The Acer Chromebook 514 makes its presence identified with a tantalizing 14 hours of battery life. When you’re not impressed, then you should not know a lot about Chromebooks: Our earlier expertise with these often cheap laptops have by no means been this good. Laptop computer Magazine has been testing Chromebooks for practically a decade, and the Acer Chromebook 514 has the longest enduring battery lifetime of any Chromebook we’ve ever reviewed.
Couple this with audio system which might be much better than they’ve any proper to be, first rate efficiency throughout (though it could possibly be higher), and an affordable price ticket, and you’ve got a simple purchase for anybody in want of a sub-$500 Chromebook. Nevertheless, we’re not precisely able to shine the “biggest Chromebook ever made” trophy for it simply but.
Sadly, the Acer Chromebook 514 is hindered by a poor show that fails in each brightness and vibrancy exams, an unbelievably tough touchpad, and a webcam that doesn’t accomplish a lot besides making you look unkempt. Nevertheless, regardless of its flaws it nonetheless makes its approach onto our greatest Chromebooks web page.
Acer Chromebook 514 value and configurations
The Acer Chromebook 514 I examined prices $460 and is constructed with a MediaTek Kompanio 828 ARM Cortex A76 CPU, Mali-G57 MC5 built-in graphics, 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM, 64GB of flash reminiscence storage, and a 14-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS touchscreen. Different configurations will let you downgrade the RAM and cupboard space to 4GB and 32GB, respectively. When you want extra flash storage, you may max it out to 128GB. You too can select whether or not the show is touchscreen or not.
The most cost effective mannequin is available in at $400 with comparable specs because the unit we examined, save for its 4GB RAM and non-touch show. The most costly mannequin goes for $530 with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.
Acer Chromebook 514 design
The Acer Chromebook 514’s easy aesthetic will enchantment to minimalists, however it received’t do a lot for anybody who enjoys pizazz of their laptop computer designs. The lid’s silver hue is just about its solely defining trait, and whereas it appears generic, the shiny sleekness is urbanely pleasing. That is additionally complimented by a reflective Acer engraving (that may mirror your face in the event you peek into it) and a darkish grey Chromebook brand sitting above it.
Opening up the lid reveals two audio system on the left and proper facet of the black keyboard. There’s a silver touchpad with a shiny trim to tell apart its border, whereas a sticker on the backside proper showcases the laptop computer’s many options. This consists of, however isn’t restricted to, the promise of 15-hour lengthy battery life and slender bezels (which aren’t that slender).
The highest bezel homes a 720p webcam; the underside bezel options one other reflective brand. The left and proper bezels aren’t monumental, however they’re not slender both. I do discover it amusing that the underside bezel of the show includes a shiny sticker with the textual content “FULL HD 1080,” as if the minimal expectation is one thing to rejoice. There may as effectively be one other sticker subsequent to it that claims “WILL RUN CHROME.” Chromebooks with shows at 1280 x 720-pixel decision do exist, however it’s often apparent by their dimension.
The Acer Chromebook 514 is available in at 12.7 x 8.9 x 0.7 inches, with an approximate weight of two.87 kilos. It’s bigger however lighter than the Lenovo Flex 5 (12.2 x 8.4 x 0.7-inches, 2.97 kilos), however for the Acer Chromebook Spin 514 (12.7 x 8.9 x 0.7-inches, 3.64 kilos), it manages to be considerably lighter — despite the fact that they’re each the identical dimension.
Acer Chromebook 514 ports
The Acer Chromebook 514’s port assortment is moderately underwhelming. The left facet on the Acer Chromebook 514 includes a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Sort-C port, a USB Gen 1 Sort-A port, and a headphone jack.
The appropriate facet is kind of easy, with just one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Sort-C port accessible.
Whereas this isn’t a horrible choice of ports, we might hope for a microSD card reader and Kensington lock. Chromebooks are designed to be taken on the go, so having a option to add information from a microSD card and defend the laptop computer from thieves with a Kensington lock is essential.
