Acer Chromebook 15 Review

Acer Chromebook 15 CB5-571-C4G4
Acer Chromebook 15 CB5-571-C4G4

The Acer CB5-571-C4G4 Chromebook is a 15.6” laptop with a full HD IPS display for around $280. I chose the Acer over the Toshiba Chromebook 2, the leading 1080p contender.


Contents

Review

So far, the chromebook has met my expectations. The matte screen looks great and images are clear. The 15” at 1080p shows multiple windows while still making everything readable.

The main reason I am writing this review is I did not find many online. This Chromebook is new and seems to only be available at Best Buy at the moment.

The keyboard and trackpad have been nice - no complaints either way. I do mis the delete, home, insert, etc keys of a normal keyboard, but the keyboard layout is the same as other chromebooks. You can hit ‘Search + right’ arrow to go to the end of the line.

I’m using the chromebook right now to type this review. I do wish there was a way to bluetooth images from my phone over to this device, but synching them with Google Photos worked good enough. I did find two nice programs/apps to connect to my website: sftp and Secure Shell, which are working fine.

At the moment, my biggest worry is the white body - I’m sure it will be quite dirty soon.

Specifications

  • Intel Celeron 3205u
  • 4 GB DDR3 RAM
  • 16 GB SSD
  • 1920x1080 resolution
  • 801.11/AC Wi-Fi
  • Bluetooth 4.0
  • Ports (one of each)
    • USB 3.0
    • USB 2.0
    • HDMI
    • SD Card Reader
  • 4.85 pounds
  • 0.97” x 15.08” x 9.65”

Compared to the Toshiba CB2

Firstly, both have the same amount of RAM (4 GB) and a 1080 IPS display with a 9 hour battery life. The obvious difference is the size. The Acer is a 15” laptop while the Toshiba is 13”. The Acer is 1.5 pounds heaver at 4.5 vs. the 3 of the Toshiba.

The Acer starts to shine with the processor.
It is a 5th generation Boardwell architecture Intel Celeron 3205u. The benchmarks show the 3205u beating the N2840 of the CB2 by a fair margin.

Photos

Keyboard
Keyboard
Left-side ports: Power, USB-3, Headphone
Left-side ports: Power, USB-3, Headphone
Right-side ports: SD Card, USB-2
Right-side ports: SD Card, USB-2

Box Opening