Acer Swift X debuts Arc graphics, Intel’s most powerful discrete GPU yet

The Acer Swift X puts a surprising amount of performance into its tiny chassis, and at CES 2022, it’s getting even more.

Two new models, the Swift X 14 and Swift X 16, have been introduced, the latter of which debuts Intel’s first competitive discrete GPU, known as Intel Arc graphics.

Specs

Performance

The inclusion of Intel Arc is certainly the headline feature of the Acer Swift X 16. Onlookers have been waiting years to see how Intel’s Arc discrete GPUs would play out, and the soft launch in the Acer Swift X 16 is a fairly modest beginning.

But we can be fairly certain of this: Acer has placed it in direct comparison with the Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti. Nvidia’s midrange GPU can be found in both this year’s Acer Swift X 14 and last year’s Swift X 16. We can’t confirm performance until we’ve tested it ourselves, but clearly, it’s meant to perform in the ballpark of the RTX 3050 Ti. That means some decent gaming performance and added power in video editing, depending on how good Acer’s thermals are this time around.

Acer and Intel have a history of debuting new technology together in recent years. At the beginning of 2021, the Acer Swift 3X became one of the only laptops to use Intel’s first mobile discrete GPUs, the Iris Xe Max. The Swift X was also one of the initial laptops to adopt Intel’s 35-watt H-series processors.

In both cases, these laptops remain attractive options for those who need a laptop with some creative performance but don’t have the resources to buy something like a Dell XPS 15 or MacBook Pro.

In the case of these new versions, the Swift X 14 and 16 both offer up to 16GB of DDR4 RAM. They are configurable up to 1TB of PCIe 4.0 storage, but Acer also includes a second slot for additional PCIe 3.0 storage.

Design and display

The new Swift X laptops bear a lot in common with last year’s model, though the chassis has received a facelift. It sports a thinner bottom bezel thanks to the lifted hinge. The 16-inch model also features some more vents along the side, pushing ports close toward the user. Overall, this chassis looks more sleek and modern this time around.

Speaking of ports, on both machines, connectivity is provided by two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4, two USB-A 3.2 ports, and an HDMI 2.0 connection, with wireless duties provided by Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2.

Both models offer up fairly high-resolution screens, even if the base configurations end up being sold with something more basic. Either way, the option for up to a sharp 2560 x 1600 on the 16-inch model is quite the upgrade. Importantly, both devices have also moved to a slightly taller 16:10 aspect ratio, which has become the new standard across new laptop releases.

Strangely, the 14-inch and 16-inch models both have a 59-watt hour battery. Usually, larger devices leave room for larger batteries, which increases the chances that they won’t suffer from poor battery life.

Both laptops also equip a Full HD (1920 x 1080) webcam, which is a nice addition. The webcams use Acer’s Temporal Noise Reduction (TNR) technology for enhanced video performance along with Acer Purified Voice with AI Noise Cancellation for clearer audio.

Acer has yet to release pricing or availability for either the Swift X SFX14 or the SFX16.