The Acer Swift 14 is less expensive and offers decent performance for everyday tasks, with a midrange Intel i7 processor and integrated graphics. The Surface also doubles as a drawing tablet due to its flexible hinge, adding to its versatility. Consider how much you value cost against performance and versatility when making your decision. 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 Swift 14
Excellent portability
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2
Very good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Very good overall build quality
Very good speakers
Very good keyboard
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.7/10
7.7/10
3.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.5/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.7/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 is good for gaming and AI, while the Acer Swift 14 is only fair.
The Acer Swift 14, despite having a decent processor, falls short in gaming and 3D tasks compared to the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 due to its integrated graphics, while the Surface comes with a robust Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU, crucial for such tasks. Moreover, the Surface also offers a higher screen refresh rate, beneficial for smooth visuals in gaming and dynamic content creation.
Engineering and Design
7.9/10
8.7/10
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
3.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.5/10
16.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 is very good for engineering and design, while the Acer Swift 14 is good.
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 is very good for engineering and design as it features more RAM and a superior GPU for demanding tasks like 3D modeling, compared to the Acer Swift 14, which is good for such tasks with ample RAM and a capable integrated GPU, but with less power for intensive workflows. Both laptops have high-quality screens, but the Surface Laptop Studio 2's additional graphics horsepower and RAM make it better suited for more complex engineering and design applications, while the Swift 14 is more portable and less noisy, suitable for general engineering tasks and design work.
Screen Quality
7.6/10
7.9/10
14.0in
SIZE
14.4in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
458.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
503.0 nits
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 has a better screen than the Acer Swift 14 for general use, and gaming and AI.
For general use, the Acer Swift 14 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 both offer screens with clear images and adequate brightness, but the Surface may have the edge if it offers a higher resolution, contributing to sharper text and images. In engineering and design, the screens' ability to display a wide range of colors is crucial, so if the Surface features better coverage of professional color gamuts like DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB, this would make it more suitable for precise color work. However, for gaming and 3D applications where fluid motion is key, both laptops may fall short if they lack high refresh rates, leading to less smooth visuals in fast-paced scenarios.
Portability
Excellent
Good
14.0in
SIZE
14.4in
2.6 lbs
WEIGHT
4.4 lbs
0.5in
THICKNESS
0.8in
The Acer Swift 14 has excellent portability, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.4/10
8.5/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 has very good build quality, while the Acer Swift 14 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,400
$3,300
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The Acer Swift 14 has a price of $1,400 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 costs $3,300.
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 and Acer Swift 14 are both very good for general use.
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
8.2/10
8.4/10
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
16.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 and Acer Swift 14 are both very good for content creation.
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.
Software Development
8.2/10
8.2/10
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
16.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Acer Swift 14 and Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 are both very good for software development.
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.
Battery
9.0 Hours
8.0 Hours
The Acer Swift 14 has 9 hours of battery life. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 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.
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How the Acer Swift 14 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 compare to other laptops
Olivier Martin, Ryan Lim, John Peroramas | April 2023
"The Acer Swift 14 is good for school use. Its compact design makes it easy to carry around, and its battery lasts easily through a typical school day. You can configure the laptop with an FHD+ or QHD+ display; both look sharp and get bright enough to combat glare. The keyboard feels tactile but can be a little tiring to type on over an extended period, and while the touchpad is small, it's responsive to all movements and gestures. Its Intel 13th Gen. CPU can handle nearly every type of workload; however, its integrated graphics perform poorly, so it isn't ideal for students in technical fields like 3D graphics."
"The new Surface Laptop Studio with its foldable display is supposed to replace the old Surface Book and the overall impression is good after our review. The build quality and the materials are top-notch, the performance utilization of the two components is solid and the device does not show any major flaws in terms of display or speakers, either. The folding mechanism leaves a sold impression as well, but it remains to be seen how it will hold up over the years. The so-called presentation mode is also not ideal since it covers the whole keyboard."
Get a great deal on the Acer Swift 14 or the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2
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.
About Microsoft
Microsoft is an American technology corporation. Microsoft is best known for their Windows operating system and Surface laptop series. The Surface Laptop is their standard notebook offering, while their Surface Go, Surface Pro, and Surface Studio are their 2-in-1/tablet offerings in order of increasing capability. Although Microsoft charges a premium price tag for their laptops, buyers can expect a well integrated and packaged device since Microsoft develops the Windows operating system.
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.
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Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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