This machine is only £250 in the UK. It is exceptional value for money and I don't understand people who complain about it. what more can you ask for at that price? It is 10 times more useful than an iPad for getting things done and it is substantially cheaper. How much are you actually paying for these in Australia or wherever you live?
Exactly! I bought a Lenovo Slim 3 Chromebook Plus for 333€ (incl. tax) which was a steal! Intel i3 N305, 8GB RAM, 128 SSD etc. I hardly ever game on a Chromebook, but I installed Steam on it and 6 smaller games (card games or turn-based strategy games) and they all work just fine. I can browse the web, listen to Spotify, watch UA-cam and Twitch, watch Amazon Prime Video, chat in many apps, use Reddit etc. I get it that those are very "basic" and lightweight things that tablets and phones can do as well, but the thing is... neither of those two gives me a keyboard. And 333€ costing Windows computers aren't exactly "great" when it comes to speed, whereas my Chromebook is extremely fast and doesn't have the "restart and update" bollocks that Windows comes with. Don't get me wrong: Windows is a must for AAA PC gaming (I know Linux is getting there with Proton...), but if you aren't doing that or heavy video/photo editing or CAD stuff, I think most people will be perfectly happy with a Chromebook. Google Docs/Sheets are also enough for most people unless they're some business user and at that point, the company will get them a laptop anyway... The battery life on Chromebooks is also vastly superior to those of Windows laptops. I know Macbooks have even better battery life, but those also cost over 3x the price.
People also say stuff like "you can barely do the same stuff as a tablet" and that is completely false. I can't use Chrome Developer Tools and rip stuff from the website sourcecode. It just can't be done. It can totally be done on a Chromebook which is more akin to a PC. You can also do a bunch of cool stuff with the Linux virtual machine. I mean you could technically just get a Windows laptop and install Linux on it, but you're paying for the Windows license at that point whether you want it or not. I feel as if Chromebooks are the consumer version of Linux PCs. Anyone can download and install Linux, but the thing is... most people want to have the complete package on the store shelf and not know what do download and where and how to flash an USB stick with Rufus and whatever. Tech savvy IT people know how to do that but most generic people don't. I know some companies sell Linux laptops that have linux installed by default but that is very niche. You're most likely ordering from another country at that point and not just marching into a local brick and mortar shop... Linux already dominated with Android on the phone side and I feel as if ChromeOS is as close as we'll ever get to a consumer-level Linux product for PC buyers.
11:49 I wouldn't say there's no performance penalty. Hardware acceleration is not enabled through the VM and my CPU goes 50-90% when watching videos in youtube -- using firefox on linux.
I've had chromebook for couple years. Chromebook is the perfect 2nd pc. Use it for streaming music to your chosen speakers, emails, shopping, socials, all your everyday stuff. Wouldnt pay over 500$ aud for one though. Chromebook plus" doesnt make sense to me....for the best use of a chromebook as described above, they dont need an I3 etc
This is a nice approach. Like a layperson's experience of a new tech; or OS. NGL I am thinking of getting a chromebook just for non-gaming purposes; typing, reading, youtube videos.
It's a grip case by the company Dbrand. They offer many different styles, that one specifically is called Warzone. I've owned a few of their products, definitely worth checking out 👍
Thanks for showing us the inside. It's good to know that it will be pretty easy to replace the battery. I'm racking up the recharge cycles on my new Cx 34. Aside from that... Mine has a touch screen. So far I mainly use it for pinch & zoom, and that's handy. One of the main reasons I upgraded from a low end Chromebook was to get more memory and CPU power for Linux apps, and it's a big win on those things. I wish this one had a realistic 10 hour battery life. It lasts 10 hours if you just leave it alone and watch the screen saver. Realistically I get closer to 7. But that's actually enough for me to get through a day's use. With the lid closed for a few hours, the the battery does not discharge noticeably. Bottom line, I'm happy with my Cx 34.
@alanrouse1 Your screensaver doesn't timeout after a minute? When unplugged, that's what mine and I assumed, all chromebook pluses do. There's no setting to keep the screensaver on when not charging. I have an Acer spin 714 and I know the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i is the same.
