Acer Swift 3X laptop in review: Intel Iris Xe MAX combines high battery life and gaming performance

Acer offers the Swift 3X SF314 in two color variants: Safari Gold and Steam Blue. We have the more discreet gray-blue model in for testing, which at least offers a small eye-catcher with its turquoise-green stripe including the Swift logo between the two hinges.

Otherwise, the high-quality aluminum-magnesium case features a rather restrained design with an elegant haptics. The base is resistant to torsion and can easily be carried by one corner.

The two hinges hold the screen quite firmly in position. This ensures only little wobbling when moving the laptop, but makes it difficult to open the lid with one hand. In addition, there's a slight creaking noise in our test device.

The 14-inch laptop isn't as light as many subnotebooks at just under 1.4 kg, but it doesn't need to shy away in our comparison field. The particularly slim and light Acer Swift 5 SF514 is considerably lighter at around 1 kg. The MSI Modern 14, which is also equipped with a 14-inch display, weighs about the same, while the Lenovo ThinkPad L14 G2 is significantly heavier.

With a thickness of just under 18 mm, the Acer Swift 3X is also on par with the MSI competitor here, but it's two to three millimeters thicker than the other two Swift comparison models. Overall, the device's dimensions make it a pleasantly compact companion that can be stored in a briefcase, backpack, or luggage without taking up much space.

Since the Acer Swift 3X is not as ultra-thin as other Swift models, Acer would actually have enough space here for a comprehensive port arsenal. But the manufacturer only provides the device with two USB Type-A (5 Gb/s) and one USB Type-C (10 Gb/s) with Thunderbolt 4. There's also an HDMI port for external monitors, but LAN port and card reader are absent.

All ports are distributed across the left and right sides. On the left, they are far enough apart that even a larger USB-A stick will not interfere with the neighboring ports.

The integrated Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 Wi-Fi module shows a respectable performance on average. This means that the Acer Swift 3X is not only able to position itself ahead of the average, but it also manages to secure a top 3 place among the competition for sending and receiving data. However, the measured speeds fluctuate relatively strongly over time.

The HD webcam captures colors quite accurately, which is reflected in the ∆E values that are the second lowest ones in the comparison field. The image is passable in both good and poor lighting conditions, and it's sufficient for the intended purposes of a laptop camera.

Except for a fingerprint scanner and a slot for a Kensington lock, there are no other security features.

Acer only includes a 65-watt power adapter with the Swift 3X SF314-510G-70DW. Other accessories are not included in the box. Optionally, the manufacturer offers a range of universal adapters, carrying cases, and more in its online store.

Acer provides the usual 24-month manufacturer's warranty including send-in and return service for its Swift models. Optional service extensions are available starting at 50 Euros (~$57).

With its approximately 1.5 x 1.5 cm keys and firm stroke, the keyboard can be used quite well after a short accustomization period, and it's also pleasantly quiet. This also applies to the space bar, even though it makes a somewhat clattery impression. Pressing the keys with a lot of force causes the case to yield slightly at the center.

Acer uses the F1 to F12 keys for some functions, such as turning Wi-Fi on and off, managing external monitor settings, and switching the keyboard backlight. However, the keyboard illumination can't be dimmed.

The touchpad is slightly offset to the left under the space bar and measures approximately 10.5 x 6.5 cm. Its size is large enough, the feel is comfortable, and it's easy to use. The two integrated mouse buttons in the lower area are not separated haptically, and they're pleasantly quiet in use.

Thanks to the matte display with the fairly high brightness, the Acer Swift 3X SF314-510G-70DW is also well suited for outdoor use. As with most laptops, visibility becomes worse in direct sunlight. However, the device can be used without issues outdoors in a shaded spot.

The Acer Swift 3X that we are reviewing has the model number SF314-510G-70DW and is equipped with the widely used Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor from the Tiger Lake generation, the dedicated Intel Iris Xe MAX GPU with 4 GB of onboard memory, as well as 16 GB of LPDDR4X RAM in dual-channel mode, and a 1 TB SSD. With this configuration, the device should be equipped for all the usual tasks of an office and multimedia device, and also should be good for occasional gaming. The following benchmarks will reveal whether this is confirmed, and whether the device can live up to its theoretical potential.

Alternatively, Acer offers the Swift 3X SF314-510G in other configurations, including the weaker i5-1135G7 and half as much RAM. The Intel Iris Xe Max Graphics is always on board.

The performance measurements were carried out using the "Best Performance" Windows power plan. The manufacturer doesn't provide its own performance modes via the Acer Care Center. The CPU's maximum TDP is 28 watts. When the power adapter is plugged into the Swift 3X, Acer supplies the processor with up to 64 watts (PL2) in the short term and 12 watts (PL1) in the long term load. The PL1 value drops minimally to 11.5 watts on battery power.

The built-in Intel Core i7-1165G7 consists of four cores with a base clock rate of 2.8 GHz and a Turbo clock speed of 4.7 GHz (4.1 GHz for all cores). In our CPU benchmarks, the Acer Swift 3X is consistently ranked in the top three among the competitors, although it never makes it to the very top. As expected, this is where devices with the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5850U, which has a much higher multi-core performance, or the stronger Intel Core i7-11370H are usually found. However, the gap to the latter is quite narrow.

On the other hand, the Swift 3X regularly leaves the rest of the comparison models that have the same CPU behind, and it always positions itself above the Intel Core i7-1165G7's average score. In the Cinebench multi-core test, performance remains very constant over time after a short initial peak, which means that the CPU performance doesn't fluctuate or drop even during prolonged load. The processor performance drops by about 20% to 30% on battery power.

Unfortunately, the Acer laptop isn't able to make full use of the CPU when it comes to system performance, despite the fast RAM. Above all, the slow SSD, which we will discuss in more detail below, reveals itself to be a brake. The scores fluctuate considerably in the end, but they're generally in the midfield. In our test, however, we didn't notice any issues with the device in everyday use.

The manufacturer didn't do itself any big favors with the choice of the SSD. It offers a lot of storage space with its 1 TB capacity in our current configuration. However, it's certainly not the fastest, and is usually found in the lower half, sometimes at the very bottom of our comparison field, in the various SSD performance tests.