Acer Swift 3 (2021)

Acer Swift 3 (2021)

Manufacturer	Acer
Product family	Swift
Release date	January 2021 (2021-01)
Introductory price	USD 700 to 1000
Discontinued	No
Operating system	Windows 10 Home (Can be configured with Windows 10 Pro)
CPU	Intel Core i5-1135G7 Intel Core i7-1165G7
Memory	8 or 16 GB LPDDR4X
Memory slots	None (soldered)
Storage	256 GB, 512 GB, or 1 TB PCIe NVMe SSD
Storage slots	1 user accessible
Display	Screen size: 14 inch Panel type: IPS Coating: Matte (anti-glare) Resolution: 1920 x 1080 PPI: 157 Aspect ratio: 16:9 Refresh rate: 60 Hz Brightness: 300 Nits Contrast ratio: 1000:1 sRGB: 100 % Adobe RGB: 72 % P3: 75 % Screen-to-body ratio: 82 %
Graphics	Intel Iris Xe Graphics
Sound	2 x 2 W stereo speakers
Camera	Front: 720p with dual microphone
Touchpad	Mylar, 4.1 inches (10 cm) x 2.5 inches (6.4 cm)
Connectivity	Intel AX201 WiFi 6 Bluetooth 5.1 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (Type-A) 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 (Type-C, DP 1.4, 65W PD) 1 x HDMI 2.0 1 x 3.5mm headphone/microphone jack
Dimensions	W: 12.7 inches (32 cm) D: 8.6 inches (22 cm) H: 0.63 inches (1.6 cm)
Mass	2.65 pounds (1.20 kg)
Power brick	65W USB-C adapter
Battery	3 cell Li-Polymer 48 Wh
Keyboard	White backlit
Chassis	Color: Silver Materials: Aluminum lid and chassis Cooling: Single fan
Number pad	No
Fingerprint reader	Yes
Facial recognition	No
Predecessor	Acer Swift 3 (2020)
Website	Acer

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The Acer Swift 3 (2021) is a mid-range ultrabook designed for productivity and light multimedia use. It is equipped with Intel 11th gen Tiger Lake processors and Intel Iris Xe Graphics. Available configurations vary by store and location. The Swift 3 is positioned as a lightweight and portable option for students and professionals.

Primary Hardware

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Processor

The Acer Swift 3 (2021) can come with the following processors:

• Intel Core i5-1135G7 with 4 cores and 8 threads, 8 MB cache and a max frequency of 4.2 Ghz.
• Intel Core i7-1165G7 with 4 cores and 8 threads, 12 MB cache and max frequency of 4.7 Ghz.

Acer supplies the processors with sufficient power and cooling for typical productivity tasks resulting in average performance compared to other ultrabooks with the same processors. In CPU-only tasks, SKUs with the i5-1135G7 and i7-1165G7 perform as expected. Performance sustainability is good but not perfect, with all processors losing about 5% performance in long stress tests.

Lenovo also supplies the processor with sufficient power in mixed CPU and GPU tasks like light gaming leading to noticeably better performance than competitors with the same configurations. In particular, the SKU with i7-1165G7 performs better than most other laptops with this configuration and is only 10% behind the Pro 5i with i9-14900HX and RTX 4070.

All SKUs lose a significant amount of CPU performance when running on the battery.

Benchmarks:

• Cinebench R23:
  • i5-1135G7: ~1400 pts (single-core), ~5000 pts (multi-core)
  • i7-1165G7: ~1500 pts (single-core), ~6000 pts (multi-core)

Graphics

The Acer Swift 3 (2021) comes with integrated Intel Iris Xe Graphics.

The integrated GPU is sufficient for light gaming and multimedia tasks. In GPU-only benchmarks, the performance is slightly above average for integrated graphics.

In gaming, the i7-1165G7 SKU performs significantly better than the competition with the same GPU and is just 10% behind the RTX 4070 Pro 5i with the better i9-14900HX CPU. The i7-1165G7 SKU also performs above average and outperforms laptops with the same integrated GPU configured with a lower power processor.

All SKUs lose a significant amount of graphics performance when running on the battery.