I got a Thinkpad Chromebook back in 2017 and the android app integration in them has gotten better. Especially in the Plus's. I no longer have a regular Chromebook anymore, but even to see that gaming is starting to be able to be done on them is amazing.
Appreciate you go into Linux and Steam gaming on the Chromebook, lots of people seem to totally ignore it. I'd be interested to know what, if any, performance loss there is running through the VM. No way they've got it flawless?
I have a Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook Plus and installing Steam and playing some lighter games has been a breeze. I've only installed lighter games and I haven't needed to select any Proton version or anything and everything has worked apart from one game's intro cinematic/video not playing when the game boots up. Heroes of Might and Magic 3 HD Edition, Balatro, Ascension, Star Realms, Battle for Wesnoth, Wargroove all work fine. Those might not be everyone's cup of tea for games to play, but I like strategy games and I hardly ever plug in a mouse or a controller to a laptop so the touchpad fits those types of games fine (card games, turn-based games etc.). Installing Steam was as easy as pressing the Search/Launcher/Everything key (why do they keep changing that button's name???), typing in "Steam" and selecting "Steam installer". I literally didn't have to select anything and just wait a little. Steam booted up nicely without any hassle and installing games was similar to a Windows experience. You just click on Install, wait for it to finish, click Play.
I'd wish getting other games to work was as easy. For example Heroes of Might and Magic 3 Complete Edition is a better product (according to many) but that's via GOG. And I don't think I could get that to work. At least I'm not going to try since Steam makes it so easy that I just click Install and Play. No fiddling with terminals or whatever.
My Chromebook never slows down, makes no noise, starts in 3 seconds, updates in a few seconds, never catches viruses. playing on geforce now on gtx4080 is so pleasant, no downloading, games always up to date. Breath of fresh air compared to windows.10 hours of battery even in games.I love it. People pay sometimes like $1000 for a smartphone. Why not for a chromebook.
Having had nothing but low end windows pc s, my media tec powered chromebook is a large step up. I'll suggest that below $500 a chromebook is the way to go. Not only does it work better at the basics than cheap windows, but you get a better screen for the money. I've been using chromebooks for 7 years now, starting with a Toshiba 13 inch and presntly with a Lenovo 14 inch. Now that Google is giving chrome books 10 years of updates and even extended the eou for my 2 year old it turns out my $250 chromebook is good until 2030. None of my cheap windows machines from the past would hold up more than 3 years. I'll probably stick with arm based chromebooks as well, after 2 years I still get just over 8 hours of streaming or surfing the net. Try matching that with a typical cheap windows. Anyway, I can respect gamers and intense pc users not wanting these, but give a little respect as chromebooks are probably the best casual laptop around, definitely for the money.
@@Silver01Son And you never know how long MacBooks are being supported. My 6year old MacBook Pro did not even get Sonoma. Chromebooks are supported for 10 years.
@@Silver01Son Depends on a lot of factors. Here where I live it's actually even triple the cost. I paid 1100€ for my Macbook Air M1 (2020) and I paid 333€ for my Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook Plus laptop. Go figure... Talk about getting a bargain and it's a snappy & fast device. Lots of people compare things like "you can't do the same stuff on a Chromebook" but to be honest, I mostly ONLY do web stuff on laptops (be that a Macbook or whatever). I use my desktop PC to game and also my Xbox. I really don't fancy playing games on laptops unless it's some lighter turn-based games like card games (which work fine on a Chromebook, mind you).
Rather than just a touchscreen, if part of the Chromebook Plus spec included the 2-in-1 form factor, then I can see it being more widely adopted... But the price just isn't there to justify it. For a limited function device, I would also expect a more limited price point
Oh and I paid $369.00 here at Walmart a couple weeks ago and I'll bet it will get a good price for black Friday. I should have waited but I don't regret it as I had to go to court over zoom and it's better to see the judge threw zoom then in person.
I just picked up the aces cm34 and can't drive for 50% off with the ryzen 7000 series. I'm absolutely blown away with how powerful the device is, everything far exceeded my expectations.
