Acer refreshes Swift, Aspire notebooks with gaming-class hardware

You may have to rethink how you view Acer’s Swift and Aspire laptops. Today, Acer announced refreshes of both lines that include, believe it or not, gaming-class hardware.

In fact, Acer announced a sweeping refresh of its entire laptop fleet, including the Swift 3 OLED, a new Aspire 5, and many new entries in Acer’s eco-friendly Vero lineup, too. The company made the announcements in conjunction with its next@Acer event, held virtually.

Acer’s new Swift 3 OLED

Just two years ago, we called Acer’s Swift 3 underpowered, with performance that was frankly disappointing. It’s hard to imagine that will be the case now that Acer has responded with the Swift 3 OLED, featuring four 12th-gen Core-H options, ranging from the Core i5-12450H on up to the Core i7-12700H. Intel launched the 12th-gen Core H processors earlier this year, touting them as the “world’s best gaming platform.”

Acer’s Swift 3 OLED (also called the SF314-71) will include a 14-inch (2880×1800) OLED display, the 12th-gen Core H processors, up to 16GB of LPDDR5 memory, integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics, and up to a terabyte of Gen4 NVMe SSD storage.

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The Swift 3 is an Intel Evo laptop, meaning it carries with it certain characteristics: a light weight (3.09 pounds), Intel’s Killer Wi-Fi 6E, and up to 10 hours of battery life. (A 30-minute quick charge will yield four hours of battery life.) You’ll be able to buy Acer’s Swift 3 OLED for as little as $899, beginning in July.

The new Aspire 5 adds an RTX GPU option

Acer’s Aspire lineup consistently appears among Amazon’s low-priced offerings, perhaps giving the impression that these large-screen laptops are only intended for budget buyers. But we’re seeing a version that would seem to bely that: the Aspire 5 A514-55 and the A514-55G, which ship with a range of either Intel’s new “P” (performance) class 12th-gen Core chips, or U options, both ranging from Core i3 processors to a Core i7.

What’s new, though, are the GPU options: the choice between familiar integrated Iris Xe and Nvidia MX550 GPUs, but also something new—a GeForce RTX 2050 option. Nvidia’s GeForce RTX GPUs provide real-time ray tracing, which adds more realistic reflections and lighting in 3D games. (Acer previously offered RTX graphics within the Acer Aspire 7, but not the Aspire 5.)

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Of course, the RTX 2050 won’t compare at all to the powerful RTX 3000-class hardware within true gaming laptops, but it’s still an interesting tweak. The tradeoff appears to be a smaller 14-inch 1080p screen, as opposed to the new A517-53G, for example, which includes a 17.3-inch 1080p display. (There’s also a 1600×900 option, which should bring the price down even further.)

All but one of the new Aspire models will use Intel’s Core processors. The A515-47 will offer the choice of a Ryzen 3 5425U, a Ryzen 5 525U, or a Ryzen 7 5825U and Radeon graphics. Unfortunately, Acer didn’t provide any pricing information for the new Aspires.

Acer’s Spin series moves to 12th-gen Core

Acer’s Spin 5 has traditionally offered somewhat of a middle ground. As the name suggests, Acer’s Spin series reflects the fact that they’re all 360-degree convertibles, which tend to offer slightly less performance than a traditional clamshell. Acer announced a new Spin 3 (the SP314-55 / SP314-55N) and the Spin 5 (SP514-51N). They, too, offer a mix of 12th-gen Core chips, with up to 16GB of LPDDR5 memory and up to 1TB of PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSDs.

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The SP514-51N, however, adds a 2560×1600 14-inch display, which is a step up from the 1080p displays offered on the other Spin models. According to Acer, the Acer Spin 5 convertible laptop (SP514-51N) will be available in the United States in July for $1,349.99 and up, and the Acer Spin 3 will launch in August for $849.99 and up.

Acer launches a Vero notebook, AIO, and mouse/keyboard

Acer is also offering an eco-friendly twist with the Aspire Vero, with both a 14-inch (AV14-51) and a 15-inch (AV15-52) model. Both will be available in September with a starting price of $749.99.

Acer’s Vero lineup tries to reuse plastic and other industrial materials that would normally end up in a landfill. Vero models use 30 percent post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic inside the chassis, according to Acer, and the PCR plastic is also found in the screen bezel and keycaps. Vero notebooks are also deliberately designed with screws in the bottom of the chassis to allow the SSD and memory to be upgradable.

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The Aspire Vero includes processors up to a 12th-gen Core i7, and with the AV15-52 15-inch model, Acer is offering up to 24GB of LPDDR4 memory, more than the traditional 16GB. Only integrated Iris Xe GPUs will be offered, and up to 1TB PCIe SSDs. With the move to a 12th-gen Core, the Vero lineup is moving to Thunderbolt 4, too.

Acer is also offering a wireless Vero mouse and keyboard, which will be available in November for $79.99, as well as the Veriton Vero all-in-one, a 24-inch standalone PC that Acer will sell for $799 and up beginning in October.