrast ratio of 1,506:1, but at just 237.4 nits average maximum brightness it is too dim. In order to be considered decent we want to see at least 300 nits. Colors were fairly accurate, but color-space coverage was pretty low in return. On a positive note the display did not show any signs of PWM flickering at all.
The panel is identical to the one featured in the Ryzen 7 Swift 3. Nevertheless, our test results differ slightly from one another, which is to be expected. No two seemingly identical panels are truly identical in every single way.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 81 %
Center on Battery: 256 cd/m²
Contrast: 1506:1 (Black: 0.17 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 5.43 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5, calibrated: 4.8
ΔE Greyscale 3.29 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
57% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
36% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
39.03% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
56.8% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
37.78% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.52
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R27B IPS, 1920x1080, 14.00 | Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R4XJ IPS, 1920x1080, 14.00 | Acer Swift 3 SF314-41-R8HZ IPS, 1920x1080, 14.00 | HP 14s-dq1431ng IPS, 1920x1080, 14.00 | Honor Magicbook 14 IPS, 1920x1080, 14.00 | Asus ZenBook 14 UM431DA-AM020T IPS, 1920x1080, 14.00 | Lenovo IdeaPad S540-14API IPS, 1920x1080, 14.00 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | -2% | 10% | 2% | 18% | 71% | 3% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 37.78 | 37.2 -2% | 41.43 10% | 38.42 2% | 44.93 19% | 66.7 77% | 38.8 3% |
| sRGB Coverage | 56.8 | 55.9 -2% | 61.8 9% | 57.7 2% | 66.2 17% | 92.3 63% | 58.4 3% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 39.03 | 38.43 -2% | 42.85 10% | 39.71 2% | 46.42 19% | 67.5 73% | 40.09 3% |
| Response Times | 7% | 7% | 7% | -14% | 11% | 10% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 42 ? | 41 ? 2% | 38 ? 10% | 41 ? 2% | 44.8 ? -7% | 36 ? 14% | 38.8 ? 8% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 28 ? | 25 ? 11% | 27 ? 4% | 25 ? 11% | 34 ? -21% | 26 ? 7% | 24.8 ? 11% |
| PWM Frequency | 250 ? | 5952 ? | 44 ? | ||||
| Screen | -0% | -5% | 6% | 11% | -1% | -12% | |
| Brightness middle | 256 | 269 5% | 233 -9% | 305 19% | 311 21% | 253 -1% | 271 6% |
| Brightness | 237 | 244 3% | 219 -8% | 264 11% | 296 25% | 245 3% | 257 8% |
| Brightness Distribution | 81 | 83 2% | 75 -7% | 81 0% | 92 14% | 78 -4% | 91 12% |
| Black Level * | 0.17 | 0.23 -35% | 0.14 18% | 0.16 6% | 0.18 -6% | 0.225 -32% | 0.27 -59% |
| Contrast | 1506 | 1170 -22% | 1664 10% | 1906 27% | 1728 15% | 1124 -25% | 1004 -33% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 5.43 | 4.94 9% | 5.9 -9% | 5.44 -0% | 5.3 2% | 8.89 -64% | 6.8 -25% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 19.73 | 20.37 -3% | 22.8 -16% | 20.42 -3% | 18.5 6% | 4.56 77% | 14.2 28% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 4.8 | 5.03 -5% | 4.72 2% | 4.2 12% | 4.9 -2% | 4.2 12% | |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 3.29 | 1.71 48% | 4.8 -46% | 3.23 2% | 3.5 -6% | 6.33 -92% | 6.3 -91% |
| Gamma | 2.52 87% | 2.52 87% | 2.06 107% | 2.45 90% | 2.1 105% | 2.52 87% | 2.49 88% |
| CCT | 6840 95% | 6535 99% | 6589 99% | 7035 92% | 7078 92% | 6745 96% | 7845 83% |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 36 | 35 -3% | 39 8% | 37 3% | 42.5 18% | 60 67% | 36.9 3% |
| Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 57 | 56 -2% | 62 9% | 58 2% | 65.8 15% | 91 60% | 58.3 2% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | 2% /
0% | 4% /
-0% | 5% /
6% | 5% /
9% | 27% /
14% | 0% /
-7% |
* ... smaller is better
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 28 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 16 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 12 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows relatively slow response rates in our tests and may be too slow for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 67 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (21.5 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 42 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 20 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 22 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 63 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (33.8 ms). | ||
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM not detected |  | ||
In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 17933 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured. | |||
Performance – Ryzen 3 CPU with good performance
Acer’s Swift 3 SF314-43 is a good-looking slim 14-inch notebook offering more than enough performance for typical office and internet applications. Our review unit starts at around $700. Other models are available as well, and prices start at around $600.
