A comparison of specs, key information, reviews, and best pricing from top retailers
Last updated -- hours ago | Report incorrect information
Nitro 5 17
Company ProductName Specs











Swift X (2021)
Company ProductName Specs











What we think

Chevron down
PerfectRec Logo
The PerfectRec laptop team Learn more
Updated January 10, 2024·

When considering the Acer Nitro 5 17 and the Acer Swift X (2021), think about your primary needs. The Acer Nitro 5 17 offers a larger screen and more powerful performance suitable for gaming, 3D rendering, or intensive engineering tasks, but it's heavier and has a shorter battery life, making it less portable. On the other hand, the Acer Swift X is more portable with a longer battery life and lighter weight, ideal for general use and bringing to different locations; however, it has less power and storage, and a smaller screen, which may limit its ability for demanding tasks. Both laptops are similarly priced, so your choice should hinge on whether portability or performance is your priority. Give Feedback

this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Acer Nitro 5 17
  • Very good for engineering and design
  • Good for gaming and AI
  • Very good overall display quality
Advantages of the Acer Swift X (2021)
  • Very good portability
  • Very good battery life
  • Very good speakers
  • Very good keyboard

Key differences

Chevron down

Gaming and AI

7.7
Nitro 5 17
Swift X (2021)
6.3
7.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.4/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
360Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The Acer Nitro 5 17 is good for gaming and AI, while the Acer Swift X (2021) is only fair.

Engineering and Design

8.0
Nitro 5 17
Swift X (2021)
7.0
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.6/10
7.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The Acer Nitro 5 17 is very good for engineering and design, while the Acer Swift X (2021) is good.

Screen Quality

8.2
Nitro 5 17
Swift X (2021)
6.9
17.3in
SIZE
14.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
360Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
307.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
372.0 nits
The Acer Nitro 5 17 has a better screen than the Acer Swift X for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, and content creation.

Battery

6.0 Hours
Nitro 5 17
Swift X (2021)
10.0 Hours
The Acer Nitro 5 17 has 6 hours of battery life. The Acer Swift X has 10 hours of battery life.

Portability

Fair
Nitro 5 17
Swift X (2021)
Very Good
17.3in
SIZE
14.0in
5.9 lbs
WEIGHT
3.0 lbs
0.9in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Acer Swift X (2021) has very good portability, while the Acer Nitro 5 17 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.

Cost

$830
Nitro 5 17
Swift X (2021)
$580
Product image
Product image

$200

$400

$600

$800

$1,000

$1,200

$1,400

The Acer Nitro 5 17 has a price of $830 and the Acer Swift X (2021) costs $580.
Image of Laptops
Let Us Help Find Your Perfect Laptop
Find your new laptop

Key similarities

Chevron down

General Use

7.8
Nitro 5 17
Swift X (2021)
7.4
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
307.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
372.0 nits
6.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
10.0 Hours
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
6.0/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Acer Nitro 5 17 and Acer Swift X (2021) are both good for general use.

Content Creation

7.8
Nitro 5 17
Swift X (2021)
7.5
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Acer Nitro 5 17 and Acer Swift X (2021) are both good for content creation.

Software Development

7.4
Nitro 5 17
Swift X (2021)
7.3
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Acer Nitro 5 17 and Acer Swift X (2021) are both good for software development.

Build Quality

7.2
Nitro 5 17
Swift X (2021)
7.6
The Acer Swift X (2021) and Acer Nitro 5 17 both have good build quality.

Give feedback

We’re constantly working to improve.

How the Acer Nitro 5 17 and the Acer Swift X (2021) compare to other laptops

Chevron down

Spec Comparison

Chevron down
Acer Nitro 5 17Acer Swift X (2021)
Acer Nitro 5 17Acer Swift X (2021)

GENERAL

Price
$830
$580
Release Date
February 1, 2023June 1, 2021
Overall Dimensions
15.9'' x 11'' x 0.98''12.7'' x 8.4'' x 0.7''
Weight
5.95 lbs3.06 lbs
Width
15.89"12.7"
Depth
11.02"8.4"

INTERNAL

Processor
AMD Ryzen 7 5800HAMD Ryzen 5 5600U
RAM
16 GB8 GB
DDR Memory Version
44
RAM Slots
20
Storage
1024 GB512 GB

BATTERY

Battery Life
6 Hours10 Hours
Battery Capacity
57.5 Wh59 Wh

SCREEN

Diagonal Size
17.3"14"
Display Technology
IPSIPS
Resolution
1920 x 10801920 x 1080
Refresh Rate
360Hz60Hz
Display Brightness
307 nits372 nits

RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS

Build Quality Score
7.2/107.6/10
Portability Score
6.1/108.6/10
Gaming Laptop Appearance
YesNo
Premium Business Laptop
NoNo
Fan Noise Score
7.5/108/10

HARDWARE FEATURES

Keyboard Quality Score
7/108/10
Speaker Quality Score
7.5/108/10
Webcam
720p720p
Fingerprint Reader
NoYes
Backlit Keyboard
YesYes
Number Pad
YesNo

CONNECTIVITY

USB Type-A
32
USB-C ports
11
USB-C Charging
NoYes
Display Outputs
12
Thunderbolt Ports
00

Shopping

Chevron down

Acer Nitro 5 17

See more

Dig into reviews and images

NotebookCheck

Sascha Mölck | August 2021
"The Acer Nitro 5 17 is a solid mid-range gamer. The Nitro 5 does not belong to the top group of RTX 3070 notebooks: Compared with the RTX 3070 notebooks tested so far, the computer delivers below-average frame rates - this is due to the 100-watt TGP. The GPU performance can be increased a bit with a firmware update. The device scores with a high level of CPU performance. Throttling is not a concern. CPU and GPU can produce their performance constantly. The laptop heats up moderately under load. The noise development is on the usual class level."

Acer Swift X (2021)

See more

Dig into reviews and images

NotebookCheck

Sebastian Jentsch | March 2022
"The Swift X is an Acer for entry-level gaming. With the entry-level graphics chip, our Acer not only beats every single current AMD and Intel iGPU, but also Intel's dGPU Iris Xe Max. However, despite being a GDDR6 version, the GTX does not match the expectations set by its own counterparts from our database. This may be a result of the single fan, which only produces moderate noise levels under load. The performance level of the thin and light 1.4 kg (~3.09 lbs) 14-inch laptop is impressive nonetheless."

Get a great deal on the Acer Nitro 5 17 or the Acer Swift X (2021)

About Acer

Acer is a prominent Taiwanese electronics brand which makes a wide range of laptops, with multiple product lines catering to personal use, gaming, and business use. They are renowned for having exceptional value for money, as they frequently offer good specifications at a lower price than other manufacturers.

Give feedback

We're constantly perfecting our model

Laptop guides you might be interested in

Chevron down

FAQs

Chevron down

FAQs about laptops

Questions about PerfectRec >

Why trust us

Chevron down
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.

By the numbers

380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
116,295
Recommendations made
25,198
Consumer hours saved

About the laptop team

Joe Golden, Ph.D

CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.

Jason Lew

Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.

Chandradeep Chowdhury

Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.

Craig Russell

Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.

Featured in

Color LTT LogoGeekwire logo9to5 Mac logoPhone Arena LogoColor Daring Fireball logo