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What we think
The PerfectRec laptop team Learn more
Updated January 10, 2024·
The Acer Swift X offers you better portability and a longer battery life, which are crucial if you need to move around a lot or work away from a power outlet. It's suitable for general use and some light gaming but may not handle intense 3D or engineering tasks as efficiently. On the other hand, the MSI GF65 Thin, while heavier and with a shorter battery life, packs a more powerful graphics card, making it more suitable for intensive gaming, 3D work, and engineering applications. Consider the MSI GF65 Thin if performance in these areas is a priority over battery life and portability. 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)
- Good for general use
- Good for engineering and design
- Good for software development
- Good for content creation
- Good overall build quality
- Very good portability
- Very good battery life
- Very good speakers
- Very good keyboard
Advantages of the MSI GF65 Thin
- The MSI GF65 Thin has no clear advantages over the Acer Swift X (2021).
Key differences
General Use
7.4
6.5
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
372.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
262.0 nits
10.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.5 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
8.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.3/10
The Acer Swift X (2021) is good for general use, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.
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.
Content Creation
7.5
6.8
5.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Acer Swift X (2021) is good for content creation, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.
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
6.3
5.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.6/10
8.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Acer Swift X (2021) is good for software development, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.
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
6.8
14.0in
SIZE
15.6in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
372.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
262.0 nits
The Acer Swift X has a better screen than the MSI GF65 Thin for general use, engineering and design, software development, and content creation, while the MSI GF65 Thin has a better screen for gaming and AI.
The Acer Swift X offers a display with higher resolution and brightness, making it more suitable for everyday tasks and detailed work like engineering and design, where clarity and color accuracy are critical. However, its low refresh rate limits its performance for 3D and gaming, where fluid motion is essential. Conversely, the MSI GF65 Thin, despite its adequate resolution and brightness for day-to-day use and technical tasks, doesn't provide the color fidelity required for professional design work and lacks the high refresh rate preferred for smooth gaming experiences.
Battery
10.0 Hours
4.5 Hours
The Acer Swift X has 10 hours of battery life. The MSI GF65 Thin has 4.5 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
Good
14.0in
SIZE
15.6in
3.0 lbs
WEIGHT
4.1 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.8in
The Acer Swift X (2021) has very good portability, while the MSI GF65 Thin has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.6
6.7
The Acer Swift X (2021) has good build quality, while the MSI GF65 Thin has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$580
$1,100
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Acer Swift X (2021) has a price of $580 and the MSI GF65 Thin costs $1,100.
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Key similarities
Gaming and AI
6.3
6.8
4.4/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
6.1/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The MSI GF65 Thin and Acer Swift X (2021) are both only fair for gaming and AI.
The Acer Swift X (2021) is equipped with a respectable Nvidia RTX 3050 graphics card but is constrained by a 60Hz screen refresh rate, impacting the smoothness of graphics in gaming and 3D applications, while the MSI GF65 Thin boasts a more powerful Nvidia RTX 3060 GPU and a higher 144Hz screen refresh rate for more fluid visual performance, although it may be held back by a less vibrant display quality as indicated by lower color space coverage.
Engineering and Design
7.0
6.7
5.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.6/10
4.4/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
6.1/10
8.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Acer Swift X (2021) to be good for engineering and design, while the MSI GF65 Thin is only fair.
The Acer Swift X (2021) is equipped with an AMD Ryzen CPU and NVIDIA RTX 3050 GPU, with solid RAM and screen quality; this combination supports engineering and design software with adequate speed and visual fidelity, complemented by good portability and battery life.
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How the Acer Swift X (2021) and the MSI GF65 Thin compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Acer Swift X (2021) | MSI GF65 Thin |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$580 | $1,100 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | June 1, 2021 | January 1, 2021 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 12.7'' x 8.4'' x 0.7'' | 14.1'' x 10'' x 0.85'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 3.06 lbs | 4.1 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 12.7" | 14.13" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 8.4" | 9.99" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | AMD Ryzen 5 5600U | Intel i5-10500H | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 8 GB | 8 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 4 | 4 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 0 | 2 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 512 GB | 512 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 10 Hours | 4.5 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 59 Wh | 51 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 14" | 15.6" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 1920 x 1080 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 60Hz | 144Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 372 nits | 262 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.6/10 | 6.8/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 8.6/10 | 7.4/10 | |
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 | 7/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 8/10 | 6.8/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 720p | 720p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | Yes | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | No | No | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 2 | 2 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 1 | 2 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | No | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 2 | 1 | |
Thunderbolt Ports | |||
Thunderbolt Ports | 0 | 0 | |
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."
MSI GF65 Thin
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Allen Ngo | March 2021
"The MSI GF65 Thin offers a GeForce RTX 3060 on a budget. The MSI GF65 is a relatively inexpensive RTX 3060 laptop and, perhaps not coincidentally, it also comes with a slower-than-average RTX 3060 GPU. Other laptops we've tested thus far with the same GPU are about 10 to 15 percent faster. CPU performance is also slightly slower than average unless if users decide to enable Cooler Boost mode. Colors, black-white response times, Thunderbolt, and DisplayPort are either average or completely omitted. Gamers who want to maximize performance-per-dollar without sacrificing RAM or SSD upgradeability will find the lightweight MSI GF65 attractive."
Get a great deal on the Acer Swift X (2021) or the MSI GF65 Thin
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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