Benchmarks:

• 3D Mark TimeSpy 2560 x 1440:
  • Intel Iris Xe: ~1100 pts
• 3D Mark Fire Strike 1920 x 1080:
  • Intel Iris Xe: ~3000 pts
• The Witcher 3 1920 x 1080 Ultra HBAO+:
  • i7-1165G7: ~30 fps

Memory

The Acer Swift 3 (2021) comes with 8 or 16 GB LPDDR4X memory soldered onto the motherboard, which means it is not user-upgradeable.

Pre-configured SKUs come with either 8 GB or 16 GB LPDDR4X Memory. These sticks perform identically even when paired with different CPUs.

Benchmarks:

• AIDA64 Memory Copy: ~35000 MB/s

Storage

The Acer Swift 3 (2021) can ship with 256 GB, 512 GB, or 1 TB PCIe NVMe SSD depending on the seller. The OEM SSD only uses 1 slot in all configurations leaving the other slot open for upgrades.

Reviews of the i7-1165G7 SKU note that it came with the Samsung PM991 512 GB SSD which is an OEM version of the popular 970 Evo. This is a downgrade from the SK Hynix PC801 used in the 2020 model since the transfer rates drop to 50 % after some time in stress tests due to thermal throttling.

Benchmarks:

• CrystalDiskMark 8:
  • SEQ1M Q8T1 (Sequential 1MB blocks): ~3500 MB/s (read), ~3000 MB/s (write)
  • RND4K Q1T1 (Random 4 KB blocks): ~50 MB/s (read), ~150 MB/s (write)

Co-processors

The Acer Swift 3 (2021) does not have a dedicated NPU to accelerate AI applications.

Input Devices

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Keyboard

The Acer Swift 3 comes with a standard keyboard layout without a number pad. The keyboard offers 1.4 mm travel and 0.2 mm pitch. The white backlight has two modes - on and off. The refresh rate of the display can be changed using the Fn + R keys - three steps (60, 165, 240 Hz) on the higher-end 240hz display and only two (60, 165 Hz) on the lower-end 165hz display. The Fn + Q keys can be used to switch between the three performance modes - Quiet, Balanced and Performance.

The typing experience is identical to the previous model with the only difference being the inclusion of the Co-Pilot key instead of the right Ctrl key. The deeper travel and stronger feedback result in a better typing experience than competitors like Razer Blade or Asus ROG Zephyrus.

Touchpad

The Acer Swift 3 comes with a Mylar plastic clickpad that measures 4.1 inches (10 cm) x 2.5 inches (6.4 cm).

The touchpad is smaller than the ones in competitors like Razer Blade but is spacious enough for simple tasks. The clicking is shallow and lacks enough feedback.

Webcam

The Acer Swift 3 comes with a 720p webcam with an electronic shutter and no IR options.

The webcam has poor color accuracy with a minimum DeltaE of 2.31 and a maximum DeltaE of 17.75. The webcam looks soft but is much sharper than 720p webcams that used to be common a few years back. The clarity is adequate for casual calls. There is a physical kill switch on the right side that disconnects the webcam from the laptop. The webcam also supports Tobii Horizon head tracking that can be used in supported games.

Microphone

The Acer Swift 3 comes with a dual microphone array.

Output Devices

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Display

Acer ships the Swift 3 with a 14-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The display has a 16:9 aspect ratio, 300 nits brightness, and 100% sRGB color gamut.

The display reaches the rated 300 nits, has good screen uniformity, and has above-average contrast for an IPS panel at around 1000:1. It also covers almost 100% of sRGB as rated and covers around 72% of AdobeRGB. The screen is not well calibrated out of the box and NotebookCheck records an average ColorChecker DeltaE of 4.3 on their unit. They also measure an average gray to gray response time of 4.8 ms.

None of the tested panels exhibit any PWM flickering at any brightness level.

Audio

The Acer Swift 3 comes with two bottom-facing speakers near the front corners in a stereo configuration.

The speakers have a low maximum volume around 75 to 80 dB for a 14-inch laptop. They produce balanced to high mids and balanced highs but lack any noticeable bass.

Connectivity

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WiFi

Acer equips the Swift 3 with an Intel AX201 WiFi 6 WLAN module.