Processor
Our particular Swift 3 SKU features an AMD Ryzen 3 4300U APU (Renoir). The CPU features four cores running at a base clock speed of 2.7 GHz and a turbo-boost speed of up to 3.8 GHz. Simultaneous multi-threading, which would have allowed processing of two threads per CPU core simultaneously, is not supported.
In our multithread Cinebench benchmarks the CPU managed to run at its maximum 3.8 GHz turbo-boost speed for a short period of time when on mains, or at up to 2.5 GHz on battery. Afterwards, clock speeds decreased (or increased) to 3.3-3.4 GHz on both battery and mains. The single-thread tests were performed at between 1.7 and 3.8 GHz on both battery and mains. On battery, the CPU initially ran at 1.4-2.4 GHz.
The Ryzen 3 APU performed significantly better than its own Ryzen 3 3300U predecessor (4 cores, 4 threads). Two of the APU’s Zen 2 architecture’s benefits are its higher IPC (aka performance per MHz) and its increased turbo-boost capabilities under sustained load.
We run the Cinebench R15 multithread benchmark in a loop for at least 30 minutes in order to assess a system’s sustained load capabilities. In this case, the scores decreased between the first and the fifth/sixth iteration but remained consistent afterwards. Turbo boost was applied liberally throughout the test.
The Ryzen 3 APU performed very well overall. It managed to run at higher CPU clock speeds than its 4700U sibling in the higher-end Swift 3 as it does not hit its thermal ceiling quite as fast. In return, the 4700U APU achieved much higher scores in Cinebench 15 despite its lower clock speeds due to its increased core count.
| LibreOffice - 20 Documents To PDF | |
| HP Pavilion 15-cw1212ng | |
| HP 14s-dq1431ng | |
| HP 14s-dq1431ng | |
| HP 17-by2437ng | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 4300U (62.2 - 62.7, n=2) | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R27B | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R4XJ | |
| Average of class Office (31.3 - 117.5, n=120, last 2 years) | |
| R Benchmark 2.5 - Overall mean | |
| HP Pavilion 15-cw1212ng | |
| HP 17-by2437ng | |
| HP 14s-dq1431ng | |
| HP 14s-dq1431ng | |
| Honor Magicbook 14 | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R27B | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 4300U (0.652 - 0.686, n=2) | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R4XJ | |
| Average of class Office (0.4244 - 1.397, n=119, last 2 years) | |
| Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad S540-14API (Edge: 44.17763.1.0) | |
| HP Pavilion 15-cw1212ng (Edge 44) | |
| HP Pavilion 15-cw1212ng (Chrome 82) | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-41-R8HZ (Edge 44) | |
| HP 17-by2437ng (Edge 44) | |
| Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i3 (Edge 44.18362.267.0) | |
| Honor Magicbook 14 (Chrome 82) | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R27B (Edge 44) | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R27B (Chrome 82) | |
| HP 14s-dq1431ng (Chrome 82) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 4300U (907 - 1040, n=2) | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R4XJ (Edge 44) | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R4XJ (Chrome 82) | |
| Average of class Office (479 - 1966, n=112, last 2 years) | |
| Octane V2 - Total Score | |
| Average of class Office (21416 - 93596, n=52, last 2 years) | |
| HP 14s-dq1431ng | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R4XJ (Edge 44) | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R27B (Edge 44) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 4300U () | |
| Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i3 (Edge 44.18362.267.0) | |
| HP 17-by2437ng (Edge 44) | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-41-R8HZ (Edge 44) | |
| HP Pavilion 15-cw1212ng (Edge 44) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad S540-14API (Edge: 44.17763.1.0) | |
| Honor Magicbook 14 (Edge 44.18362.449.0) | |
| JetStream 1.1 - Total Score | |
| Average of class Office (117.1 - 544, n=18, last 2 years) | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R4XJ (Edge 44) | |
| HP 14s-dq1431ng | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 3 4300U () | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R27B (Edge 44) | |
| HP 17-by2437ng (Edge 44) | |
| Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i3 (Edge 44.18362.267.0) | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-41-R8HZ (Edge 44) | |
| HP Pavilion 15-cw1212ng (Edge 44) | |
| Honor Magicbook 14 (Edge 44.18362.449.0) | |
* ... smaller is better
System Performance
The combination of Ryzen APU, dual-channel RAM, and NVMe SSD makes for a smooth and fast system. The laptop offers more than enough performance for typical office and internet applications, and it scored fairly well in our PCMark benchmarks. As expected, it did perform slower than the Ryzen 7-equipped Swift 3 due to the latter’s faster GPU and four extra cores.
| PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2 | 3841 points | |
| PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2 | 3864 points | |
| PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2 | 5085 points | |
| PCMark 10 Score | 4322 points | |
Help | ||
DPC Latencies
Our standardized latency monitor test (browsing the web, 4K video playback, Prime95 load) revealed increased DPC latencies. The system is thus not suited for real-time audio and video-editing purposes.
| DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
| Honor Magicbook 14 | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R4XJ | |
| HP 14s-dq1431ng | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R27B | |
* ... smaller is better
Storage Devices
A 256 GB Hynix NVMe SSD was installed in our review unit. It offered decent transfer rates. A secondary storage device is not supported.
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R27B SK hynix BC511 HFM256GDJTNI-82A0 | Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R4XJ Samsung PM991 MZVLQ1T0HALB | Acer Swift 3 SF314-41-R8HZ WDC PC SN520 SDAPNUW-512G | HP 14s-dq1431ng Intel Optane Memory H10 with Solid State Storage 16GB + 256GB HBRPEKNX0101AH | Honor Magicbook 14 Samsung SSD PM981a MZVLB256HBHQ | Asus ZenBook 14 UM431DA-AM020T SK hynix BC501 HFM512GDHTNG-8310A | Lenovo IdeaPad S540-14API Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ | Average SK hynix BC511 HFM256GDJTNI-82A0 | Average of class Office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6 | 20% | 12% | 37% | 58% | -11% | 47% | 0% | 93% | |
| Write 4K | 96.3 | 98.8 3% | 134.3 39% | 142.8 48% | 137.7 43% | 118.8 23% | 144.3 50% | 119.5 ? 24% | 158.7 ? 65% |
| Read 4K | 35.06 | 32.44 -7% | 43.56 24% | 167.4 377% | 42.49 21% | 41.62 19% | 44.88 28% | 43.9 ? 25% | 61.7 ? 76% |
| Write Seq | 1001 | 1582 58% | 1434 43% | 232.1 -77% | 2341 134% | 796 -20% | 1940 94% | 898 ? -10% | 2427 ? 142% |
| Read Seq | 1072 | 1471 37% | 1448 35% | 1128 5% | 2436 127% | 1101 3% | 2175 103% | 1104 ? 3% | 2611 ? 144% |
| Write 4K Q32T1 | 423.9 | 375.4 -11% | 239.1 -44% | 438 3% | 261 -38% | 234.7 -45% | 272.2 -36% | 380 ? -10% | 400 ? -6% |
| Read 4K Q32T1 | 464.7 | 491.9 6% | 327.6 -30% | 491.2 6% | 335.4 -28% | 313.8 -32% | 360.3 -22% | 432 ? -7% | 519 ? 12% |
| Write Seq Q32T1 | 967 | 1574 63% | 1456 51% | 622 -36% | 2343 142% | 842 -13% | 1946 101% | 823 ? -15% | 3062 ? 217% |
| Read Seq Q32T1 | 2179 | 2329 7% | 1734 -20% | 1566 -28% | 3569 64% | 1645 -25% | 3506 61% | 1998 ? -8% | 4260 ? 96% |
Sustained read performance: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
GPU Performance
The notebook’s APU features an integrated Vega 5 GPU. Looking at our comparison tables revealed that it scored much better than its Vega 6 predecessor found in AMD’s Ryzen 2000 and 3000-series. Its higher clock speeds and support for faster RAM (DDR4-3200 or LPDDR4-4266 vs. DDR4-2400) easily compensate for its lower shader count when compared to the Ryzen 2000’s/3000’s Vega 6 GPU.
