Acer Swift 3 SF316-51 in review: Does the laptop do its name justice?

The Acer Swift 3 SF316-51 features a gray metal case that leaves a high-quality and elegant impression, while also being pleasant to the touch.

The two hinges that hold the screen in place have been adjusted pretty tightly. As a result, the opened screen wobbles a bit with movement, but it can still be opened and positioned with one hand.

Most comparison models are equipped with a 15.6-inch display, which is marginally smaller than the 16.1-inch display of the Acer Swift 3 SF316-51-75MK. Nevertheless, thanks to the narrow display bezels, the device is barely larger apart from a few millimeters.

Our review sample doesn't need not shy away from facing the Huawei MateBook D 16-53011VFJ and the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16IHU6, both of which have 16-inch displays as well. The MateBook D 16 is almost the same size, but it's a bit thicker and weighs the same at around 1.7 kg. The IdeaPad 5 is a bit narrower, but longer and thicker in return. Consequently, the Swift 3 leaves a good impression, scoring points with compact dimensions and a pleasantly light weight that even the 15.6-inch comparison devices can't beat. It weighs less than 2 kg including the power adapter.

All ports are distributed between the left and right sides of the case. The ports are all located in the rear area due to the shape of the sides, which are narrower towards the front. However, there's enough space between them, so that they don't interfere with each other.

There's an HDMI output as well as a Thunderbolt 4 port available via USB Type-C for connecting external monitors. However, there is no network connection.

The built-in Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 performs solidly in the test, but it remains below average when sending data. Bluetooth version 5.1 is available for additional wireless connections.

With an average DeltaE of 10.6, the 720p webcam performs decently in terms of color reproduction. It's definitely sufficient for video calls and the like.

A slot for a Kensington Lock is integrated into the right side of the device. There are no additional security features.

Only the adequately sized 65-watt charger is included in the box. Further accessories aren't included, but they can be purchased directly from the manufacturer in the form of universal cases, adapters, and more.

Acer provides the usual 24-month manufacturer's warranty with send-in and return service for the Swift laptops in Germany. Optionally, it's possible to purchase service extensions for a third year in exchange for 50 to 150 Euros (~$58 to ~$173).

Keyboard

In addition to the keyboard with a solid key size, Acer has also integrated an extremely compact numeric keypad into the 16.1-inch case. Apart from the 2 cm wide borders to the left and right, the manufacturer makes use of the entire width of the device.

The typing experience is good, and noise development is moderate. This makes it easy to type quickly, especially since the keys are very legible even in the dark thanks to the backlight.

The fingerprint sensor's placement is a bit uninspired; it's located in the center below the numpad, on the top edge of the palm rest. It's rather hard to reach with the thumb, but it can be used comfortably with the middle finger.

This Acer Swift 3 with the model number SF316-51-75MK is equipped with the powerful Intel Core i7-11370H and its integrated Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs. Furthermore, the manufacturer has equipped it with 16 GB of LPDDR4x RAM in quad-channel mode along with a 512 GB SSD connected via PCI Express.

Alternatively to the configuration with the model number SF316-51-75MK (NX.ABDEV.007), Acer also offers the Swift 3 with the Intel Core i5-11300H and 8 GB LPDDR4x of RAM in the form of the SF316-51-54R8 (NX.ABDEG.002). The recommended retail price of this less powerful version is 899 Euros (~$1,039), which is 100 Euros (~$116) less than the price of our test model.

The built-in Intel Core i7-11370H is from Intel's current Tiger Lake series and was only introduced this year. At the moment, it can only be found in relatively few devices, such as the RedmiBook Pro 15 comparison model. The CPU is largely identical to the more widespread Intel Core i7-1185G7, but it allows manufacturers to set a TDP between 28 and 35 watts. In this case, Acer opted for 35 watts, thereby taking full advantage of the CPU's performance. In Boost mode, the quad-core processor operates at up to 4.8 GHz, while the base clock speed is 3.3 GHz.

Thanks to the high TDP configuration, the Intel Core i7-11370H behaves aggressively in the benchmarks and takes the lead in Cinebench's single-core scores. As usual, it has to give way to the contenders based on AMD's latest Ryzen CPUs in multi-core tests.

After a short initial drop, the processor performed consistently over time in the endurance test, matching the level of the Xiaomi RedmiBook Pro 15 equipped with the same CPU (with a variable PL1).

In the practical test, the system runs pleasantly smooth even under heavy load. The various PCMark 10 benchmarks reveal a good performance, in which the Acer Swift 3 SF316-51 is usually positioned at the top, competing directly with the RedmiBook Pro 15. The opponents equipped with the Core i5-11300H and similar CPUs generally don't stand a chance of coming close to this performance level.

Calling the 512 GB SSD an Achilles' heel might be a bit exaggerated. But overall, most other comparison devices show better results in the various read and write benchmarks. As such, it comes in last in the long-term read test, among other categories.

However, since SSDs, which are quite fast by default, are usually no longer the big bottleneck in a PC system that HDDs were at the time, this is only a side note in the end, as no issues are noticeable in daily work. After all, the device still manages to get ahead of the average of devices equipped with the same SSD.

Acer refrains from implementing a dedicated graphics solution in the Swift 3. Instead, it relies on the processor's capable Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs GPU. The base clock speed of the graphics engine, which is equipped with 1 GB of RAM, is 400 MHz. When it's under load, it can run at up to 1,350 MHz in Boost mode.

An advantage of not having a separate graphics card is that the device consumes less energy as we'll see in more detail below. Nevertheless, the GPU offers sufficient performance for many application purposes. After all, it's known to be on par with the GeForce MX350 laptop in many aspects, and it can even keep up with the GeForce MX450 in some cases.

The device achieves a score of 6,436 points in 3DMark 11 on battery power. This means that the performance available when the power adapter is not connected is only about 5% lower than with an external power supply.

The Acer Swift 3 at hand is definitely not a gaming device, which is evident by the lack of a dedicated graphics solution alone. Nevertheless, it performs more than adequately in benchmarks, especially when it comes to older games. The Witcher 3, for example, can be played without issues at medium graphics settings, and even at high graphics settings with slight limitations.

Overall, the device ranks in the middle of the test field - and this despite the fact that most of the other comparison models are equipped with a dedicated GPU. For instance, the Dell Inspiron 15 5518-2X3JR with the Nvidia GeForce MX450 lags behind. In addition, the Swift 3 always performs well above the average Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs GPU.

The CPU's integrated graphics show that they're capable of quite a bit, so the occasional gaming session shouldn't be a problem for the review sample. That is, of course, provided that the user's performance and graphics expectations aren't too high.