The Acer Chromebook 14 demonstrated acceptable performance on the WebGL Aquarium graphics simulation, which tests 3D rendering. The notebook mustered 47 frames per second with 250 and 500 fish in the tank, while the Dell and Toshiba both sped along at 60 fps with as many as 1,000 fish. It lags well behind that of the more powerful – and more expensive – Dell Chromebook 13, however, which scored 2139 milliseconds on the Kraken test (lower scores are better), and 13,795 on the Octane test (higher scores are better). The Acer Chromebook 14 is one cool customer. After the laptop streamed 15 minutes of full-screen, HD video, our heat gun registered comfortable temperatures on its touchpad (74.5 degrees Fahrenheit), keyboard (78.5 degrees) and underside (80 degrees). All were less than our 95-degree comfort threshold. Acer's Chromebooks are some of the most readily available in the world, and as a result, at the time of writing - and to be expected - the Chromebook 314 is available globally. If you'll need to give presentations from your Chromebook, an HDMI monitor port is usually more convenient than carrying a USB-C DisplayPort adapter. Also look for a USB port or two if you'll want to attach a mouse, a flash drive, or another peripheral. Gaming

Acer Chromebook 14 review - TechRadar Acer Chromebook 14 review - TechRadar

As expected, however, the sound quality takes a dive on those top levels. For enjoying music you’ll want to plug in some ‘phones or a dedicated speaker.The Chromebook 314’s screen isn’t exceptional, but it is good for the money. The resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 looks a lot better than 1,366 x 768 on any screen above 11in in size and it doesn’t have the gritty presentation or visibly irregular brightness levels of some budget 1080p displays. It helps that it reaches a maximum brightness level of just over 300cd/m², where many cheap Chromebook screens struggle to hit the mid-200s. However, it only covers 59.1% of the sRGB colour gamut, while colour accuracy is comparatively poor, with an average Delta E of 5.08. In practice, it’s great for browsing the web, editing documents and even watching streaming video, but I couldn’t edit photos or video and feel confident about how the colours were going to come out. If you want to really see what today's Chromebooks can do, or just want to game without the huge upfront investment of a gaming laptop, the Acer Chromebook 516 GE is an easy answer. It has the processing chops to support all of your gaming needs, and it's naturally a fast and capable Chromebook in every other respect. And even with its higher gaming price, it's still less expensive than many midrange Windows machines. If you’re only interested in browsing and using Google’s Workspace apps, you’ll probably get by, but for anything else you’re going to wish you had splashed out a little more on something faster. Even then, we’d recommend the cheaper non-touchscreen option. It has less storage but it’s arguably better value. And, most importantly, we also bring our many years of experience to bear in assessing the usability, ergonomics and build quality of each and every machine we review.

Acer Chromebook 714 review | TechRadar Acer Chromebook 714 review | TechRadar

It also has no external display ports so there's no opportunity to hook this up to a monitor or screen for presentations, unless you use an adapter - again, sacrificing a USB port. Acer’s Chromebook Spin 713 is now getting a little long in the tooth, but it’s still one of the best Chromebooks on the market and, in some ways, superior to its successor, the Spin 714. The 2-in-1 design and 3:2 aspect ratio, 13.5in high-resolution screen is a winning combination for browsing, entertainment, and getting homework or office work done. In fact, the squarer 2,256 x 1,504 resolution display seems oddly larger than most 14-inch screens, and it’s brighter with more vibrant colours, too. The usual native display resolution on a Chromebook will be 1,920 by 1,080 pixels, otherwise known as full HD or 1080p, but cheaper Chromebooks may have lower resolution while deluxe models may have higher. For most midsize Chromebooks with screens from 13 to 15 inches, 1080p is just fine. Entry-level models' resolution of 1,366 by 768 pixels can look coarse and is only really suited for laptops with screens smaller than 12 inches diagonally. Try to avoid this resolution on any 13-inch or larger screen, or at least try to eyeball the display in person before you buy. Note that all Chromebook Plus models will have at least a 1080p screen. ProcessorIn terms of speed, it’s a step up from the smaller Lenovo IdeaPad Duet, using Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7c chipset to deliver decent everyday performance. This, plus an impressive full HD screen and 11-hour battery life, make it a great choice for working on the move and, in tablet mode, it’s also brilliant for streaming video or playing games. We would like a bit more body to the keyboard and more warmth and weight in the speaker system but, otherwise, the HP Chromebook X2 11 is a fantastically functional 2-in-1 device. Key specs The Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 3 Chromebook is ideal if you're in the market for a 2-in-1 detachable Chromebook. Its compact design is excellent if you're on the go or prefer a smaller device while still having both laptop and tablet functions. The peppy performance and versatility of the Duet 3 Chromebook make it ideal for students, professionals, and anyone who needs a reliable and affordable device for basic computing tasks. We used the Chromebook for a range of work tasks and casual browsing and watching over a number of days and it handled everything that was thrown at it. Even the speakers are respectable enough for a machine of this composition and makeup proving adequate enough for a bit of YouTube rabbit holing and Netflix binging. You can leave your charging cable at home when you take the Acer Chromebook 14 to school or work. The notebook lasted 9 hours and 25 minutes on the Laptop Mag battery test, which is longer than the average thin-and-light notebook (7:56) and the HP Chromebook 14 (6:42). The Dell Chromebook 13 (13:25) and Toshiba Chromebook 2 CB35 (10:05) make it even longer on a single charge. The touchpad is perfectly functional, but there’s no mistaking the plastic for glass and it’s noticeably less sensitive than the touchpads on Acer’s more expensive Chromebooks. You can, of course, use the touchscreen instead, but I find it weird prodding the touchscreen of a non-convertible Chromebook, and while Chrome OS is becoming more touch-friendly, it’s still not something that feels like a must-have.