The age of the $200 Chromebook seems to be slowly ending, but the latest Chromebooks feature so much more. The 2023 14-inch Acer Chromebook Spin 514 ($699.99 as tested), for example, is a sturdy aluminum 2-in-1 laptop with lots of ports and an AMD processor that lets it punch above its weight in most of our tests. At a time when more powerful (and more premium) Chromebooks are coming to market, the Acer Chromebook Spin 514 (2023) is a fantastic 2-in-1 that pairs premium build quality with category-leading performance. For that, we give it the Editors' Choice award for mainstream Chromebooks.
Acer Chromebook Spin 514 Configurations
The Acer Chromebook Spin 514 is available in more than one configuration, and our review model, the CP514-3HH-R6VK, is the best of the bunch. That's thanks to its Ryzen 5 5625C processor, a six-core Chromebook-specific CPU that uses AMD's Zen 3 architecture and contains AMD Radeon Vega 7 integrated graphics. This potent chip is paired with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of eMMC storage. While that's not as fast nor as robust as the SSD storage used in more premium Chromebooks, it's more than capable of anything you'll be doing in ChromeOS. This model sells for $699.99.
However, you can also find a cheaper model that uses an AMD Ryzen 3 3250C chip instead, which is model CP514-1H-R22H. It sells for $499.99 and includes the same design and feature set as our more powerful version.
A Winning 2-in-1 Design
The "Spin" in the Acer Chromebook Spin 514 tells you, right off the bat, one of the best things about the Acer's design. This is a convertible 2-in-1 design that lets you flip and fold the laptop into tablet mode.
Acer's design is a little sturdier and a bit more appealing than the budget-Chromebook brigade thanks to the aluminum construction of both the lid and the chassis. It's been lightly ruggedized with MIL-STD-810H durability, mostly to withstand the drops and shocks that come from daily use. The laptop is lightweight, too: Despite measuring 0.68 by 12.7 by 8.8 inches, it weighs just 3.3 pounds.
The 2-in-1 format makes the 14-inch touch display all the more important, with a 360-degree hinge allowing you to use the Chromebook as a tablet. The 1,920-by-1,080-pixel display resolution is fine for the size of the machine, and the touch support is quite effective. However, its 16:9 aspect ratio feels like a throwback in a time when so many laptops are getting taller 3:2 or 16:10 panels. The IPS display is covered with Corning Gorilla Glass to stand up to every tap and swipe without scratching, and the touch screen also supports any pen that meets USI Stylus specifications. (Alas, Acer doesn't include one with the Chromebook.)
Acer's keyboard is capable but nothing to write home about. Meanwhile, the touchpad is generously wide, and the Gorilla Glass surface is smooth and comfortable to the touch. Acer's speakers on each side of the keyboard deliver surprisingly effective sound quality, and not only does the 1080p full HD webcam's imaging look excellent, with clear and detailed output, but the camera unit has a physical privacy shutter.
The Spin 514 also has a fairly versatile selection of ports, including some often-omitted full-size connections. On the right side of the machine is a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C (10Gbps) port that provides high-speed data transfer for external storage and peripherals, DisplayPort over USB-C for adding a monitor, as well as USB charging—both for charging other devices or DC-in for powering the laptop. It's not the Thunderbolt 4 connection you'd get with the Acer Chromebook Spin 713 (2022), but it's still an admirable amount of connectivity.
On the left is a second USB-C port, with all the same functionality, along with a full-size HDMI output, one USB 3 Type-A port, for anything that still uses the older standard, as well as a 3.5mm audio jack. For wireless connectivity, it has Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2.
Testing the Acer Chromebook Spin 514: The New 2-in-1 Chromebook to Beat
When comparing products in our reviews, we generally try to stick to similarly priced competitors, so that the performance results are based on similar hardware, not to mention that the combination of capabilities and features are in the same general category. For Chromebooks, that means that we're comparing it with systems like the gaming-focused Acer Chromebook 516 GE, the Acer Chromebook Spin 713 (2022), and the Lenovo 5i Chromebook (16-Inch)—all three of them Editors' Choice winners.
Our AMD-powered Chromebook Spin 514 is on the more expensive side of the spectrum, coming in at a higher price than most budget or education-focused models. But even among Chromebooks, it's not that expensive—not compared with the $999 models we've seen in recent months. But even with the price difference, the AMD Ryzen 5 processor inside is a powerful competitor, so we also wanted to see how the results stack up against more premium models, like the Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition and the HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook—two systems that are $999.
