Today we are going to talk about the updated 2022 Acer Swift 3 SF314-512 ultrabook. This is a work tool that weighs only 1.25 kg, has a nice metal body, and is powered by Intel 12th Gen processors. Its main advantages are mobility, excellent performance, support for the latest technologies, and compliance with Intel Evo standards. The starting price for the series is reasonable and there are many modifications that allow you to choose a device that suits your needs, so Swift 3 has every chance of becoming one of the most successful solutions for office use and study. Let’s find out whether it is or not.
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The Swift 3 is Acer’s series of low-cost ultrabooks that meet the requirements of the Intel Evo program and are great for work and school. They offer nice features at a fairly affordable price, as well as a wide range of modifications to make it easier to choose the best option for any need. Thus, prices for the Swift 3 SF314-512 start at $800, which is how much the base modification on Core i3 with 8 GB of RAM and 512 GB of SSD will cost. You’ll agree that it’s a pretty nice price for fresh hardware and good portability.
We’re reviewing a test sample, so the packaging and equipment are quite spartan. The ascetic cardboard box contains only a 65W charger in addition to the laptop. In our case, the charger came with an A-type power plug, but the version for sale with a charger will be just fine.
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Acer Swift 3 SF314-512 has a nice aluminum body and looks neat and laconic. It is presented in three colors: gray, as on the review, blue and gold. This is a truly portable device, because with a diagonal of 14 inches and dimensions of 32.10×21.08×1.59 cm, the laptop weighs only 1.25 kg. Even for its small size, the laptop feels light. It seems as if it was made to be taken with you.
On the top of the back cover is the brand logo.
Below, on the beveled end, you can find the neat name of the Swift series. There is also a pair of rubberized feet on which the lid rests when the laptop is open.
When opened, the back of the laptop lifts slightly, allowing you to increase the keyboard angle and increase air intake for the cooling system.
On the back, you can see a grille for cold air intake, symmetrical perforations on both sides for speakers, four legs, and rather massive hinges that hold the laptop lid.
Opening the Swift 3, we see a 14-inch screen with neat bezels around it, the most noticeable of which is the lower one with the brand logo. According to the data sheet, the display takes up 86% of the front panel. Above the screen, you can see a camera for video communication and several microphone holes.
Under the screen, you can also see hinges and a rather massive cooling system exhaust grille.
The keyboard is slightly recessed into the body, and there is a touchpad underneath. A “step” was provided along the touchpad to make opening the laptop more convenient. Unfortunately, the Acer Swift 3 failed the “Macbook test” – you can’t open the laptop with one hand. Either the hinges are too tight, or the base of the device is too light.
As for the ports: on the left is a pair of Type-C with Thunderbolt (this port is used for charging, by the way), HDMI and USB-A.
On the right, there is a headphone jack, another USB-A, an indicator and a Kensington Lock.
In general, as for an ultrabook, there is a rather nice set of ports – they should be enough to connect almost all the necessary devices.
The test Acer Swift 3 SF314-512 uses a 14-inch FHD IPS matrix with a refresh rate of 60 Hz, 16:9 aspect ratio, 158 ppi, brightness up to 300 nits, and 100% sRGB color space coverage. However, the series includes models not only with increased resolution (QHD), but also with touch panels.
Acer ExaColor technology is used here, which “warms” the image to the level of daylight (about 6500 K), and you can make the picture even warmer using the Bluelight Shield mode in the Quick Access utility. In general, the screen is quite pleasant – with natural color reproduction, a good margin of brightness, which is enough in a well-lit room, and excellent viewing angles. There are no issues with working with textual information at all. For games and multimedia, however, saturation and contrast are still a little lacking, but this is not a gaming or design device, so it makes no sense to demand something from it beyond its intended purpose. For its positioning, the screen is good and comfortable to work with for a long time.
The keyboard in Acer Swift 3 SF314-512 is of the island type, without a Num pad, has a white backlight and, as already noted, is slightly recessed into the case. In general, the keyboard is quite typical for laptops, so I can’t say that it is particularly remarkable. Typing on it is convenient, so if you are used to laptop keyboards, you will like everything here.