The Swift 3 performs noticeably worse than other laptops with the same module however it is still able to reach decent transfer speeds for regular use.

Benchmarks:

• iperf3 transmit AXE11000: ~630 Mb/s
• iperf3 receive AXE11000: ~1040 Mb/s
• iperf3 transmit AXE11000 6 Ghz: ~820 Mb/s
• iperf3 receive AXE11000 6 Ghz: ~1200 Mb/s

Bluetooth

The Swift 3 comes with a Bluetooth 5.1 module.

SD Card Reader

Acer does not include an SD card reader with the Swift 3.

USB

Acer equips the Swift 3 with the following USB ports:

• 1 x USB-A (USB 3.2 Gen 1, 5 Gbps) with always on functionality in the back (right most port when looking from behind).
• 1 x USB-A (USB 3.2 Gen 1, 5 Gbps), one each in the back, left and right side.
• 1 x USB-C (USB 3.2 Gen 2, 10 Gbps) with 65W Lenovo Power Delivery and DisplayPort 1.4 in the back.
• 1 x USB-C (USB 3.2 Gen 2, 10 Gbps) with DisplayPort 1.4 on the left side.

Community reports suggest that the full 65W power delivery is not USB PD 3.1 compliant and only works when using a charger that supports 20V/3.25A like the Acer C65 and when connected to a 220/240 V outlet. Otherwise, the USB-C charging will be limited to 45 W. In either case, performance mode cannot be enabled when charging through USB-C.

Display Outputs

The Swift 3 comes with 2 display outputs:

• 1 x USB-C with DisplayPort 1.4, one in the back and one on the left side.
• 1 x HDMI 2.0 in the back.

The Swift 3 supports up to 3 displays simultaneously including the built-in display.

Case

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The Swift 3 (2021) is only available in one color: silver. The chassis remains the same as the previous model except for the redesigned ventilation grilles at the bottom which are now hexagons instead of rectangles. The display lid is made out of anodized matte aluminum alloy while the keyboard deck and bottom cover are made out of PC-ABS plastic. The lid opens to the full 180 degrees however the hinge rigidity weakens past ~160 degrees. Surfaces are slightly roughenedto reduce fingerprint buildup however it still attracts dust and fingerprints. The rear is elongated beyond the display lid and is thicker as well to accommodate a larger internal cooling solution. This contributes to the lightweight of 2.65 pounds (1.20 kg). There are two Acer logos - one on the lid on the bottom left and another on the palm rest on the right. There is one big Swift logo on the top right side of the lid.

The chassis has a more professional look compared to the Acer Swift 3 (2020) with a uniform color instead of a two-tone silver and gray color scheme. There are fewer accents and angles as well.

Chassis rigidity is excellent with no audible creaking or weak points. The base and lid exhibit some twisting but not enough to be concerning.

Maintenance

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The bottom panel is held on by 10 Philips-head screws. Four screws on the leading edge are shorter than the rest. There are clips securing the panel that must be popped up after removing the screws.

Upgradeable components:

• 48 WHr battery.
• One M.2 2280 PCIe4 x4 SSD covered by an aluminum heatsink (most configurations only have one slot filled from the factory).
• M.2 2230 wireless card.

Cooling System

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The Swift 3 is equipped with a single fan connected to the core components with two copper heat pipes. The system intakes air from the side and bottom grilles and exhausts air through the back grilles.

Heat

Surface temperatures vary depending on the configuration.

The i7-1165G7 SKU gets quite warm while idling, up to 39 °C on the bottom of the device. The left side with the WASD keys heats up more than the right side. Under heavy load, there is a hot spot of 57 °C on the bottom.

The i5-1135G7 SKU is slightly cooler while idling across all areas reaching up to 36 °C on the bottom. The palm rest and the WASD keys remain comfortable during intensive tasks.

