ASUS CX1 15.6" CX1500CKA-DH44F

The ASUS CX1 is a bare-bones Chromebook that's perfectly fine for light web browsing and Google Docs, especially if you can grab it for under $200. Its big 15.6" screen is a nice perk at this price, but the sluggish Celeron CPU and stingy 4GB of RAM mean you'll be waiting around a lot. Only buy this if your needs are extremely basic and your budget is tight.

Let's be real, the Celeron N4500 and 4GB of RAM are a recipe for a slow morning. This combo lands in the 2nd percentile for RAM and 50th for CPU in our database, which means it's fine for one or two Chrome tabs and a Google Doc, but start streaming music and you'll feel the lag. The integrated Intel UHD graphics are a weak spot too, sitting at the 19th percentile, so don't even think about games beyond Solitaire. On the plus side, the 64GB eMMC storage, while small, is typical for this class of machine, and the Wi-Fi 6 keeps your connection snappy.

Stacked against something like an Acer Swift or an HP OmniBook X Flip, the ASUS CX1 looks like a toy. Those competitors have faster processors, more RAM, and vastly better screens. But they also cost three to five times as much. The CX1's real competition is other sub-$250 Chromebooks, where its big 15.6-inch screen and decent port selection are genuine advantages. It's not trying to fight a MacBook Pro, and it would lose instantly if it did.

Pricing on this thing is a rollercoaster, ranging from $175 to $324 across different vendors. At the low end, it's a steal for a secondary couch laptop or a kid's homework machine. At the high end, you're getting ripped off. For over $300, you can find a used Windows laptop or a better Chromebook with a real processor and double the RAM. If you can snag it for under $200, the value proposition makes a lot more sense.

The ASUS CX1 is a budget Chromebook that knows exactly what it is: a cheap, simple machine for getting online and typing up documents. It's not trying to impress anyone with speed or a fancy screen, and honestly, that's kind of refreshing. You get a big 15.6-inch 1080p display, a decent port selection, and Chrome OS in a package that often dips well below $200.

But that low price comes with some serious corners cut. The Celeron processor and 4GB of RAM will test your patience if you open more than a handful of tabs. And the 64GB of eMMC storage is tiny, though Chrome OS leans heavily on the cloud anyway. This is a laptop for a very specific person with very specific, light-duty needs.

If you're a tab hoarder who keeps 15 Chrome tabs, Spotify, and YouTube running at once, walk away. The 4GB of RAM will have you staring at loading spinners constantly. Anyone who needs to install Linux apps or do light photo editing should also look for a Chromebook with at least 8GB of RAM and a Core i3 or better processor.

The ASUS CX1 is a single-purpose tool for a single-purpose user. If you need a cheap, big-screened terminal for Google's web apps and nothing else, it'll get the job done without fuss. It's proven reliable for basic college work and daily browsing, according to the few owners we've heard from. Just know that its performance ceiling is very, very low.