Acer Chromebook 514 show
The Acer Chromebook 514’s 14-inch, 1920 x 1080-pixel show is an underwhelming affair. Outdoors of the FHD crispness supplied by this cheap piece of {hardware}, these with a discerning eye for show high quality won’t be impressed.
I watched the trailer for Jurassic World: Dominion and rapidly seen how dim the Acer Chromebook 514’s show is. At most brightness in a darkish room, it felt like there was a clear black layer over the show. Even throughout a daylight scene when an enormous crocodile dinosaur munched on a cage at sea, it appeared held again by the {hardware}’s missing nits. The saturation additionally seemed actually off, with faces showing unrealistically cool with little depth to the colours.
The Acer Chromebook 514’s colorimeter exams present that the show is really missing, solely overlaying 46.2% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut. That is considerably beneath the Chromebook common of 70% and simply barely worse than the Lenovo Flex 5 (47%), however it did a bit higher than the Acer Chromebook Spin 514 (42.8%).
The Acer Chromebook 514 didn’t do a lot better in our display screen brightness check, hitting a low common of 224 nits. As soon as once more, that is considerably decrease than the Chromebook common brightness of 294 nits and Flex 5 (260), however it did higher than the Spin 514 (209 nits).
Acer Chromebook 514 keyboard and touchpad
The Acer Chromebook 514’s black keyboard is a bit smaller than others I’ve examined, however it labored simply effective for me. It’s attainable I’m used to smaller keyboards, because the earlier laptop computer I examined (MSI Status 14 Evo A12) had an enormous keyboard, so I might underestimate the location of keys and find yourself with garbled sentences stuffed with nonsense. However with the Acer Chromebook 514, I felt proper at dwelling typing.
I took the typing check at 10FastFingers.com on the Acer Chromebook 514 and managed to hit 88 phrases per minute with its keyboard. That is decrease than once I took the check on a keyboard I’m acquainted with and managed to hit 107 wpm. This principally needed to do with my incapability to get used to the Caps Lock key being changed with the search key. Though that is the Chromebook approach, it’s a approach that I’ll by no means recognize. In any other case, the keyboard’s dimension labored effectively for me and the important thing journey had sufficient depth to be satisfying.
The Acer Chromebook 514’s touchpad isn’t good. The traction is unsatisfying, as I must combat in opposition to its floor to maneuver the cursor. And urgent the touchpad places the cursor in a half-second limbo the place it’s unmovable. This rapidly interrupts the movement of my work and makes productiveness a bit tougher. We extremely suggest utilizing an precise mouse and connecting it to the laptop computer in the event you intend to make use of it throughout work.
Acer Chromebook 514 audio
The Acer Chromebook 514’s top-facing audio system are surprisingly good, providing crisp, clear audio in most songs I threw at it. One tune I attempted didn’t do too effectively, however most music will probably be prime quality, so it received’t be essential to make use of one in every of our greatest laptop audio system or greatest wi-fi headphones. However in the event you’re keen to spend the additional money, it’ll provide an important improve anyway.
I listened to “Working Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” by Kate Bush, and what struck me instantly was how loud and clear Bush’s voice got here by means of the audio system. The ambient synths had their ethereal high quality completely captured in distinction to her highs and lows, however because the monitor escalated in depth, some sounds would get misplaced in opposition to each other (particularly the background drums). Nonetheless, it was a pleasing listening session.
I then jumped to “Unstated” by The Ninth Wave, which shared comparable strengths. The Acer Chromebook 514 is incredible at translating voices clearly with out utterly overpowering the remainder of the monitor. I used to be actually floored because the audio system dealt with the tune persevering with so as to add increasingly devices into the weave with out mistepping. Every drum hit, guitar strum, synth be aware and vocal twine got here collectively into an superior translation of this nice tune. I stared on the Chromebook pondering, “I can not imagine this sounds so good.”
I ended off with “dying on the within” by Nessa Barrett, which is the primary time these audio system confirmed weak spot. The overwhelming manufacturing that mixes a slew of digital devices to make up the refrain comes throughout effective, however it doesn’t sound as crisp as I anticipated. There’s a noticeable raspiness behind each component of the manufacturing, particularly Barrett’s voice, which isn’t current when performed by means of prime quality audio system.
