Acer Chromebook Spin 514 Reaction: Ryzen for the win

 

CES is officially underway and along with the gadgets, bots, and processors there's some more Chromebooks! However, this Chromebook is special, it's one of the first Chromebooks to include AMD Ryzen processors. This is the device, the specs, what it means for you, along with my thoughts on it. Time to start Covering all that right now. 

The Device 

One thing we need to get clear, this Chromebook is both made for the consumer and the enterprise, the hardware is still premium, but it's built to get work done, not to look premium at a Starbucks (Although it kinda does). The Acer Spin 514 does take some cues from its cousin the Spin 713, with an anodized aluminum lid and plastic/magnesium keyboard deck, the reason I put a slash is because several sources have yet to confirm whether it is plastic or magnesium, until then I'll keep the slash. The chassis is also MIL-Spec rated, meaning it can take a drop from 4 feet, and survive 132 of downward force, this Chromebook is one tough laptop and that's part of the business/consumer hybrid approach. It's also somewhat light weighing 3.42 pounds, most likely due to the extra reinforcement needed for the MIL-Spec rating. The best parts of business meet the most successful 2-in-1 design from modern consumer Chromebooks. 

Image Credit: Acer 

Image Credit: Acer 

The Specs 

So now we arrive at the most important part of the Acer Spin 514, the specs, especially the processor. The Acer Spin 514 comes equipped with the Ryzen 3000C family of APU's, these are processors specifically made for Chromebooks. It goes from an Athlon to a Ryzen 7 each with integrated Radeon GPU's, the Ryzen family are built to be powerhouse performers with quad-core and 8 thread options. It's made to accelerate the power of the web while allowing for Linux, and soon Windows apps to run smoothly. 

Image credit: AMD

Image credit: AMD

We know the 3000 series has the power to compete with Rocket lake and other intel technologies, but the problem is efficiency. On Windows the 3000 series disappointed due to the lack of efficiency and battery life, the intel processors were simply better performant and more efficient to giving better battery life. The 12nm 3000C series have improved from their Windows counterparts by implementing changes for Chrome OS, because it's a less demanding OS it can take less power and be more power-efficient. It's not the 2-day battery life ARM Chromebooks can achieve but it's won't tear through battery either, its somewhere in the 10-hours Acer has promised and for most people it should be fine. For a deeper dive into the 3000C series I suggest looking at this article from ZDnet that goes deep into the architecture and cores of the processors, here's the link: 

 
 

 

https://www.zdnet.com/article/amd-unveils-high-performance-athlon-and-ryzen-3000-c-series-chips-for-chromebooks/

 
The rest of the specs are standard, with up to 16GB of RAM, up to 126GB of eMMC, or 256GB of NVMe storage. It also has 2 USB-C ports, 1 USB-A port, 1 HDMI port on ever Ryzen version (omitted on Athlon), and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The port selection is insane considering most Chromebooks simply switched to USB-C, having legacy ports such as USB-A and HDMI make it much more convenient to use. 

 

 What it means for you

So, what does this Chromebook mean for you? It means that soon you might see more Ryzen Chromebooks, that means more performance and real power coming to the Chromebooks. Depending on your work you may or may not be interested in this Chromebook, if you're just surfing the web and using productivity tools the Ryzen 3 or 5 will serve you very well, in fact I would recommend you focus on RAM and SSD in that situation. However, if you plan to game using steam. code with Linux, or any type of heavy Graphic design the Ryzen will give you the power you can use for your workflow.  

 

Image Credit: Acer

In any case analyze your work, what you use your current laptop/Chromebook for and then decide whether or not the Acer Spin 514 is for you. The consumer use ultimately defines whether or not this Chromebook is for you, your decision for your device. 

 

My thoughts

I’m still exited for more Ryzen processors in Chromebooks. Bear in mind that the 3000 series was quickly eclipsed by the 4000 series, the 4000 series was the generation that really took the fight to intel, and finally proved AMD can innovate with a 7nm design and manageable battery life on Windows. Chrome OS could allow Ryzen's to be more efficient while staying powerful enough to stay useful. 

Image Credit: Acer 

Image Credit: Acer 

Windows has already reaped the benefits of AMD's leap in processor and GPU performance, and I feel Chromebooks need it now more than ever. With Linux support being more popular and Windows apps on the way Chrome OS is no longer simply a Web platform; real apps need real power and Ryzen is the perfect match.  

 

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