As Chromebooks continue to mature, device makers have also begun to use a wider range of components. This year, Acer announces its first AMD Ryzen offering in the Chromebook Spin 514.
The Acer Chromebook Spin 514 is powered by an AMD Ryzen 3000 C-Series processor with Radeon graphics. AMD announced in September 2020 that it releases better processors for Chromebooks, and that’s the Ryzen 3000 C series. So far, there hasn’t been much talk about what Chromebooks would get the processor upgrade, but it’s no surprise that Acer would come out with one. Was just a matter of time!
Starting at just $ 480, Acer’s Chromebook Spin 514 is one of the better performing and more durable Chromebooks in its segment. This is because it is equipped with up to an AMD Ryzen 7 3700C CPU, which is a 4-core / 8-wire processor with a base clock of 2.3 GHz (4.0 GHz boost), 6 MB cache, 10 Radeon Cores at 1400 MHz and 15W TDP. This is a big step from the A6 and A4 processors that AMD introduced at CES 2019 for Chromebooks.
It also has 16 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage, and Acer says the Chromebook Spin 514 has military durability thanks to its sandblasted aluminum chassis (available in silver, gray and green), which has been tested to withstand drops of up to four foot.
Acer also included a 1920 x 1080 IPS touchscreen with Gorilla Glass on the front, as well as handy features, including an illuminated keyboard and somewhat low-resolution but still serviceable HD webcam. Although Acer says that it has reduced the curve of the Chromebook Spin 514 to 6.1 mm, the overall screen-to-body ratio of 78% is not that impressive to me.
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The Chromebook Spin 514 comes with a decent array of ports, including two USB 3.2 Type-C ports (which both support video output and charging), a microSD card reader, and even an optional HDMI port on certain models. You also get support for Bluetooth 5, dual stereo speakers and dual microphones for better handling of video calls. Unfortunately, unlike many other laptops starting at CES 2021, the Chromebook Spin 514 will have to come with 802.11 ac wi-fi instead of Wi-Fi 6 support.
Finally, thanks to a stricter partnership with Google, along with standard Chrome OS items such as support for running Android apps, the Chromebook Spin 514 is also Google Assistant Lab certified, so Google’s integrated AI helper answers your questions and can better understand assignments.
The standard Chromebook Spin 514 will go on sale in North America in February, starting at $ 480, and the Chromebook Enterprise Spin 514 with higher specs is expected to be available later in March for $ 780.
And if you want to see more new devices and devices from CES 2021, click here to read our full coverage.