Benchmarks:

• i5-1135G7:
  • Maximum upper side: ~43 °C
  • Maximum bottom: ~50 °C
  • Idle upper side: ~30 °C
  • Idle bottom: ~34 °C
• i7-1165G7:
  • Maximum upper side: ~44 °C
  • Maximum bottom: ~55 °C
  • Idle upper side: ~33 °C
  • Idle bottom: ~36 °C

Noise

There is no electronic noise or coil whine. The laptop is effectively silent during undemanding loads like light browsing or video playback, hovering below 30 dB(A). During intensive tasks, the fans quickly ramp up even when set to balanced mode. Fan noise while gaming in balanced mode is identical to performance mode despite temperatures being noticeably lower in balanced mode. During intensive tasks, the laptop emits noise above 50 db(A) and is louder than most other ultrabooks. Most variants emit the same amount of noise with more powerful configurations being slightly louder.

Benchmarks:

• i5-1135G7:
  • Load: > 50 db(A)
• i7-1165G7:
  • Idle: ~23 db(A) (min), ~23 db(A) (avg), ~25 db(A) (max)
  • Load: ~45 db(A) (avg), ~53 db(A) (max)

Energy Management

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Power Consumption

The Swift 3 ships with a 65 W USB-C adapter.

Acer remains very liberal with the power supplied to the CPU during combined CPU and GPU loads. Both the i5-1135G7 and i7-1165G7 SKUs consume around 50 W during load with temporary spikes to around 65 W.

The i7-1165G7 Swift 3 draws around 10 W when idling for the most part, reducing to 5-7 W after waiting a very long time and any minor input brings the consumption back up to 10 W.

Battery Life

All Swift 3 SKUs come with a 48 WHr Li-Polymer battery that Acer claims can charge from 0-40 % in 30 mins, 0 - 80 % in 60 mins and 0 - 100 % in 120 mins using the provided power adapter.

The battery life during light tasks is slightly below average for this class of laptop. Many competitors now include 50+ Whr batteries. Reviews verify the charging claims to be accurate.

Benchmarks:

• i5-1135G7:
  • WiFi Browsing (150 nits): 420 minutes
  • Load: 150 minutes
• i7-1165G7:
  • WiFi Browsing (150 nits): 400 minutes
  • Load (max brightness): 120 minutes

Biometrics

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The Swift 3 supports Windows Hello face recognition and has a fingerprint reader.

Software

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All SKUs ship with Windows 10 Home but the laptop can be upgraded to Windows 10 Pro, either manually or when buying directly from Acer.

Preinstalled Software

Acer Care Center

The Acer Care Center program acts as the primary control center in the Swift 3. In addition to the performance profiles, the program also handles keyboard lighting macro keys, hardware troubleshooting, always on USB settings, toggling flip to start (opening the lid starts the laptop), battery conservation mode (limit charge to 80 %), MUX switch, system updates and other things.

There are three preset performance profiles - quiet, balanced and performance. Acer supports adding an AI engine in balanced mode that automatically adjusts system parameters based on the context. There is also a customized mode where the user can manually set various parameters.

Most reviewers use performance mode for performance benchmarks and quiet mode for the battery tests unless otherwise stated.

Acer Collection

The Acer Collection app shows all games installed in the PC in a single unified location. This may be helpful for users who use multiple platforms to play games.

Other Preinstalled Software

The Swift 3 also comes with other less useful software like Acer Now, which exists just to sell software and services, and Acer Avatar Master, which creates your digital avatar.

There is also unwanted software like 30-day McAfee security trial.

Accessories & Warranty

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The Swift 3 comes with a 65 W USB-C adapter and paperwork.

There is one-year limited manufacturer warranty if purchased in the US.

Reviews Summary

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Overall Sentiment

The Swift 3 is considered one of the best ultrabooks at its price with high CPU and GPU performance relative to competitors. Often found under $1000, the Swift 3 is suitable for people looking for a high performance ultrabook without breaking the bank. The laptop also comes with a decent screen for productivity and is highly portable. The primary downsides are the poor battery life, small size and weight which make it unsuitable for portable use away from an outlet for a long time.

Problems Summary

• No SD card reader.
• Below average speakers given the form factor.
• Slow WiFi compared to other laptops with same module.
• OEM SSD loses 50 % performance during sustained disk loads.
• Plastic touchpad does not provide the best tracking experience.
• High idle power consumption
• Higher than average surface temperatures while idling and during intensive tasks.
• Below average battery life.

Links

i5-1135G7, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD: TechRadar,

i7-1165G7, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD: NoteBookCheck