Acer Chromebook 514 efficiency
With a dozen YouTube movies open on the similar time, I started to note some sluggishness within the video loading, and it was clear the pc had a second of battle whereas transitioning over from the commercials to the video itself. However in any other case, it carried out moderately decently, as any slowdowns lasted half a second. Whereas looking varied web sites on the web, textual content loaded in fairly quick, however I did discover that photographs typically took an additional second to totally come into sight.
With an MediaTek Kompanio 828 ARM Cortex A76 CPU, Mali-G57 MC5 built-in graphics, 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 64GB of flash reminiscence storage operating the Chrome OS, the Acer Chromebook 514 performs effectively sufficient for its value.
Throughout our Geekbench 5.0 artificial efficiency check, the Acer Chromebook 514 hit 2,219, which is simply barely above our Chromebook common of two,204. However it’s fairly a bit worse than each the Lenovo Flex 5’s rating of two,336 (eleventh Gen Intel Core i3-1115G4 CPU) and Acer Chromebook Spin 514’s rating of two,792 (AMD Ryzen 5 3500C)
The Jetstream 2 benchmark, which exams web-browsing efficiency, showcased extra of the Acer Chromebook 514’s weaknesses with a rating of 81.6, which is significantly decrease than the Chromebook common (109), the Spin 514 (111.2) and the Lenovo Flex 5 (152.9).
Acer Chromebook 514 battery life
The Acer Chromebook 514’s battery life is its point of interest. It is essentially the most spectacular high quality by a mile, making it good for lengthy journeys or getting by means of a piece day while not having to recharge. In our Laptop computer Magazine battery check, which entails steady net browsing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness, the Acer Chromebook 514 lasted a complete 14 hours and eight minutes on a single cost.
That is considerably increased than our Chromebook common of 9 hours and three minutes, and simply blows the Acer Chromebook Spin 514 (7:38) and Lenovo Flex 5 (7:25) out of the water.
Acer Chromebook 514 warmth
The Acer Chromebook 514 doesn’t run notably scorching, however components of it exceeded our consolation threshold. Its touchpad remained at a cool 79 levels Fahrenheit throughout use; its underside bought as much as a low 85 levels. At its hottest, our exams confirmed it ran at 101 levels in a sure spot of its underside, which is a bit bit increased than our really useful 95-degree consolation threshold.
Regardless, we didn’t discover this Chromebook operating tremendous scorching throughout our exams.
Acer Chromebook 514 webcam
Unsurprisingly, the Acer Chromebook 514’s 720-pixel webcam is atrocious. Photographs come out grainy and the digicam is dangerous at balancing mild ranges in a darkish room, and even in higher lighting, it comes out as a very pixelated picture that received’t do you good normally.
When you don’t have any plans to make use of a digicam for conferences, this must be effective, however most individuals will need the greatest webcams for exterior use.
Acer Chromebook 514 software program and guarantee
The Acer Chromebook 514 comes with the Chrome OS put in, which shouldn’t be a lot of a shock contemplating that’s the purpose behind a Chromebook. Because of this the one factor you’ll have put in when opening up the laptop computer is Google Chrome itself.
The Acer Chrome 514 comes with a one 12 months restricted guarantee. See how the model fared in our Tech Help Showdown and Finest and Worst Manufacturers particular experiences.
Backside line
The Acer Chromebook 514 makes a convincing case for itself with incredible battery life that lasts 14 hours, a strong set of audio system that really impressed my cynical ears, and satisfactory efficiency wrapped up in an affordable bundle. Nevertheless, whereas this Chromebook runs effective, it may carry out approach higher.
Its faults stick with a show hindered by poor colour vary and low nits of brightness. I additionally wasn’t notably impressed by its frictionless touchpad, which continually pressured me to combat in opposition to it when getting work accomplished.
Nevertheless, in the event you can look previous these faults, the Acer Chromebook 514 is a good Chromebook with record-breaking battery life that’s greater than value its value.
