Acer Chromebook 516 GE review: As good as cloud gaming

When Chromebooks first came out, it took everyone a while to figure out a device that had almost everything a traditional laptop could do via cloud-based storage and services.

Chromebooks are now an integral part of the lives of millions of students and professionals.

Google and several partners (including Acer) decided to see if they could leverage the same reliance on cloud-based services to create Chromebooks for gaming.

Services like Nvidia’s GeForce Now and Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass make this possible by moving the heavy lifting to remote servers.

Acer’s Chromebook 516 GE is an ideal device for these cloud services by offering cheap hardware and excellent connectivity (Wi-Fi 6E, 2.5G Ethernet) to communicate with these servers. I aim to become We’ve found it to be one of the best ways to start cloud gaming at its price point, but we’ve run into lingering growing pains that some cloud gaming services aren’t yet fully operational. Read on to decide if is a deal breaker for you, or if you’ve just found one of the cheapest ways to experience high-end gaming.

Also: 5 best Chromebooks for students

build and port

When I unboxed my Chromebook 516 GE, I mumbled. Thicker than most Chromebooks. High-end hardware and the cooling it requires requires extra space.

It feels light for its size, but it’s not flimsy or cheap. In fact, he’s one of the sturdiest Chromebooks I’ve used. It’s nice to know that for your purchase price, you’re buying a well-made, solid product, and one aimed at gaming.

Using the included keyboard and trackpad were both fun, and both felt good to the touch. Not only was the backlight setting difficult to find and change, but even at maximum brightness I believe it was dim.

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The Chromebook 516 GE’s port selection overwhelms most high-end laptops. A USB-A port and two USB-C ports cover any combination of mice, keyboards, headsets, or other gaming peripherals, while an HDMI port and DisplayPort support over USB-C let you game on an external display. There are many ways to do this. and TV.

Perhaps most importantly, it includes a 2.5G Ethernet port. This I/O was skipped by other 1st generation gaming Chromebooks, but in my testing I found it to be important. Ultimately, cloud-based gaming performance hinges on the quality of your connection. Even if you have the option of a wired Ethernet connection, it will give you the best experience.

Everything else about the Chromebook felt premium, but the charger was by contrast generic. We were able to quickly recharge the 65Wh, 9-hour battery, but it was larger than we expected and seemed a little outdated compared to most other high-end Chromebook models. I decided to go with the compact 140W entry.

performance

Get rid of the boring parts first. The Chromebook 516 GE is a productivity device. The 16-inch, 16:10 display gives you plenty of space to get your work done. Pixel density and a smooth 120Hz refresh rate make mundane tasks look great. Basically, it’s one of the best performing Chromebooks I’ve ever tested. But you’re not buying something big and powerful enough to get down to Google Docs, so let’s get down to the real reason we’re here: gaming performance.

Acer has optimized the Chromebook 516 GE for Nvidia’s GeForce Now cloud-based gaming service, and my testing shows that. The combination of this machine and his Nvidia’s service was the closest I’ve come to local gaming using cloud services.

Not everything was perfect. Some games were stuttering at times or other oddities in graphics performance. However, I experienced very few lags, artifacts, frame tearing, or other annoying blemishes that make many cloud gaming sessions miserable.

Even a fast-paced, graphics-heavy game like Cyberpunk 2077, which I thoroughly enjoyed with this setup, I find it perfectly comfortable playing single-player games this way. Multiplayer games were more conditional wins. Our tests with games such as Apex Legends showed the best performance we’ve seen via cloud services, but couldn’t exactly match comparable locally installed games. Let me show you…

Above is a basic latency test performed by capturing slow motion video of the mouse or controller and on-screen action. Ideally, pressing a controller trigger or mouse button should immediately fire the on-screen gun. Even ultra-premium gaming PCs experience imperceptible lag, while his Chromebook 516 GE running Apex Legends with GeForce Now had noticeable lag.

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The best analogy I can offer is the difference between playing a first person shooter game with very low latency (10 to 30ms) and paying for that game with much higher latency (75ms or more) . I may not even be able to put my finger on what feels different, but something feels a little… off.

That said, I have no qualms about playing casual Apex games on this machine. I still found the game very enjoyable and perfectly playable, and I’m not going to bet on the Apex Predator rankings.

Unfortunately, things weren’t as optimistic for Xbox Cloud Gaming. To be fair, the service is still marked as beta, so it may improve.

The demo video above (starting at 0:56) shows a more pronounced delay. Everything felt slower than the GeForce, especially in his FPS games like Halo Infinite and Fortnite. I was even more frustrated with this delay, as it was highly variable and sometimes downright game-breaking.

To clarify, my testing was done over Ethernet and a dedicated 100Mbps broadband connection. Many homes have faster broadband tiers, but the reality is that 100 Mbps pure access is more likely to be achieved in homes with multiple devices where this Chromebook is used. , the conditions were ideal for success.

Also: Is the internet slow at home?This adapter can turn unused coaxial cable into Ethernet

Less spasmodic games like Forza Horizon 5 were still fun, as were retro titles, slower-paced games, and titles with simpler graphics. It is not recommended to purchase . To be clear, that’s a drawback I’d rather put squarely in Microsoft’s lap than Acer.

We hope future updates will bring your Xbox cloud gaming performance closer to GeForce Now. Game Pass’s library of titles is too good to be hampered by a frustrating end-user experience.

Conclusion

Like all Chromebooks, gaming Chromebooks rely on cloud-based service quality. When GeForce Now works well thanks to Acer’s optimisations, they offer significant savings and convenience. But when you start running laggy and uneven performance like the one Xbox Cloud Gaming offers, you might be tempted to spend the extra money on a Windows-based gaming laptop and local gaming. .

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The saving grace here is that Acer and Nvidia have proven that cloud-based gaming is at a point where relatively inexpensive devices like high-end Chromebooks can compete with $1,000+ machines. , fans of first-person shooters. Now all you have to do is see how long it takes for others to catch up or overtake you.

Alternatives to consider

Lenovo’s entry into the launch lineup of first-generation gaming Chromebooks was a more budget-friendly device, offering an even cheaper entry point. Of course, the price cut comes with some compromises. You’ll still get the 120Hz display, Core i5 CPU, and Wi-Fi 6E, but skip the Ethernet port. A full review of this model will be published on ZDNET soon.

On the other side of the price spectrum is Asus’ take on this new genre.This unit includes a Core i5 CPU and a lower-res display that’s a generation older than the other two, but it’s the first It’s the only unit of its generation with a touchscreen, opening up a whole world of touch-based Android titles available via ChromeOS. .

Perhaps an odd fit as an alternative, Valve’s Steam Deck is another take on the future of portable gaming. It can work with cloud services like GeForce Now and Xbox Game Pass, but also supports local he installations of approved games like Apex Legends and Elden Ring.