Acer Chromebook 317 evaluation: Is the world’s first 17.3-inch Chromebook price it?

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Right this moment’s greatest Acer Chromebook 714 dealsAcer Chromebook 317 specsPrice: $499CPU: Intel Pentium Silver N6000GPU: Intel UHDRAM: 8GBStorage: 64GB Show: 17.3-inch, 1920x1080Battery: 9:30Size: 15.8 x 10.5 x 0.9Weight: 5.3 poundsThe Acer Chromebook 317 is the world’s first-ever 17.3-inch Chrome OS laptop computer. Once I first heard this, I believed, “Why?” Is there a target market of Chromebook lovers who’ve been beseeching the gods for an unwieldy, clunky laptop computer? Don’t most Chromebook homeowners need a cell, easy-to-carry, travel-friendly system? Nonetheless, after spending a while with this laptop computer, there’s a technique to Acer’s insanity.There’s an viewers for the Chromebook 317, and it’s focused at large-handed of us who’re bored with feeling as in the event that they’re typing with thick, meaty sausage hyperlinks. This laptop computer is for shoppers who reside by the “go huge or go house” maxim. Nonetheless, on this case, you’ll should do each: go huge and go house. The Chromebook 317 isn’t significantly journey pleasant, so that you’d be higher off leaving the laptop computer stationed in your house workplace.No, the Chromebook 317 doesn’t have the brightest show, essentially the most highly effective processor, nor the longest battery life, however it’s sufficient for many who’d sacrifice these perks for an intact checking account and a spacious Chromebook with a large show.Acer Chromebook 317 worth and configuration choices The Chromebook 317 begins at $399 and comes with a 1.1-GHz Intel Celeron N4500 CPU, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of flash reminiscence and Intel UHD graphics. My evaluation unit prices $499 and is supplied with a 1.1-GHz Intel Pentium Silver N6000 CPU and 8GB of RAM. It additionally comes with 64GB of flash reminiscence and Intel UHD graphics.In order for you to check out different choices throughout the similar worth vary, take a look at our greatest laptops underneath $1,000 web page. Acer Chromebook 317 design The Acer Chromebook 317 is one chunky monkey! In case you’re in search of a travel-friendly, featherweight laptop computer, you’re barking up the fallacious tree. It is a Chromebook that you just’ll wish to transfer sparingly. As you’d think about, this 17.3-inch laptop computer is heavier than your common pocket book. I attempted lifting this dangerous boy with one hand, however my noodle-like arm collapsed underneath stress.Acer Chromebook 317 (Picture credit score: Future)Regardless of being a space-consuming laptop computer surrounded by a sea of slim and svelte rivals, the Chromebook 317 has a commanding, assured presence that claims, “Hey, chunky Chromebooks deserve love, too!”  It seems surprisingly premium for a $500 Chromebook. Onlookers would doubtless assume you’ve bought an expensive enterprise laptop computer in our desk, however the conspicuous Chromebook emblem on the top-left nook could betray its true class. The titanium-gray chassis, adorned with a center-positioned, lustrous Acer emblem, is admittedly boring, however it’s interesting to shoppers who dig the business-esque, skilled vibe.Open the lid and also you’ll discover the star of the present: the large, 17.3-inch show. Its aspect bezels are slim, however the thick chin homes one other eye-catching Acer emblem whereas the chunky high bezel options the 720p webcam.The spacious keyboard with Chiclet-style keys is flanked by two audio system — a design scheme that jogs my memory of the Apple MacBook Professional and the HP Envy x360 15. The construct high quality is superb. After making use of lots of stress to the deck, there isn’t a give. The touchpad is spiced up with a visually interesting silver trim.Acer Chromebook 317 (Picture credit score: Future)At 5.3 kilos and 15.8 x 10.5 x 0.9 inches, the Acer Chromebook 317 is unsurprisingly a lot heavier than its rivals. The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 (12 x 8 x 0.6 inches, 2.7 kilos) and the Asus Chromebook C423NA (12.7 x 9 x 0.6 inches, 2.7 kilos) are each thinner and lighter. Acer Chromebook 317 ports The Chromebook 317 has a good inventory of ports.Acer Chromebook 317 (Picture credit score: Future)On the left aspect, you’ll discover a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Sort-A port, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Sort-C port, a microSD card reader and a headset jack. The appropriate aspect has a Kensington lock slot and one other pair of