Overall, the Vega 5 performed around as fast as Nvidia’s GeForce MX230. As expected, it was unable to keep up with the faster Vega 7 GPU that the 4700U Swift 3 was equipped with. In 3DMark, the Vega 7 performed around 40% faster and was thus more akin to a GeForce MX250.
| 3DMark 06 Standard Score | 15564 points | |
| 3DMark Vantage P Result | 11704 points | |
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 3763 points | |
| 3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score | 86345 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 12224 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 2232 points | |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | 825 points | |
Help | ||
| GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7 | |
| 1920x1080 T-Rex Offscreen | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R4XJ | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R27B | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 5 () | |
| Average of class Office (38 - 210, n=4, last 2 years) | |
| T-Rex Onscreen | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R4XJ | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R27B | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 5 () | |
| Average of class Office (35 - 58, n=4, last 2 years) | |
| GFXBench 3.0 | |
| 1920x1080 1080p Manhattan Offscreen | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R4XJ | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R27B | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 5 () | |
| Average of class Office (18 - 24, n=3, last 2 years) | |
| on screen Manhattan Onscreen OGL | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R4XJ | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R27B | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 5 () | |
| Average of class Office (23 - 49, n=3, last 2 years) | |
| GFXBench 3.1 | |
| 1920x1080 Manhattan ES 3.1 Offscreen | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R4XJ | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R27B | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 5 () | |
| Average of class Office (8.2 - 85, n=4, last 2 years) | |
| on screen Manhattan ES 3.1 Onscreen | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R4XJ | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R27B | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 5 () | |
| Average of class Office (15 - 59, n=4, last 2 years) | |
| LuxMark v2.0 64Bit | |
| Room GPUs-only | |
| Average of class Office (last 2 years) | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R4XJ | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R27B | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 5 () | |
| Sala GPUs-only | |
| Average of class Office (last 2 years) | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R4XJ | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R27B | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 5 () | |
| Geekbench 5.0 | |
| Vulkan Score 5.0 | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R4XJ | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R27B | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 5 () | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-41-R8HZ | |
| HP Pavilion 15-cw1212ng | |
| Lenovo Ideapad C340-15IWL-81N5004QGE | |
| OpenCL Score 5.0 | |
| Average of class Office (3679 - 46103, n=32, last 2 years) | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R4XJ | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-41-R8HZ | |
| Honor Magicbook 14 | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R27B | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 5 () | |
| Lenovo Ideapad C340-15IWL-81N5004QGE | |
| HP Pavilion 15-cw1212ng | |
Gaming Performance
Many of the games in our database run smoothly on the Ryzen APU, primarily those that are either a bit older or have lower hardware requirements, such as for example Dota 2 Reborn, Diablo 3, Sims 4, Starcraft 2, Team Fortress 2, or League of Legends. Some current games were also playable.
| Anno 1800 - 1280x720 Low Graphics Quality (DX11) | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R4XJ | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R27B | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 5 () | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad S540-14API | |
| Asus VivoBook 14 X412FJ-EB023T | |
| HP Pavilion 15-cw1212ng | |
| Overwatch - 1366x768 Medium (Render Scale 100 %) AA:FX AF:2x | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R4XJ | |
| Asus VivoBook 14 F412FJ-EB084T | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R27B | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 5 () | |
| HP Pavilion 15-cw1212ng | |
| Diablo III - 1920x1080 High AA:on | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R4XJ | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R27B | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 5 () | |
| Asus VivoBook 14 X412FJ-EB023T | |
| Average of class Office (last 2 years) | |
| HP Pavilion 15-cw1212ng | |
| Rocket League - 1920x1080 Quality AA:Medium FX | |
| Asus VivoBook 14 F412FJ-EB084T | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad S540-14API | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R4XJ | |
| Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R27B | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 5 () | |
In order to assess the GPU’s sustained load capabilities, we run The Witcher 3 in a 60-minute loop in FHD resolution and maximum details. The avatar remains stationary throughout the entire test. In this test, we did not notice any drop in frame rates, and the GPU was thus able to run at high speeds consistently.
