Acer updates its Swift 3 laptop with AMD and Intel's latest processors
The company is promising solid performance in a truly lightweight portable.
Acer is giving its thin-and-light Swift 3 laptop a useful shot in the arm. It just introduced two versions of the portable that use the latest chips from both AMD and Intel. The AMD-powered version, the 14-inch SF314-42, uses the brand new Ryzen 7 4700U to deliver reasonably brisk performance and WiFi 6 in a system that's a comparatively svelte 2.6 pounds and 0.63 inches thick despite its metal chassis. It also touts mostly thin bezels (that chin is another matter) for its 1080p display, up to 16GB of RAM and between 128GB and 512GB of SSD storage. You can expect up to 10 hours of battery life, although real-world longevity is likely to be less.
The SF313-52/G, meanwhile, revolves around a 13.5-inch screen and Intel's 10th-generation G-series Core processors. It shares the thickness and weight of its AMD-based counterpart, although it can use up to a 1TB SSD and is supposed to last up to 16 hours on a charge. On the surface, it looks like your choice between the AMD and Intel systems boils down to performance versus longevity.
You can expect to see the Intel-based Swift 3 first. It'll ship in March starting at $699. You'll have to wait until May to spring for the AMD variant, although it'll start out at an easier-to-swallow $599.
