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日本Acer Swift Edge (SFE16-44) review – Compromised Performance in a Sleek Package
Compared to its predecessor, the Acer Swift Edge (SFE16-44) looks like a mild refresh. The new-gen model relies on the 8040 series 28W AMD Zen 4 Hawk Point-U CPUs which are nearly identical to their 7040 siblings without counting the slightly clocked NPU unit of the new chips. The RAM is still soldered which isn’t surprising given how thin and light this laptop is. The port selection remains good with its four USB connectors. Again, Wi-Fi 7 is on board but as an option.
The display is the same as the one of the SFE16-43 model. It continues to be the star of the show. It’s a color-accurate 120Hz OLED panel with a 3200×2000 resolution and HDR capabilities.
The 2023 version cooling struggles when the CPU is pounded with heavy stress. Since the thermal system hasn’t changed much and the CPU options are almost the same regarding row power, it’ll be interesting to see if Acer has somehow managed to solve this issue.
You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/acer-swift-edge-16-sfe16-44/
Contents
Specs, Drivers, What’s in the box
Acer Swift Edge 16 (SFE16-44) - Specs
- HDD/SSD
- up to 1000GB SSD
- M.2 Slot
- 2x 2280 PCIe NVMe 4.0 x4 See photo
- RAM
- up to 32GB
- OS
- Windows 11 Home, Windows 11, Chrome OS, Windows 11 Pro
- Battery
- 54Wh
- Body material
- Magnesium alloy
- Dimensions
- 357.55 x 245.9 x 12.95 mm (14.08" x 9.68" x 0.51")
- Weight
- 1.23 kg (2.7 lbs)
- Ports and connectivity
- 1x USB Type-A
- 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps)
- 1x USB Type-A
- 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), Sleep and Charge
- 2x USB Type-C
- 4.0, Power Delivery (PD), DisplayPort
- HDMI
- 2.1
- Card reader
- microSD (microSD, microSDHC, microSDXC)
- Ethernet LAN
- Wi-Fi
- 802.11be
- Bluetooth
- 5.4
- Audio jack
- 3.5mm Combo Jack
- Features
- Fingerprint reader
- Web camera
- QHD with Temporal Noise Reduction
- Backlit keyboard
- Microphone
- 2x Microphones with Acer Purified Voice, AI noise reduction
- Speakers
- Speaker System optimized by DTS Audio
- Optical drive
- Security Lock slot
- Noble Lock
All Acer Swift Edge 16 (SFE16-44) configurations
Drivers
All drivers and utilities for this notebook can be found here: https://www.acer.com/us-en/support/product-support/SFE16-44/downloads?suggest=SFE16-44;0
What’s in the box?
We found the mandatory paperwork and a 65W USB Type-C charger inside the box.
Design and construction
Yep, visually, the Acer Swift Edge (SFE16-44) is a twin of the SFE16-43 model. The magnesium alloy chassis with a sandblasted surface still feels premium to the touch. The rigidity is above the average as the weak points remain unchanged. It’s the lid that can be flexed moderately and the bendy zones of the base below the Space key and the Arrows. With a weight of just 1.23 kilos and a 12.95 mm profile, this is a super portable 16-incher which is amazing.
The lid opens with one hand. This time around, the front of the base will not bounce up while opening the machine fast. Well, that’s an improvement!
The bezels around the gorgeous OLED display are narrow. The Web camera on the top is a 1440p@30FPS model with Temporal Noise Reduction.
The bottom of the base is raised when you push back the lid a bit beyond the 90-degree mark. As always, that’s beneficial for the cooling.
The backlit keyboard has shortcuts for MS Copilot and the AcerSense app. The key travel isn’t long but it’s not too short either. The feedback is also a bit mushy but not overly so. The board has a NumPad for the accountants out there and a built-in fingerprint reader in the Power button.
The moisture-resistant touchpad with OceanGlass surface is smooth while its accuracy is slightly above the average. Sadly, the whole pad wobbles when you tap on it, especially on its bottom side. This is quite annoying and if we remember correctly, we didn’t experience the same issue with the 2023 machine.
On the bottom of the laptop, the ventilation grill reveals a big chunk of the cooling. The plate also houses four small rubber feet, a battery reset pinhole, and two speaker cutouts. The hot air is being exhausted through a vent on the rear which points at the lower screen bezel.
Ports
On the left, you get a pair of 40 Gbps USB 4 ports with DisplayPort and charging capabilities, an HDMI 2.1, and a 5 Gbps USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) port with power-off charging. On the right, we can see a Noble lock slot, one more USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) port, an Audio jack, and a MicroSD card reader.
