Review and testing of Acer Swift X SFX16-51G laptop based on Intel Core i7-11390H processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti video card

We got our hands on an interesting ultrabook Acer Swift X in 16-inch format. This is a light and thin laptop that retains all the advantages of compact devices of the Swift line in combination with a large screen. We will consider a model based on an Intel Tiger Lake processor and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti video card.

Acer Swift X SFX16-51G (N9.AYLWW.001)

Visually, the laptop looks like a typical 15.6-inch ultrabook. With dimensions of 368x236x18.9 mm, it is minimally different from some Acer Swift 5, but the weight is a little more – up to 1.9 kg. There is no feeling that you are sacrificing something due to the increased diagonal of the screen, and this is an important plus.

The configuration is based on an Intel Core i7-11390H processor of the Tiger Lake generation with a Boost frequency of up to 5 GHz. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti video card is responsible for graphics processing. Since it is a thin device, an economical version of the video card (Max-Q) with a strict power limit and reduced frequencies is installed. 16 GB of economical LPDDR4 memory is installed. A fast NVMe M.2 drive with a capacity of one terabyte is used for data storage.

Full parameters are presented in the table.

At this time, Acer also offers Acer Swift X 16 ultrabooks based on 12th generation Intel Core with Intel Arc graphics.

Supply set

The laptop comes in a regular cardboard box.

The complete set is standard – inside there is only a power supply unit with the appropriate cable.

The PA-1900-32 power supply is designed for a load of 90 W.

Appearance

Acer Swift X 16 is made in the standard Swift design. Strict solid design is combined with dark gray color.

The outer case is made of metal, which gives the case great rigidity. There is an Acer logo on the top cover.

Slots for air flow are made at the bottom. There are rubber feet on the corners.

The power cable is connected on the left. Thunderbolt 4, HDMI and USB 3.2 Type-A ports with support for charging mobile devices are also placed on this side.

On the right side is another USB 3.2 Type-A port, an audio jack for a headset, and a Kensington lock slot.

The screen tilts to a wide angle. In the unfolded state, the screen slightly raises the case above the table, providing air flow.

The screen is surrounded by a thin frame. The inner surface is made in the same color as the outer case.

In the upper part of the frame there is a webcam with built-in microphones.

Blowing air is carried out through holes in the back of the case, near the screen.

Island type keyboard. A digital unit is present.

White illumination of symbols is provided.

The power button is located in the general row of keys, in the right corner.

A fingerprint scanner is located under the digital unit.

The touchpad with buttons is made in the form of a single panel.

Screen

The Acer Swift X SFX16-51G has a matte screen with an anti-glare coating.

It uses an Innolux N161HCA-EA3 (CMN160B) 16-inch IPS matrix, Full HD 1920×1080 resolution, 60 Hz refresh rate.

According to measurements, the screen provides coverage of the sRGB color space at the level of 98% and Adobe RGB at 69%.

The brightness is adjustable in the range from 19 to 283 cd/m². The contrast ratio is 1300:1. All subsequent measurements were performed at a brightness of 120 cd/m².

The color temperature is close to the optimal level of 6500K. The deviation of the gamma curves is small.

The screen shows high color accuracy with an average DeltaE deviation of about 1 unit, which is an excellent result.

The overall impression of the screen is positive. It provides a bright saturated picture with good color rendering. This is an excellent option for an office laptop and for working with content at an amateur level.

Internal device

Let’s disassemble the laptop. The bottom cover has many support points to avoid deformation of the case.

All important elements on the board are covered with heat sinks. Heat from the processor and video card is removed by two common heat pipes. The radiator unit is blown by two fans. It looks very solid for an economical laptop.

A 58 Wh battery is used.

Western Digital SN530 SDBPNPZ-1T00-1114 1TB NVMe M.2 drive with 4x PCI-E 3.0 interface installed. Space is provided for a second drive. There are stereo speakers in the corners of the case.

The operation of Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 wireless interfaces is ensured by the Intel AX201NGW controller.

The Intel Core i7-11390H processor belongs to the 10-nm Tiger Lake family. It has four physical cores with Hyper-Threading, which allows you to process eight data streams. With a base frequency of 3.4 GHz, the maximum boost frequency can reach 5 GHz.

16 GB of LPDDR4X-4266 RAM is soldered on the laptop board, which works in four-channel mode with 36-39-39-90-1T delays. Economical memory of this standard is often used together with Intel Tiger Lake processors.

Quite expectedly, the ultrabook uses an economical version of the GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Max-Q with the lowest TGP in this series. This results in low operating frequencies: GPU base value 735 MHz with Boost Clock 1035 MHz, effective memory frequency 10820 MHz. It is worth noting that the top version of the GeForce RTX 3050 Ti works at a Boost Clock frequency of 1695 MHz with faster memory. But in this case, we have a compact device, and reducing the potential of the video card is a forced compromise to achieve the optimal balance between performance, heating and autonomous operation. In 2D mode, Intel Xe Graphics integrated in the processor is activated.

Software

Acer Swift X runs Windows 11 operating system.

The Acer Care Center program allows you to monitor system and program updates, provides quick access to recovery services and some other functions.

Cooling system efficiency and noise level

Now let’s talk about operating temperatures and check the frequency indicators in the load. The laptop was tested in a room with a temperature of 21 °C.

First, we tested the Acer in gaming mode. To simulate a long game load, a looped 3DMark Time Spy stress test was run.

In this mode, the GPU temperature reached 58 °C at Boost frequencies of around 950–1050 MHz. The Intel Core i7-11390H reached peak values ​​of 90-93 °C, although average operating temperatures were below 60 °C. The processor cores showed a boost to 4.8-4.9 GHz.

Next, the laptop was tested in the AIDA64 stress test with maximum load on the processor and memory subsystem.

In this mode, the processor cores showed frequencies of 3.5–3.6 GHz. Peak temperatures of the cores reached 93–95 °C, the average operating temperature was below 80 °C.

Long-term load warms the body in the central and left parts. It does not cause discomfort.

In general, the laptop showed acceptable operating temperatures with a low noise level. Separately, it is worth noting the low heating of the graphics processor, which is explained by the reduced power to 35 W.

Dispersal

Against the background of low heating of the video card, we decided to experiment a little with its overclocking. From the budget version of the GeForce RTX 3050 Ti, it was possible to achieve a slight acceleration with a corresponding increase in performance.

The base frequency is increased by 100 MHz, the memory is accelerated to 11820 MHz. Further increase in frequencies led to malfunctions.

The average increase in Boost frequencies for the GPU is about 100 MHz. At the same time, the general temperature regime has hardly changed.