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Updated January 12, 2024·
If you prioritize gaming or have demanding engineering software needs, the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 is likely the better pick, as it usually offers more powerful graphics and processing capabilities suitable for those tasks. On the other hand, the Acer Swift X 16, while it may come at a slightly higher price, tends to be more portable with a sleeker design and potentially better battery life, which makes it a good choice for general use or if you need to carry the laptop around frequently. Consider how you'll use the laptop most and if portability or raw performance is more important for your needs. 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 Predator Helios Neo 16
- The Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 has no clear advantages over the Acer Swift X 16.
Advantages of the Acer Swift X 16
- Very good for general use
- Very good for software development
- Very good for content creation
- Very good overall display quality
- Good portability
- Good battery life
- Very good speakers
- Very good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.6
8.2
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
373.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
402.0 nits
5.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
8.0 Hours
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
6.1/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.6/10
The Acer Swift X 16 is very good for general use, while the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 is good.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Content Creation
7.7
8.3
9.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Acer Swift X 16 is very good for content creation, while the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 is good.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Screen Quality
7.8
8.2
16.0in
SIZE
16.0in
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
373.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
402.0 nits
The Acer Swift X 16 has a better screen than the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
For general use, the Acer Swift X 16's higher resolution and brightness provide clearer and more vivid images, making it more suitable than the Predator Helios Neo 16, which has a less bright display. The Acer Swift X 16's wider color gamut benefits engineering and design tasks where accurate color representation is critical, outperforming the Predator whose color range is more limited. However, for gaming and 3D applications that demand fluid motion, the Predator's higher refresh rate is key, but its lower resolution and panel type compared to the Swift X reduce overall image quality, making it less ideal for those uses.
Battery
5.0 Hours
8.0 Hours
The Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 has 5 hours of battery life. The Acer Swift X 16 has 8 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Portability
Fair
Good
16.0in
SIZE
16.0in
5.7 lbs
WEIGHT
4.1 lbs
1.1in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Acer Swift X 16 has good portability, while the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$799
$1,250
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 has a price of $799 and the Acer Swift X 16 costs $1,250.
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Key similarities
Gaming and AI
7.5
7.0
8.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.9/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Unknown
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 and Acer Swift X 16 are both good for gaming and AI.
The Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 is equipped with a Nvidia RTX 4050 and a screen that refreshes at a high rate, making it well-suited for gaming and 3D tasks, while the Acer Swift X 16, with a Nvidia RTX 3050 and a similar screen refresh rate but higher resolution, also supports gaming and 3D applications effectively. The Helios Neo has a more powerful GPU which is crucial for gaming performance, whereas the Swift X offers a higher screen resolution which can provide better image quality for both games and 3D work.
Engineering and Design
8.3
8.2
9.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
8.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 and Acer Swift X 16 are both very good for engineering and design.
The Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 is enhanced for engineering and design tasks with its powerful Intel i5 CPU and Nvidia RTX 4050 GPU which offers robust performance for computational and graphical needs, but it's heavier which affects portability.
Software Development
7.5
8.0
9.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Acer Swift X 16 to be very good for software development, while the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 is good.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Build Quality
7.4
7.6
The Acer Swift X 16 and Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 both have good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
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How the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 and the Acer Swift X 16 compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 | Acer Swift X 16 |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$799 | $1,250 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | April 1, 2023 | May 1, 2023 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 14.2'' x 11'' x 1.11'' | 14'' x 9.8'' x 0.7'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 5.73 lbs | 4.19 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 14.2" | 14.02" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 11" | 9.81" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Intel i5-13500HX | AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 16 GB | 16 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 5 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 2 | 0 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 512 GB | 1024 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 5 Hours | 8 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 90 Wh | 76 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 16" | 16" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1920 x 1200 | 2560 x 1600 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 165Hz | 165Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 373 nits | 402 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.4/10 | 7.6/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 6.2/10 | 7.6/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | Yes | No | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 7.5/10 | 8/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 7.5/10 | 8/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 7/10 | 8/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 1080p | 1080p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | No | Yes | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | Yes | Yes | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 3 | 2 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 2 | 2 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | No | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 3 | 3 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | 4 | N/A | |
Shopping
Acer Predator Helios Neo 16
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Dig into reviews and images
PCMag
Mark Knapp | August 2023
"The Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 sacrifices portability and a truly budget price in the name of additional power. While remaining relatively budget-friendly, this gaming laptop packs serious processing chops, and Acer optimizes its internals to deliver respectable 1080p (or 1200p) gameplay from an RTX 4050. Its keyboard and chassis design won't win it any awards, but its display is a cut above for the price."
Acer Swift X 16
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Dig into reviews and images
PCWorld
Matthew S. Smith | September 2023
"Acer’s Swift X 16 is an excellent choice for shoppers who want a 16-inch laptop and care more for performance than attractive design or long battery life. The Swift X 16’s gorgeous OLED display, spacious keyboard, and big touchpad make it pleasant to use in basic day-to-day tasks. It also has an AMD Ryzen 9 processor and Nvidia RTX 4050 graphics, which combine to deliver good performance in a wide variety of productivity applications and games. A few minor mistakes, like poorly-placed USB-C ports that lack DisplayPort, will turn off some shoppers, but those who can accept its shortcomings will find the Swift X 16 a versatile daily driver."
Get a great deal on the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 or the Acer Swift X 16
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.
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