Acer Chromebook Plus 514 (CB514-5H)

Published on September 14, 2026

The Acer Chromebook Plus 514 CB514-5H is the 2025 Raptor Lake U version of Acer’s 14-inch Chromebook Plus, and the reason to pick it over the usual N-series Chromebook Plus is the silicon: the US model pairs a six-core Core i3-1315U with a 256GB PCIe SSD instead of a slow UFS drive, under an aluminum lid on a 16:10 matte panel. The one quirk to know before ordering is that both USB-C ports sit on the left side. It is a separate design from the Core 3 N355 CB514-6H and the older Ryzen and Core i3-N305 boards on our Acer Chromebook Plus 514 page, with ChromeOS updates through June 2033, two years shorter than the CB514-6H.

Aluminum lid and Wi-Fi 7, but both USB-C ports sit on one side

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Acer Chromebook Plus 514 (CB514-5H) Comparison Chart

	Acer Chromebook Plus 514 (CB514-5HT-33RD)
Price	List Price: $549.99 Amazon Prices: Loading prices...
Model number	CB514-5HT-33RD
Performance Rating	8.9
Chromebook Plus	Yes
Processor	Hexa-core 1.20 Ghz (max 4.50 Ghz) Intel Core i3-1315U
RAM	8 GB
Internal Storage	256 GB NVMe SSD
Screen Size	14"
Screen Resolution	1920x1200
Screen Type	IPS
Touch Screen	Yes
Stylus / Pen	No Stylus Support
Dimensions width x length x thickness	12.46 x 8.92 x 0.72 inches (316.48 x 226.57 x 18.29 mm)
Weight	3.31 lbs (1.5 kg)
Backlit Keyboard	Yes
Webcam	1080p
WiFi	Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be)
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.3
Ethernet	No
Cellular Modem	No
HDMI	Full-Size HDMI
USB Ports	2 USB 3, 2 USB-C 2x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (DP, PD), both on the left; 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1
Thunderbolt Ports	No
Card Reader	No Card Reader
Battery	3 cell, 53Wh, Li-ion
Battery Life	Unknown
Fanless	No
Auto Update Expiration Date	June, 2033

Raptor Lake U silicon in a 14-inch Chromebook Plus chassis

The CB514-5H range spans several Intel Raptor Lake U chips. MergeDroid’s hands-on sample ran an Intel Core 300U, and the reviewer listed a 13th-generation Core i3, the Core 5 120U, and up to a Core 7 150U as further options depending on region. The US Amazon configuration is the Intel Core i3-1315U, a six-core, eight-thread part (two performance cores and four efficiency cores) that boosts to 4.50GHz and scores around 11,229 on PassMark’s multi-thread test. That is a 13th-generation mobile chip, so it is not current silicon in late 2026, but it sits above the N-series parts that fill most Chromebook Plus machines and leaves headroom for a dozen tabs, a Linux container, Android apps, and a video call at once. Sustained 4K video editing and heavy Linux compilation are still outside what this class does.

Every US SKU ships 8GB of LPDDR5 soldered to the board, and MergeDroid’s walkthrough of the line says configurations run up to 16GB. Storage on the CB514-5HT-33RD is a 256GB PCIe Gen 4 SSD, a step up from the 128GB UFS drives that ship on the entry configurations of this same range. There is no microSD reader to fall back on, so the 256GB figure is what you get for offline files, downloads, and Android apps.

The left side carries both USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports (each handling DisplayPort output and Power Delivery charging), one USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, and the combo audio jack. The right side carries the second USB-A, a full-size HDMI port, and a Kensington Nano slot. Charging from either side of a desk is not an option here, which is a step back from the CB514-6H layout that splits one USB-C per side. Wireless is Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.3 on the US touch SKU; other configurations in the range ship Wi-Fi 6E instead, so check the wireless spec of the exact SKU. A 65W USB-C charger is in the box.

The display is a 14-inch 1920x1200 IPS panel in a 16:10 aspect ratio with a matte finish and a claimed 300 nits. The panel is specified at 45 percent of the NTSC color space, which is fine for documents, spreadsheets, and video but not for color-critical photo work. The hinge lays flat at 180 degrees, the touchpad is a large OceanGlass unit made from ocean-bound recycled plastic, and the speakers fire upward from either side of the keyboard deck. A third microphone sits on the front edge alongside the two near the webcam.

