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The PerfectRec laptop team Learn more
Updated January 10, 2024·
The Acer Swift X offers a lower price, decent performance for general use, long battery life, and good portability, making it suitable for everyday tasks and light gaming. In contrast, the Gigabyte Aero 17 is significantly more expensive but provides superior performance for 3D rendering, engineering, and machine learning applications, along with a higher resolution and better-quality display. However, it has a shorter battery life and is less portable due to its larger size and weight. Choose the Acer Swift X for cost-effective, general use and mobility, or opt for the Gigabyte Aero 17 if you need top-notch performance and display quality for specialized tasks, and portability isn't your main concern. 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 (2021)
- Very good portability
- Very good battery life
- Very good speakers
Advantages of the Gigabyte Aero 17
- Very good for general use
- Very good for engineering and design
- Good for gaming and AI
- Very good for content creation
- Excellent overall display quality
- Very good overall build quality
Key differences
General Use
7.4
8.1
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
372.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
368.0 nits
10.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.5 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
8.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.6/10
The Gigabyte Aero 17 is very good for general use, while the Acer Swift X (2021) is good.
The Acer Swift X strikes a balance between performance and mobility with its AMD Ryzen 5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and a good quality 14-inch screen, while being lighter and offering decent battery life, making it suitable for general use. The Gigabyte Aero 17 combines a powerful Intel i7 processor and 16GB RAM with a high-resolution 17.3-inch screen, but it's considerably heavier and has shorter battery life, which might not be as convenient for on-the-go use, yet it excels for tasks that demand a larger, more vibrant display and robust performance.
Gaming and AI
6.3
7.9
4.4/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.8/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Gigabyte Aero 17 is good for gaming and AI, while the Acer Swift X (2021) is only fair.
The Gigabyte Aero 17 comes with a more powerful graphics card and a higher screen refresh rate compared to the Acer Swift X, which translates into smoother and richer visuals ideal for demanding gaming and 3D applications. Additionally, the Aero 17 has a superior CPU and higher screen quality, both important for gaming performance and image clarity, respectively.
Engineering and Design
7.0
8.8
5.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
4.4/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.8/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Gigabyte Aero 17 is very good for engineering and design, while the Acer Swift X (2021) is good.
The Acer Swift X (2021) is equipped with an AMD Ryzen 5 CPU and RTX 3050 GPU, making it a competent option for engineering and design tasks, but the Gigabyte Aero 17 takes the lead with a more powerful Intel i7 CPU and RTX 3070 Ti GPU, along with a superior screen quality, including a higher resolution and better color accuracy, valuable for detailed and color-critical work.
Content Creation
7.5
8.4
5.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
The Gigabyte Aero 17 is very good for content creation, while the Acer Swift X (2021) 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
7.3
7.9
5.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Gigabyte Aero 17 and Acer Swift X (2021) are both good for software development, though the Gigabyte Aero 17 is somewhat better.
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
6.9
9.2
14.0in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
372.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
368.0 nits
The Gigabyte Aero 17 has a better screen than the Acer Swift X for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The Acer Swift X offers a satisfactory display with ample resolution and brightness for everyday tasks, but it falls short for gaming due to a lower refresh rate which is crucial for smooth motion. The Gigabyte Aero 17 excels in engineering and design with its wider color gamuts, ensuring that colors are vibrant and accurate, which is essential for professional creative work. However, similar to the Swift X, its display isn't optimized for 3D gaming experiences where higher refresh rates are key to responsiveness and fluidity.
Battery
10.0 Hours
5.5 Hours
The Acer Swift X has 10 hours of battery life. The Gigabyte Aero 17 has 5.5 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
14.0in
SIZE
17.3in
3.0 lbs
WEIGHT
5.7 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Acer Swift X (2021) has very good portability, while the Gigabyte Aero 17 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$580
$2,071
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
The Acer Swift X (2021) has a price of $580 and the Gigabyte Aero 17 costs $2,071.
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Key similarities
Build Quality
7.6
8.0
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Gigabyte Aero 17 to have very good build quality, while the Acer Swift X (2021) has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
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We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Acer Swift X (2021) and the Gigabyte Aero 17 compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Acer Swift X (2021) | Gigabyte Aero 17 |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$580 | $2,071 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | June 1, 2021 | March 1, 2022 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 12.7'' x 8.4'' x 0.7'' | 15.6'' x 9.5'' x 0.92'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 3.06 lbs | 5.73 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 12.7" | 15.6" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 8.4" | 9.5" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | AMD Ryzen 5 5600U | Intel i7-12700H | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 8 GB | 16 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 4 | 5 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 0 | 2 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 512 GB | 2048 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 10 Hours | 5.5 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 59 Wh | 99 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 14" | 17.3" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | Mini LED | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 3840 x 2160 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 60Hz | 120Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 372 nits | 368 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.6/10 | 8/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 8.6/10 | 6.7/10 | |
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 | 8/10 | 8.5/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 8/10 | 7.5/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 720p | 720p | |
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 | 0 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 1 | 3 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 2 | 3 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | N/A | 4 | |
Shopping
Acer Swift X (2021)
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Sebastian Jentsch | March 2022
"The Swift X is an Acer for entry-level gaming. With the entry-level graphics chip, our Acer not only beats every single current AMD and Intel iGPU, but also Intel's dGPU Iris Xe Max. However, despite being a GDDR6 version, the GTX does not match the expectations set by its own counterparts from our database. This may be a result of the single fan, which only produces moderate noise levels under load. The performance level of the thin and light 1.4 kg (~3.09 lbs) 14-inch laptop is impressive nonetheless."
Gigabyte Aero 17
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Mike Wobker | May 2021
"Not only is the Aero 17 a very good laptop for gamers but also for content creators. With the upgrade to the Intel Core i9-11980HK, Gigabyte particularly improved the system performance. In addition, the hardware package is rounded by the extremely fast SSD and 32 GB of working memory in dual-channel mode. Compared to the predecessor, the battery life is reduced only moderately, and the 4K display also basically keeps its good qualities."
Get a great deal on the Acer Swift X (2021) or the Gigabyte Aero 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 Gigabyte
Gigabyte is a Taiwanese computer hardware manufacturer. While Gigabyte mainly focuses its business on desktop hardware, Gigabyte is known for its value-oriented G series laptops, thin and light Aero series, and performance-oriented Aorus series. Gigabyte laptops offer a strong value proposition to compete with mainstream alternatives.
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