06 Feb
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Acer Swift 3X Review: Intel’s Iris Xe Max Takes the Stage

Acer Swift 3x rating Iris xe max 1

"The Acer Swift 3X presents Intel's impressive Iris Xe Max in a top-class package."

  • Great job

  • Excellent battery life

  • Aesthetics are attractive

  • Rounded port selection

  • The display is overwhelming

  • The processing quality does not meet the premium standards

  • Bad gaming performance

Intel released its first discrete GPU in 20 years, the Iris Xe Max. However, that doesn't necessarily mean trying to compete with Nvidia for gaming laptops. It was not specifically designed to speed up games, but rather to work with the CPU and speed up a variety of other tasks. An interesting idea for thin and light laptops, right?

So far, the Iris Xe Max has come in three laptops, and we got one of them – the mid-range Acer Swift 3X – for review.

The Acer Swift 3X is not a cheap laptop in its Iris Xe Max configuration – at least not for a typical Swift laptop. At Amazon, it costs $ 1,240 with a Core i7-1165G7, 16 GB LPDDR4X RAM, 1 TB PCIe Solid State Drive (SSD) storage, and a 14-inch Full HD IPS display (1920 x 1080 ) in the aging school 16: 9 aspect ratio. You can spend $ 899 and get a version with only Iris Xe graphics, a Core i5-1135G7, 8 GB of RAM, and a 512 GB SSD.

Does the Iris Xe Max graphics make this laptop a must-have mid-range laptop?

performance

We start with the performance because in this test the rubber hits the road. Either the Iris Xe Max makes a difference to real-world tasks or it doesn't. This is the make-or-break test for the Acer Swift 3X. Reading the description of Intel's GPU will expose you to a variety of buzzwords and jargon, but we will skip most of them here. If you want to dig into the details of the new GPU, check out our guide to Intel's Discrete GPUs and our insight into the Iris Xe Max.

However, one term to keep in mind is deep link. This is Intel's term for technology that tightly ties the CPU and GPU (both Iris Xe and Iris Xe Max) together to enable some sophisticated functionality. Not all of them are yet activated or supported by today's software. So we focus on just one thing: Deep Link Dynamic Power Share. With this function, the system can "switch off" the GPU and supply the CPU with the entire system performance. With the Swift 3X and its 11th generation Core i7, more than 28 watts of power and heat can be delivered to the CPU if required, which should theoretically accelerate CPU-intensive tasks.

The Acer Swift 3X occasionally even questions the performance of H-series machines.

It works? Yes, it actually does. The Swift 3X was competitive in all of our performance benchmarks and occasionally took the crown for the fastest Tiger Lake laptop we tested. This makes it one of the fastest laptops in the U series and occasionally even challenges machines from the H series.

It can't compete with AMD's Ryzen 4000 (or the upcoming Ryzen 5000 laptops) in all cases, but it does show up a lot stronger than most non-Max laptops. However, is that enough to make Iris Xe Max an exciting development? Perhaps not at this point – the GPU on its own makes the Acer Swift 3X a fast laptop, but not without challengers in AMD and Apple, which are faster and either cheaper, thinner and lighter, or both. We'll have to wait and see what other features Iris Xe Max has to offer before we can speak of an unconditional success.

We start with Cinebench R23, where the Swift 3X scored 5944 points in multi-core mode and 1496 points in single-core mode. I tried the utility to switch from optimized mode to performance mode and I didn't see much of a difference unlike some others (e.g. the HP Command Center utility in the Specter x360 14) that have greater impact. This multi-core score is the fastest we've seen in an Intel U-Series CPU. It beats faster Core i7-1185G7 laptops like the MSI Prestige 14 Evo (5,789) and the Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 in its more effective performance mode (4,988).

Note that with a 45-watt Core i7-10750H, the Razer Blade scored 6,166, meaning the Swift 3X was in close proximity to a much faster CPU.

In Geekbench 5, the Swift 3X wasn't quite as strong – probably because Dynamic Power Share has the greatest impact on longer, sustained processes. The Swift 3X scored 1,551 points in the single-core test and 5,847 points in the multi-core test. The Prestige 14 Evo was slightly faster (1,593 and 5,904), as was the Intel Tiger Lake reference laptop, which is based on the same MSI computer (1,563 and 5,995). The Acer Swift 5 with the same CPU as the Swift 3X scored higher in the single-core test with 1,580 and almost as high in the multi-core test with 5,836. Interestingly, the Swift 3X managed to outperform the Lenovo Yoga 9i 15 with a Core i7-10750H (1,285 and 5,551).

In our handbrake test, which encodes a 420MB video as H.265, the Swift 3X finished the process in 2 minutes and 36 seconds, which is again (technically) the fastest among Intel U-series laptops. The Prestige 14 Evo – also with its faster CPU – took four seconds longer, which resulted in a virtual tie. Note that the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 with an AMD Ryzen 4800U processor takes 2.2 minutes to complete. This means that while Iris Xe Max speeds up Tiger Lake's performance, it cannot compete with AMD on some tasks.