I use an old HP laptop with Chrome OS Flex.... Windows was laggy sometimes runs fine sometimes don't, so finally decide to change the os, Linux was an option but Chrome OS was my choice to go cause it's lightweight, runs perfect, and for basic use was more than enough, right now I'm enjoying the benefits of android phone as a companion for chrome os.... Now thinking of getting a better Chromebook... By the way I really like that if you log on another device your stuff is synchronized so it's like using the same computer on different devices...
I have the Vibe cx34 version with a much better screen and speakers. Decent device. As a graphic designer I'm discovering that through a combination of Android Linux and web apps / browser apps I can do most media stuff. Photoshop online is a treat. It's actually really good. It just has a different UI.
Hi, so agree with you I got the Acer Chromebook Plus 514 CB514-3 with a Ryzen 3 and Radeon graphics witgh 8GB ram and 128gb eMMC DTS sound and man what a machine I am an Android user both phone and watch and it all works awesomely, really sad that only now I tried ChromeOS, affordable, fast, secure just love it. Thanks for the tips.
Finally someone who actually understands computers explains chromebooks.
This machine is only £250 in the UK. It is exceptional value for money and I don't understand people who complain about it. what more can you ask for at that price? It is 10 times more useful than an iPad for getting things done and it is substantially cheaper. How much are you actually paying for these in Australia or wherever you live?
Exactly! I bought a Lenovo Slim 3 Chromebook Plus for 333€ (incl. tax) which was a steal! Intel i3 N305, 8GB RAM, 128 SSD etc.
I hardly ever game on a Chromebook, but I installed Steam on it and 6 smaller games (card games or turn-based strategy games) and they all work just fine.
I can browse the web, listen to Spotify, watch UA-cam and Twitch, watch Amazon Prime Video, chat in many apps, use Reddit etc.
I get it that those are very "basic" and lightweight things that tablets and phones can do as well, but the thing is... neither of those two gives me a keyboard.
And 333€ costing Windows computers aren't exactly "great" when it comes to speed, whereas my Chromebook is extremely fast and doesn't have the "restart and update" bollocks that Windows comes with.
Don't get me wrong: Windows is a must for AAA PC gaming (I know Linux is getting there with Proton...), but if you aren't doing that or heavy video/photo editing or CAD stuff, I think most people will be perfectly happy with a Chromebook.
Google Docs/Sheets are also enough for most people unless they're some business user and at that point, the company will get them a laptop anyway...
The battery life on Chromebooks is also vastly superior to those of Windows laptops. I know Macbooks have even better battery life, but those also cost over 3x the price.
People also say stuff like "you can barely do the same stuff as a tablet" and that is completely false. I can't use Chrome Developer Tools and rip stuff from the website sourcecode. It just can't be done. It can totally be done on a Chromebook which is more akin to a PC.
You can also do a bunch of cool stuff with the Linux virtual machine.
I mean you could technically just get a Windows laptop and install Linux on it, but you're paying for the Windows license at that point whether you want it or not.
I feel as if Chromebooks are the consumer version of Linux PCs.
Anyone can download and install Linux, but the thing is... most people want to have the complete package on the store shelf and not know what do download and where and how to flash an USB stick with Rufus and whatever. Tech savvy IT people know how to do that but most generic people don't.
I know some companies sell Linux laptops that have linux installed by default but that is very niche. You're most likely ordering from another country at that point and not just marching into a local brick and mortar shop...
Linux already dominated with Android on the phone side and I feel as if ChromeOS is as close as we'll ever get to a consumer-level Linux product for PC buyers.
Chrome OS is not for me, but i watch for Bindi!
I have the cx34 here in the us and we have a touchscreen version here and it's great with the touchscreen
Bindi Reviews channel coming when?
She's got a pretty crappy work ethic so I'm not sure 😅
11:49 I wouldn't say there's no performance penalty. Hardware acceleration is not enabled through the VM and my CPU goes 50-90% when watching videos in youtube -- using firefox on linux.