| low | med. | high | ultra | |
| StarCraft 2 (2010) | 266.8 | 93.5 | 54.6 | 34.5 |
| The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011) | 85.1 | 58.2 | 40.6 | 23.5 |
| Diablo III (2012) | 125.3 | 108.4 | 92.3 | 58.3 |
| Counter-Strike: GO (2012) | 162.7 | 127.2 | 84.8 | 50.2 |
| BioShock Infinite (2013) | 111 | 75.9 | 63 | 22 |
| Sims 4 (2014) | 179.4 | 83.1 | 36 | 32.7 |
| GTA V (2015) | 80.3 | 70.7 | 20 | 7.7 |
| The Witcher 3 (2015) | 44.5 | 28.4 | 14.1 | 8.9 |
| Dota 2 Reborn (2015) | 93.3 | 74.2 | 41.4 | 39.1 |
| World of Warships (2015) | 115.5 | 90 | 48.1 | 34.5 |
| Rainbow Six Siege (2015) | 109 | 74 | 39 | 38 |
| Overwatch (2016) | 95 | 68.1 | 34.7 | 18.2 |
| Civilization VI (2016) | 85 | 39 | 14.3 | |
| Rocket League (2017) | 106 | 49.5 | 32.1 | |
| Team Fortress 2 (2017) | 74.7 | 71.1 | 55.6 | 43.9 |
| Fortnite (2018) | 92.1 | 51.5 | 20.5 | 11.5 |
| X-Plane 11.11 (2018) | 31.5 | 24.9 | 22.4 | |
| World of Tanks enCore (2018) | 181 | 43.4 | ||
| Far Cry 5 (2018) | 32 | 15 | 12 | |
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018) | 41 | 14 | 12 | |
| Assassin´s Creed Odyssey (2018) | 30 | 15 | 12 | |
| Battlefield V (2018) | 45.3 | 22.3 | 18.4 | 16.3 |
| Farming Simulator 19 (2018) | 107.4 | 45 | 25.5 | 9.8 |
| Apex Legends (2019) | 50.9 | 19.7 | 14.8 | 14.7 |
| Metro Exodus (2019) | 27.1 | 12.3 | ||
| Dirt Rally 2.0 (2019) | 89.4 | 27.4 | 21.8 | 10.5 |
| The Division 2 (2019) | 32 | 16 | 11 | |
| Anno 1800 (2019) | 45.4 | 14.8 | 8.5 | |
| Rage 2 (2019) | 29.6 | 12.8 | 10.5 | |
| Total War: Three Kingdoms (2019) | 43.3 | 12.5 | 8 | |
| F1 2019 (2019) | 53 | 22 | 20 | 18 |
| Control (2019) | 31.4 | 9.6 | ||
| Borderlands 3 (2019) | 37.5 | 14.8 | 9 | |
| FIFA 20 (2019) | 92.5 | 66 | 58 | 49.3 |
| Ghost Recon Breakpoint (2019) | 24 | 13 | 12 | |
| GRID 2019 (2019) | 46.7 | 22.2 | 13.9 | |
| Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2019 (2019) | 28.3 | 17 | ||
| Need for Speed Heat (2019) | 31.5 | 16.1 | 14 | |
| Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order (2019) | 18.3 | 14.3 | 12.3 | |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 (2019) | 28.8 | 13.2 | 8 | |
| Escape from Tarkov (2020) | 40.6 | 18.5 | 15.6 | |
| Hunt Showdown (2020) | 32.3 | 12.2 | ||
| Gears Tactics (2020) | 64.1 | 24 | 15.2 |
Emissions & Energy – Swift SF314-42 with long battery life
Noise Emissions
Just like its Ryzen 7 sibling the Ryzen 3-equipped Swift 3 remained fairly quiet. The fan was off most of the time when idle, and the device was thus dead silent. It ramped up slightly under load and peaked at 35.6 dB(A). This was slightly higher than on its Ryzen 7 sibling due to the fact that the latter performed our stress test with much lower CPU and GPU clock speeds.