Reviewer Insights

MergeDroid on the build, the port placement, and the support window

MergeDroid’s initial-impressions video on the CB514-5H covers an engineering sample with the Core 300U, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of UFS storage. The reviewer’s first impression of the chassis was positive: “Straight away in the hand, this is feeling really well put together. There’s no flex to worry about.” He noted the panel’s proportions, “It’s a 14in display, but it’s in a taller 16x10 aspect ratio,” and was less happy about where the USB-C ports ended up: “Nice to see two [USB-C ports], but it would have been nice to have them on either side.” On the touchpad’s branding he was direct: “It’s branded ocean glass by ASA, but again, that just means that it’s oceanbound plastic. It’s not actually glass, but yeah, it just feels like it could be.” He put the support window at “Chrome OS updates all the way through to June 2033” across the range.

In a follow-up comparing the 514 against the 16-inch Chromebook Plus 516, the same reviewer, working with the CB514-5H rather than the N355 board, preferred the smaller machine on build and sound. He credited the smaller machine for its “aluminum lid over the plastic found on the 516,” added that “the smaller, more compact build, of course, it’s just going to feel more sturdy,” and said “I prefer the sound coming from the 514 there with the separation of the sound through the speakers either side.” He weighed his non-touch sample at 1.37kg, about 3.02 pounds, and in a 4K playback test with both screens at maximum brightness found the 514 ahead: “The 514 does win out there [on battery], and it makes sense as the 516 has got that larger display to power.” His recommendation between the two: “Unless you need the extra real estate of the larger screen on the 516 and that number pad… I’d recommend most people stick with the Acer Chromebook Plus 514.”

ITPro on what the 2025 refresh changed

Stuart Andrews reviewed the 2025 Chromebook Plus 514 for ITPro on a Core 3 100U sample with the 128GB UFS drive. His summary of the generation: “The Chromebook Plus 514 isn’t a huge upgrade over the 2023 original, but it improves where it counts most: battery life, overall performance and screen quality.” He framed the whole refresh as incremental, writing that “it’s more of a tweak than a total reinvention, but it does just enough to make itself an even better budget business Chromebook,” and that “The upgrades here aren’t massive, but they’re the kind that make this Chromebook Plus even easier to work on.” His criticisms landed on the panel’s color reproduction and the slower UFS drive on the base machine. The 256GB PCIe Gen 4 configuration answers the storage half; the color criticism still applies.

Customer Reviews

Amazon buyers rate the CB514-5HT-33RD at 4.9 stars across 10 ratings, which is a small enough sample that individual reviews carry more weight than the average. A buyer posting as Sean Niemeyer, coming from non-Chromebook laptops, wrote: “The Intel Core i3-1315U gives it far more speed than the entry-level processors usually found in ChromeOS devices, and paired with 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM, it stays smooth even with multiple tabs, apps, and streaming running at the same time.” Tyler M described the trackpad as “VERY responsive and sized like a Macbook trackpad” and tempered the praise with “It’s a Chromebook, so don’t expect the world.”

The complaints come from Siume, who rated it four stars after switching from a Windows laptop, and they land on weight and audio: “At 3.5lbs it is even heavier than my premium laptop,” and “The speakers sound a bit metalic with very little bass.” Siume also measured “almost 10 hrs” of battery across browsing, a movie, and email, and attributed the rest of the disappointment to the switch away from a full PC rather than to the hardware.

Read more owner reviews on Amazon.

A faster chip and faster storage, with a shorter update runway

The CB514-5HT-33RD makes sense for a buyer who wants more processor than the usual Chromebook Plus entry point and does not want to live with a 128GB UFS drive. The Core i3-1315U, the 256GB PCIe Gen 4 SSD, Wi-Fi 7, and the backlit keyboard all beat what the N-series boards in this price band deliver, and the aluminum lid and 180-degree hinge hold up better than the all-plastic alternatives.

June 2033 gives this board roughly seven years of ChromeOS updates from now, while the newer CB514-6H on the Acer Chromebook Plus 514 page runs to June 2035 on a slower Core 3 N355 with a 512GB drive. A buyer picking between the two is choosing raw processor speed and Wi-Fi 7 against two extra years of support and more storage. Both USB-C ports sitting on the left side is the other thing to know before ordering, since it dictates which side of the desk the charger has to live on. For students weighing this against the rest of the field, our best Chromebook for college students roundup covers the alternatives, and the Chromebook Comparison Chart puts this board next to the rest of the catalog.

Frequently Asked Questions