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Acer Swift X 14 (2023)
The Acer Swift X 14 (2023) packs 13th-generation Intel Core processors and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 graphics for great performance in all kinds of creative workloads. It also has a stunning 2.8K OLED display that’s prime for content creation.
Pros
- Has option for OLED display
- Has speed-fast H-series Intel CPUs
- Has RTX 4050 GPU
Cons
- OLED display isn’t standard
- Not really for gaming
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Acer Nitro 16 (2023)
The Acer Nitro 16 is a great simplistic-looking gaming laptop. It sports 13th-generation Intel H-series CPUs, and RTX 40-series graphics cards. It also has an RGB keyboard, and great cooling to keep your laptop running efficiently.
Pros
- Bigger 16-inch screen with faster 165Hz refresh rate
- Has RGB keyboard
- Fast H-series CPU
If you’re shopping around for a new and great Acer laptop, you might have found that Acer offers plenty of different products in its lineup. Among them, there’s the recently added Swift X 14 (2023), which is a portable but powerful 14-inch laptop with a 120Hz OLED screen and RTX 4050 graphics for video editing. Then, there’s the Nitro 16, which is a truly powerful gaming laptop, with a great 16-inch screen and fast 165Hz refresh rate. If you want to know how these devices compare, we’re here to help.
Acer Swift X 14 (2023) vs Nitro 16 (2023): Price, specs, and availability
Both the Acer Swift X 14 (2023) and the Acer Nitro 16 (2023) are now available for purchase. You can find both at Acer.com and other retailers. The Acer Swift X 14 (2023) is the cheaper of the two devices. It starts at $1,100. This model comes with an Intel Core i5-13500H CPU, RTX 3050 graphics, and the standard 2560×1600 resolution IPS display, 16GB RAM, and a 512GB SSD.
The Acer Nitro 16 (2023) is a bit more expensive. It starts at $1,200. This gets you a model with the Intel Core i5-13500H CPU, RTX 4050 graphics, and the 2560×1600 resolution display with a 165 Hz refresh rate, 8GB RAM, and a 512GB SSD.
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Acer Swift X 14 (2023) Acer Nitro 16 (2023) Brand Acer Acer Storage Up to 1TB SSD 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD CPU Up to 13th-generation Intel Core i7-13700H 13th-generation Intel Core i5-13500H Memory Up to 16GB RAM 8GB DDR5 Operating System Windows 11 Windows 11 Home Battery Up to 76Wh 90Wh Ports 2x Thunderbolt 4, 2x USB Type-A, HDMI, 3.5mm combo audio jack, microSD card reader 1x microSD card reader, 1x HDMI, 1x USB 3.2 Gen-1 Type A, 2x USB 3.2 Type-A, 2x USB 3.2 Type-C Display (Size, Resolution) 14.5-inch, 16:10 aspect ratio, up to 2.8K OLED, 120Hz refresh rate, 16-inch 2560 x 1600, LED, 165Hz refresh rate Weight 3.31 pounds (1.5kg) 6.17 lb GPU Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 (50W) Nvidia RTX 4050 Form Clamshell 14.2x11x1.02 inches Network Wi-Fi 6E + Bluetooth 5.1 IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, Bluetooth 5.1
Acer Swift X 14 (2023) vs Nitro 16 (2023): Design
The Acer Swift X 14 and the Acer Nitro 16 might both be clamshell laptops, but there’s a significant design difference. Both are made of aluminum, but the Swift X is more of a productivity-like laptop, so it’s slimmer, and it has a minimalist and simplistic look with flat edges. The Acer Nitro 16 is a gamer laptop, so it has more features like angled and pointy edges and is heavier. This makes the Acer Swift X 14 a more portable laptop. It measures 12.71 inches in length and has a 0.7-inch thickness, with a 3.41-pound weight. The Acer Nitro 16 is much bigger and heavier. It’s 14.2 inches long and 1.02 inches in thickness with a 6.17-pound weight.
The Acer Swift X 14 is a slimmer laptop than the Acer Nitro 16
When it comes to ports, however, these laptops are almost equal. Both systems have Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI, and USB Type-A ports, but the Nitro 16 has an additional USB Type-A port and an RJ45 Ethernet jack. You likely won’t need a dongle if you buy either of these laptops. You even get microSD card readers on both laptops for added storage.
The final points to keep in mind when considering the design of these laptops include the keyboard and trackpad. Since it’s a gaming laptop, the Acer Nitro 16 has an RGB keyboard, with fancy lighting effects. The Acer Swift X 14 lacks this and has a standard white LED backlit keyboard.