Finally, I ran the PCMark 10 Complete benchmark, where the Swift 3X scored 5,117 points. This is the second highest score in our laptop database, only behind the Lenovo Yoga 9i 15. The individual essentials, productivity and creation values ​​of the Swift 3X were not all individually highest, but were in the upper range. To examine the creation portion of the test, which focuses on photo editing, video rendering and playback, and video editing, the Swift 3X had the highest score (5,334) of any U-series laptops we tested – shown once again, Deep Link does its Job.

The closest was the Prestige Evo 14 with 5036 points. This is a good sign of performance in Adobe apps and other creative tools, which will only improve as more Deep Link features are introduced. Simply put, the Swift 3X did very well in this benchmark.

Intel didn't specifically design the Iris Xe Max to speed up modern games.

Intel's Iris Xe Max has a real impact on a laptop's performance even at this early stage. The Swift 3X screams through productivity tasks and is well suited for creative tasks for a U-series CPU. If you're looking for the fastest CPU performance in an Intel-based ultrabook, contrary to your intuition, you should choose a model that includes Intel's discrete GPU.

If you're looking for a gaming laptop, as mentioned in the introduction, Intel didn't specifically design the Iris Xe Max for speeding up modern games. With some titles it works well, with others Intel transfers the order to the Iris Xe, which is also on board. The Iris Xe Max did well in the 3DMark Time Spy benchmark with 1,889, which is a few hundred points above the typical Iris Xe GPU.

In Fortnite, however, the Max managed 34 fps (frames per second) with 1080p and high graphics and 22 fps with epic graphics. This is comparable to the Yoga 9i 14, which achieved 40 fps and 27 fps in performance mode, and the MSI Prestige 14 Evo, which achieved 42 fps and 28 fps. Fortnite is clearly a title that the Iris Xe Max doesn't shine on.

design

Acer didn't just copy the design of the non-Max Acer Swift 3 when creating the Swift 3X. There are some similarities, but the Swift 3X looks very different, including a choice between Steam Blue (my review unit) and Safari Gold instead of plain utility silver.

The hinge has also been redesigned and decorated in an “electric blue” that draws attention to the laptop lid. And the back corners have a nice angularity that adds to the aesthetics. However, it is not an attention seeker like the HP Specter x360 14. The bezels disappoint a bit. First, they're not as small as some other modern day laptops, with a screen-to-body ratio of 84% (many exceed 90%), and second, they're made of plastic rather than behind the glass. This gives the laptop a no-nonsense look when viewed from the front.

The Swift 3X isn't quite as slim as some of its 14-inch competitors, either.

The construction doesn't quite match the standard of many other premium laptops. The chassis is made entirely of aluminum, but the lid is quite flexible and the keyboard deck has some flex. However, the underside of the chassis is robust. The hinge is very stiff and requires both hands to open the laptop – in contrast to the Dell XPS 13, which can be easily opened with one hand – but holds the display firmly in place. Overall, I'd say the build quality is more in the mid-range than the premium range, which makes the laptop more attractive than the $ 1,200 on my review unit at a starting price of $ 899. The MSI Prestige 14 Evo, for example, is the same price – without the Iris Xe Max, of course – and feels a lot more solid than the Swift 3X.

The Swift 3X isn't quite as slim as some of its 14-inch competitors, either. It comes in at 0.71 inches thick and weighs 3.02 pounds. This compares to the Prestige 14 Evo at 0.63 inches at 2.85 pounds, the Asus ZenBook 14 UX425 at 0.54 inches and 2.58 pounds, and the Acer Swift 5 at 0.59 inches and 2.31 pounds. It's not that the Swift 3X is a humorous ultrabook – it just doesn't feel as thin and light as some of the other options.

Finally, the Swift 3X offers a solid range of connectivity options. On the left side of the case, you'll find a proprietary power port (which will likely provide enough juice for the Iris Xe Max), a full-size HDMI 2.0 port, a USB-A 3.2 port, and a USB-C port with Thunderbolt 4 On the right side you will find another USB-A 3.2 port and a 3.5 mm audio jack. What you won't find is an SD card reader. This is a bummer as this machine is at least partially geared towards creative types.

The wireless connection is provided via Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1.

display

The Swift 3X has a 14-inch Full HD 16: 9 IPS display which, according to my colorimeter, is generally a little below average for premium laptops. For example, the color gamut is a bit narrow at 95% of sRGB and 71% of AdobeRGB (premium laptops usually achieve 97% and 75%, respectively). However, the color accuracy is quite good at 1.18, with 1.0 or less being considered excellent.

