Who it is for:

Gaming Chromebooks are an fascinating kind of laptop computer to sort out as a result of they are not precisely what you’d consider once you hear the phrases “gaming laptop computer.” In truth, they’re in a class of their very own — gaming Chromebooks are just about solely used for cloud gaming, as they do not have the specs to run performance-heavy video games or software program natively. The tradeoff, although, is you could get one for a terrific value.

Living proof: The Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming Chromebook 16. This laptop computer is a unbelievable worth at simply $429 in case you do not thoughts utilizing it just for cloud gaming along with common net searching, productiveness duties, and streaming.

Why we picked this:

Throughout our testing, we had no points booting up Xbox Recreation Cross and hopping into video games like Starfield and Sea of Thieves (they ran decently effectively, too). Controller setup was fast and painless through speedy Bluetooth connection. Apart from its cloud gaming capabilities, the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming Chromebook 16 additionally made an excellent impression with its keyboard, which feels very nice to kind on, and construct high quality that hardly feels budget-level. The show is not something to write down dwelling about, nevertheless it’s not unhealthy both. We appreciated the 120Hz refresh price, however we wished the max brightness was only a little bit brighter.

Battery life is about common for a Chromebook, which is to say that it is fairly darn good. Throughout testing, we acquired about 10.5 hours out of the machine earlier than needing to recharge. The Chromebook’s bonus perks sweeten the general bundle, which incorporates three months of YouTube Premium, a 12 months’s value of Google One cloud storage, and a month of entry to Boosteroid.

As for cons, there aren’t many, and it is arduous to harp on them once you’re getting such a stellar worth. They actually come all the way down to the audio options — at max quantity, the audio system sounded a bit tinny, and lacked depth general. The microphone is not a robust level, both, and did not sound superb on the opposite finish of voice calls. And like we stated, it is not a full-on powerhouse gaming laptop computer, however so long as you understand what you are getting (a cloud gaming machine), you possibly can’t beat that value.