Acer Swift X 14 (2023) vs Nitro 16 (2023): Display
There’s something you’ll want to keep in mind when choosing this display. On the Acer Swift X 14, do you want a laptop with a bigger screen and a faster refresh rate? Or do you want a laptop with a more color-accurate screen with the Acer Nitro 16?
The Acer Swift X has a smaller screen than the Acer Nitro 16, but that screen is packing better display technology. While stock models have an IPS display with 2560×1600 resolution, you can upgrade to an OLED model, too, which has a higher 2880×1800 resolution. It’s a 14-inch display with a crisp resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. The OLED display pushes out better color accuracy than an IPS display would. You get deeper blacks, and higher levels of contrast, for a more life-like image. Acer claims you can get 100% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage on this display, a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, and 500 nits peak brightness. The 120Hz refresh rate makes scrolling through timelines when video editing smoother.
The Acer Nitro has a bigger screen and a better refresh rate
On the other side of things, the Acer Nitro 16 has a much larger 16-inch display (though again, there is a 16-inch model of the Swift X, too) with the same 2560×1600 resolution as the Acer Swift X’s display panel, but with a faster 165Hz refresh rate. The faster refresh rate makes this laptop better for gaming, where the screen will refresh more rapidly, reducing blue and making the picture feel smoother and sharper.
Acer Swift X 14 (2023) vs Nitro 16 (2023): Performance
Both of these laptops share similar components and CPUs and should be plenty fast for whatever task you have at hand. You shouldn’t expect too much performance difference between the two. After all, both devices sport the option for the 13th-generation Intel Core i5-13500H CPU. The only difference that might factor into your purchasing decision is the fact that the Nitro 16 comes with a better RTX 4050 GPU as standard, and has a 140W TGP. On the Acer Swift X 14, you have to pay an additional $400 to get the RTX 4050, and it doesn’t run nearly as fast and is limited to 50W TGP due to the thermals.
Both of these laptops should be plenty fast for whatever task you have at hand.
Anyway, the high-end model of the Acer Swift X comes with an Intel Core i7-13700H CPU. The CPU has 14 cores, and 20 threads, and it can hit 5GHz turbo boost speeds. On the lower end, the introductory model with an Intel Core i5-13500H has 12 cores, and 16 threads, and hits a 4.7 GHz turbo boost. That’s the same CPU you’ll find in the Acer Nitro 16. This H-series CPU runs at 45W and is plenty fast. You can check out the performance in the tablet below, where we pulled the CPU from an MSI Prestige laptop.
This CPU really excels in tests that need raw power. Multicore scores are high in tests like Geekbench and Cinebench. With a device with an H-series coming in at 12,570 on Gekbench 6 multicore, and 13,093 on Cinebench. And, when you consider a device that has a similar H-series CPU, and GPU like the XPS 17, you get fantastic scores well above 6,000 on 3D Mark. This shows you’d not have to worry about running into any issues when gaming, video, editing, or anything in between.
Keep in mind, though, that entry-level models of the Acer Swift X come with RTX 3050 graphics. This GPU is alright, since it has 6GB of memory, and supports Ray Tracing, but the RTX 4060 GPUs have two times faster ray tracing performance and are newer.
The Acer Nitro 16 is a better pick
Looking at the value of what you’re saying, the Acer Nitro 16 is a better laptop. It costs $100 more than the Acer Swift X 14 ($1,200 vs $1,100), and it’s heavy since it’s a gaming laptop, but there are a lot of benefits. You end up getting a screen with a faster refresh rate, and you get a modern Nvidia GPU for a more affordable price.
Acer Nitro 16 (2023)
A great gaming laptop
The Acer Nitro 16 is a great simplistic-looking gaming laptop. It sports 13th-generation Intel H-series CPUs, and RTX 40-series graphics cards. It also has an RGB keyboard, and great cooling to keep your laptop running efficiently.
Of course, if you’re not a gamer, and you’re a video or photo editor, the Acer Swift X will still be a good choice for you. This laptop has an OLED display which can make the content you create look more life-like. It also is more portable and has a sleeker design, similar to a lot of the best laptops we’ve seen so far in 2023. Just be prepared to pay more for that OLED screen, and the RTX 40-series GPUs.
Acer Swift X 14 (2023)
A great video editing or photo editing laptop
The Acer Swift X 14 (2023) packs 13th-generation Intel Core processors and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 graphics for great performance in all kinds of creative workloads. It also has a stunning 2.8K OLED display that’s prime for content creation.