USB ports: Sort-A and Sort-C.We doubt you’ll want extra ports, however when you do, take a look at our greatest USB Sort-C hubs and greatest laptop computer docking stations pages. Acer Chromebook 317 show The Chromebook 317’s 17.3-inch display gained’t win any awards. Acer would doubtless rebut and say, “Who wants an award when this show broke a world file?!” Nonetheless, that’s not sufficient to win me over. Certain, I used to be greatly surprised by the show’s spaciousness, however apart from that, I wasn’t significantly moved by the 1920 x 1080-pixel panel.Acer Chromebook 317 (Picture credit score: Future)Don’t get me fallacious; the show is respectable. Once I fired up the Moribus trailer on YouTube, I may spot the wisps of hair that escaped Jared Leto’s slicked-down, black tresses. A detailed-up shot allowed me to examine the peach fuzz on his face. The wrinkles and folds on Jared Harris’ face appeared deep and sharp on the show. Nonetheless, as one ought to count on from a sub-$500 Chromebook, this panel gained’t blow you away. It’s sufficient in your streaming wants, whether or not you’re keen on taking place the YouTube rabbit gap or binge-watching your favourite exhibits on HBO Max.In line with our colorimeter, the Chromebook 317’s show isn’t as vibrant as different Chrome OS gadgets. Its panel coated solely 42.7% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut, which fell wanting the class common (66.6%). It additionally couldn’t catch as much as the Galaxy Chromebook 2 (83.9%), however negligibly outperformed the Chromebook C423NA (42.1%). At 269 nits, the Chromebook 317 isn’t the brightest crayon within the field. In case you plan on utilizing this laptop computer outdoors on vivid sunny days, or when you sit subsequent to a shadeless window, you might discover the display tough to see. Its panel is dimmer than the common Chromebook (298 nits) and the Galaxy Chromebook 2 (390 nits), however the Chromebook C423NA is far worse with its 205-nit show.Acer Chromebook 317 (Picture credit score: Future)Unsurprisingly, colour accuracy just isn’t the Chromebook 317’s forte. With a Delta-E rating of 0.3 (nearer to zero is best), it’s much less color- correct than the common Chromebook (0.28) and the Galaxy Chromebook 2 (0.2). Nonetheless, it managed to get the identical color-accuracy rating because the Chromebook C423NA (0.3).Acer Chromebook 317 keyboard and touchpad  The Acer’s island-style keyboard is the place I see the benefit in having a Chromebook with a space-hungry footprint. If in case you have giant fingers, otherwise you merely have an affinity for spacious decks, this Acer is the laptop computer for you. You’ll by no means really feel cramped nor restricted such as you’re residing in a roommate-filled NYC condo. As an alternative, the keyboard is roomy and expansive, providing you with ample area to sort comfortably. Hell, it’s even sizable sufficient to incorporate a numpad.Acer Chromebook 317 (Picture credit score: Future)My typical typing common is round 87 phrases per minute on 10FastFingers.com, however my charge jumped to 91 phrases per minute on this clicky, white-backlit keyboard, which supplied satisfying tactile suggestions and a rhythmic pulse to my typing circulation.The 4.75 x 3.1-inch touchpad is roomy, too. It’s clean, however offers sufficient resistance for grippy, pure navigating. The Chromebook’s gestures, similar to two-finger scrolling and three-finger swiping for tab switching, additionally labored like a attraction.Acer Chromebook 317 audio  I fired up the Viral Hits playlist on Spotify, and as anticipated, the DTS-tuned audio system had been so-so. I listened to “Pepas” by Farruko. Earlier than the percussion devices hit, I used to be entranced by Farruko’s lush, sultry vocals. Nonetheless, after the beat drop, the perky tune sounded barely tinny and metallic on the Chromebook 317. Acer Chromebook 317 (Picture credit score: Future)On the plus aspect, once I turned the Reggaeton tune as much as max quantity, the top-firing audio system had no points filling my giant testing room.Acer Chromebook 317 efficiency The Chromebook 317 comes with an Intel Pentium Silver N6000 CPU and 8GB RAM, which implies it has sufficient reminiscence to deal with your tab-heavy internet shopping. To check this out, I swamped the Chromebook 317 with 35 Google Chrome tabs. Two of them had been enjoying 1080p YouTube movies concurrently. I fired up a brand new doc on Google Docs and plugged away; I didn’t expertise any lag or system slowdowns. As such, this Chromebook can deal with your productivity-heavy workloads simply