Productivity Tests
We test Chromebooks with three overall performance benchmark suites: one ChromeOS, one Android, and one online. The first, CrXPRT 2 by Principled Technologies, measures how quickly a system performs everyday tasks in six workloads such as applying photo effects, graphing a stock portfolio, analyzing DNA sequences, and generating 3D shapes using WebGL.
Our second test, UL's PCMark for Android Work 3.0, performs assorted productivity operations in a smartphone-style window. Finally, Basemark Web 3.0 runs in a browser tab to combine low-level JavaScript calculations with CSS and WebGL content. All three yield numeric scores; higher numbers are better.
The Acer's AMD Ryzen 5 processor delivers impressive power, as seen in the best-in-class results in both CrXPRT and PCMark. Again, the Spin 514 wasn't simply the best among our selection of comparison models, but it had the top scores for any Chromebook we've seen to date. For real productivity tasks, this is the most capable Chromebook we've seen.
Oddly enough, that top performance didn't extend to Basemark's web-centric test. Instead, the Spin 514 scored a middling 1,051 points. This was better than the category average of roughly 800 points but lower than almost every current system in this price range.
Component and Battery Tests
Two other Android benchmarks focus on the CPU and GPU, respectively. Geekbench by Primate Labs uses all available cores and threads to simulate real-world applications ranging from PDF rendering and speech recognition to machine learning, while GFXBench 5.0 stress-tests both low-level routines like texturing and high-level, game-like image rendering that exercises graphics and compute shaders. Geekbench delivers a numeric score, while GFXBench counts frames per second (fps).
Finally, to test a Chromebook's battery, we loop a 720p video file with screen brightness set at 50%, volume at 100%, and Wi-Fi and keyboard backlighting disabled until the system quits.
For raw CPU performance, the Spin 514 delivered one of the best scores we've seen, again thanks to the AMD Ryzen 5 CPU inside. The only system to produce a higher score was the Acer Chromebook 516 GE, a gaming Chromebook that drives top-end performance to support cloud gaming services.
Speaking of which, graphics performance was also impressive, with AMD's integrated Radeon Graphics solution producing excellent (if not leading) scores in the GFXBench tests. In the 1440p Aztec Ruins test, the Acer's 29fps was just a hair under the 30fps threshold for rendering playable games, a number that barely any Chromebooks could match prior to this year. Plus, in the lower-resolution Car Chase test, the Acer's 72fps was admirable. That's above average for a Chromebook, but not for Chromebooks that cost this much.
But, interestingly enough, this does outperform both of the gaming Chromebooks we've seen, despite the Spin 514 not being billed as a gaming-oriented ChromeOS device. It's also still missing key gaming features, like faster Wi-Fi 6E internet, a high-refresh-rate display, and an anti-ghosting keyboard. While it's not meant to replace something like the Acer Chromebook 516 GE, you can still definitely use it to enjoy Android apps and games, like Minecraft.
One area where the Spin 514 held its own against some of the best Chromebooks we've tested was battery life. Lasting 13 hours and 21 minutes on a single charge, the Acer Chromebook Spin 514 was one of only a handful of ChromeOS systems we've tested that exceeded the 13-hour mark. (Most of those did so by scaling back the performance, which the Spin 514 doesn't do.) For full-throttle power that lasts all day, the Acer Chromebook Spin 514 is a clear winner.
Verdict: A Durable, Powerful, and Versatile Chromebook
With best-in-class performance and a generous 13-hour battery, the Acer Chromebook Spin 514 (2023) emerges as a standout choice for those seeking a versatile and high-performing Chromebook. Its aluminum MIL-STD 810H construction ensures durability, while the AMD Ryzen 5 processor inside delivers all the power you need. The inclusion of an excellent full HD webcam and relatively current connectivity options further add to its appeal.
While the arguably dated 16:9 aspect ratio, missing Thunderbolt 4 connectivity, and cheaper eMMC storage are slight disappointments, they don't overshadow the overall excellence of this device. Ultimately, the Acer Chromebook Spin 514 (2023) excels in both productivity and battery life, making it a compelling option for users in search of a reliable and powerful 2-in-1 laptop, and our new favorite Chromebook for most people, earning it our Editors' Choice award.
