Acer Swift X Announced — Premium Performance For a Budget Price

Gaming laptops like the Acer Swift X don’t come all that often. In fact, they’re surprisingly rare although, to be fair, it’s easy to understand why. Cramming some mighty potent hardware — tuned for gaming, no less — into small and light chassis is often ill-advised because of the many inherent limitations and challenges that come with such an endeavor.

These components draw a lot of power which, in turn, means they require ample cooling. And, naturally, with these laptops being thin and light, there’s only so much cooling potential. Plus, gaming on a 14″ screen isn’t exactly the most luxurious of experiences. What you gain in portability, you lose in overall immersion.

Be that as it may, the idea of having a powerful 14″ gaming laptop is still as alluring as ever. The Asus Zephyrus G14 was the first of its kind, but it seems that laptop manufacturers are getting better and better at creating astoundingly compact laptops that are also sufficient for a bit of (relatively hardcore) gaming on the side.

So what makes the Acer Swift X so darn special?

Acer Swift X | Incredible Internals

The most important part about the Swift X is the hardware that’s packed within its shinny enclosure. The design itself is rather bland and pedestrian, with a 16:9 screen and a tried-and-true combination of metal and plastic — the kind that’s oh-so-prevalent with budget gaming laptops.

But, in this case, you really shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. The build itself is rather “safe” and unimpressive, but the most important part are the internals — and that’s precisely where Acer delivered big time!

This incredible little machine comes equipped with an AMD Ryzen 5000 series processor — the latest and greatest mobile offering from “team red.” We’re talking about unparalleled levels of performance within a fairly modest TDP, along with class-leading efficiency and multi-core results that can make even some full-fledged desktop CPU look inadequate.

The screen also warrants a bit of attention: it’s a 14″ FHD 60Hz IPS panel that covers 100% of the sRGB color gamut (great for basically all kinds of creative work) with ±300 nits of brightness — not spectacular, but definitely sufficient for indoor use.

‘Entry-Level’ Ray-Tracing — For Less Than $1000

Last but certainly not least, the Swift X can be equipped with either an RTX 3050 or 3050 Ti, both of which will churn out all the frames you need for an enjoyable gaming experience, regardless if you’re an esports gamer or are more partial to the triple A side of things. The inclusion of DLSS 2.0 will also bolster your frame rates without any noticeable drop off in visual fidelity — assuming that the game you’re playing supports it, of course.

The 3050 model will start off at $899/€899 which, in all fairness, is quite the bargain. It might not be the most powerful gaming laptop on the market, but if you don’t mind playing on Medium/High settings (at 1080p), then it’ll definitely get the job done. All in all, you’d be hard-pressed to find a gaming laptop that offers this much bang-for-your-buck, especially in the 14″ segment of the market!