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Ryzen 5000 update for Acer Chromebook Spin 514 is available for $579. Here’s a sneak peek. {Gallery}

The Acer Chromebook Spin 514 will receive a 2022 revamp with a Ryzen 5000 series chip and other significant improvements, ushering in a new era of AMD chips on Chrome OS. We’ve had a chance to get a sneak peek at the gadget.

SPECS AND PRICE FOR ACER CHROMEBOOK SPIN 514 (2022) The Acer Chromebook Spin 514 (2022) gives the 2021 model , one of Acers first Chromebooks with a Ryzen processor, a relative facelift.

The Ryzen 5000-series chip that drives the new Spin 514 is undoubtedly the star of the show because it significantly improves both performance and battery life. A Ryzen 3 3250C processor powered the Chromebook Spin 514’s predecessor. The Ryzen 5000 C-Series CPUs in the 2022 model upgrade to AMD’s considerably better Zen 3 architecture, replacing that earlier chip’s Zen 2 architecture. The performance and battery life of this more recent CPU, according to AMD, have significantly improved.

The Acer Chromebook Spin 514 (2022) houses that processor inside of a 14-inch FHD display with a 16:9 aspect ratio and an IPS panel. The device has a touchscreen and a 2-in-1 hinge that makes it possible to use it as a tablet. A USI stylus can also be used with it.

Up to 16GB of RAM is available, and an SSD serves as the Ryzen chip’s backup. The keyboard has backlighting, the battery life is rated at 10 hours, and there is an FHD webcam with a physical shutter. There are two USB-C connections for charging and data transfer, one full-size USB connector, an optional HDMI port, and a headphone/mic jack among the ports. The speakers, which are now top facing for greater overall quality, are another good upgrade.

The Acer Chromebook Spin 514 (2022) will go on sale in the United States in Q3 2022 with a Ryzen 3 5125C processor, 8GB of RAM, a 128GB NVMe SSD, and a retail price of $579. This year, a Chrome Enterprise edition will also be offered for $899.

A PROMISING ENTRY AT ANY LEVEL, AT FIRST GLANCE We’ve had an opportunity to use a pre-production model of the Acer Chromebook Spin 514 (2022) for the past few days, and we can now give a few restricted initial impressions.

The Spin 514 does a fantastic job of straddling the super-premium and mid-range lines in terms of physical components, feeling very typical of an Acer Chromebook. Although the coating on the aluminum causes the body to occasionally seem a little plasticky, it is otherwise solidly constructed and deserving of the price that Acer is going for.

As usual, the keyboard is excellent and I quickly get accustomed to it. Although FHD is perfectly good, I would have preferred to see Acer upgrade to a 1440p display with AMD’s more potent graphics capabilities. Although they are still not as good as speakers on other laptops in the same price range, the speakers are still noticeably better than those on other Acer Chromebooks I’ve used. Particularly lacking was bass. By the time Acer fully launches this product, this might even get better.

Although Acer advised us not to post any benchmarks on this prototype hardware, given the nature of the pre-production, I may offer a few of my restricted initial observations. When I go back to my experience with AMD’s previous Ryzen chip generation from last year, this current model absolutely destroys it.

The Ryzen 7 5325C, AMD’s top-of-the-line processor, is configured in the sample I’ve used, and it feels every bit as potent as its name suggests. There was no sign of a slowdown or difficulty even with more than a dozen tabs open with PWAs in full force. The 514 woke up quickly from sleep as well.

My findings are far from conclusive because I just had a few days to experiment with a pre-production device. But thus far, the Spin 514 seems to be a promising beginning, and I’m eager to see what this new generation of Ryzen chips will have to offer in the months to come.