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As with smartphones, the low-cost laptop market is making more and more changes to new devices. Now, for a relatively modest amount, you can buy a laptop with a good screen, good body, and fairly powerful components that will ensure comfortable work on the go. This is exactly how the Acer Swift 3 positions itself – a laptop that is easy to navigate and work outside of the office. There are quite a few complete sets of this model. Recently, we already had a laptop with components from Intel and NVIDIA, and today we look at the version with the AMD “padding” (SF314-42-R8WD).
Models on the line: fifteen
Acer Swift 3 options
A test sample came to our office, not a retailer, but they have no global differences. Inside the box was only a laptop and a power supply. Given the low cost, you didn’t have to rely on accessories, so you’ll have to buy a separate case or bag, like a mouse, if you need one for work.
When setting up a new laptop, you can immediately use the fingerprint scanner, which still doesn’t show up on all even more expensive laptops. But otherwise, the setup process is exactly the same as that of any other Windows computer.
Design and usability
The Swift 3 line is no longer new. Last year, for example, we came across a laptop with the same screen size. This year, the model hasn’t changed much, but there are updates. In our version, you may notice a light gray case, the color change of the panel around the screen and the color of the keys now matches the color of the upper case. There’s no particular sense of novelty about this, especially since similar laptops have been seen more than once, and along the same lines are other color options with black keyboards. But there is still a nice look.
Another good change, compared to last year’s “Swifts,” was a decrease in weight to 1.2 kilograms due to the change from aluminum alloy to magnesium. Now the laptop is more consistent with the “ultrabook” concept. But the box size hasn’t changed much: 323.4 × 218.9 × 17.95mm. Anyway, it does not mean that it is big or uncomfortable. But subjectively, the aluminum case feels a bit better, because it looks more like plastic.
The situation with the ports is the same as that of the model with Intel and NVIDIA. On the left is a port for charging, USB-C, HDMI and USB-A (3.2). On the right are the Kensington lock, a pair of activity indicators, USB-A (2.0), and a headphone jack.
It turns out that the model with AMD only lost the Thunderbolt port, which will not be a big problem for most buyers of such a computer. But it’s important that this year the model has become noticeably lighter, while still retaining benefits like a 14-inch screen, a full-size keyboard, and more, which we’ll discuss later. In terms of design and ease of use, Swift 3 is increasingly difficult to dig.
Acer Swift 3 display
The 14-inch model is equipped with a matrix with Full HD resolution. There is no special display choice in this AMD accessory model range. Resolution and aspect ratio (16: 9) do not change exactly in all cases, just as there are no panels with a touch layer. There are two of them on the list of options, where the previous model has a backlight brightness of up to 300 nits and 72% NTSC coverage.
The color gamut of the local IPS matrix immediately shows that the laptop is slightly more focused on work tasks than media. However, an inexperienced user is unlikely to be disappointed with the image, especially since there are no issues with viewing angles. So if there is no photo processing in the to-do list, you don’t have to worry about image quality, especially remembering the rather low price.
The maximum brightness level was 223 cd / m², which in combination with a matte screen was always sufficient in the room, but not the fact that in the open area in sunny weather it will suffice. Well, the “bottom line” of the backlight stops at 17 cd / m².
Keyboard, trackpad, multimedia
As expected, the laptop keyboard is standard for the manufacturer, nothing new has been added to it. It’s still good for typing blindly, the sound of the keys isn’t loud at all, and the presses are pretty smooth, albeit with the right amount of resistance. She also has a backlight, but no adjustment (either on or off). The difficult time to work with the keyboard are the PgUp and PgDn buttons, which are “attached” to the navigation keys, so I often press them when I don’t need them.
Immediately below the keyboard, slightly shifted to the left, is the touchpad. Using it instead of a mouse for normal work is quite convenient, positioning is not bad, gestures are well recognized and “clicking” is quite normal. I wouldn’t say I had a hard time working with him.
To the right under the keyboard is a fingerprint scanner. It is dark and clearly visible against a light body. In most cases, it works quite accurately, but there is still a slight delay. On the other hand, if you consider that fingerprint sensors are rarely found in that price segment, you don’t feel like complaining about this.
Two speakers are located on the bottom cover of the top case, in the corners closest to the user. Listening to music on them is not very interesting due to the lack of low frequencies, but this is not so noticeable when watching movies or videos on the Web. Again, the laptop is placed laptop instead of media, so this sound can be understood. Well, nothing prevents you from using external speakers or headphones if necessary.
The image quality of the built-in HD camera is slightly higher than usual and for video communication it is perfect, even if it still cannot compete with the front camera of almost any modern smartphone. There are also microphones, but considering their sensitivity, the sound of the keys will interfere with the conversation and it is better to use an external microphone.
