Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE overview: Did the gaming Chromebook stage up?
I gained’t lie; we didn’t just like the distinctive Acer gaming Chromebook. It had its positives nonetheless too many drawbacks, leaving us questioning if this was the easiest cloud gaming wanted to offer.
Properly, Acer is once more with a revamped gaming Chromebook experience on the Chromebook Plus platform, the Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE. This updated deal with the cloud gaming platform offers us robust productiveness effectivity, a shiny 120Hz present, a super webcam, and a great deal of ports. Sadly, it doesn’t treatment our complaints regarding the genuine gaming Chromebook, similar to the mushy keyboard, the poor battery life, the scarcity of touchscreen, and the distorted audio.
No matter its flaws, the sooner iteration of Acer’s gaming Chromebook, the Acer Chromebook 516 GE, is our biggest Chromebook for gaming. It was, notably, the one gaming Chromebook of its time. So, has the Chromebook Plus 516 GE improved on the system ample to land on our Biggest Chromebooks net web page?
Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE: Specs and benchmarks
| Worth: | $649 |
| CPU: | Intel Core 5 120U |
| GPU: | Intel Graphics |
| RAM: | 8GB |
| Storage: | 256GB |
| Present: | 16-inch, 2560 x 1600, 120Hz |
| Battery: | 7:25 |
| Dimension: | 14 x 9.8 x 0.84 inches |
| Weight: | 3.7 kilos |
Click on on to view full benchmark check out outcomes
| Header Cell – Column 0 | Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE |
|---|---|
| Geekbench 6 (Elevated is more healthy) | 7,303 |
| Geekbench 5 (Elevated is more healthy) | 7,495 |
| JetStream 2 (Elevated is more healthy) | 295.167 |
| WebXPRT 4 (Elevated is more healthy) | 282 |
| CrXPRT 2 (Elevated is more healthy) | 205 |
| Heat (Ranges Fahrenheit) | 89.7 |
| Battery life (Elevated is more healthy) | 07:25 |
| Present brightness (Elevated is more healthy) | 341 |
| sRGB coloration gamut (Elevated is more healthy) | 110.8% |
| DCI-P3 coloration gamut (Elevated is more healthy) | 78.5% |
| Coloration accuracy (Lower is more healthy) | 0.31 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Extreme (Elevated is more healthy) | 2,461 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Extreme (fps, Elevated is more healthy) | 14.74 |
Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE: Worth and configurations
There is only one configuration for the Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE. This $649 Chromebook Plus offers an Intel Core 5 120U processor, Intel built-in graphics, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and a 16-inch (2560 x 1600) 120Hz IPS present.
Chances are you’ll at current select up the Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE from Biggest Buy.
Should you want to enhance the RAM to 16GB, you can solely choose the older model, the Acer Chromebook 516 GE, on the market at Amazon for merely $599.
Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE: Design
The Chromebook Plus 516 GE design is an odd combination of gamer aesthetics with RGB lights and black metallic and Chromebook sensibilities. Sadly, this hybrid design brings to ideas the outdated phrase, “jack of all trades, grasp of none.” I’d quite a bit comparatively the 516 GE picked an aesthetic, and each dipped intently into the gaming laptop computer pc design space or caught with the low-key Chromebook visuals.
The brushed metallic lid is paying homage to gaming laptops from the 2016-2018 interval, though the matte bar on the prime of the lid for the Chromebook Plus and Acer logos makes the laptop computer pc actually really feel unfinished. Primarily essentially the most gamer-centric design cues are the RGB keyboard and 120Hz refresh price present, which aren’t seen with the Chromebook closed.
The clamshell hinges are plastic, which offers a stage of flex that feels a bit additional flimsy than I’d favor. That talked about, the 516 GE choices principally recycled provides as part of Acer’s dedication to sustainability, which is sweet even when the chassis is additional plastic than I might favor.
As far as portability, the Chromebook Plus 516 GE is light ample to carry merely. The 516 GE measures 14 x 9.8 x 0.84 inches and weighs merely 3.7 kilos. Nonetheless, it is on the thicker aspect when compared with completely different Chromebooks like:
Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE: Ports
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Gamers are prone to want loads of ports in a laptop computer pc, to power gear and RGB lights for the right gamer aesthetic, so Acer loaded the gaming Chromebook with a full port array to match.
The Chromebook Plus 516 GE’s full port array all through the right and left sides of the chassis consists of:
- 2x ThunderBolt 4 USB-C port
- 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports
- 1x HDMI 2.1 port
- 1x RJ45 Ethernet port
- 1x 3.5mm audio combo jack
- 1x Kensington Lock Slot
In case your gaming setup nonetheless needs additional ports, we advocate investing in one in every of many biggest laptop computer pc docking stations or USB-C hubs if you happen to occur to can’t ship your self the scale back the wire and go wi-fi.
Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE: Battery life
Chromebooks was good picks for battery life, once more when House home windows and macOS laptops struggled to clear 10 hours. Currently with AI PC laptops taking over the market, Chromebooks are nowhere to be seen amongst our laptops with the easiest battery life.
Nevertheless, compared with a gaming laptop computer pc, the place we keep in mind it good if the laptop computer pc clears the 5-hour mark, I nonetheless anticipated the Chromebook Plus 516 GE to do larger. And I was not let down. The Chromebook held out for quite a lot of hours whereas downloading video video games on battery power with the present on and nonetheless saved up with some web shopping and hands-on testing on the similar time.
The Chromebook Plus 516 GE lasted 7 hours and 25 minutes on the Laptop computer pc Journal battery check out, which items a Chromebook to 150 nits and items Chrome to cycle via 20 web pages. That’s about an hour and a half below the 2024 Chromebook widespread of 9:01. Nevertheless it certainly wasn’t sudden, as a result of the sooner model lasted merely 7:40.
Click on on to view chart info in desk format
| Header Cell – Column 0 | Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE | Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus | HP Chromebook Plus x360 | Acer Chromebook 516 GE | Chromebooks widespread |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery life (Elevated is more healthy) | 07:25 | 11:12 | 08:50 | 07:40 | 09:01 |
Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE: Present
The 2560 x 1600, 120Hz matte IPS present on the Chromebook Plus 516 GE almost looks as if a waste. Sure, it’s good for viewing content material materials, and on another gaming laptop computer pc, which may be a powerful present selection. Nevertheless on a gaming Chromebook, the place your biggest effectivity will be working Android video video games or streaming with GeForce Now, the present prime quality doesn’t truly impression the gaming experience in a really vital method.
For many who do get a sport streaming simply from GeForce Now or by streaming from a close-by PC with Steam’s streaming capabilities, the present does look pretty good. Whereas I’ll nonetheless favor collaborating in straight from my gaming PC, a gaming laptop computer pc, or a console, streaming Baldur’s Gate III via GeForce Now was accurately vibrant, taking full advantage of that 1600p 120Hz present with lush environment and crisp distinction, significantly whereas working throughout the Druid’s Grove in Act One.
In reality, if you happen to occur to’re merely streaming a video from YouTube or Netflix, or another streaming app, having a extreme refresh price, high-resolution show display screen is unimaginable. The 516 GE’s panel isn’t going to blow you away with its coloration accuracy like a workstation or creator machine, however it certainly does meet 78.5% of the DCI-P3 coloration gamut, which is an efficient additional vibrant than the Chromebook widespread of 70.6%. The Chromebook Plus 516 GE will also be on the brighter aspect, with a peak brightness of 341 nits which will also be brighter than the Chromebook class widespread of 320 nits. It’s moreover satisfactory brightness to cut via even the brutal Laptop computer pc Journal office glare.
Click on on to view chart info in desk format.
| Header Cell – Column 0 | Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE | Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus | HP Chromebook Plus x360 | Acer Chromebook 516 GE | Chromebooks widespread |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present brightness (Elevated is more healthy) | 341 | 377 | 289 | 346 | 320 |
| sRGB coloration gamut (Elevated is more healthy) | 110.8% | 153.2% | 58.9% | 107.0% | 99.7% |
| DCI-P3 coloration gamut (Elevated is more healthy) | 78.5% | 108.5% | 41.7% | 75.8% | 70.6% |
| Coloration accuracy (Lower is more healthy) | 0.31 | 0.23 | 0.27 | 0.31 | 0.35 |
Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE: Keyboard and touchpad
The Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE keyboard has robust journey with a extreme activation stage. Sadly, that makes the keyboard actually really feel kind of mushy. It wouldn’t be so harmful if the Chromebook Plus 516 GE wasn’t alleged to be one factor of a gaming system. The dearth of bounce and the extreme activation stage merely make the 516 GE’s keyboard actually really feel fallacious for gaming.
I maintained an 88 phrases per minute (wpm) widespread on the 10fastfingers superior typing check out. That is the same to my regular 88 wpm widespread on the MacBook Skilled 14 keyboard. So no matter my dislike for the keyboard’s kind prime quality, it had no impression on my typing tempo or accuracy.