The only thing that stands out in the Swift 3 keyboard is the power button – it is the only one of all the keys that is mechanical and is complemented by a frame, and it also makes a characteristic clicking sound when pressed. By the way, it can optionally have a built-in fingerprint scanner, but our version does not.
The touchpad cover is made of recycled ABS plastic, but it has a slippery, almost glassy feel. It has a couple of mechanical buttons on the bottom and is also quite standard in general. But it is quite comfortable to work with, all gestures are recognized perfectly, no questions asked.
First and foremost, the Acer Swift 3 SF314-512 is a tool for office work and study, so everything in it is adapted to these scenarios. The 2022 Swift 3 series is powered by 12th-generation Intel processors (from Core i3 to Core i7) and integrated Iris Xe Graphics. The reviewed version is equipped with a 12-core Core i5 with a clock speed of up to 3.7 GHz, which in Boost mode accelerates to 4.4 GHz. The Core i5 consists of 8 energy-efficient and 4 productive cores that can work in dual-threaded mode, which gives us a total of 16 threads. The RAM can be 8 or 16 GB DDR4 (we tested the 16 GB version), and the SSD can be from 256 GB to 1 TB, as in our test model. Wireless connections consist of Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2.
The Acer TwinAir cooling system is represented by two coolers with 118 combined blades. They have 3 operating modes (Silent, Normal, and Performance), which can be switched between by pressing Fn+F or through the Quick Access utility. In turbo mode, by the way, the fans can accelerate to 6100 rpm.
According to the test results at different cooling modes, Normal and Performance are the most effective modes, as these modes maintain the highest performance. So, under normal loads, you can work with Normal and switch to Performance for more demanding tasks. When using the Silent mode, be prepared for a slight, but still loss of performance, so I would not recommend using it at all. In addition, I can’t say that the laptop makes a lot of noise under load. You can see the 3DMark scores in different modes below (from left to right – Normal, Performance and Silent).
And some more test results.
What do we have in terms of performance? For office workloads, this is a very decent option. The device performs well in multitasking, can handle a lot of browser tabs and a lot of open programs, including graphic editors, and works smoothly and without any complaints. It’s an excellent workstation with a good performance margin, which can be used for both work and leisure after a hard day. Watch a movie, surf the web, or play some simple games – whatever you want. However, you should understand that the laptop is not suitable for serious gaming. Even low graphics settings may not save you from trotting. Still, Swift 3 is not designed to withstand the rigors of AAA games.
The Acer Swift 3 SF314-512 has a Full HD camera for video communication that can shoot at 60 fps. For clear image transmission during business calls, the camera is equipped with TNR noise reduction, which will help out in low ambient light. And the microphones are equipped with an intelligent noise reduction system that will eliminate a significant amount of ambient noise.
As for the sound, we have a pair of speakers on both sides with DTS settings. As for a laptop, the sound is quite average – it’s enough for communication, watching a movie or YouTube video, but you shouldn’t expect much more. To get better sound, it is better to use headphones or external speakers.
The battery here is a 56 Wh lithium-ion. Under certain conditions, this capacity can last up to 12.5 hours of surfing and up to 15 hours of video viewing. However, during normal work with a laptop without any special restrictions on brightness, for example, you can expect about 7-8 hours of autonomy. And this is a pretty good result. Acer Swift 3 is equipped with a 65W charger, and fast charging support allows you to get up to 4 hours of battery life in 30 minutes, which is very important now.
The Acer Swift 3 SF314-512 is a great portable work tool for studying, working, and just living. It’s a great model for students, freelancers, those who work remotely, on the go, or periodically change locations: from office to home, from home to coworking, etc. With a nice design and metal body, the laptop weighs only 1.25 kg and doesn’t take up much space in a bag or backpack, so it’s perfect for being always at hand.
Thanks to the fact that Acer Swift 3 is powered by 12th-generation Intel processors, its performance is on top and with a considerable margin. In addition, the laptop should be praised for a good set of connectors, including Thunderbolt 4, Wi-Fi 6E support, a nice display, good battery life, fast charging, and, of course, an affordable price. Yes, this is not an option for toys, but it is a very decent solution for work issues.
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