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In September, Intel officially introduced the 11th generation of Tiger Lake mobile processors. They are based on x86 cores based on the Willow Cove architecture with powerful Iris Xe integrated graphics. The processors are manufactured using the 10nm SuperFin process technology and are designed for use in compact, economical ultrabooks.
The Tiger Lake processors are an evolution of the 10nm Ice Lake processors with minor technical tweaks and an improved manufacturing process, resulting in better power efficiency and higher frequencies. Within the Tiger Lake family, there are Core i7 and Core i5 with four cores processing eight threads, and younger Core i3 with two physical cores, also with support for Hyper-Threading. Older processors provide Boost up to 4.1-4.3 GHz on all cores and up to 4.7-4.8 GHz on a single core. At the same time, their TDP is kept in the range of 12-28 watts. Tiger Lake has increased the throughput of the Converged Chassis Fabric internal bus. The updated memory controller supports DDR4-3200 up to 64GB, LPDDR4X-4266 up to 32GB, and LPDDR5-5400. Integrated support for Thunderbolt 4, PCI Express 4.0 and Wi-Fi 6.
A third of the chip is occupied by the integrated Xe-LP graphics module, which is noticeably faster than previous generations of Intel graphics. It uses 96 EU execution units at higher frequencies, plus 3.8 MB of dedicated L3 cache. Such graphics should be a strong competitor for graphics accelerators in AMD Renoir processors and entry-level NVIDIA GeForce models. Intel notes the superiority of Iris Xe over graphics in AMD Ryzen 4800U and GeForce MX350. The new graphics core supports Intel DP4A technology to accelerate INT8 operations in deep learning tasks. The video processing unit has been improved, hardware support for the AV1 codec has appeared with video acceleration of 4K60fps and 8K30fps. You can output images up to 8K at 60 frames or simultaneously on four devices 4K at 60 fps. DisplayPort 1.4 interface is supported.
The older solutions at the moment are the Core i7-1185G7 and Core i7-1165G7 processors. We take a look at the Acer Swift 5 compact lightweight Ultrabook based on the Core i7-1165G7, evaluate its performance and test the capabilities of Intel Iris Xe in a number of games.
Acer Swift 5 SF514-55T
The laptop in question belongs to the category of thin light devices. With a mass of 1 kg, such a device does not burden you when carried in a purse or backpack. Inside the compact 319x207x15mm chassis is a system with an Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor, 16GB of RAM and a fast 512GB NVMe drive. Acer is equipped with a 14-inch touch screen based on a high-quality IPS-matrix. Wi-Fi 6 standard is supported and there are no wired network connection options.
Full specifications in the table:
| Model | Acer Swift 5 SF514-55T |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer’s site | Swift 5 SF514-55T |
| Processor | Intel Core i7-1165G7 2.8 GHz (up to 4700 MHz with Turbo Boost) |
| RAM | 16 GB, LPDDR4X-4266 |
| Display | 14″, 1920×1080, 60Гц, IPS (AUO B140HAN06.4) |
| Video card | Intel Iris Xe Graphics |
| Disk subsystem | SSD NVMe M.2 SKhynix HFM512GDJTNI-82A0A 512 ГБ |
| I/O ports | 2x USB 3.2, USB 3.2 Type C, HDMI, 3.5mm combo audio jack |
| Communications | Wi-Fi 6 AX201, Bluetooth 5.1 |
| Multimedia | 2.0 audio system, webcam, touch screen |
| Safety | Kensington lock, fingerprint reader |
| Battery, mAh | 3634–3545 |
| Power adapter, W | 65 |
| Dimensions, mm | 319 x 207 x 15 |
| Weight, kg | 1,05 |
| Price | n/a |
According to the description on the Acer website, this model can use Intel Core i5 processors, which, with the same number of cores, have lower frequencies and are cut down to 80 EU blocks for the integrated graphics core.
Contents of delivery
The laptop comes in a small cardboard box.
Complete with charger and cable.
When connected to the mains, the laptop is powered by a 65W Chicony A18-065N3A block.
Appearance
Acer Swift 5 is a small stylish laptop in a durable magnesium alloy case.
Available in two colors – Mist Green and Safari Gold.
Our version has a greenish-graphite color, diluted with a silver lining over the screen hinges.
The surface of the case is matte and not easily soiled, pleasant to the touch. The manufacturer’s logo is on the top.
