Acer has launched its first gaming computer in the Acer Chromebook 516 GE, which is powered by 12th Gen Intel Core processors, supports NVIDIA’s GeForce NOW game streaming service, and comes equipped with an RGB gaming keyboard.
The Chromebook allows cloud gamers to enjoy immersive visuals with the high-resolution WQXGA (2,560 x 1,600) IPS display with a fast 120Hz refresh rate combined with the RGB keyboard with anti-ghosting technology and advanced DTS audio. Gamers have access to the latest full PC and console games such as Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Cyberpunk 2077 on NVIDIA GeForce NOW, and Devil May Cry 5 on Amazon Luna.
“The Acer Chromebook 516 GE sets the stage for a new era of Chromebooks with the focus squarely on gaming; it combines the ideal collection of gaming hardware, game-streaming support for NVIDIA GeForce NOW’s top tier and easy access to popular game titles from the leading cloud gaming platforms,” says James Lin, General Manager, Notebooks, IT Products Business, Acer Inc. “Chromebooks have secured their position as an indispensable tool for education, work, entertainment and personal productivity, so now it’s time to have more fun.”
“We’re excited for the Acer Chromebook 516 GE to reach the hands of eager gamers,” adds Chris Daniel, Director of Product for the ChromeOS Platform, Google. “Between the incredible mix of easy-to-use software and great hardware built for smooth cloud gaming experiences, we think this device will be game-changing for those looking for a way to play their favorite games with a hassle-free, smooth, and high-fidelity experience.”
Streamed from NVIDIA GeForce NOW’s SuperPOD, a powerful gaming supercomputer in the cloud, the highest performance tier of NVIDIA GeForce NOW enables games to be streamed at up to 1,600p and 120 frames per second with graphics features like ray tracing and more.
The up to 12th Gen Intel Core i7 “P-series” processors provide responsive performance and video decoding technology, ideal for cloud gaming. The Acer Chromebook 516 GE also uses 16GB LPDDR4X RAM and up to 256GB PCIe NVMe SSD storage to further boost responsiveness.
The 16-inch narrow-bezel and 16:10 aspect ratio vivid display bring immersive visuals to life, while the 100% sRGB colour gamut support delivers a wide range of accurate and vibrant colours, says Acer.
Audibly, DTS audio delivers high-quality, distortion-free sound on the two upward-firing speakers and two downward-firing speakers. Unwanted sound vibrations are also eliminated by the force-canceling woofers that project in opposite directions.
The Chromebook 516 GE’s gaming keyboard features anti-ghosting technology to register fast and accurate keyboard inputs and key combinations. The keyboard also offers vibrantly coloured preset backlight colour modes. Select from one of seven colours or a predefined four-zone colour option.
The Acer Chromebook 516 GE ensures a stable and fast connection with its RJ-45 2.5G Gigabit Ethernet LAN port. In addition, it also includes fast and reliable Wi-Fi 6E for on-the-go and wireless game play. The Chromebook has ports for connecting to larger displays and more, including dual USB Type C, USB Type A, HDMI, and Bluetooth 5.2 enabling wire-free accessory connections.
The Acer Chromebook 516 GE sports a nine-hour battery and has a full HD flare-reducing webcam with temporal noise reduction technology to increase visual fidelity. The dual microphones complement the quad speakers to ensure high-quality input matches the audio output.
The Acer Chromebook 516 GE does not require any installations or downloads. With access to full PC and console games in the cloud, via the Everything Button, you can simply tap, search and stream games to the computer. Additionally, more games and bundles will be added in the future.
In addition, to support cloud gaming on ChromeOS, Google is also providing for a limited time with the purchase of an Acer Chromebook 516 GE, a three-month free trial of NVIDIA GeForce NOW’s highest performance tier, and Amazon Luna so you can try out selected games at no cost.
The Acer Chromebook 516 GE laptop will be available in the U.S. later this month, starting at US$650, at which time exact specifications will be confirmed. There’s no word on Canadian availability.