Furthermore, the LEDs beneath the keyboard aren’t considerably vibrant. They light up correctly, nonetheless the colors are a bit washed out, so that you simply don’t even get a super gamer actually really feel from them. That’s considerably noticeable with lighter shades like yellow however as well as impacts the rainbow array. Static purple or inexperienced labored the easiest.
The touchpad is on the larger aspect, measuring 5 x 3.3 inches. The scroll experience is straightforward, and the underside half of the touchpad has a bodily click on on activation, if you would like that good click on on activation actually really feel. It’s unfortunate the press is simply on the underside half, nonetheless it is larger than no click on on the least bit.
Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE: Audio
Acer packed a DTS speaker array into the Chromebook Plus 516 GE’s top-firing audio system. They do get some robust audio amount, nonetheless the sound prime quality isn’t on a regular basis the easiest experience.
Having fun with Baldurs Gate III every on-device and via GeForce Now, the game appeared like I was listening to it via a pair of tin headphones. The Baldur’s Gate III foremost theme nonetheless maintained the usual dramatic drums and deep vocalizations, nonetheless the higher-pitched strings and singing sounded additional like nails on a chalkboard than the gorgeous instrumentals and clean buzzing I’m used to listening to.
For a top quality audio experience whereas gaming on the 516 GE, I’d advocate the biggest headphones or a set of the biggest computer audio system comparatively than relying on the onboard audio.
Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE: Gaming and graphics
Acer positions the Chromebook Plus 516 GE as a cloud gaming machine, and that is the place it must hold. While you possibly can sport on the Chromebook due to Valve’s Steam for ChromeOS beta, most Chromebooks aren’t constructed for gaming.
Whereas built-in GPUs have improved by means of the years, that’s not the case for the Intel Core 5 120U processor contained within the Chromebook Plus 516 GE. This power-efficient, low-budget Intel processor doesn’t operate the flashy Arc iGPU of its “Meteor Lake” Core Extraordinarily 100H buddies. Having merely 8GB of system memory doesn’t help. So whereas I did receive Baldur’s Gate III via Steam straight onto the 516 GE, I was diminished to collaborating in it on low graphics presets and at 1080p determination, and it was nonetheless a stuttery mess. I’ve made PowerPoint flipbook-style animations with smoother graphics.
I moreover had downside loading some mobile video video games to the Chromebook Plus. I was unable to complete the receive on the Genshin Have an effect on textures, and even Honkai Starrail didn’t want to point out precisely. The game was missing complete property and was totally unplayable. Some Android video video games gained’t run whereas emulated, whereas completely different Android video video games like Pokémon Unite carried out great on the 516 GE. Nonetheless, the scarcity of touchscreen controls made them awkward to play.
Nevertheless if you happen to occur to easily want to attach with GeForce Now, the 516 GE does a okay job of connecting to the Nvidia rigs. When you’re restricted based in your GeForce Now subscription tier, the free tier will offer you entry to an Nvidia RTX 2080 GPU, which is larger than extremely efficient ample to play most video video games at a 1080p or 1200p determination and extreme settings. Relying in your net connection, dropping to Medium for additional graphically demanding video video games is advisable, nonetheless GeForce Now may very well be a solidly spectacular streaming service. In reality, paid subscription tiers give you longer sport events and additional extremely efficient GPUs, if being restricted to an hour-long sport session and an RTX 2080 isn’t ample to your gaming habits.
As far as benchmarks go, we did run the Chromebook Plus via the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme check out, and it averaged a framerate of merely 14.74fps, which is admittedly above the Chromebook class widespread of 13.26fps . Nonetheless, that info set is comparatively restricted, and we’ve reviewed value vary smartphones with larger on-device gaming capabilities.
Click on on to view chart info in desk format.
| Header Cell – Column 0 | Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE | Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus | HP Chromebook Plus x360 | Acer Chromebook 516 GE | Chromebooks widespread |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Wild Life Extreme (Elevated is more healthy) | 2461 | 1965.6 | Row 0 – Cell 3 | Row 0 – Cell 4 | 2213.3 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Extreme (fps, Elevated is more healthy) | 14.74 | 11.77 | Row 1 – Cell 3 | Row 1 – Cell 4 | 13.26 |
Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE: Effectivity and heat
I saved my extreme expectations for the Chromebook Plus 516 GE pretty low, considering it is a Chromebook working an Intel Core 5 120U processor, and I was proper in that analysis. Whereas the Chromebook Plus 516 GE has ample power to get via a full day of web functions, net shopping, and email correspondence administration, with some Google One AI integrations, it wasn’t going to be one thing like a high-powered and even mid-range gaming laptop computer pc. And that’s okay. Whereas the 516 GE may very well be the gaming Chromebook, it is nonetheless a Chromebook.