I've had chromebook for couple years. Chromebook is the perfect 2nd pc. Use it for streaming music to your chosen speakers, emails, shopping, socials, all your everyday stuff. Wouldnt pay over 500$ aud for one though. Chromebook plus" doesnt make sense to me....for the best use of a chromebook as described above, they dont need an I3 etc
This is a nice approach. Like a layperson's experience of a new tech; or OS. NGL I am thinking of getting a chromebook just for non-gaming purposes; typing, reading, youtube videos.
What's the phone's case called? Looks cool!
It's a grip case by the company Dbrand. They offer many different styles, that one specifically is called Warzone. I've owned a few of their products, definitely worth checking out 👍
@@andyS13 Thanks! Much appreciated!
I'm excited to see new ARM based Chromebook Plus models - Snapdragon X Elite/Plus.
@@peejae082004 me too
Thanks for showing us the inside. It's good to know that it will be pretty easy to replace the battery. I'm racking up the recharge cycles on my new Cx 34. Aside from that... Mine has a touch screen. So far I mainly use it for pinch & zoom, and that's handy. One of the main reasons I upgraded from a low end Chromebook was to get more memory and CPU power for Linux apps, and it's a big win on those things. I wish this one had a realistic 10 hour battery life. It lasts 10 hours if you just leave it alone and watch the screen saver. Realistically I get closer to 7. But that's actually enough for me to get through a day's use. With the lid closed for a few hours, the the battery does not discharge noticeably. Bottom line, I'm happy with my Cx 34.
@alanrouse1 Your screensaver doesn't timeout after a minute? When unplugged, that's what mine and I assumed, all chromebook pluses do. There's no setting to keep the screensaver on when not charging.
I have an Acer spin 714 and I know the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i is the same.
@@abc456f It doesn't take much to keep the screen on. Just moving the mouse will do it. Reading a local book, playing local audio files, etc.
@alanrouse1 Oh yeah. I thought you meant just leaving it untouched.
Not good repairability + the price are a no go to me.
I got a Thinkpad Chromebook back in 2017 and the android app integration in them has gotten better. Especially in the Plus's. I no longer have a regular Chromebook anymore, but even to see that gaming is starting to be able to be done on them is amazing.
Appreciate you go into Linux and Steam gaming on the Chromebook, lots of people seem to totally ignore it. I'd be interested to know what, if any, performance loss there is running through the VM. No way they've got it flawless?
I have a Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook Plus and installing Steam and playing some lighter games has been a breeze. I've only installed lighter games and I haven't needed to select any Proton version or anything and everything has worked apart from one game's intro cinematic/video not playing when the game boots up.
Heroes of Might and Magic 3 HD Edition, Balatro, Ascension, Star Realms, Battle for Wesnoth, Wargroove all work fine.
Those might not be everyone's cup of tea for games to play, but I like strategy games and I hardly ever plug in a mouse or a controller to a laptop so the touchpad fits those types of games fine (card games, turn-based games etc.).
Installing Steam was as easy as pressing the Search/Launcher/Everything key (why do they keep changing that button's name???), typing in "Steam" and selecting "Steam installer". I literally didn't have to select anything and just wait a little. Steam booted up nicely without any hassle and installing games was similar to a Windows experience.
You just click on Install, wait for it to finish, click Play.
I'd wish getting other games to work was as easy. For example Heroes of Might and Magic 3 Complete Edition is a better product (according to many) but that's via GOG. And I don't think I could get that to work. At least I'm not going to try since Steam makes it so easy that I just click Install and Play. No fiddling with terminals or whatever.
One of your more informative videos bud..nuff said. (And yes do love the channel!!)
My Chromebook never slows down, makes no noise, starts in 3 seconds, updates in a few seconds, never catches viruses. playing on geforce now on gtx4080 is so pleasant, no downloading, games always up to date. Breath of fresh air compared to windows.10 hours of battery even in games.I love it. People pay sometimes like $1000 for a smartphone. Why not for a chromebook.
Having had nothing but low end windows pc s, my media tec powered chromebook is a large step up. I'll suggest that below $500 a chromebook is the way to go. Not only does it work better at the basics than cheap windows, but you get a better screen for the money.
I've been using chromebooks for 7 years now, starting with a Toshiba 13 inch and presntly with a Lenovo 14 inch. Now that Google is giving chrome books 10 years of updates and even extended the eou for my 2 year old it turns out my $250 chromebook is good until 2030. None of my cheap windows machines from the past would hold up more than 3 years.
