The Acer Swift X 16 gets creative with new Ryzen hardware
Nvidia RTX 4000-series GPUs aren't short on power either
Acer has pooled the combined might of AMD and Nvidia to power its latest professional-friendly laptop. The Acer Swift X 16 will arrive this summer with Ryzen CPUs and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4000-series graphics, so should be able to handle just about any creative task going, and has a suitably stunning screen to show it off with.
The 16in machine can be equipped with AMD silicon from the mainstream Ryzen 5 all the way up to the Ryzen 9 7940H – an eight core processor that can suck down up to 45W of power when given a demanding task to chew through. Built-in Radeon 780M graphics will handle the basics, or if that won’t cut it, you can opt for a dedicated Nvidia RTX 4050 with Nvidia’s Studio drivers, for guaranteed compatibility with industry-standard creative tools. Each model has 16GB of DDR5 memory and can be fitted with 512GB, 1TB or 2TGB of NVMe SSD storage.
Acer has redesigned the internals to better walk the tightrope between battery life and thermal efficiency, using a dual fan cooling system that promises more than 30% better airflow than the outgoing model. It can also draw cool air in through the keyboard now, which still finds room for a fingerprint reader with Windows Hello support.
The exterior has been given an overhaul too, with an aluminium chassis that keeps display bezels to a minimum, but still makes room for plenty of ports at the side. You get twin USB-C, two USB4 type-A, a full-size HDMI output, 3.5mm headphone port and a microSD card slot. There’s also Wi-Fi 6E inside for speedy wireless transfers.
While you’ll be able to pick up an Acer Swift X 16 with an IPS LCD display, you’re going to want to find the funds for the higher resolution OLED alternative. It tops out at 3200×2000, with a 500 nits peak brightness and VESA DisplayHDR TrueBlack 500 certification, to really make movies pop with colour. The 16:10 aspect ratio is better suited to working, while the 120Hz refresh rate ensures smooth motion. A minuscule 0.2ms response time should make it great for gaming after hours, too.
The Acer Swift X 16 is heading to Europe and the UK first, with prices set to start at €1566/£1499. North America will follow in July for $1250, before you start ticking any options boxes.
Tom Morgan-Freelander
Deputy Editor 
