Acer Chromebook 514 (ARM)

The Acer Chromebook 514 (ARM) is a 14-inch clamshell Chromebook that Acer announced in late 2021 with the MediaTek Kompanio 828 processor. The ARM chip runs cool enough that the laptop needs no fan, and Acer rates the battery at up to 15 hours. Acer sold it as the non-touch CB514-2H and the touchscreen CB514-2HT, both with 64GB of storage. Acer no longer sells it new, so today it turns up mostly as a used or refurbished machine. It still gets ChromeOS updates through August 2031, so a used unit has years of support left.

Pros and Cons

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Acer Chromebook 514 (ARM) Comparison Chart

	Acer Chromebook 514 (ARM)	Acer Chromebook 514 (ARM)	Acer Chromebook 514 (ARM)
Price	List Price: $459.99 Amazon Prices: Check Price on Amazon	List Price: $409.99 Amazon Prices: Check Price on Amazon	List Price: $479.99 Amazon Prices: Check Price on Amazon
Model number	CB514-2HT-K0FZ / NX.AS2AA.005	CB514-2H-K7GF	CB514-2H-K2HN
Performance Rating	4.4	4.4	4.4
Chromebook Plus	No	No	No
Processor	Octa-core 2.60 Ghz MediaTek Kompanio 828 (8192T)	Octa-core 2.60 Ghz MediaTek Kompanio 828 (8192T)	Octa-core 2.60 Ghz MediaTek Kompanio 828 (8192T)
RAM	8 GB	8 GB	8 GB
Internal Storage	64 GB	64 GB	64 GB
Screen Size	14"	14"	14"
Screen Resolution	1920x1080	1920x1080	1920x1080
Screen Type	IPS	IPS	IPS
Touch Screen	Yes	No	No
Stylus / Pen	No Stylus Support	No Stylus Support	No Stylus Support
Dimensions width x length x thickness	12.7 x 8.9 x 0.66 inches (322.58 x 226.06 x 16.76 mm)	12.7 x 8.9 x 0.66 inches (322.58 x 226.06 x 16.76 mm)	12.7 x 8.9 x 0.66 inches (322.58 x 226.06 x 16.76 mm)
Weight	2.87 lbs (1.3 kg)	2.87 lbs (1.3 kg)	2.87 lbs (1.3 kg)
Backlit Keyboard	Yes	Yes	Yes
Webcam	720p HD	720p HD	720p HD
WiFi	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Bluetooth	Yes	Yes	Yes
Ethernet	No	No	No
Cellular Modem	No	No	No
HDMI	No HDMI	No HDMI	No HDMI
USB Ports	1 USB 3, 2 USB-C Two USB Type-C ports (one per side) supporting USB 3.2 Gen 1 (up to 5 Gbps), DisplayPort over USB-C, and 65 W charging; one USB 3.0 Type-A port. External display output is limited to one 1080p 60 Hz screen.	1 USB 3, 2 USB-C Two USB Type-C ports (one per side) supporting USB 3.2 Gen 1 (up to 5 Gbps), DisplayPort over USB-C, and 65 W charging; one USB 3.0 Type-A port. External display output is limited to one 1080p 60 Hz screen.	1 USB 3, 2 USB-C Two USB Type-C ports (one per side) supporting USB 3.2 Gen 1 (up to 5 Gbps), DisplayPort over USB-C, and 65 W charging; one USB 3.0 Type-A port. External display output is limited to one 1080p 60 Hz screen.
Thunderbolt Ports	No	No	No
Card Reader	No Card Reader	No Card Reader	No Card Reader
Battery	3 cell, Li-ion	3 cell, Li-ion	3 cell, Li-ion
Battery Life	15.0 hours	15.0 hours	15.0 hours
Fanless	Yes	Yes	Yes
Auto Update Expiration Date	August, 2031	August, 2031	August, 2031

Design, Display, and Ports

The Chromebook 514 measures 12.7 x 8.9 x 0.66 inches and weighs 2.87 pounds. It pairs an aluminum lid with a plastic bottom. PCMag noted that it has no drop hinge to prop the laptop up; because the Kompanio chip runs cool, the laptop sits flat on the desk and has fewer vents on the chassis. The speakers fire upward instead of out of the bottom panel.

The 14-inch display is a 1920 x 1080 IPS panel with an anti-glare finish and a rated brightness of 250 nits. The CB514-2HT adds touch; the CB514-2H does not. Neither version works with a USI pen or any other stylus.

