Acer is trying its best to reduce this problem by offering you its AcerSense application (complete with the custom “a” key on the top row of the keyboard), where you can switch from separate images to integrated, set certain screen settings such as dynamic brightness and color. profile selection, use system diagnostics, and most importantly throttle operation as needed. Four performance levels are available, ending in “Quiet” at the low end. You’d think that would throttle the CPU to the point where the fan wouldn’t run at all, but it doesn’t. Even in Quiet mode, the fan runs constantly—albeit slowly. Silent Machine also took about a 40 percent hit in graphics performance and 25 percent when running standard apps.
The Swift X is a power-hungry beast, and while it charges through one of its USB-C ports, you’ll need to use the 100-watt charger included with the device. It will charge with a standard, low-drain adapter, but will not reach full capacity, even when powered down.
Photo: Christopher Null
Don’t get me wrong, a laptop has many good qualities. Ports are adequate for a device of this size, including two USB-A and two USB-C ports (again, one is used for charging), a full-sized HDMI port, and a microSD card slot. The keyboard is fine if unremarkable, it’s well integrated into the chassis, and the touchpad is spacious without being horribly large. And the understated black metal gray design is professional and modern.
It’s not the lightest machine—it weighs 3.4 pounds and is 25 millimeters thick at its widest point—but those numbers aren’t outrageous for a laptop that packs invisible graphics into a 14.5-inch package.
Photo: Christopher Null
But for what purpose? Overall stability isn’t great, as I experienced some odd visual glitches like flickering images during my week with the system. Battery life of just over seven and a half hours isn’t bad but it’s worse than most competing laptops. And while performance is good across the board, there are plenty of devices on the market that handily beat this standard, including Acer’s Nitro 17. Sure, that’s a bigger laptop, but it has 50 percent better graphics performance while being $450 cheaper. .
While the Swift X 14 has some great features, it’s a little hard to decide who it’s really for—perhaps a casual gamer or a graphic designer who’s always on the go and therefore has to pack light. That would be a possibility, but the Swift doesn’t perform well enough to justify the $1,700 price tag, and the noisy fan and heat issues do nothing to further that case.