The Acer Swift X belongs to a recent breed of notebooks — “creator laptops” — with the computing power to create content, such as videos, on the go. The Swift X, for one, weighs just 1.4kg, but is equipped with a 12-core Intel Core i7 chip, and more importantly, a dedicated Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti graphics chip. In other words, you can stream yourself playing a game online, capture the video, and edit it on the Swift X, while sitting at a cafe. Preferably near an electrical outlet.

My Swift X has a simple clean look. It feels solid, thanks to an aluminium chassis. I'm constantly surprised that this 14-inch notebook weighs just 1.4kg, despite packing a fairly capable graphics chip. But compared to other premium laptops — the S$2,298 Swift X falls somewhat in this category — the Acer doesn't look as luxurious. For example, the screen bezels, while narrow, are plastic. Its 16:10 matte display offers a taller screen more suited for productivity than the movie-optimised 16:9 format. This screen tops out at 300 nits brightness, which is decent, but not bright enough for HDR movies.

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Its Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti chip can run most games at 1080p resolution. For example, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy averaged 51fps at 1080p at High setting. However, its 60Hz display isn't the best for gaming. As expected, the Swift X gets toasty in games. If you're gaming, use the notebook on a desk, not your lap. You can also toggle a Performance mode with the Fn+F shortcut combo. But the fan noise — audible but not too distracting — and heat remained similar to the standard mode. And the laptop still failed to complete the full 20-loop run of the demanding 3DMark Wild Life Stress Test. Frame rates would drop due to the heat. In Geekbench 5, the Swift X's single-core score (1,640) was below the M2 Apple MacBook Air, but the Acer had a higher multi-core score (8,918).

The Acer Swift X has a good selection of ports — two Thunderbolt 4 and two USB-A. It also has a HDMI 2.1 port, which is useful if you plan to connect the Swift X to a high-end TV like the LG C2. But a microSD or SD card reader would have been sweet. The keyboard feels shallow, but it's spacious enough. I like the smooth feel of the touchpad, but it could be a tad larger. The Swift X's 1080p webcam produces crisp images, but I did notice a fair amount of noise and grain. It's still better than most 720p webcams, though. However, a webcam privacy shutter of some sort (physical or electronic) would have been nice here.

The Acer Swift X lasted 6hr 40min in our video-loop battery test at maximum brightness. That's very decent for a notebook with a dedicated graphics chip. Its price tag is also reasonable at S$2,298. That's significantly cheaper than the S$3,699 that Asus is asking for its 14-inch creator laptop. Of course, the Asus notebook offers a second display, and performs slightly better in benchmarks. But Acer is also offering a two-year warranty, and if you want more savings, the PC maker still sells an older AMD version for S$1,798. Get the newer Intel-powered Swift X from the Acer Store, Shopee and Lazada.

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Note: Review unit provided by Acer.