Display and Sound Quality, Get our Profiles
| Acer Swift Edge (SFE16-44) | ATNA60BX03-0 (SDC418D) |
| Diagonal | 16.0 inches (40.6 cm) |
| Panel Type | OLED |
| Resolution | 3200 x 2000 pixels |
| Max Refresh Rate | 120 Hz |
| Aspect Ratio | 16:10 |
| Pixel Density | 236 PPI |
| ‘Retina’ Distance | Greater than or equal to 37 cm |
Viewing Angles
Viewing angles are good. We take photos from different angles to evaluate the quality.
Also, a video with locked focus and exposure.
Color Coverage
The whole “sail-shaped” map below (Fig. 1) consists of all the colors we can see, while the black crooked line shows all the colors from real-world scenes and nature around us.
Then, we’ve drawn some of the most important and interesting color spaces, compared to the colors the panel of Acer Swift Edge (SFE16-44) can show:
Standard/For Web: sRGB – widely used color space for most consumer devices, ideal for Web design and development
For Print: AdobeRGB – used in professional photo editing, graphic design, and print
For Photographers/Video Editors: DCI-P3 – used in high-end film production, post-production, and digital cinema
Premium HDR: Rec.2020 – the widest consumer ITU color standard, covering a massive 75.8% of the visible spectrum, a benchmark for premium HDR content
Acer Swift Edge (SFE16-44): the yellow dashed triangle (– – – – – –) represents the range of colors this monitor can display.
In our tests, we calculated the total color coverage of the monitor at 100% of the sRGB color gamut and 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut.
(Fig.1) Acer Swift Edge (SFE16-44) covers 100% of the DCI-P3 gamut
Brightness and Contrast
The maximum brightness in HDR mode is 605 cd/m² at 8% white fill and 423 cd/m² on a full white screen.
The maximum brightness in SDR mode is 394 cd/m² in the center of the screen and 392 cd/m² averaged across the surface with a maximum deviation of 2%.
The Correlated Color Temperature (CCT) on a white screen at maximum brightness is 6470K.
The contrast ratio of OLED panels is excellent because the pixels turn off completely when displaying black.
Uniformity: Luminance, Contrast, and Color Deviation
The figure below shows the results from our uniformity test across different sections of the screen. It’s measured at 180 nits (Windows slider = 71%) — a brightness level we consider typical for standard working conditions.
DeltaE values below 4.0 are acceptable for regular users. For those working with colors, screens with DeltaE values no higher than 2.0 are recommended.
Color Accuracy
Let’s check the difference between real colors and those you’ll see on the Acer Swift Edge (SFE16-44). We measure that distance in DeltaE – the higher the number, the more different they look.
Values below 4.0 are acceptable for regular users, while values below 2.0 are suitable for color-sensitive work. A value below 1.0 means the difference is indistinguishable to the naked eye.
For the next graph, we’ve selected 24 common colors, including dark/light skin, blue sky, green grass, etc.
Before our calibration of the Acer Swift Edge (SFE16-44), the Average color accuracy was 2.1 dE (Fig. 2), and with our Design and Gaming profile, it lowered to 1.7 dE (Fig. 3).
(Fig. 2) Acer Swift Edge (SFE16-44) in its factory condition
(Fig. 3) Acer Swift Edge (SFE16-44) with our display profile
Comparison in the Display P3 color space.
Health Impact: PWM (Screen flickering)
Some use PWM to regulate their brightness, which means that instead of reducing the light intensity, they pulse or flicker. Our brain merges the image, so it appears darker, but this strains both it and our vision, especially when the frequency of the pulses is low. You can read more about that in our dedicated article on PWM.
In the graph below, you see the intensity of light at different brightness levels—on the vertical axis is the brightness of the emitted light, and on the horizontal axis—time.
The luminance of the Acer Swift Edge (SFE16-44) display is PWM controlled up to about 110 cd/m2. When the brightness is higher, we observe ripples of limited amplitude. Therefore, we consider the display to be sufficiently comfortable for vision in the considered aspect.
Health Impact: Blue light emissions
Installing our Health-Guard profile reduces harmful Blue Light emissions while keeping the colors of the screen perceptually accurate.
If you’re not familiar with the Blue light, the TL;DR version is – emissions that negatively affect your eyes, skin, and your whole body. You can find more information about that in our dedicated article on Blue Light.
Health Impact: Screen Reflectance
Glossy-coated displays can cause eye fatigue in high ambient light conditions due to reflections. We measure the level of screen reflection with the display turned off, at a 60° angle.
The reflectance of the Acer Swift Edge (SFE16-44)’s screen is 166 GU.
