Acer Swift 3 SF315-51G-55Z9

Specifications

Pricecompare

Reviews for the Acer Swift 3 SF315-51G-55Z9

Acer Swift 3 – test smukłego laptopa
Source: PC Lab.pl PL→EN Archive.org version
Positive: Stylish design; nice performance; decent speakers; long battery life. Negative: Heavy; weak processor; high price.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 11/22/2017

Comment

Model: The Acer Swift 3 SF315-51G-55Z9 is a compact multimedia notebook with a ULV dual-core processor, the new Nvidia GeForce MX150, 8 GB RAM, and an IPS Full HD display. The device is also suitable for mobile office use and can handle the more demanding software without any problems, thanks to the security features and a good battery life. In addition to the 128 GB system SSD, there is also a conventional hard drive with a 1 TB capacity. Acer provides this model with a metal case. Acer put neat silver edges around the base, the touchpad, and the fingerprint scanner. These form the visual highlights, together with the edgy hinge typical for Acer and the silver Acer lettering on the back. However, the top of the base and the lid have a brushed-metal finish which makes fingerprints stand out. Acer has chosen a reflective IPS display with a 15.6-inch diagonal in Full HD resolution, which appears razor-sharp, despite its mediocre 141 PPI. Thanks to the lowest black value of the competition in the test at 0.18 cd/m², the Swift 3 achieves a very good contrast of 1,378:1 despite low brightness. Since the display is reflective and not particularly bright, it is difficult to impossible to escape the ever-present reflections outdoors, even in the easier conditions of a cloudy day. As for the processor, the current Core i5-7200U is probably the most widely used Intel Kaby-Lake ULV processor, which is often encountered in office or business and multimedia notebooks in particular. Thanks to its two cores with Hyper-Threading and a basic clock speed of 2.5 GHz to 3.1 GHz (Turbo), it handles even the most demanding tasks without any complaints, but it is less suitable for demanding games.

With the new Pascal-based GeForce MX150 (Laptop GT 1030, GP-108 chip), Nvidia has finally introduced into the market the long-anticipated successor of the widely used but now outdated GeForce 940MX, which could or can often be found in multimedia laptops. The standard memory capacity is 2 GB of GDDR5-VRAM with an effective clock speed of 6000 MHz. The MX150 represents a clear improvement compared to CPU graphics such as the Intel HD 620. It enables medium presets at 1.366 x 768 pixels even in many of the current games. Right-handed people will thank Acer for positioning the only USB-2.0 port, which is intended for an external mouse, sensibly far back on the right side. Next to it is just the card reader, from which half of the SD card will still stick out, and the opening for the Kensington lock. In this way, there can be no collisions between cables and USB sticks. The USB 3.0, HDMI, and audio ports are in the back area of the left side. Acer deserves praise for this almost ideal positioning of the ports. The Acer Swift 3 SF315-51G-55Z0 has a fingerprint-sensor for placing the finger. After a setup procedure with Windows Hello, the laptop could be unlocked quickly and reliably with it. A Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0 is also included. The Swift 3 SF315-51G-55Z9 is a good laptop for the standard office usage and a bit of gaming.

Hands-on article by Jagadisa Rajarathnam

NVIDIA GeForce MX150: Pascal GP108 based laptop graphics card and mobile version of the desktop GeForce GT 1030. Offers 384 shader cores and usually 2 GB GDDR5 with a 64 Bit memory bus. Manufactured in 14nm.

Modern games should be playable with these graphics cards at low settings and resolutions. Casual gamers may be happy with these cards.

» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.

i5-7200U: Kaby-Lake based SoC with two CPU cores clocked at 2.5 to 3.1 GHz, HyperThreading and manufactured with an improved 14nm process.» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.

15.60":

15-inch display variants are the standard and are used for more than half of all laptops.

The reason for the popularity of mid-sized displays is that this size is reasonably easy on the eyes, often allows high resolutions and thus offers rich details on the screen, yet does not consume too much power and the devices can still be reasonably compact - simply the standard compromise.

Acer: In 1976, the company was founded in Taiwan under the name Multitech and was renamed Acer or Acer Group in 1987. The product range includes, for example, laptops, tablets, smartphones, desktops, monitors, TVs and computer peripherals. Since 2007, the group has merged with Gateway Inc. and Packard Bell, which also market their own laptop product lines.

Acer computers are designed for a variety of purposes, including ultrabooks for mobile use, gaming laptops for gamers, affordable options for everyday tasks, and 2-in-1 convertible laptops for versatility. Acer's product portfolio also includes tablets that offer portable computing and multimedia capabilities.

83.6%: This rating is slightly above average, there are somewhat more devices with worse ratings. However, clear purchase recommendations look different.

» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.

Devices from a different Manufacturer and/or with a different CPU