If you prioritize portability and battery life, the Acer Swift 14 is the better choice as it's lighter and has a longer battery life, making it suitable for on-the-go use and general purposes. However, for high-performance needs like gaming or engineering tasks, the MSI GP66 Leopard with its powerful graphics card is a better fit despite being heavier with shorter battery life. Keep in mind, the Acer offers higher resolution and a touchscreen for enhanced viewing and interaction, whereas the MSI has a higher refresh rate screen which is favourable for gaming. 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
Very good for general use
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Excellent portability
Good battery life
Advantages of the MSI GP66 Leopard
Good for gaming and AI
Very good overall build quality
Good speakers
Very good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
8.2/10
7.5/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
458.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
362.0 nits
9.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.0 Hours
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
9.0/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.8/10
The Acer Swift 14 is very good for general use, while the MSI GP66 Leopard 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.
Gaming and AI
6.7/10
7.8/10
3.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.7/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The MSI GP66 Leopard is good for gaming and AI, while the Acer Swift 14 is only fair.
The Acer Swift 14 is suitable for gaming and 3D due to its capable integrated graphics and high-resolution display, although its standard refresh rate is not optimized for fast-paced gaming. In contrast, the MSI GP66 Leopard excels in gaming and 3D with its powerful dedicated GPU and high refresh rate screen, but it has a lower screen resolution and quality compared to the Acer.
Content Creation
8.2/10
7.4/10
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Acer Swift 14 is very good for content creation, while the MSI GP66 Leopard 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.
Software Development
8.2/10
7.2/10
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Acer Swift 14 is very good for software development, while the MSI GP66 Leopard 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.
Screen Quality
7.6/10
7.5/10
14.0in
SIZE
15.6in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
458.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
362.0 nits
The Acer Swift 14 has a better screen than the MSI GP66 Leopard for general use, engineering and design, software development, and content creation, while the MSI GP66 Leopard has a better screen for gaming and AI.
For general use, the Acer Swift 14's screen offers clarity and vibrancy due to its resolution and brightness, while the MSI GP66 Leopard provides similar visibility without standing out. In engineering and design, the Acer Swift 14 excels with a wider range of colors, making it suitable for tasks requiring color accuracy, a feature the GP66 Leopard matches only to a certain extent. However, for gaming and 3D applications, both laptops fall short as their screens aren't designed with the high refresh rates that are crucial for smooth motion and quick reactions.
Battery
9.0 Hours
5.0 Hours
The Acer Swift 14 has 9 hours of battery life. The MSI GP66 Leopard has 5 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
Excellent
Fair
14.0in
SIZE
15.6in
2.6 lbs
WEIGHT
5.2 lbs
0.5in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Acer Swift 14 has excellent portability, while the MSI GP66 Leopard has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.4/10
8.0/10
The MSI GP66 Leopard 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.
The MSI GP66 Leopard and Acer Swift 14 are both good for engineering and design.
The Acer Swift 14 is well-suited for engineering and design use due to its powerful CPU, ample RAM, and high-quality screen with a high resolution and color accuracy, though it might be less powerful in graphics as it uses integrated GPU; its portability is enhanced by a lightweight design and long battery life. The MSI GP66 Leopard, while heavier and with a shorter battery life, is also fitting for engineering and design tasks because of its robust CPU, equal amount of RAM, and dedicated high-end GPU, which is better for graphics-intensive applications, plus it has a quality screen, though with a lower resolution and color accuracy compared to the Acer.
Cost
$1,400
$1,400
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Acer Swift 14 has a price of $1,400 and the MSI GP66 Leopard costs $1,400.
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How the Acer Swift 14 and the MSI GP66 Leopard 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 MSI GP66 Leopard is a good budget high-performance gamer. The MSI also does a lot right outside of the pure performance despite it's low price. For example, the adaptive cooling system really surprised us positively, even in Extreme Performance Mode. And the display is not a budget panel either, but at least outshines the competition in terms of brightness. Of course, you also have to accept a few compromises in this price category. These include the Leopard's poor battery runtimes and the less than optimal build quality, which is also noticeable in the more complicated maintenance."
Get a great deal on the Acer Swift 14 or the MSI GP66 Leopard
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 MSI
MSI, also known as Micro-Star International, is a Taiwanese technology corporation. MSI is known for their wide range of gaming devices. Their series include the entry-level Cyborg/Thin and Sword/Katana series, the mid-range Bravo/Delta and Crosshair/Pulse series, and their high-end Vector, Raider, Stealth, and Titan GT series. At every performance level, MSI offers a variety of devices with varying balances between performance, battery life, weight, and price, making them a solid option to consider at every price point.
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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