Review Acer Swift 3 (AMD) Review: Meet Ryzen 7 4700U

[Admin]

Acer’s AMD-powered 2020 refresh of its Acer Swift 3 hides surprising performance under a modest hood.

Acer Swift 3 (AMD) Review: Meet Ryzen 7 4700U : Read more

 

[watzupken]

The cooling solution looks inadequete even though there is still a lot of spare space in the chassis. Also it seems more laptops are going for soldered on memory of late to lock people out from upgrading.

 

[vinay2070]

OMG, even the U series have monsterous performance!

 

[nmainferme]

"Unfortunately, the RAM is soldered in, so be sure to pick an amount you’re happy with when configuring your purchase." AFAIK, the RAM is only available in 8GB and cannot be upgraded.

 

[bardia]

Unfortunately, no one should be recommending this. The CPU is fantastic, but the system is crippled in real world use with only 8gb (6 available). Windows 10 with a few program/tabs running will fill all 6 the day you buy it. That wouldn't be a big deal if you could slap another chip in down the road, but locked to 8? Just say no.


Given how inexpensive memory is right now, and how easily Acer could have just upped the price $20-50 and doubled the memory, this is simply not something that should be overlooked. I'm disappointed that Tom's isn't calling Acer out for this.

 

[1dash1]

First of all, the integrated GPU doesn't hog 2GB of RAM. It only uses that much if you're running GPU-intensive tasks.

Second, people doing web surfing and streaming video will invariably stay well under 8GB.

Third, Windows 10 works wonderfully well with fast SSD's in memory swapping tasks that sit in the background and don't require active use (which is the majority of webpages you open while browsing).

Right now, I'm on my Swift 3 with the Ryzen 7 4700u processor, 8 GB RAM. I have two YouTube videos, a NetFlix movie, a CrunchyRoll video, an Amazon Prime Video, a Starz movie, a BBC video all streaming simultaneously ... PLUS Pandora and Spotify streaming audio running in the background ... PLUS three open word documents ... PLUS two open spreadsheets ... PLUS 22 open tabs in Windows Chrome

... and I'm only using 83% of available RAM according to my Task Manager!

All of the active streaming windows are working fine.

All of the tabs open the instant I click on them. I can't tell whether they are sitting in RAM or sitting in memory on the SSD and memory swapped.

If you are running memory intensive programs, like large spreadsheets or editing videos, then there's no getting around the 8GB ceiling. However, for casual users, I don't see it as a problem.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Who on earth would buy this when so many better Ryzen options exist?

For the $$$, it's a horrible value.

 

[1dash1]

I bought this.

I love its form factor. 2.65 lbs. 12.73" x 8.62" x0.63".

I truly liked the screen. I found the colors to be richer and more vivid than the 400 nit screen of my Lenovo X1 Carbon. Granted, the colors were shaded toward blues and greens, but nonetheless pleasurable watching Netflix and YouTube videos.

I liked the snappy response. 8 seconds from boot-up to Windows 10 start screen. Excellent CPU performance and fairly decent GPU performance. No overheating issues. Fast SSD drive. Fast DDR4 memory. It's a very nimble performer, IMO.

I like the build quality of the machine. Fit and finish details seem to be first rate. Everything works. Nothing bends too much. No odd clicking or creaking noises. Ports work fine (although when using a USB multifunction hub, you might need to re-plug the hub after reawakening the laptop from sleep).

What I don't like:

1. Acer's Warranty. I have to pay for shipping of replacement parts. For repairs, I have to pay for shipping to the nearest service center BOTH WAYS. If parts need replacing, they may use parts that have previously been used. If the laptop needs replacement, they may substitute another product. If they cannot repair or replace the laptop, they will refund me the DEPRECIATED value. (Makes me want to cry for CostCo!)

2. Audio. The downward firing speakers are just plain bad. They sound like a pocket radio.

3. Keyboard. I don't like the layout and feel of the chiclet style keyboard. I find that I have a difficult time touchtyping on it. And for me to sight-type, the keyboard backlighting is too dim to be effective under normal lighting conditions.

4. Battery life could be better. I got 4-1/2 hours at 100% brightness, while surfing the net and watching streaming videos. "Good enough" for my needs, but probably a little too short for others. Fortunately, you can use a portable power bank to recharge the laptop via the USB-C power port.

And as I reported before, 8GB RAM (for me) has not been an issue.