Acer Swift Go 14 (SFG14-41) review: our full review –

After the phenomenal impact that ultrabooks have had on the PC market, the categories are once again starting to diversify. The Acer Swift Go 14 is one of those computers that seeks to offer the portability of an ultrabook while maintaining power worthy of larger jobs. This can be seen in its technical sheet, in its appearance, but also… in its faults.

Acer Swift Go 14 (SFG14-41) Technical sheet

The copy tested here was loaned to us by Acer for the duration of the test.

Acer Swift Go 14 (SFG14-41) Design

At first glance, especially when placed closed on a table, the Acer Swift Go 14 looks like any other modern laptop. A gray metal chassis, a compact 14-inch format, rounded edges for flat edges… Nothing really shakes up preconceptions. And if we no longer find the little wave on the edge which was the signature of Acer laptops for some time, the lower line, slightly more accentuated than the upper one, serves as a reminder.

No, what really changes is to be found on the back. Because yes, unlike ultrabooks, we are not trying to hide the fact that the Swift Go 14 needs to propel its hot air. We therefore have a large grid at the back allowing this, for a thicker than average back. However, at 1.25 kg and 1.49 cm thick, it remains a very easily transportable device. If Acer is not original, the manufacturer at least has the merit of meeting expectations.

Keyboard and touchpad

On the keyboard, no unpleasant surprises either. The keys tend to be a little softer than average, and don’t have the greatest travel in the world, but we’re on a comfortable configuration that’s not very audible either. The keys are well spaced, and the power button doubles as a fingerprint reader for added security.

The disappointment is to be seen on the touchpad side. If it is made of “OceanGlass”, or Acer’s recycled plastic, it maintains very good glide. No, it’s rather its very shortened diagonal for a 2023 computer that disappoints, as well as a not particularly elegant integration within the chassis. It’s simple: once opened, the Acer Swift Go 14 seems a bit “old-fashioned” considering the standards of our time.

Connections

The connectivity, on the other hand, has everything to delight. On the left we find two USB-C ports, including one Thunderbolt 4 compatible, an HDMI 2.1 port and a USB A port. On the right, we have a second USB A port, the combo jack, and a microSD card reader. Of course, we would still prefer to have a full-size SD reader, but the fact remains that the Acer Swift Go 14 of 2023 is equipped to suit many different types of users on this point, who will not have to take out a dongle for each use.

Webcam and audio

Acer makes a big deal out of its 1440p webcam. But in reality, we always focus on the quality of a webcam, even if it is a little finer than its competitors. In short, no surprise: favor video conferences, and don’t imagine yourself launching a YouTube channel with it. The same goes for the machine’s speakers, of very ordinary quality, with no real definition of the mids and completely absent bass. No disappointment since that’s the lot these days.

Acer Swift Go 14 (SFG14-41) Screen

This is one of the big stars of this configuration. We are facing a 14-inch Oled panel supporting a maximum definition of 2880 by 1800 pixels, i.e. a 16:10 ratio. This screen is compatible with a maximum refresh rate of 90 Hz on our test model.

Before even moving on to our probe measurements with the DisplayCal software, it is worth emphasizing an important point about this panel: it reflects light enormously. Much more than the vast majority of PCs we have tested in recent months. This is a problem for anyone planning to work outside of their apartments or office.

At a minimum, the maximum brightness measured at 532 cd/m² will help somewhat to counterbalance this aspect. Otherwise, we find excellent coverage of 178.2% of the sRGB space for 126.2% of the DCI-P3 space. The color temperature measured at 6201K is excellent considering the 6500K targeted by the NTSC standard, when the average Delta E00 is measured at 2.83 for a maximum of 5.58. While other manufacturers have even more accurate colors, any score below 3 is considered excellent.

By adding this refresh rate of 90 Hz, we can easily consider ourselves to be in front of a good panel. Its only major negative point in this case is really this tendency to reflect light like a mirror, which is extremely difficult to use in many conditions. A matte treatment would have been a game changer for this device.

Acer Swift Go 14 (SFG14-41) Software

Acer’s software formula is difficult to see in 2023. Besides the fact that the options are difficult to find for ordinary mortals, the software simply no longer makes much sense when Windows integrates most of their features. We are at the point where the “Care Center” is still talking about defragmenting your hard drive, a process which would destroy the SSD installed by default. But to really activate the maximum performance of your PC, you have to go through the “Quick Access” software which is not even identified as Acer software in the list of programs.

And all this without counting on the advertisements which abound on the configuration, with a lot of advertising banners for McAfee or Dropbox. Acer: we need to review all of this, and quickly. This is not the first time we have pointed out this problem.

Acer Swift Go 14 (SFG14-41) Performance

In our test configuration, the 2023 Acer Swift Go 14 is equipped with the Intel Core i5-13500H, a SoC with 12 cores – 4 performance and 8 efficient – ​​which can turbo up to 4.70 GHz. It is coupled with 16 GB of DDR5 RAM and 1 TB of PCIe 4.0 storage. An atypical configuration, since the H range is generally reserved for larger computers wanting to output more power.

Benchmarks and heating

In terms of raw performance, we are not particularly disappointed by the Acer Swift Go 14. If the 13500H is capable of reaching 14,000 points in multi-core on Cinebench R23, the fact that it holds 11,080 points in use continuous is a good thing. And above all, its single-core performance is still excellent at 1769 points. The PCMArk 10 score of 5610 points underlines this quite well, but also demonstrates that we are on an SoC which performs in the waters of an i7 U more typical of these configurations. Also, it is on peaks of power and simultaneous tasks that the Acer Swift Go 14 of 2023 will really show its interest compared to a classic ultrabook. The real disappointment is to see on the side of the integrated SSD. At 3620 MB/s reading and 3457 MB/s writing, it is far from being a worthy representative of the current generation which easily reaches 6000 MB/s. We feel that here, the manufacturer has chosen to make savings .

In terms of heating, the Acer Swift Go 14 from 2023 is also not particularly convincing. We find a peak at 53.6°C at the bottom of the device, which would not be particularly surprising on a gaming configuration, but is not very engaging on a PC of this format. Above all, the fans at full power offer a very high-pitched and throbbing sound that is more than unpleasant to hear.

Considering all of these points, it’s hard to recommend the 2023 Acer Swift Go 14 to anyone other than someone who needs—for whatever reason—a more powerful than average CPU in a chassis. ultrabook. Otherwise, the U range could have made it possible to conserve heating while retaining the good points of the device.

Acer Swift Go 14 (SFG14-41) Autonomy

The Acer Swift Go 14 integrates a 65 Wh battery and offers a USB-C power supply with the Power Delivery standard that can deliver up to 100W. This is the price of using an Intel H model compared to a classic ultrabook.

And this is also paid for in autonomy. In typical use, we were able to find between 7 and 8 hours of lifespan. This is the equivalent of the ultrabooks of a few years ago, but a score that is more difficult to accept in the era of MacBook M1/M2. Above all, it is below the average for PCs in its category, which easily reach 10 hours of use these days.

Acer Swift Go 14 (SFG14-41) Price and availability

The Acer Swift Go 14 will be sold in France at a starting price of 999 euros. A 16-inch version also exists for 1099 euros.

There are no offers at the moment