I'll probably stick with arm based chromebooks as well, after 2 years I still get just over 8 hours of streaming or surfing the net. Try matching that with a typical cheap windows.
Anyway, I can respect gamers and intense pc users not wanting these, but give a little respect as chromebooks are probably the best casual laptop around, definitely for the money.
At that price point it is economically more reasonable to buy a MacBook Air with the new M3 processor and get WAY more for your money.
MacBook Air is double the price of the Chromebook plus.
@@Silver01Son And you never know how long MacBooks are being supported. My 6year old MacBook Pro did not even get Sonoma. Chromebooks are supported for 10 years.
@@Silver01Son Depends on a lot of factors. Here where I live it's actually even triple the cost. I paid 1100€ for my Macbook Air M1 (2020) and I paid 333€ for my Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook Plus laptop. Go figure... Talk about getting a bargain and it's a snappy & fast device.
Lots of people compare things like "you can't do the same stuff on a Chromebook" but to be honest, I mostly ONLY do web stuff on laptops (be that a Macbook or whatever). I use my desktop PC to game and also my Xbox. I really don't fancy playing games on laptops unless it's some lighter turn-based games like card games (which work fine on a Chromebook, mind you).
@@Silver01Son mac 4 times the price
Rather than just a touchscreen, if part of the Chromebook Plus spec included the 2-in-1 form factor, then I can see it being more widely adopted...
But the price just isn't there to justify it. For a limited function device, I would also expect a more limited price point
Oh and I paid $369.00 here at Walmart a couple weeks ago and I'll bet it will get a good price for black Friday. I should have waited but I don't regret it as I had to go to court over zoom and it's better to see the judge threw zoom then in person.
I just picked up the aces cm34 and can't drive for 50% off with the ryzen 7000 series. I'm absolutely blown away with how powerful the device is, everything far exceeded my expectations.
I use an old HP laptop with Chrome OS Flex.... Windows was laggy sometimes runs fine sometimes don't, so finally decide to change the os, Linux was an option but Chrome OS was my choice to go cause it's lightweight, runs perfect, and for basic use was more than enough, right now I'm enjoying the benefits of android phone as a companion for chrome os.... Now thinking of getting a better Chromebook... By the way I really like that if you log on another device your stuff is synchronized so it's like using the same computer on different devices...
Awesome video fams, keep up the hard work.
I have the Vibe cx34 version with a much better screen and speakers. Decent device. As a graphic designer I'm discovering that through a combination of Android Linux and web apps / browser apps I can do most media stuff. Photoshop online is a treat. It's actually really good. It just has a different UI.
Hi, so agree with you I got the Acer Chromebook Plus 514 CB514-3 with a Ryzen 3 and Radeon graphics witgh 8GB ram and 128gb eMMC DTS sound and man what a machine I am an Android user both phone and watch and it all works awesomely, really sad that only now I tried ChromeOS, affordable, fast, secure just love it. Thanks for the tips.
I recently got the Acer spin 714, i5 core, 256 gb ssd. Coming from a 6 year old Samsung pro 2 in 1 chromebook, it kicks ass.
Now bad for a light weight laptop. Good in a pinch if you don’t need a massive and overly powerful piece.
Give them hdmi and usbc in and they're suddenly the ultimate portable monitors
It has 2 usb c 3.2. Ports and a HDMI 😊
Your conversion is way off!!!
$399 USD is NOT $869 Aussie...not now...not 8 months ago when this video was posted!
🙄
Windows 98 sound reminds me of Fortnite lol
How dare you 😹
I'm watching it! LOL
Thanks for giving us a proper review of a Chromebook! One where it actually gets used!
Letting you know up front im not going to watch this video, but it wont stop me from commenting.
1000 aud for that specs is mediocre for windows laptop. Let alone a linux.
I still think Pixelbook Go better than this
Yeeeeeeees, but no!
Eww Linux!!😂😅 now its even worse than a chrome book.
Also the specs are shit for that $$
i bet you dont even know how to get to uefi setting on your computer