Battle of the $350 laptops: Acer Swift 1 vs. Gateway Ryzen 3 3200U

Acer's Swift 1 looks a little more professional than Gateway's GWTN141-2—but looks aren't everything, as our testing conclusively demonstrates.

Enlarge / Acer's Swift 1 looks a little more professional than Gateway's GWTN141-2—but looks aren't everything, as our testing conclusively demonstrates. (credit: Jim Salter)

We've been on the lookout for good but seriously cheap laptops for a while now. Acer's $650 Swift 3 is an excellent choice for budget laptops in the under-$700 range, but we've been really itching to find one in the almost nonexistent sub-$400 category. To that end, today we're looking at two of Walmart's finest—a $378 Acer Swift 1 and a $350 Gateway GWTN141-2.

Both of these are serviceable if cheap laptops, but the Gateway, despite being the less expensive model, will be the clear winner for most people. It's more powerful, more repairable, more upgrade-able, and in our testing, a bit more reliable as well.

Specs at a glance: as reviewed
Acer Swift 1 SF114-32 Gateway GWTN141-2
OS Windows 10 Home (S mode) Windows 10 Home (S mode)
Screen 14 inch IPS FHD (1920×1080, 250nits) 14.1 inch IPS FHD (1920×1080, 190nits)
CPU Pentium Silver N5000 Ryzen 3 3200U
GPU Intel UHD 605 AMD Vega 3
RAM 4GiB DDR4 (soldered, non expandable) 4GiB DDR4 (soldered, with one empty DIMM slot)
HDD 64GB eMMC
(SanDisk DF4064)
128GB NVMe M.2
(Netac S539N)
Networking Intel 9560
2x2 Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.0
Realtek 8821CE
1x1 Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 4.2
Ports
  • 1x USB-C (data only)
  • 2x USB-A 3.0
  • 1x USB-A 2.0
  • 1x HDMI
  • 1x SD card
  • 1x 3.5mm audio combo jack
  • 1x DC barrel jack
  • 1x Kensington lock slot
  • 1x USB-C (data only)
  • 2x USB-A 3.0
  • 1x HDMI
  • 1x SD card
  • 1x 3.5mm audio combo jack
  • 1x DC barrel jack
  • 1x Kensington lock slot
Size 12.7" x 9" x 0.6"
(323 x 229 x 15mm)
13.1" x 8.9" x 0.8"
(333 x 226 x 21mm)
Weight 2.9 pounds (1.3kg) 3.5 pounds (1.6kg)
Warranty 1 year limited 1 year limited
Extras Fingerprint reader,
720P camera
Fingerprint reader (in touchpad),
720P camera
Price as tested $378 at Amazon and Walmart $350 at Walmart

Acer Swift 1 SF114-32

We didn't actually intend to test or review the Swift 1—we ordered a Walmart Motile 14, with a Ryzen 5 processor for only $350. But Walmart has an unfortunate tendency to just throw in any similar product when it runs low on stock, and the Swift 1 is what got sent in its place—with no notification, either by email or in our account at Walmart.com, and no paperwork in the box either.

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