I saved open my regular 20-something evaluation Chrome tabs and stream some music throughout the background. I moreover obtained the 516 GE to acquire Baldur’s Gate III and a few mobile gacha video video games like Genshin Have an effect on throughout the background with out hitting a CPU bottleneck. I didn’t get to run my regular Photoshop check out, because of that’s not a ChromeOS app, and I’m not too acquainted with Canva to utilize that in its place. Nevertheless I was able to take care of my regular workload with none snags. ChromeOS does have entry to Chrome’s memory saver, which can additionally assist offload your Google Chrome memory hoard and protect you trying as fast as your net connection will allow.
As far as benchmarks are concerned, the Chromebook Plus 516 GE beats the category averages all through the board. Among the many largest wins have been the Geekbench 6, the place the 516 GE’s multicore CPU compute widespread of seven,303 was correctly above the Chromebooks class widespread (4,956), and the Chromebook productiveness benchmark CrXPRT 2, the place the 516 GE’s widespread of 205 was 26% above the Chromebooks widespread (162).
So if you happen to occur to need a additional extremely efficient Chromebook to take care of up alongside along with your workday, the 516 GE isn’t a nasty selection for a productiveness machine.
Click on on to view chart info in desk format.
| Header Cell – Column 0 | Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE | Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus | HP Chromebook Plus x360 | Acer Chromebook 516 GE | Chromebooks widespread |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 6 (Elevated is more healthy) | 7,303 | 6,015 | Row 0 – Cell 3 | Row 0 – Cell 4 | 4,956 |
| Geekbench 5 (Elevated is more healthy) | 7,495 | 5,695 | 4,053 | 8,082 | 6,117 |
| JetStream 2 (Elevated is more healthy) | 295.167 | 268.394 | 187.449 | 253.532 | 240.801 |
| WebXPRT 4 (Elevated is more healthy) | 282 | 263 | 192 | 236.0 | 230 |
| CrXPRT 2 (Elevated is more healthy) | 205 | 167 | 137 | 185 | 162 |
| Heat (Ranges Fahrenheit) | 89.7 | 84.5 | 89.0 | 92.1 | 89.3 |
Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE: Webcam
The FHD webcam on the Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE isn’t horrible. It isn’t the clearest feed, nonetheless the colors aren’t considerably distorted, and in addition you do get admission to Google’s superior AI digicam choices like Studio sound, Studio lighting, and portrait touch-up, which can additionally allow you to get a better sound, a better picture, and reduce the seems to be of those darkish circles beneath your eyes from taking a look at too many screens for a dwelling.
For many who’re going to be on digicam fairly a bit when using the Chromebook Plus 516 GE, you need to nonetheless must spend cash on one in every of many biggest webcams to package deal out your gaming setup.
Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE: Software program program and assure
The Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE comes with ChromeOS put in. As part of the Chromebook Plus tier, you get a 12 months of Google One AI Premium with out spending a dime.
Relating to pre-loaded software program program, the Chromebook will start downloading your regular Chrome apps as part of the setup course of, however it certainly comes with GeForce Now put in and has the beta arrange info for Steam pre-loaded. For many who receive Steam via the Google Play Retailer it might solely get you the mobile app, which gained’t help you to play any video video games on the Chromebook. To ensure that you the overall Steam experience, you need to search your Chromebook for the arrange info for the Steam for Chrome beta to be sure you get the right mannequin put in.
As for assure safety, the Chromebook Plus 516 GE comes with a one-year restricted assure from Acer for components and labor.
Bottom line
The Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GE is a cloud gaming machine. It does correctly on productiveness metrics, nonetheless its on-device gaming effectivity is outpaced by your widespread smartphone. And lots of the video video games you can presumably play on the 516 GE are larger optimized for telephones and touchscreen items anyway, leaving the Chromebook Plus throughout the mud.
Sadly, the updated model does not restore the problems we disliked regarding the genuine 516 GE. The keyboard continues to be mushy, the battery life is sub-par, the audio continues to be tinny, and the present continues to be a daily IPS with out touchscreen assist.
For many who wanted a gamer-lite productiveness machine with coloration LED backlights and a top quality webcam, the Chromebook Plus 516 GE isn’t a nasty selection. Nevertheless in the long run, you can run GeForce Now and Steam for ChromeOS on any Chromebook. So, you’re more than likely larger off going for the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus in its place, because you get a far nicer present, longer battery life, and a better complete Chrome machine.