fantastic.Acer Chromebook 317 (Picture credit score: Future)On the Geekbench 5 total efficiency check, the Chromebook 317 nailed 1,137, which did not crush the common Chromebook (2,253). It additionally bought torn up by the Galaxy Chromebook 2’s Intel Core i3-1010U CPU (2,163). Happily, it managed to outpace the measly Intel Celeron N3350 CPU contained in the Chromebook C423NA (518).On our JetStream 2.0 benchmark, which exams how rapidly giant internet pages load, the Chromebook 317 achieved a rating of 93.3, which fell flat in opposition to the common Chromebook (106.6). The Chromebook 317 additionally bought eclipsed by the Galaxy Chromebook 2 (103.7), however managed to outpace the Asus Chromebook (39.7) by a landslide.Acer Chromebook 317 battery life  Lastly! It’s the Chromebook 317’s likelihood to shine. Acer boasted that this Chromebook can final about 10 hours on a cost, which turned out to be fairly correct.On our battery life check, which entails steady internet browsing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits, the Chromebook 317 lasted 9 hours and half-hour. It outlasted the common Chromebook (9:23), the Galaxy Chromebook 2 (8:18) and the Chromebook C423NA (7:58).  Acer Chromebook 317 webcam You gained’t attain Twitch streaming stardom with Chromebook 317’s mediocre 720p webcam, however it’s sufficient for videoconferencing calls with family and friends.Acer Chromebook 317 (Picture credit score: Future)The digital camera has digital noise and I couldn’t make out the small print of my curly pink hair, however the colour accuracy is respectable — the digital camera picked up on my bright-orange, long-sleeve high and the wealthy, burgundy curtains behind me. Nonetheless, we would advocate an exterior webcam.  Acer Chromebook 317 warmth You don’t have to fret in regards to the Chromebook 317 singeing a gap via your denims; it remained cool on our warmth check.After streaming a 15-minute 1080p video, the underside hit 83 levels Fahrenheit, which fell properly beneath our 95-degree consolation threshold. The middle of the keyboard hit 86 levels and the touchpad reached 78 levels. The most well liked temperature on the machine was 90 levels, which was situated on the underside of the laptop computer, close to the serial -number sticker. Acer Chromebook 317 software program and guarantee  In case you’re effectively built-in into the Google ecosystem, you’ll love Chrome OS. Upon startup, the Chromebook 317 will immediate you to enter your Google credentials. When you’re all arrange, Chrome will launch and it will likely be outfitted with all your extensions and bookmarks so that you don’t should spend valuable time outfitting the browser with personalizations.Acer Chromebook 317 (Picture credit score: Future)You will have quick access to all the favored Google productiveness apps — Google Docs, Gmail and extra — proper on your property taskbar. There’s additionally a Messages app, which helps you to pair your Chromebook together with your cellphone so you’ll be able to ship and obtain texts. In case you’re within the temper for some leisure, YouTube and Spotify are additionally inside attain. In case you want extra, you’ll be able to all the time discover the Google Play retailer, which has a catalog of practically two million apps. Acer Chromebook 317 comes with a one-year guarantee. See how Acer carried out on our Tech Help Showdown and Greatest and Worst Manufacturers rating. Backside line There are different Chrome OS gadgets you should purchase which might be throughout the similar worth vary because the Acer Chromebook 317. For instance, the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 (at the moment $449 at Amazon) can be a record-setter — it’s the world’s first Chrome OS laptop computer with a QLED show. As such, it’s brighter and extra colourful than its Acer counterpart. Nonetheless, it’s stingy with ports, its battery life is shorter and it seems puny in comparison with the Chromebook 317’s large footprint.In case you’ve been sick and bored with coping with Chromebooks that don’t accommodate giant fingers, the Chromebook 317 is what you’ve been ready for. The show is huge, the keyboard is roomy and the touchpad is expansive. You don’t have to fret about feeling cramped nor restricted ever once more. Plus, the Chromebook 714 affords respectable battery life with a runtime of 9 hours and half-hour.Total, the Chromebook 317 is geared towards a distinct segment shopper base. It gained’t earn a spot on our greatest Chromebooks web page, however we’ll let it sit at the perfect laptops underneath $1,000 desk.