Performance and software
In the Swift 3 line there are models with Intel and AMD processors. We have the last choice This year, AMD Ryzen 3 4300U (4 cores), Ryzen 5 4500U (6 cores) and Ryzen 7 4700U (8 cores) are optionally available; in all cases AMD Radeon Graphics is installed. RAM can be 8 or 16 GB, and NVMe drives can range from 128 GB to 1 TB. There is Wi-Fi 6 to work with the network, and Bluetooth 5.0 is used for wireless accessories. There is no Ethernet connector.
The publishers were equipped with AMD Ryzen 5, 8 GB of RAM and a 256 GB drive. It gets more points in tests than the Intel Core i5 version we already visited, but there is one nuance. AMD’s integrated graphics is equipped with only 512MB of memory. If there are games in the plans during breaks, obviously this will not be enough (in CS: GO, more than 50 frames were not visible, and GTA V immediately warns that it needs more memory). Although when working in “office” mode, there was no performance problem.
I also liked the silent operation of the system. Quite often, a laptop copes with simple tasks without including fans, and the temperature inside the case can reach 50 ° C, but it does not affect the surface of the upper case. Under load, the fans are a little audible and the temperature rises accordingly to 70-75 ° C, but I cannot say that it is difficult to work. The noise level in this case does not cross the limits of comfort. The shell can be heated from below, but the top shell still doesn’t heat up to an uncomfortable level.
With Windows 10, several additional applications were pre-installed on the laptop. Among them, it is worth noting, as usual, the Acer Care Center, where you can get information about the device, minimize the maintenance of the laptop and receive updates, as well as the GoTrust ID application. The latter allows authorization on a laptop with a smartphone. It is quick to set up and works fine. However, if you have a fingerprint scanner, I’m not sure how much it costs to connect an additional device. But if Swift 3 did not have such a sensor, then with such an application it would really be possible to speed up the authorization.
Acer Swift 3 Autonomy
What really pleased the laptop is the duration of the work. The built-in battery capacity is 48 W • h. With it, the PCMark 10 autonomy test showed a result of almost 13 hours of operation. This is great. At the same time, in normal use of a simple routine with a browser, documents, and other things, the laptop loses up to 10% of the charge per hour, and a two-hour movie costs 18 %.
A full power supply will charge the laptop in just under two hours, and if you need to take it with you, it won’t create any major difficulties during transportation. But also the laptop can be charged through the USB-C port. This is very convenient as it will allow you to take along a travel power supply for for example a laptop and smartphone (unless you still have to buy that extra memory).
Pros:
Good design, portability; availability of necessary ports; good display; fingerprint scanner; performance manipulators for normal operation, quiet cooling, Wi-Fi 6; excellent autonomy
Cons:
PgUp and PgDn keys in the navigation block; sound memory capacity video
conclusion
Acer Swift 3 with AMD accessories proved to be a more productive solution than a variation with Intel. At the same time, the laptop has almost the same advantages and disadvantages. In this case, I didn’t like the very modest amount of video memory, the deadpan sound, and the old keyboard issues, where the PgUp and PgDn buttons interfere with the navigation “arrows”. But for normal office work, such a computer will be quite sufficient, with a good screen, good performance with the cooling system turned off, and excellent autonomy and, consequently, portability.
Technical specifications
 |
 Acer Swift 3 SF314-42-R8WD (N9.HSEWW.001)Notify when available |
|---|---|
| Kind | Laptop |
| Building | Classic |
| Operating system | Windows 10 Home |
| Diagonal inches | 14 |
| Matrix type | IPS |
| Coating type | mate |
| Excuse me | 1920×1080 |
| I touched | – |
| HDR | – |
| Others | – |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 4500U |
| Base clock, GHz | 2.3 |
| Maximum clock frequency, GHz | 4.0 4.0 |
| The number of processor cores | 6 6 |
| Chipset | no data |
| RAM, GB | 8 |
| The maximum amount of RAM, GB | no data |
| Memory type | LPDDR4 |
| HDD, GB | – |
| GB SSD | 256 |
| Optical unit | – |
| Graphics, memory | AMD Radeon Graphics |
| External ports | 1 x USB 3.2, 1 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C, HDMI, combo audio jack |
| Card reader | – |
| Webcam | + |
| Keyboard backlight | + |
| Passive cooling system | – |
| Fingerprint scanner | + |
| Numeric keyboard | – |
| Network adapter | – |
| Wifi | 802.11 ax |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 |
| 3G / LTE | – |
| Weight kg | 1.2 |
| Size mm | 323.4×218.9×15.95 |
| Body Material | magnesium alloy |
| Cap color | silver |
| Body color | silver |
| Rugged laptop | – |
| MAh capacity | no data |
| Number of cells | 3 |
| Power, W * h | 48 |
| Battery voltage | no data |
| Battery Type | Lithium ion |