At the same time, the brightness is 284 nits below our 300 NIT threshold, which ensures that a display with the typical bright office environment lighting is visible. And the worst contrast is at 740: 1, where many premium laptops are at 1000: 1 or more, or at least very close to it. The combination of brightness, low contrast and a narrow color gamut gives the display a subdued appearance.

Overall, the display is certainly good for productivity work and watching Netflix, but it won't blow your mind. Throw in the 16: 9 aspect ratio when many competitors are switching to higher ratios like 16:10 and 3: 2 and the Swift 3X's display isn't exactly impressive.

Audio is closer to par, with two downward-facing speakers that provide enough volume for YouTube videos but not enough for watching a Netflix movie with friends. The mids and highs are fine, but the bass is missing. You want to use headphones or bluetooth speakers for Netflix binging and listening to music.

Keyboard and touchpad

It appears that Acer pulled the keyboard from the previous Acer Swift 3. The Swift 3X has the same appearance, meaning the keycaps are smaller, which in my experience leads to a search for keys. The mechanism is very clicky and requires a bit of pressure to intervene, but offers a solid ground effect. It depends on preference, of course, but I would rate the keyboard as being behind the HP Specter x360 14 and Dell XPS 13 in terms of accuracy and general typing speed.

The touchpad is small but functional. The surface is pleasant to swipe and the keys respond, but are a bit loud. Thanks to the Microsoft Precision touchpad drivers, multi-touch gestures react quickly and precisely. There is no touch display which is a shame for me personally. I miss touch when it's not there, especially for scrolling long web pages and tapping the occasional on-screen button.

Windows 10 Hello login support without a password is provided by a fingerprint reader in the upper right corner of the keyboard deck. It was quick and accurate in my tests.

Battery life

You'd think that 59 watt hours of battery life in a 14-inch laptop and very fast CPU performance could result in poor battery life. You'd be wrong as the Swift 3X is way behind the nine hours of typical Evo spec use.

In our web benchmark, which runs through a number of popular websites before the laptop goes to sleep, the Swift 3X lasted 11.5 hours. The Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 outperformed this by more than an hour and the MSI Prestige 14 Evo by almost four hours. Next, I went through our video test grinding a Full HD Avengers trailer and the Swift 3X lasted about 15.75 hours, a strong score that is still nearly three hours less than the Yoga 9i 14 and 30 minutes less than the MSI Prestige 14 Evo was.

In the battery test for PCMark 10 applications, the Swift 3X lasted 14 hours, second only to the Yoga 9i 14 in our database and almost four hours longer than the Prestige 14 Evo. In the PCMark 10 gaming test, which stresses both the CPU and the GPU, the Swift 3X only lasted 1.5 hours, which was the worst, with the Prestige 14 Evo and Dell XPS 13 finishing second and third. Most other laptops lasted about an hour longer than the Swift 3X in this test.

Overall, the Swift 3X showed solid battery life that lasted a full day with no issues, at least as long as you don't push the CPU and GPU. Again, the Swift 3X exceeds the Intel Evo certification requirements of nine hours of typical use, which not every Evo-certified laptop we tested has achieved.

Our opinion

The Acer Swift 3X on its own is a pretty mundane, high-budget, low-midrange ultrabook without considering the inclusion of the Iris Xe Max. The components are okay for $ 1,200, but the build quality and keyboard aren't snuff-safe.

Take advantage of the great CPU performance of the Iris Xe Max and Deep Link, plus long battery life, and the Swift 3X becomes a more attractive option. It's a good choice for anyone who wants to occasionally encode video but don't want to spend the money on a laptop with a 45 watt CPU and faster discrete GPU.

Are there alternatives?

The MSI Prestige 14 Evo is almost as fast as the Swift 3X without the Iris Xe Max on board and costs the same. It's also thinner, lighter, better built, and better looking. However, the Swift 3X offers better battery life.

If you are looking for the ultimate in CPU performance, then you should take a look at an AMD Ryzen 4000 laptop (soon to be Ryzen 5000). One option today is the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 with the Ryzen 7 4800U. It's cheaper than the Swift 3X, but it offers much faster CPU performance and extends battery life.

Finally, the Dell XPS 13 9310 remains a solid competitor, as is the case with every laptop we test in the 13- or 14-inch class. It has a smaller display, but a productivity-friendly aspect ratio of 16:10. The XPS 13 is also significantly better built, also offers a superior display, and can be configured with more RAM and storage.

How long it will take?

The Acer Swift 3X is not the most rugged notebook we've tested, but it should offer years of reliable service. The components are up to date which is a plus, but the 1 year warranty (industry standard) is, as usual, too short.

Should you buy it?

No. Iris Xe Max graphics offer the best CPU performance you can get in an Intel-based ultrabook. However, if CPU performance is most important to you, there are other, better options. And apart from the equipment of the Iris Xe Max, the Swift 3X cannot be particularly highlighted.

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