The Acer Swift X 16 is more affordable and should serve well for general use, light gaming, and less intensive engineering tasks with its solid performance. It's larger at 16 inches with a good display, but this size can also mean it's less portable than some alternatives. On the other hand, the ASUS ROG Flow X13 is more expensive but offers significantly better performance suitable for intensive gaming, 3D applications, machine learning tasks, and demanding engineering software. It's also a 2-in-1 convertible device, providing versatility as both a laptop and a tablet, and its smaller size makes it more portable, but with the trade-off of higher cost and potentially shorter battery life due to the more powerful hardware. Consider what balance of power, portability, and price suits your needs best. 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 X 16
Very good speakers
Advantages of the ASUS ROG Flow X13
Very good overall build quality
Very good portability
Key differences
Gaming and AI
7.0/10
7.8/10
4.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.4/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Unknown
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
8.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.2/10
The ASUS ROG Flow X13 and Acer Swift X 16 are both good for gaming and AI, though the ASUS ROG Flow X13 is somewhat better.
The Acer Swift X 16 is equipped with an Nvidia RTX 3050 GPU, which is suitable for gaming and 3D tasks, while the ASUS ROG Flow X13 offers a more powerful Nvidia RTX 4070 GPU for even better gaming and 3D performance; both have screens with high refresh rates to ensure smooth visuals during fast-paced action. The Swift X has a strong processor, but the ROG Flow X13 has a more robust CPU and also boasts superior screen quality, enhancing the overall gaming and visual experience.
Screen Quality
8.2/10
8.4/10
16.0in
SIZE
13.4in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
402.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
511.0 nits
The ASUS ROG Flow X13 has a better screen than the Acer Swift X 16 for general use, gaming and AI, and engineering and design.
For general use, where clarity, detail, and comfortable brightness are important, both the Acer Swift X 16 and ASUS ROG Flow X13 offer high-resolution displays with panels that render sharp text and vibrant images. In engineering and design, color accuracy is crucial for the work's fidelity, thus the coverage of color gamuts like DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB in both laptops ensures that colors in projects appear as intended. However, for gaming and 3D applications where fluid motion is key, both laptops fall short due to their lower refresh rates, causing less smooth visuals compared to models with faster screens.
Portability
Good
Very Good
16.0in
SIZE
13.4in
4.1 lbs
WEIGHT
2.8 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The ASUS ROG Flow X13 has very good portability, while the Acer Swift X 16 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.6/10
8.5/10
The ASUS ROG Flow X13 has very good build quality, while the Acer Swift X 16 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,250
$2,500
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The Acer Swift X 16 has a price of $1,250 and the ASUS ROG Flow X13 costs $2,500.
The Acer Swift X 16 and ASUS ROG Flow X13 are both very good for general use.
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.
Engineering and Design
8.2/10
8.5/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
4.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The ASUS ROG Flow X13 and Acer Swift X 16 are both very good for engineering and design.
The Acer Swift X 16, with its AMD Ryzen 7 CPU and RTX 3050 GPU, is well-suited for engineering and design due to its capable processing power and solid graphics performance, complemented by a high-quality 16-inch screen. On the other hand, the ASUS ROG Flow X13 boasts a more powerful AMD Ryzen 9 CPU and RTX 4070 GPU, offering even better performance for demanding engineering tasks and design software, while its slightly smaller 13.4-inch screen maintains high quality and is enhanced by touchscreen functionality, with the added benefit of being highly portable given its 2-in-1 convertible design.
Content Creation
8.3/10
8.2/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Acer Swift X 16 and ASUS ROG Flow X13 are both very good for content creation.
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
8.0/10
8.0/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The ASUS ROG Flow X13 and Acer Swift X 16 are both very 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.
Battery
8.0 Hours
8.0 Hours
The Acer Swift X 16 has 8 hours of battery life. The ASUS ROG Flow X13 has 8 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.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Acer Swift X 16 and the ASUS ROG Flow X13 compare to other laptops
"Acer’s Swift X 16 is an excellent choice for shoppers who want a 16-inch laptop and care more for performance than attractive design or long battery life. The Swift X 16’s gorgeous OLED display, spacious keyboard, and big touchpad make it pleasant to use in basic day-to-day tasks. It also has an AMD Ryzen 9 processor and Nvidia RTX 4050 graphics, which combine to deliver good performance in a wide variety of productivity applications and games. A few minor mistakes, like poorly-placed USB-C ports that lack DisplayPort, will turn off some shoppers, but those who can accept its shortcomings will find the Swift X 16 a versatile daily driver."
"The Asus ROG Flow X13 is not an off-the-shelf convertible. This quickly becomes clear when you take a closer look at the technical specs. The AMD Ryzen 9 5980HS is a state-of-the-art SoC with 8 cores and 16 threads, which also makes the 2-in-1 interesting as a work device. With 32 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD, gamers are also well taken care of. The dedicated Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q fits well into the overall concept and ensures a solid 3D performance. With the eGPU dock, which is equipped with a GeForce RTX 3080, the small convertible transforms into a full-fledged desktop replacement in terms of performance."
Get a great deal on the Acer Swift X 16 or the ASUS ROG Flow X13
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
123,795
Recommendations made
26,823
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.