Even though both Swift 3 models featured very similar noise emissions, the Ryzen 3 SKU turned out to be ever so slightly quieter than the Ryzen 7 SKU due to the fact that the latter had to spin up its fan more frequently. This became particularly noticeable during everyday use.
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 30.3 / 30.3 / 30.3 dB(A) |
| Load |
| 32.6 / 35.6 dB(A) |
 | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min:  , med:  , max:  Audix TM1, Arta (15 cm distance) environment noise: 30.3 dB(A) | ||
Temperature
Our stress test (Prime95 and FurMark for at least one full hour) was performed at 2.8-2.9 GHz on mains, with the GPU running at 900 MHz. On battery, the CPU and GPU ran at 2.5 GHz and 700-800 MHz, respectively. Keep in mind that our stress test is an extreme load scenario that does not occur during everyday use. We use this test to determine potential throttling and stability issues.
Both Swift 3 SKUs remained comparatively cool, with the current review unit being the slightly warmer of the two. While performing our stress test, all measuring points reported temperatures of less than 40 °C. Temperatures were overall inconspicuous in everyday use.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 36.2 °C / 97 F, compared to the average of 34.2 °C / 94 F, ranging from 21.2 to 62.5 °C for the class Office.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 39.7 °C / 103 F, compared to the average of 36.7 °C / 98 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 26 °C / 79 F, compared to the device average of 29.5 °C / 85 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 28.1 °C / 82.6 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(±) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 27.7 °C / 81.9 F (-0.4 °C / -0.7 F).
Speakers
Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R27B audio analysis
(-) | not very loud speakers (63.5 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 26.1% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (13.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 1.9% away from median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (7.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 1% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (3.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (21.9% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 52% of all tested devices in this class were better, 9% similar, 39% worse
» The best had a delta of 7%, average was 22%, worst was 53%
Compared to all devices tested
» 58% of all tested devices were better, 7% similar, 35% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Power Consumption
Power consumption when idle peaked at 7.8 W. While running our stress test (Prime95 and FurMark for at least one full hour) we determined a maximum of 31.4 W. The power supply is rated at 65 W.
| Off / Standby | 0.2 / 0.16 Watt |
| Idle | 3.7 / 5.6 / 7.8 Watt |
| Load |
26.4 / 31.4 Watt |
   
| |
Battery Life
Our real-life Wi-Fi battery test simulates typical load while browsing the web. The energy profile is set to “Balanced”, all energy-saving features are disabled, and display brightness is normalized to 150 nits. With these settings, the Swift SF314 ran for 12:04 hours.
Pros
Cons
Verdict
Acer’s 14-inch notebook features AMD’s current entry-level Ryzen 3 4300U APU. It offers enough performance for typical office and internet applications, and its integrated Vega 5 GPU even allows for some limited gaming as long as the hardware requirements are not too taxing. The GPU also ran at full turbo boost speed during our tests.
Acer’s Swift SF314-42 performed very well even with the Ryzen 3 4300U APU.
Nobody expected the Ryzen 3 APU to be able to keep up with its sibling’s 4700U APU. However, it offers its own set of benefits apart from performance. Noise emissions are lower thanks to the less-powerful APU. The Ryzen 3 SKU is also around $300 cheaper. The only difference between the two models is the APU and SSD capacities.
The APU has access to 8 GB of RAM, which cannot be upgraded retroactively since it is soldered onto the motherboard permanently. The SSD can be upgraded, which requires opening the case. This, in turn, was fairly simple. The matte IPS FHD display offers wide viewing angles, decent color representation, and a respectable contrast ratio. Its maximum brightness is too low, as is its color-space coverage. The backlit keyboard worked well in everyday use.
The Swift 3 is housed in a good-looking slim and lightweight metal case. Combined with excellent battery life you get a mobile companion that will easily last a full workday long without needing to be recharged. Speaking of which, charging can be done either via the included power supply or via a USB-C power supply, thanks to the included USB 3.2 Gen 2 USB-C port with support for Power Delivery.
The question is which Swift 3 device to buy. The Ryzen 3 SKU is a mobile all-rounder for all typical everyday applications and challenges. The Ryzen 7 SKU is made for users that run more-demanding applications, such as video or photo editors. Either way, we suggest going for a device with 16 GB of RAM.
Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R27B
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06/15/2020 v7
Sascha Mölck
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