Acer Swift 3X is one of the first laptops to use Intel’s Iris Xe Max discrete graphics.

If you are an aspiring content creator, you’ll need a powerful ultraportable laptop. But those usually come with a hefty price tag. Acer might have solved this problem for you. Their newest Swift 3X laptop packs premium components in a slim portable casing, and it looks great. The best part: it might be one of the cheapest laptops for creators on the market.

Acer Swift 3X: Specs Summary

• CPU: Intel Core i 11th generation
• RAM: up to 16GB
• GPU: Iris Xe Max discrete graphics
• Display: 14” FHD IPS 60Hz matte display.
• Storage: 1TB NVME SSD
• Price: from $899.99
• OS: Windows 10 Home

Light and Modern Design

The Swift 3X looks more like a traditional laptop with a 16:09 aspect ratio and has a premium look, like the Acer Swift 5. It has an aluminum chassis and narrow bezels that offer up an 84% screen-to-body radio to enable users to see more of the 14-inch FHD matte display IPS 1080p. Also, the 72% NTSC color gamut brings images and videos, vivid and detailed. As well, the Acer ExaColor and Acer Color Intelligence lessens eye strain and improves color, respectively. The Acer Swift 3X houses 720p HD camera, sports a silver Acer logo and weighs 3.02 lb. 

Acer Swift 3X: Performance

It has one of the better ones integrated GPU that gives you pretty good performance. The 11th Intel Core processor, and Intel’s first discrete Iris Xe MAX graphics allows you to finish your tasks faster.

As we mentioned, the device has Intel Iris Xe Max graphics, which means there’s Intel dedicated GPU inside. However, this GPU is not that faster than the Xe chip integrated on the laptop, but it does have higher boost clock speed, which gives better performance. The idea is to have the GPU working in tandem with the dedicated GPU. For example, you can enjoy using these two powerful internals for certain applications such as Adobe Photoshop, but there are some applications that don’t benefit from this yet, like Adobe Premier.

When it comes to gaming, it’s a little different because some applications do not see a difference in terms of frame per second (FPS), while others experience 10 FPS increase. Please note, that the Acer Swift 3X is not a gaming laptop, however, you can still play games in low resolution settings.

Acer Swift 3X: Whom Is It For

The Acer Swift 3X is a laptop designed for content creators professionals who do encoding, transcoding, rendering, live streamers, in which the integrated GPU and dedicated GPU work together speeding up the workloads. Also, it has ultra-fast SSD, speedy video transcoding and great color options. Furthermore, it has multiple cooling modes, dual heat pipes and device-lifting hinge, all combine to enhance the laptop performance.  

Overall, this laptop is on the expensive side, but it is definitely more affordable comparing to some other computers for creators out there. Basically, you’d have to know exactly what are you going to do with your Acer Swift 3X in order to take advantage of its perks.

Acer Swift 3X: Keyboard And Battery

The keyboard offers excellent tactile feedback and there is a rectangular fingerprint scanner that works with Windows Hello. Furthermore, the touchpad is spacious with 4.1 x 2.5-inch dimensions. The device supports Precision Touchpad drives for seamless three-finger tapping or two-finger scrolling gestures.

According to Acer, the Swift 3X battery lasts for up 17.5 hours. Also, you have the option to be fast charged in 30” to provide 4-hours of use, in case of emergency. 

Acer Swift 3X: Connectivity And Ports 

You are getting good connectivity options, including the latest tech via dual-band Intel Wi-Fi 6 (GIG+) and Bluetooth 5.1. Moreover, the Acer Swift 3X has a decent stock of ports which are six. On the left side you’ll find HDMI 2.0, USB Type-A 3.2 Gen 1 and Thunderbolt 4, while on the right side, there are more USB Type-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, a headset, microphone jack and Kensington lock slot. 

Acer Swift 3X: Configurations And Price

The Acer Swift 3X comes with 14-inch, 1080p display, a quad-core 2.4 GHz Intel Core i5-1135G7 CPU, 8GB of RAM, 512GB SSD, and Intel Iris Xe Max graphics. The price for this device is $1,199 for the internals mentioned, however, you’ll find a base price of $899. Plus, it’s available in two colors which are Steam Blue and Safari Gold.

Acer Swift Trade-in Value

There are plenty of options when it comes to selling a pre-owned laptop. As far as prices go, we’d like to share a few examples of what you can get paid based on your laptop’s model and its condition. Please note that those estimates are being frequently revised to bring them in accordance with rapidly changing market values. Prices you see below will be updated in the future: 

• Acer Swift 3 Series Intel Core i7 8th Gen. CPU in good condition and fully working, can get you up to $170*.
• For a fully functional pre-owned Acer Swift 7 Series Intel Core i5 7th Gen. CPU in flawless condition the offer is $140*.

In Conclusion 

As we have established, Acer Swift 3X is one of the first laptops to feature a dedicated Intel GPU technology. Acer made it specifically with digital creators in mind. And if you are looking to upgrade, Acer trade in might be a place to start! 

*Priced on 04/08/2021. Subject to change.