At the bottom there are slots for air flow. There are rubber feet on the corners.
On the left side is an HDMI connector, a USB 3.2 port and USB 3.2 Type C.
On the right side is another USB 3.2 port, an audio combo jack for a headset, and a Kensington lock.
When the screen is raised, the hinges lift the laptop off the table surface, forming a small stand and increasing airflow.
The screen is surrounded by a thin side frame.
At the top of the screen are the usual webcam and microphones.
The design of the laptop provides for blowing hot air around the left hinge of the screen.
The working surface is made in the same color as the outer casing. Island-style keyboard without numeric keypad.
There is a backlight of the keys – its intensity is exactly at the level to slightly illuminate the buttons and not interfere with the user.
The power button is located in the general row of keys – not everyone likes it, but you quickly get used to such nuances.
On the right side is a fingerprint scanner.
The touchpad is located in the center. Made in the form of a single touch panel with two buttons.
Screen
Acer Swift 5 is equipped with a touch screen with Antimicrobial Corning Gorilla Glass. Diagonal 14 inches. The IPS-matrix AUO B140HAN06 is used. The resolution is 1920×1080, the refresh rate is 60 Hz.
The coverage of the sRGB color space is 99.3%, Adobe RGB – 70.2%. The color temperature is about 6800K, which is close to the optimal value.
Brightness is adjustable from 23 to 401 cd/m². The contrast ratio is stable at 1650:1.
According to the measurement results, the Argyll utility shows an average DeltaE color deviation of less than 6 units, which is a good result.
A high-quality matrix and good calibration provide a bright, saturated picture, which is not always given out by more expensive laptop models. Impressions from the Acer Swift 5 screen are extremely positive. Only a glossy surface with possible glare can be recorded as cons, but this is the specificity of a touch screen with a protective glass.
Internal organization
Let’s take a look inside the laptop. A significant part of the volume is occupied by the battery. At the top is the board and cooling system.
A powerful 55 Wh battery is installed.
Heat from the Intel SoC is removed through two heat pipes, at the end of which a standard “turbine” is installed with a small heatsink and fan. It looks modest, but quite worthy for a TDP of 28 watts.
The board has four economical LPDDR4X SKhynix H9HCNNNCPMML-XRNEE 012A memory modules with a total capacity of 16 GB.
The Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 dual-band network module is used.
The SSD NVMe M.2 SKhynix HFM512GDJTNI-82A0A with a capacity of 512 GB is used as a drive.
There are two small stereo speakers in the corners.
The full specifications of the laptop are shown in the screenshot of the HWiNFO utility.
The Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor ranks second in the Tiger Lake family hierarchy. These are four cores processing eight threads. The base frequency is from 1.2 GHz to 2.8 GHz, depending on the specified TDP limits (in the range from 12 to 28 watts). Under Turbo Boost mode, one core can reach a peak frequency of 4.7GHz, all cores can simultaneously accelerate to 4.2GHz.
It uses LPDDR4X memory, which was originally developed for smartphones. LPDDR4X operates in dual-channel mode and provides a data transfer rate of 4266 Mbps. Module delays 36-39-39-90 at a clock frequency of 2133 MHz.
Graphics processing is done by Intel Iris Xe Graphics (Xe-LP) with 96 compute modules and a maximum Boost frequency of 1300 MHz. DirectX 12 (12_1) is supported. This is the fastest graphics solution from Intel, the performance of which can be judged by the results of the tests.
Software
The Acer Care Center application is installed on the laptop, which allows you to get basic technical information about the device, control startup applications, system updates, battery status, etc.
Cooling System Efficiency and Noise Level
The laptop was tested in a room with a temperature of 23 ° C. To create the maximum load, the stress test of the AIDA64 utility was used, the combined loading mode of the CPU, cache, memory and graphics accelerator was turned on.
Such a stress test warmed up the processor to 80 ° C, after which the core frequency began to decrease down to 1.8 GHz at a temperature of about 60 ° C.
It is more interesting how the laptop will perform in realistic tasks. To do this, we tested its parameters during a long load of 3DMark Fire Strike and Witcher 3. With rare peaks up to 4.7 GHz in a game load, the cores were accelerated to 1.8 GHz or 2.8 GHz at temperatures around 60 ° C.
You can estimate the case temperature at maximum load in AIDA64 from the bottom illustration.
Tactile heating is felt in the upper part of the case, but it does not cause any discomfort.
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