Quick silver
LAPTOP | £1,300 from Acer www.snipca.com/49073
This is the first laptop we’ve tested that comes with one of Intel’s new Ultra processors – in this case the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H. This is a new mobile processor, designed for laptops and mini PCs, which has Intel’s Arc graphics hardware built in.
It’s the first processor to fall outside Intel’s usual generation-numbering system, effectively running alongside the current 14th-generation Core i5, i7 and i9 chips, which are designed to run desktop PCs and high-end laptops. The Ultra range, on the other hand, is intended for devices that use less power. It’s a confusing business, but it’s something we’re all going to have to get used to.
The big question is: how does it perform? The short answer is the Swift Go 14 is the fastest laptop we’ve tested to date. That honour was previously held by the Huawei MateBook 16s (£1,300, reviewed in Issue 669), but this has knocked it off its perch to become our new favourite laptop (see page 30).
When testing raw speed, the new Core Ultra processor runs 11-per-cent faster than the MateBook 16s. That’s not a huge leap but it’s still worth having, given there’s no difference in price. In Windows it’s blisteringly fast, swiftly handling every task we threw at it.
The built-in Intel Arc graphics hardware is also a step up from the Iris Xe in the Core i9. In graphics benchmark tests the Swift Go ran 56-per-cent quicker, which is a significant improvement. We still wouldn’t recommend it to serious gamers, who should always opt for a machine with a separate graphics card, but casual gamers will find this runs well enough.
Our only complaint is the screen size, though the Swift Go’s 14in panel is only inferior in terms of its dimensions. It actually has a higher resolution (2880x1800 pixels) than the MateBook, so it looks razor sharp. Its OLED technology provides perfect contrast, and its colours are vivid and reproduced accurately. In our tests we reached a brightness level of 374cd/m2 and were able to recreate 79 per cent of the DCI-P3 colour standard.
The MateBook has a 16in screen which is great if you crave more immersion in games or movies, or want to see more data on your spreadsheets.
Audio is also impressive, with plenty of differentiation between low, mid and high frequencies. It doesn’t have the volume levels of standalone speakers, but you can’t expect to fill a room from such a small laptop. The built-in microphones did a gran
