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Updated January 10, 2024·
The Acer Swift Edge 16 is more affordable, has a high-resolution OLED screen, and is lighter, making it very portable and suitable for general use and travel. However, its performance might be less suited for very intensive tasks like 3D rendering or machine learning. On the other hand, the MSI Raider GE78, while more expensive, has a powerful Intel processor and Nvidia graphics, which provides top-notch performance for gaming, 3D work, and engineering applications, but it's heavier and less portable. The battery capacity is better on the MSI, which can be a plus for longer use without charging, but consider if portability is a priority for you. 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
Advantages of the MSI Raider GE78
- Very good for general use
- Excellent for engineering and design
- Best in class for gaming and AI
- Very good for software development
- Very good overall build quality
- Best in class speakers
- Best in class keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.9
8.7
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
383.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
7.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
6.7/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
8.8/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.5/10
The MSI Raider GE78 is very good for general use, while the Acer Swift Edge 16 is good.
The Acer Swift Edge 16 is well-suited for general use thanks to its lightweight design, solid battery life, and high-quality OLED screen, but its moderate performance hails from its AMD Ryzen CPU and Radeon GPU. In comparison, the MSI Raider GE78 stands out for very good general use with its top-tier Intel CPU and Nvidia GPU, larger storage, and exceptional screen quality despite being less portable and offering slightly less battery life.
Gaming and AI
6.7
9.5
4.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.9/10
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
8.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The MSI Raider GE78 is best in class for gaming and AI, while the Acer Swift Edge 16 is only fair.
The MSI Raider GE78 outshines the Acer Swift Edge 16 for gaming and 3D applications primarily because of its more powerful Nvidia RTX 4090 GPU and a higher screen refresh rate of 240Hz, compared to the Acer's AMD Radeon 780M and 120Hz screen. While the Acer offers solid performance and screen quality, the MSI's superior GPU and refresh rate, alongside a more advanced CPU, make it the superior choice for demanding tasks such as intensive gaming and 3D rendering.
Engineering and Design
8.1
9.4
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
4.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The MSI Raider GE78 is excellent for engineering and design, while the Acer Swift Edge 16 is very good.
The MSI Raider GE78 is excellent for engineering and design use due to its more powerful Intel i9 processor, double the RAM, and a superior Nvidia RTX 4090 GPU, offering robust performance for computation-intensive tasks and demanding graphics work; moreover, it has a larger screen with a high-quality IPS panel. In contrast, the Acer Swift Edge 16, while good for engineering and design with its AMD Ryzen 7 processor and Radeon 780M GPU, focuses more on portability and offers a vivid OLED display, but may fall short in performance for highly demanding tasks compared to the MSI Raider.
Content Creation
8.1
8.8
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Raider GE78 and Acer Swift Edge 16 are both very good for content creation, though the MSI Raider GE78 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.
Software Development
7.9
8.5
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
6.7/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
The MSI Raider GE78 is 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.
Screen Quality
8.8
8.6
16.0in
SIZE
17.3in
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
383.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
The Acer Swift Edge 16 has a better screen than the MSI Raider GE78 for general use, and engineering and design, while the MSI Raider GE78 has a better screen for gaming and AI, content creation, and software development.
The Acer Swift Edge 16 boasts a display that excels in resolution and brightness, making it ideal for everyday tasks and ensuring crisp and vibrant visuals for design and engineering work. However, its screen lacks the high refresh rate needed for smooth gaming and 3D rendering. The MSI Raider GE78, while offering a bright, sharp display suitable for a range of tasks and accurate color representation for professional design and engineering work, also falls short for gaming and 3D purposes due to its lower refresh rate.
Portability
Very Good
Poor
16.0in
SIZE
17.3in
2.7 lbs
WEIGHT
6.8 lbs
0.5in
THICKNESS
1.1in
The Acer Swift Edge 16 has very good portability, while the MSI Raider GE78 has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.2
8.5
The MSI Raider GE78 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
$4,386
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The Acer Swift Edge 16 has a price of $820 and the MSI Raider GE78 costs $4,386.
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Key similarities
Battery
7.0 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Acer Swift Edge 16 has 7 hours of battery life. The MSI Raider GE78 has 6 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 Edge 16 and the MSI Raider GE78 compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Acer Swift Edge 16 | MSI Raider GE78 |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$820 | $4,386 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | May 1, 2023 | May 1, 2023 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 14.1'' x 9.7'' x 0.51'' | 15'' x 11.7'' x 1.13'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 2.73 lbs | 6.83 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 14.08" | 14.97" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 9.68" | 11.73" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 7840U | Intel i9-13980HX | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 16 GB | 32 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 5 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 0 | 2 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 1024 GB | 2048 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 7 Hours | 6 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 54 Wh | 99.9 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 16" | 17.3" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | OLED | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 3200 x 2000 | 2560 x 1600 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 120Hz | 240Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 383 nits | 384 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.2/10 | 8.5/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 8.9/10 | 5.6/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | No | Yes | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 8/10 | 6.5/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 6.8/10 | 9.5/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 6.5/10 | 9.5/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 1080p | 1080p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | Yes | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | No | Yes | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 2 | 2 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 2 | 3 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 3 | 4 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | N/A | 4 | |
Shopping
Acer Swift Edge 16
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Dig into reviews and images
PCWorld
Matthew S. Smith | October 2023
"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."
MSI Raider GE78
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Allen Ngo | March 2023
"Performance-wise, the GE78 offers a significant boost over the GE77 for just slightly higher power consumption. You'll have to get the RTX 4080 or 4090 configurations to see the performance advantages, however, as the RTX 4070 is closer in performance to the older RTX 3080 Ti. In terms of design, some users might prefer the 16:9 minimalistic look of the older GE77 over the 16:10 retro-inspired GE78 and vice versa. We wouldn't call one better than the other in terms of aesthetics, but we'll give the edge to the GE78 for its stronger hinges and larger keys and clickpad."
Get a great deal on the Acer Swift Edge 16 or the MSI Raider GE78
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.
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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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