Ports are split across both sides. The left side has a USB-C port, a USB Type-A port, and a combination headphone and microphone jack. The right side has a second USB-C port. Both USB-C ports run at USB 3.2 Gen 1 speeds (up to 5 Gbps), carry DisplayPort video, and charge the laptop, so you can plug the charger into whichever side is closer. Video output is limited to one external display at 1080p and 60 Hz. There is no HDMI port and no card reader. Wireless is Wi-Fi 6 plus Bluetooth, and the webcam is a 720p sensor.

Performance and Battery

The MediaTek Kompanio 828 is an eight-core ARM chip with four Cortex-A76 cores at up to 2.6 GHz and four Cortex-A55 efficiency cores, paired with Mali-G57 graphics. It is quicker than the low-end chips in budget education Chromebooks, and it falls short of the Intel Core i3 and i5 models Acer sold under the same Chromebook 514 name. The 8GB of memory in the reviewed units leaves room for browser tabs, Android apps, and Linux apps running side by side. The 64GB of storage is the tighter limit, because it cannot be expanded internally or with a memory card.

Battery life is the strongest part of this machine. Acer rates it at up to 15 hours. PCMag measured an 11-hour runtime in its battery test, and Chrome Unboxed reported more than 12 hours per charge in daily use.

Reviewers’ Opinions on Acer Chromebook 514

Brian Westover of PCMag scored the touchscreen CB514-2HT at 4.0 out of 5. He wrote that it “brings to the table an elegant machine that offers much of what you want in a premium Chromebook, including stylish construction and relatively perky performance, but still sells for a budget-friendly price.” He called the aluminum construction sturdy and said the laptop “is more powerful than budget Chromebooks for kids.” His main con was that it is slower than Chromebooks with Intel Core processors. He also noted that the 720p webcam produces slightly washed-out colors.

In their YouTube review, Chrome Unboxed said the Chromebook 514 succeeds at “striking the perfect balance” of user experience, price, and performance. The reviewer praised the keyboard and said of the touchpad: “I love this trackpad it’s massive it’s gorilla glass and it has one of the most satisfying click mechanisms i’ve ever used.” They placed its speed “right on par with something like the snapdragon 7c gen2 if not a little bit snappier.” On battery life: “I was easily getting 12 plus hours on a charge even with my brighter screen settings.” Their complaints were the missing microSD slot and the 1080p limit on external monitors. In an earlier unboxing and first-look video of the touchscreen model, Chrome Unboxed ran the Octane browser benchmark and got a score of 26,381, which the host said “is right on par with what we get from the snapdragon 7c gen 2.” The same video called the glass touchpad “a really really fantastic trackpad” and described the upward-firing speakers as loud with “no bass none whatsoever,” adding that their mids and highs suit conference and video calls.

Lon Seidman of Lon.TV, in his YouTube review of the CB514-2HT, said the ARM version is the one he would choose over the Intel version, because “the performance is more than adequate for basic web browsing and i found that this one does really really well with android apps especially android gaming.” He pointed out that it is “a fanless device so it will run completely silent,” and he criticized the lack of an SD card slot and the non-upgradable 64GB of storage. His summary: “Overall, I found it to be a very good value. I think the display is really nice on it. You’ve got a nice backlit keyboard here, and the performance in particular really surprised me.”

Customer Reviews of the Acer Chromebook 514 (ARM)

Amazon buyer reviews of the Acer Chromebook 514 (ARM) are mixed, with praise for everyday performance and complaints about the touchpad and about early hardware failures. Aleks, a verified buyer, wrote “Enough to make it snappy for daily tasks but also to run Linux-Container and Android-Apps. The 8gb are really needed,” and also praised the fanless chassis and the keyboard. Two buyers complained about the touchpad. Verified buyer whoiskermit wrote that “the touch pad is very iffy (Acer seems to have trouble getting this right),” and another buyer reported that an OS update made the touchpad unusable until a full reset restored the original software.

Two verified buyers report that their units stopped working within about a year. One titled their review “Dead in 6 months. Acer quality nosedive,” and wrote “This one died in six months.” Another said it was “DEAD! No charge, won’t power on” after about a year.

Buying One Used

A used Chromebook 514 (ARM) suits everyday work: web browsing, email, documents, and Android apps. Before you buy, check that the unit powers on and charges from both USB-C ports, test the touchpad for stray or missed input, and look at the battery health in the ChromeOS diagnostics app. Plan on cloud storage or a USB drive if 64GB is not enough, since the storage cannot be expanded. The touchscreen CB514-2HT is the version the reviewers above tested. For current models, see our picks for college students, or compare specs in the Chromebook Comparison Chart.

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