High Gloss: >70 GU
Medium Gloss: 30 – 70 GU
Low Gloss: <30 GU
Get our profiles
Since our profiles are tailored for each individual display model, this article and its respective profile package are meant for Acer Swift Edge (SFE16-44) configurations with ATNA60BX03-0 (SDC418D), 3200 x 2000, OLED panel.
*Should you have problems with downloading the purchased file, try using a different browser to open the link you’ll receive via e-mail. If the download target is a .php file instead of an archive, change the file extension to .zip or contact us at [email protected].
Read more about the profiles HERE.
In addition to receiving efficient and health-friendly profiles, by buying LaptopMedia's products you also support the development of our labs, where we test devices in order to produce the most objective reviews possible.
Office Work
Office Work should be used mostly by users who spend most of the time looking at pieces of text, tables or just surfing. This profile aims to deliver better distinctness and clarity by keeping a flat gamma curve (2.20), native color temperature and perceptually accurate colors.
Design and Gaming
This profile is aimed at designers who work with colors professionally, and for games and movies as well. Design and Gaming takes display panels to their limits, making them as accurate as possible in the sRGB IEC61966-2-1 standard for Web and HDTV, at white point D65.
Health-Guard
Health-Guard eliminates the harmful Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) and reduces the negative Blue Light which affects our eyes and body. Since it’s custom tailored for every panel, it manages to keep the colors perceptually accurate. Health-Guard simulates paper so the pressure on the eyes is greatly reduced.
Get all 3 profiles with 33% discount
Sound
The sound quality of the Acer Swift Edge (SFE16-44) is very good. The low, mid, and high frequencies are clear.
Performance: CPU, GPU, Storage
All benchmarks and tests were conducted with the “Performance” preset activated in the AcerSense app. Also, the “Best Performance” mode is applied in the Windows “Power & Battery” menu.
The “Memory Optimizer” function is set to “Gaming” in the Radeon Control Panel. This allows the iGPU to allocate up to 4GB of RAM.
CPU options
This laptop is offered with AMD Ryzen 5 8640U or AMD Ryzen 7 8840U.
Our notebook has an 8840U CPU.
Here, we evaluate the CPU's performance using a real-world 3D rendering task, assessing its ability to handle complex computations and rendering workloads efficiently.
Results are from the Cinebench 2024 Multi-Core test (higher is better)
Single-core performance ensures smooth operation and responsiveness in operating systems, providing a better user experience.
Results are from the Geekbench 6 Single-Core test (higher is better)
Multi-core performance is essential for handling complex and demanding tasks, such as Video editing, CAD, and Scientific simulations.
Results are from the Geekbench 6 Multi-Core test (higher is better)
GPU options
Depending on the CPU, you can rely on AMD Radeon 760M or Radeon 780M for graphics loads.
The machine that we bought has a 780M iGPU.
The results are from 3DMark Time Spy (Graphics). Higher is better.
The results are from 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Unlimited. Higher is better.
Gaming tests
| Counter-Strike 2 | HD 1080p, Low (Check settings) | HD 1080p, Medium (Check settings) | HD 1080p, Very High (Check settings) |
| Average FPS | 149 FPS | 94 FPS | 36 FPS |
| Gears 5 | Full HD, Low (Check settings) | Full HD, Medium (Check settings) | Full HD, High (Check settings) | Full HD, Ultra (Check settings) |
| Average FPS | 60 FPS | 34 FPS | 26 FPS | 19 FPS |
Storage performance
Our laptop has a 1TB Micron 3400 MTFDKBA1T0TFH SSD with TLC memory.
It’s a fast 2280 NVMe but it gets hot during benchmarking since it lacks dedicated cooling.
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Temperatures and comfort, Battery Life
Max CPU load
In this test we use 100% on the CPU cores, monitoring their frequencies and chip temperature. The first column shows a computer’s reaction to a short load (2-10 seconds), the second column simulates a serious task (between 15 and 30 seconds), and the third column is a good indicator of how good the laptop is for long loads such as video rendering.
Average core frequency; CPU temp.; Package Power
| AMD Ryzen 7 8840U (28W TDP) | 0:02 – 0:10 sec | 0:15 – 0:30 sec | 10:00 – 15:00 min |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acer Swift Edge (SFE16-44) | 2.54 GHz @ 57°C @ 25W | 2.72 GHz @ 66°C @ 25W | 1.81 GHz @ 63°C @ 17W |
| HP Pavilion Aero 13 (13-bg0000) | 3.08 GHz @ 57°C @ 30W | 2.75 GHz @ 65°C @ 25W | 2.24 GHz @ 67°C @ 20W |
Despite its 2-fan design, the cooling is having a hard time taming the 8-core Ryzen 7 8840U especially in longer stress where the chip reaches an average clock of just 1.81 GHz. Yep, that’s almost 1.50 GHz down compared to the official AMD base clock of this chip which is 3.30 GHz. Also, the much smaller Pavilion Aero 13 with the same CPU has the upper hand in short and long loads.
