Acer’s Swift 3 series is primarily known for affordable laptops. However, the configuration of the Swift 3 SF314-71-56U3 is a higher-end model with a 14-inch OLED display that has a native resolution of 2.8K. As an OLED panel, it offers typical advantages such as amazing colors and contrast, but the glossy surface makes it somewhat of a pain to use when working outdoors.
Speaking of which, mobility and working on the go is not exactly what the Swift 3 SF314 excels at, anyway. With a 14-inch display and a weight of less than 1.4 kg, it is both compact and lightweight. However, the battery life is far from being impressive, which makes prolonged working, video streaming, and web browsing without an external power source impossible.
There are many reasons for this. Aside from the OLED display’s relatively high consumption and the small battery, the powerful CPU is a factor as well. For this model, Acer uses the Intel Core i5-12500H with clock speeds of up to 4.5 GHz, 12 cores, and 16 threads from Intel’s Alder Lake-H lineup. Even though Acer does limit the chip’s maximum TDP, it shows what it is capable of in our various benchmarks.
There is no dedicated GPU and the manufacturer instead relies on the integrated Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 GPU with 80 EU. This allows the OLED laptop to achieve both fast system performance and quiet noise levels during use as well as smooth frame rates at least when gaming on low or medium graphics settings. Finally, Acer equips the laptop with 16 GB of soldered LPDDR5 system memory and a – unfortunately somewhat sluggish – 1-TB SSD.
More information, measurements and benchmarks regarding the Acer Swift 3 SF314 and its OLED display, Intel Core i5-12500H, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, and Wi-Fi 6E modules can be found in our in-depth review. The laptop can be purchased for an MSRP of around 1200 USD from various online retailers.
I have been fascinated by technology for around 25 years – especially technology that makes life easier rather than more complicated. Mobile devices such as laptops, smartphones, tablets, and smartwatches are particularly close to my heart as is the booming subject of smart homes. I have been working in these areas for several years now as a news and reviews editor. I have been active with various websites, including the smart home blogs homee, Nuki, and siio, as well as tech portals such as Giga and TechRadar. I have been writing news and laptop reviews for Notebookcheck since 2020.
Even in my youth I was already very enthusiastic about technology, and as a result I started building PCs, optimizing them, and writing programs while I was still in school. When dealing with the inevitable hardware and software problems associated with computers, I was always relentless in my search for the necessary solutions. The compact forms of laptops and smartphones introduced further challenges in this regard. In my reviews for Notebookcheck I try to communicate as objectively as possible how well a device copes with these hurdles.
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