Skip to main content

Acer is shipping the 'world's thinnest' Swift 7 and budget Swift 3 notebooks

Windows manufacturers aren’t wasting any time releasing new notebook PCs leveraging Intel’s Kaby Lake processor. As always, Intel’s latest CPU promises better performance and battery life, and so updating existing models and introducing new lines entirely is a good way for companies to kick off a new marketing cycle.

Today, Acer is joining the club by officially releasing two of the notebooks that it announced at IFA 2016: the Swift 7 and Swift 3. The Swift line will eventually also include the smaller and more entry-level Swift 1 with a 12-inch display, and the more mainstream 13.3-inch Swift 5. While the Swift 7 and Swift 3 can be purchased starting today at the Acer Store and will be available soon at Amazon and other retailers, the Swift 1 and Swift 5 are expected to release next month.

Recommended Videos

The Swift 7 is initially shipping in a single model, with a Core i5-7Y54 processor, 8GB RAM, and a 256GB SSD. Pricing for this model is $1,100, and so far Acer hasn’t released information on future configurations. The Swift 7 is most notable for its “world’s thinnest” 0.39-inch-thick and ultralight 2.48 pound aluminum unibody chassis. Aesthetics should be pleasing but not overwrought, with a matte black exterior mated with a gold inner surface.

Acer opted to stick with a Full HD (1,920 by 1,080) resolution for the 13.3-inch IPS display. Note that the display does not support touch, likely to help shave off a few millimeters of thickness. Acer’s Color Intelligence technology aims to dynamically adjust gamma and saturation in real time to optimize brightness and color while reducing the load on the CPU. The display uses Corning Gorilla Glass for durability, and offers Acer’s BluelightShield technology to help alleviate eye strain.

The Swift 7 is loaded up with the latest components, including 2X2 802.11ac Wi-Fi with Mu-MIMO to maximize performance with the latest wireless standards. Dual USB 3.1 Type-C ports offer compatibility with the newest connectivity specification, and both can be used for charging mobile devices. The battery should be able to offer around nine hours of battery life.

The other model in the Swift lineup that’s available for purchase today is the Swift 3, a more moderately priced notebook that fits into a tighter budget. The Swift 3 is also shipping in a single configuration, running $650 for a last-generation Skylake CPU, the Core i5-6200U, and stocked with 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD.

The Swift 3 uses a 14-inch IPS display at Full HD (1,920 by 1,080) resolution, and supports touch. The notebooks utilizes an aluminum chassis that a bit fatter than its Swift 7 sibling, coming in at a relatively chunky 0.7-inch thick and weighing in at 3.31 pounds. A full complement of ports are on hand, including one USB 3.1 Type-C port. The Swift 3 should be able to work up to 12 hours on a single charge.

Sometime in the near future, you’ll have a few more options to consider from Acer’s recently revamped notebook lineup. For now, you can choose between the world’s thinnest notebook if you’re looking to minimize your travel weight, or a decidedly budget model that should nevertheless meet mainstream computing needs.

Mark Coppock
Mark Coppock is a Freelance Writer at Digital Trends covering primarily laptop and other computing technologies. He has…
I tested the Core Ultra 9 285K against the Ryzen 7 7800X3D — and it’s ugly
Fingers holding an Intel 285K.

Intel's new Core Ultra 9 285K is finally here, promising a boost in performance with a significant reduction in power requirements, at least according to Intel. As you can read in my Core Ultra 9 285K review, Intel's performance claims aren't as rosy as reality, especially when stacked up against what is unequivocally the best processor for gaming you can buy: AMD's Ryzen 7 7800X3D.

I threw both processors on the test bench to pit them head-to-head, looking at performance across productivity and gaming apps, as well as thermals and efficiency. These CPUs target different users, but there are still a lot of interesting comparisons we can look at between them.
Specs

Read more
Pour one out — AMD is reportedly sunsetting the Ryzen 7 5800X3D
Someone holding the Ryzen 7 5800X3D in a red light.

The Ryzen 7 5800X3D is a certified legend, sitting among the best processors you can buy several years after its release. It was the swan song for the AM4 socket and Zen 3 architecture, and it debuted AMD's 3D V-Cache that has turned gaming CPUs on their heads. But it looks like the processor is finally meeting its end.

AMD hasn't said anything official, but PCGamesHardware went as far as to say that "the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is dead," and it's easy to see why. PCGamesHardware is a German outlet, and in that region of the world, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D isn't available. The same is true in the U.S. The processor isn't available on Amazon, and on Newegg, I found one third-party seller shipping the CPU from Israel for $500. It should go without saying at this point, but $500 is way too much for the Ryzen 7 5800X3D in 2024.

Read more
The launch of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D feels very close — and it might disappoint
AMD's Ryzen 9 7950X3D sitting in the box.

We may not talk about feelings much when discussing the best processors, but a mountain of leaks and rumors have been swirling about AMD's upcoming Ryzen 7 9800X3D -- and they're becoming too big to ignore. The most recent development is a post on the Chiphell forum (via Wccftech) that claims the processor will be announced on October 25, with a release in the first week of November.

On its own, this isn't anything too exciting. We see claims about hardware launches all the time, but the past two weeks have been riddled with murmurs about what is undoubtedly AMD's most-anticipated CPU this generation. Just a few days ago, a leaked slide from an internal MSI presentation pitted the Ryzen 7 9800X3D against last-gen's Ryzen 7 7800X3D, and showed anywhere from a 2% to 13% improvement. The slides were originally shared by HardwareLuxx, but the post was removed, suggesting the images were probably real (VideoCardz has the images archived).

Read more