The Acer Swift 3 is a budget-friendly option that's lighter and offers a high degree of portability with a long battery life, making it a good choice for everyday tasks and travel. It features a touchscreen, which is convenient for interactive use. On the other hand, the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 is priced higher but delivers superior performance for intensive tasks like gaming, 3D rendering, or engineering software, thanks to its powerful processor and high-end graphics card. It has a larger screen and a higher refresh rate but is considerably heavier and has a shorter battery life, which could make it less ideal for carrying around. 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 3
Very good portability
Very good battery life
Advantages of the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Very good speakers
Excellent keyboard
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.3/10
8.4/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.8/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
360Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.7/10
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 is very good for gaming and AI, while the Acer Swift 3 is only fair.
The Acer Swift 3 is geared more towards general use with its Intel integrated graphics, providing fair gaming and 3D capabilities on a standard 60Hz screen, while the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 is a high-end gaming machine equipped with a powerful Nvidia RTX GPU and a high-refresh-rate 360Hz screen, making it very good for gaming and 3D applications.
Engineering and Design
7.1/10
8.6/10
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.8/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 is very good for engineering and design, while the Acer Swift 3 is good.
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 outperforms the Acer Swift 3 in engineering and design because it has a significantly more powerful CPU and GPU pairing, beneficial for computational and graphical tasks, and also features a larger, faster-refreshing screen which enhances visual workflows. However, the Acer Swift 3, with its touch-enabled display and lighter weight, offers greater portability and ease of use for on-the-go tasks, alongside a quieter operating noise, making it a balanced option for those who value mobility and touch interaction despite its lesser raw performance.
Content Creation
7.6/10
8.2/10
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 is very good for content creation, while the Acer Swift 3 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
6.8/10
8.1/10
14.0in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
360Hz
309.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
292.0 nits
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 has a better screen than the Acer Swift 3 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, and software development.
The Acer Swift 3 features a display with ample resolution and brightness suitable for everyday tasks and clarity for detail-oriented work in engineering and design, but its lower refresh rate limits its appeal for 3D applications where smooth motion is key. Conversely, ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17, while also providing a high-resolution, bright display favorable for general and engineering uses, falls short in the gaming and 3D realm due to its subpar refresh rate, not fully leveraging the potential for fast-paced visuals. Both laptops, although adequate in rendering colors across various gamuts critical for design precision, lack the high refresh rates necessary for the most immersive and fluid gaming or 3D experiences.
Battery
12.0 Hours
7.0 Hours
The Acer Swift 3 has 12 hours of battery life. The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 has 7 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
Very Good
Poor
14.0in
SIZE
17.3in
2.7 lbs
WEIGHT
6.3 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Acer Swift 3 has very good portability, while the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.4/10
8.5/10
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 has very good build quality, while the Acer Swift 3 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$500
$2,499
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The Acer Swift 3 has a price of $500 and the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 costs $2,499.
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 and Acer Swift 3 are both good for general use.
The Acer Swift 3 is highly respected for general use due to its lighter weight and longer battery life, which promote portability and convenience, although its CPU and screen quality are less impressive compared to high-performance models. In contrast, the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 offers superior CPU and screen quality for more demanding tasks, but it is heavier and has shorter battery life, making it less ideal for frequent travel.
Software Development
7.6/10
7.5/10
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The Acer Swift 3 and ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 are both 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.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Acer Swift 3 and the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 compare to other laptops
"With the Swift 3, Acer delivers a 14-inch laptop with a sleek, slim metal chassis. The latter is of high quality and sturdy enough for everyday use, which is a real plus point among the 700-Euro (~$798) models. A new feature is Thunderbolt 4 in the Type-C format for peripherals or even displays (DisplayPort via Type-C). Unfortunately, a card reader is still missing, and the RAM is completely onboard, so there are no upgrade options here. Acer's 14-incher is affordable, yet it does everything most would want from a truly mobile laptop: Long battery life, a great display, quality, sufficient ports, light weight, and low noise and heat emissions."
"Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 laptop review: liquid metal 7 nm AMD Zen 3 is stunning. The raw performance increase is absolutely bonkers if you're upgrading from a laptop on Coffee Lake-H or older. The 45 W Ryzen 9 5900HX is neck-to-neck with the thicker, heavier, and hotter Schenker Ultra 17 running on a desktop-class Core i9-11900K despite their wide TDP differences. The performance-per-watt advantages can make Intel Rocket Lake feel like a last generation platform at times. As for the chassis itself, it's a huge light show with RGB LEDs on almost all sides of the system."
Get a great deal on the Acer Swift 3 or the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17
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 ASUS
ASUS, a Taiwanese electronics brand, is one of the largest personal computer vendor by market share. The majority of their laptops are targeted towards personal use or gaming. Their most popular product lines include the budget-friendly VivoBook, more premium ZenBook, and their TUF and ROG gaming laptops, the latter of which has a reputation for excellent gaming performance.
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
130,995
Recommendations made
28,383
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.