For everyday tasks, the Acer Swift 3 offers excellent value with its budget-friendly price, solid performance, and good battery life, making it a strong contender for general use. Its portability is a plus for those who are always on the move. However, if your work involves intensive tasks like 3D rendering, machine learning, or high-end gaming, the MSI Creator 16 AI Studio's superior performance capabilities, thanks to its powerful CPU and high-end GPU, will serve you better. It also boasts a stunning Mini LED display with a higher resolution and refresh rate, which is ideal for creators and gamers who demand exceptional color accuracy and smooth visuals. Keep in mind, the MSI's higher price tag and heavier build mean it's less portable and might be overkill if you don't need its advanced features. 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 MSI Creator 16 AI Studio
Very good for general use
Best in class for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Excellent for content creation
Best in class overall display quality
Very good speakers
Key differences
General Use
7.7/10
8.8/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
309.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
1000.0 nits
12.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
9.0 Hours
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
8.9/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.3/10
The MSI Creator 16 AI Studio is very good for general use, while the Acer Swift 3 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
6.3/10
8.9/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.5/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The MSI Creator 16 AI Studio is very good for gaming and AI, while the Acer Swift 3 is only fair.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Engineering and Design
7.1/10
9.5/10
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.5/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The MSI Creator 16 AI Studio is best in class for engineering and design, while the Acer Swift 3 is good.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Content Creation
7.6/10
9.1/10
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
The MSI Creator 16 AI Studio is excellent 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.
Software Development
7.6/10
8.9/10
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The MSI Creator 16 AI Studio is very good for software development, while the Acer Swift 3 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
6.8/10
9.7/10
14.0in
SIZE
16.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
309.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
1000.0 nits
The MSI Creator 16 AI Studio has a better screen than the Acer Swift 3 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
12.0 Hours
9.0 Hours
The Acer Swift 3 has 12 hours of battery life. The MSI Creator 16 AI Studio has 9 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
Good
14.0in
SIZE
16.0in
2.7 lbs
WEIGHT
4.3 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Acer Swift 3 has very good portability, while the MSI Creator 16 AI Studio has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$500
$2,999
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The Acer Swift 3 has a price of $500 and the MSI Creator 16 AI Studio costs $2,999.
"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."
Get a great deal on the Acer Swift 3 or the MSI Creator 16 AI Studio
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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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
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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.