Comfort during full load
The fans aren’t too noisy in “Performance” mode even when using the laptop for 3D rendering.
At the same time, the hotspot on the keyboard reaches 50°C which feels just warm to the touch, not hot. We measured 46°C on the display’s bottom bezel where the rear exhaust is.
Using the “Normal” mode for heavy tasks is pointless because the frequency of the CPU drops down to just 1.40 GHz.
Battery
Now, we conduct the battery tests with the Windows Best Power Efficiency setting turned on, screen brightness adjusted to 180 nits and all other programs turned off except for the one we are testing the notebook with. This laptop’s 54Wh battery lasts for around 5 hours and a half of video playback. Оur test was conducted with the “Battery Saver” preset activated in the Windows “Power & Battery” menu and the “Normal” mode applied in the AcerSense app.
Brightness: 180 nits; Display Mode: SDR
Time to Full Discharge: Higher is Better
Disassembly, Upgrade options, and Maintenance
To open this thin laptop, you have to undo 10 Torx-head screws. Pop the two areas behind the hinges. Then, pry the back and work your way around the sides and the front.
Here’s how the bottom panel looks on the inside.
This device has a 54Wh battery. Unplug the connector from the motherboard in case you want to upgrade the components or clean the cooling. The battery itself is hard glued to the base and it feels flexible when we try to detach it. Removing it appears to be risky. The capacity is enough for around 5 hours and a half of video playback.
The memory is soldered. You get 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB of LPDDR5-6400MHz RAM in dual-channel which should be enough for most users.
There are two M.2 slots for 2280 Gen 4 SSDs.
The one above the battery is hidden underneath a ribbon connector and you have to disconnect it gently if you want to reach the NVMe that is covered with a heat shield.
The replaceable Wi-Fi card is on the left of the memory chips.
The cooling has two small fans, one heat pipe, a decently big top-mounted heat sink, and a heat spreader.
Verdict
Alright, guys, the Acer Swift Edge (SFE16-44) isn’t a bad device at all. Its main issue is the fact that it looks and feels almost like a rebrand of last year’s model. The magnesium build seems stealthy and premium. The input devices are average at best. The comfort during long CPU loads is okay. The fans don’t sound too noisy and the keyboard becomes warm to the touch, not scorching hot. The cooling still struggles with the 28W chip. The AMD Ryzen 7 8840U boosts to just 1.81 GHz in long stress which is miles away from the 3.30 GHz official AMD base frequency. However, the Multi-core result in Cinebecnh 2024 is 100 points higher than the one of the SFE16-43 model with a similar Ryzen 7 7840U processor.
The display (ATNA60BX03-0 (SDC418D)) is great! It’s a 120Hz OLED with full DCI-P3 coverage, deep blacks, and 605 nits of max brightness in HDR mode.
The memory may be soldered but on the bright side, you get two M.2 slots for 2280 SSDs which is a rare find for a notebook with such a thin chassis. The port selection is up to date with its two USB4 connectors and an SD Card reader. The Swift Edge (SFE16-44) is a good choice for people who travel a lot and need a thin and light machine with a big color-accurate display. However, since this device is nearly identical to the 2023 sibling, get the latter if you find it at a cheaper price.
You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/acer-swift-edge-16-sfe16-44/
Pros
- 100% sRGB and DCP-P3 coverage + improved color accuracy with our “Design and Gaming” profile (SDC418D)
- Infinite contrast ratio (SDC418D)
- 605 nits of max brightness in HDR mode and 394 nits of peak brightness while viewing SDR content (SDC418D)
- Light and thin magnesium alloy chassis (1.23 kg / 12.95 mm)
- Lid with a lever design
- Fingerprint reader
- 1440p Web camera
- 2x USB4 ports + MicroSD card reader
- 2x M.2 slots + replaceable Wi-Fi card
- Wi-Fi 7 (option)
- Good comfort under load considering the thin build
- Fast SSD (Micron 3400)
- Up to 32GB of LPDDR5 RAM
- Feels fast for work, despite the hindered clocks
Cons
- Soldered memory
- Low CPU clocks, especially in long CPU stress
- Average battery battery life (~ 5 hours and a half of videos)
- PWM usage (SDC418D)
- The battery is glued to the base
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