The Acer Swift Edge 16 is less expensive and more portable with a lighter design, making it suitable for general use and basic engineering tasks. It features an OLED screen with high color accuracy and is a solid choice if you prioritize a good display and battery life. On the other hand, the Lenovo Legion 9i is more powerful, better suited to intensive gaming, 3D rendering, and machine learning tasks with its advanced processor and high-end graphics card. It also has a higher battery capacity and superior build quality but comes with a higher price tag and is significantly heavier, which affects portability. Consider the Swift Edge if you value price and portability, and the Legion 9i if performance and high-end gaming are your priorities. 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 Edge 16
Very good portability
Good battery life
Advantages of the Lenovo Legion 9i
Very good for general use
Best in class for engineering and design
Excellent for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Best in class overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Best in class speakers
Excellent keyboard
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.7/10
9.2/10
4.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.8/10
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
8.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Lenovo Legion 9i is excellent for gaming and AI, while the Acer Swift Edge 16 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
8.1/10
9.6/10
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
4.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.8/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion 9i is best in class for engineering and design, while the Acer Swift Edge 16 is very good.
The Acer Swift Edge 16 with its AMD Ryzen processor and Radeon GPU provides good screen quality for engineering tasks but is surpassed by the Lenovo Legion 9i which has a more powerful Intel i9 processor and Nvidia RTX GPU, essential for demanding engineering simulations and design work. While the Acer's portability and OLED screen are compelling for mobility and vibrant display, the Lenovo's higher RAM capacity, superior Mini LED screen, and better overall performance make it more suitable for intensive engineering and design applications, albeit at the expense of being heavier and potentially louder when under heavy use.
Content Creation
8.1/10
8.7/10
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
The Lenovo Legion 9i and Acer Swift Edge 16 are both very good for content creation, though the Lenovo Legion 9i is somewhat better.
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
8.8/10
9.7/10
16.0in
SIZE
16.0in
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
383.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
682.0 nits
The Lenovo Legion 9i has a better screen than the Acer Swift Edge 16 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The Acer Swift Edge 16, with its high-resolution and bright display, excels in clarity and visibility, which is essential for everyday tasks and detailed engineering work, but its lower refresh rate may affect the smoothness in fast-paced gaming scenarios. On the other hand, the Lenovo Legion 9i's top-tier display not only offers exceptional resolution and brightness for day-to-day use and intricate design tasks but also includes wider color gamuts, providing more accurate color reproduction for professional-grade engineering and design. However, for gaming and 3D applications that rely on fluid motion, both laptops fall short due to their lower refresh rates, which means less smooth on-screen action compared to laptops with higher refresh rates.
Battery
7.0 Hours
3.0 Hours
The Acer Swift Edge 16 has 7 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Legion 9i has 3 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
Fair
16.0in
SIZE
16.0in
2.7 lbs
WEIGHT
5.6 lbs
0.5in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Acer Swift Edge 16 has very good portability, while the Lenovo Legion 9i has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.2/10
8.5/10
The Lenovo Legion 9i has very good build quality, while the Acer Swift Edge 16 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$820
$3,420
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The Acer Swift Edge 16 has a price of $820 and the Lenovo Legion 9i costs $3,420.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Lenovo Legion 9i to be very good for general use, while the Acer Swift Edge 16 is good.
The Lenovo Legion 9i stands out for general use due to its more powerful Intel i9 processor and double the RAM of the Acer Swift Edge 16, enhancing performance for demanding tasks, along with superior screen brightness for a vivid display experience. However, it is heavier and has significantly shorter battery life than the lightweight and more portable Acer, which still provides a quality OLED screen and ample performance for everyday tasks.
Software Development
7.9/10
8.3/10
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
6.7/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Lenovo Legion 9i to be very good for software development, while the Acer Swift Edge 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.
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How the Acer Swift Edge 16 and the Lenovo Legion 9i compare to other laptops
"The Acer Swift Edge 16 is a solid super thin-and-light that pairs a large, gorgeous 16-inch display with portable design that rivals the weight of LG’s superlight Gram 16. Remarkably, Acer achieves this at a lower price point without sacrificing performance. Boring design and disappointing battery life hold the laptop back from stardom, but its rivals frequently suffer in these areas, too. That makes the Swift Edge 16 an alluring value pick."
"The Lenovo Legion 9i is meant as a top-end flagship showcase for enthusiasts, and on that, it delivers. You'll find flashier designs in this price tier—Razer’s all-metal build in a similarly sized laptop like the Blade 16, or monstrous 18-inch machines—but this is a well-thought-out laptop. The chassis is trim for a 16-inch powerhouse, the lid is unique, and bespoke liquid cooling takes performance to the next level."
Get a great deal on the Acer Swift Edge 16 or the Lenovo Legion 9i
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 Lenovo
Lenovo is a Chinese technology company, and one of the largest personal computer vendor. They are well known for a variety of technology products, including laptops. Their consumer series include their entry level IdeaPad and LOQ series and mid-to-high-end Yoga and Legion series. On the business-oriented side, their series include their entry-level ThinkBook series and mid-to-high-end ThinkPad series. Lenovo laptops offer strong performance for reasonable prices, and are often on sale.
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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Staff Expert & Software Engineer
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