Acer is launching a new version of its Chromebook Spin 514 for 2022 with support for the latest AMD Ryzen 5000 C-series processors. The 14-inch 2-in-1 laptop will launch in Q3 2022 with a $579.99 starting price, which is significantly higher than the 2021 model. But the price hike might be justified if you want a faster Chromebook. Acer says that these Zen 3 processors are “performance-oriented” with AMD Radeon graphics. Speedy PCIe 3.0 NVMe storage is also built into each configuration, which trounces the slower eMMC storage used in last year’s model.

The starting model of the Spin 514 has a 14-inch 1080p touchscreen, AMD’s Ryzen 3 5125C, 8GB of dual-channel LPDDR4X RAM, and 128GB of NVMe SSD storage. Prices weren’t disclosed for upgraded models, but you’ll be able to boost the CPU up to the AMD Ryzen 7 5825C, the RAM up to 16GB, and the storage up to 256GB. You’ll be able to opt for a display that offers 100 percent of the sRGB color gamut (the default option supports 45 percent of the NTSC gamut).

Image: Acer

Each Spin 514 weighs 3.3 pounds, and Acer claims that this model can last up to 10 hours per battery charge. As for ports, it has two USB-C ports (one on each side), a USB-A port, and a headphone jack on its left side. HDMI will also be available on select configurations. Other notable specs include that it has a 1080p webcam with a camera shutter, two upward-facing speakers, Wi-Fi 6 support, and a Gorilla Glass-covered trackpad for a more high-end feel.

The Chromebook Spin 514 is among a couple of new laptops to star one of AMD’s new 7nm Ryzen 5000 C-series processors. The other one announced today is the 14-inch HP Elite C645 G2 Chromebook coming this quarter.

Unsurprisingly, this new generation of processors seems like a big improvement over the 3000 C-series processors in 2021 models. But it’s not entirely clear how it compares to Intel. AMD touts that its 15W Ryzen 5 5625C offers greater efficiency in Chromebooks — and in turn, better battery life — compared to Intel’s 11th Gen Core i5-1135G7. That makes sense since the latter chip has a 28W TDP. But it also claims that a different chip, the 15W octa-core Ryzen 7 5825C, has better performance than the 28W quad-core Intel Core i7-1185G7, too. It’s possible both claims are true, but perhaps not at the same time, and AMD doesn’t say how they compare to 12th Gen Intel chips. We’ll be testing out these machines soon enough, so we’ll tell you what we find.