Acer Chromebook Spin 513 (CP513-2H) Assessment: Greatest for Much less

The Acer Chromebook Spin 513 (CP513-2H) is sort of nothing like its predecessor, the Spin 513 (CP513-1H). In truth, it has extra in widespread with final 12 months’s higher-end Chromebook Spin 713, which is nice since that one was one of many greatest Chromebooks of 2021 and the 513 begins at $100 much less at $600 (£500, AU$800).

Just like the Spin 713, the Chromebook Spin 513 is a two-in-one convertible Chromebook with a 13.5-inch 2,256×1,504-resolution contact show with a 3:2 facet ratio. The additional vertical area in comparison with a 16:9 or 16:10 show means much less scrolling once you’re working. The display screen dimension can also be near that of letter-size paper, making it snug for notetaking in pill mode with a USI pen (they’re supported however one just isn’t included). 

The Chromebook Spin 513 can also be almost an identical in look to the 713: a bit bland however a secure selection for work or faculty. The sturdy aluminum physique of the Spin 513 is fanless (the Spin 713 has vents and followers) making it silent — excellent for quiet school rooms, conferences or video calls. Though the 2 fashions have a couple of extra options in widespread corresponding to a backlit keyboard and quick Wi-Fi 6 wi-fi, they do ultimately diverge because the Spin 513 dips a bit in efficiency (however not in battery life) and options. Nonetheless, it comes with a cheaper price to make up for the tradeoffs.

The Chromebook Spin 513 runs on an octacore MediaTek Kompanio 1380 processor, 8GB of dual-channel reminiscence and 128GB of eMMC flash storage. MediaTek has actually upped its sport with its newest Arm-powered system-on-a-chip (SoC). Whereas the Kompanio SoC is barely behind the Eleventh-gen Intel Core i5 processor within the Spin 713, the Kompanio 1380’s efficiency topped the Eleventh-gen Intel Core i3-1115G4 within the Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5i on most assessments. The Spin 513 additionally outperforms its Qualcomm-based predecessor (though the Qualcomm-based 514 is $300 much less).

One factor that is perhaps holding the Spin 513 again is its storage. As a substitute of a quicker PCIe SSD, Acer used cheaper eMMC flash storage. Regardless, know that the Spin 513 can ably deal with on a regular basis work and leisure. It could possibly additionally do it for an additional very long time. Acer claims the battery life will get as much as 10 hours on Google’s energy load take a look at. On our streaming video take a look at it blew proper previous that, hitting 13 hours and 51 minutes. 

Comparable however not the identical

The Spin 513’s fanless physique is likely one of the differentiating options from the Spin 713 and it is undoubtedly a plus. The dearth of vents not solely appears to be like good, however the passive cooling means the followers will not abruptly kick in once you’re in a quiet setting or once you wish to hear or be heard on a Zoom name. 

However, together with the processor change from Intel to MediaTek, a couple of different modifications would possibly make or break your determination to spend extra for the Spin 713 or its replace, the Spin 714. As an illustration, Acer put a 720p webcam into the Spin 513 as a substitute of a 1080p digicam. The 720p digicam is ok should you’re nicely lit; in any other case, the picture is gentle and noisy. 

Additionally, the Spin 513 would not have an HDMI output. If you wish to join on to a show, it’s going to should be by way of one in every of its two USB-C ports. Sadly, they don’t seem to be Thunderbolt 4 just like the Spin 713’s ports. The MediaTek chip does help as much as two 4K 60Hz shows, although, and there is a USB-C port on either side making charging extra versatile. 

The show carries over from the Spin 713 and is one in every of this Chromebook’s greatest options. It is brilliant, has crisp colours for a Chromebook, and covers 100% sRGB shade gamut. It does help USI pens, and though there is a slight lag, it was tremendous for observe taking, informal sketching and to be used as a digital whiteboard. Streaming video appeared nice on it, too. What fell brief had been the downward-firing audio system. Whereas Acer talks up the superior sound of the DTS Audio tuning used, the audio system sound skinny — tremendous for informal use or a fast video chat, however you will need a headset for every little thing else. 

Total, the cuts to the options are comparatively minor for the fee financial savings. For those who’re somebody who makes use of the webcam and audio system repeatedly, you is perhaps upset. Truthfully, the standard is in keeping with what you’d discover on a $600 Home windows laptop computer, too, however you would not get the remainder of the Acer Chromebook Spin 513’s glorious bundle. The sprightly efficiency, lengthy battery life, a backlit keyboard and pen help matched with a premium fanless design make the Spin 513 a worthy Chromebook worth.