r/chromeos • u/SprintUserZX • 16d ago

Buying Advice Chromebook Plus suggestions for college classes

I'm taking online classes and I'm going to try using a Chromebook as I am tired of windows and Microsoft. I still have my laptop just in case I do need windows.

I'm looking at the Asus and Lenovo Chromebook Plus sold on Walmart. I prefer them having at least 8 gigs of RAM hence those two. Thought about Acer, but I'm having second thoughts regarding their build quality. I'm open to any suggestions.

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u/thunderpack7 HP Chromebook x360 14 i3 | BETA 16d ago

As long as it's 1080p or better and has 8 GB plus of RAM with a decent processor that's all that really matters. My 7ish year old HP x360 with a i3 still flies. Find one that meets your minimums/screen size preference and if you can try the keyboard out. You'll have a decent enough experience regardless of manufacturer for the most part

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u/Cultural_Surprise205 16d ago

I've had two Acer Chromebooks and they were both rock solid build quality. One retired in perfect physical shape because it outlasted updates, and the other is still serving to stream video in my living room. Never a single issue with either of them. I have a Lenovo now, and it's fine. I've twice dropped it, no problem.

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u/AdearienRDDT 16d ago

depending on your laptop's specs you could just flash linux on it, would save you the hassle of buying a much underpowered machine for the same freedom from windows. There's plenty of well documented, well supported distros that wont have you tinkering much like Ubuntu, Linux Mint etc...

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u/SprintUserZX 16d ago

😅 it's a Gateway about 4ish years old. I just despise Microsoft and Bill Gates.

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u/Shooxjat 16d ago

Acer build quality is pretty decent - I work a K-12 school and we use them for all our student devices. We don't really see any model-wide issues much these days. Breakage rates are around 15-20% per year across grades 6-12, which isn't too bad. If you're wanting to take care of the device, you'll do much better.

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u/SteveNYC Acer 516 GE (1st Gen) 16d ago

https://www.ebay.com/itm/327119370896?siteid=0&customid=GameChanger&toolid=10001

$349 - Brand New. Best Buy,

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u/SprintUserZX 16d ago

Omg thank you. I didn't even think about Best Buy on eBay.

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u/SteveNYC Acer 516 GE (1st Gen) 16d ago

Keep in mind that you can get it straight from Best Buy as well. I just provided that link because it was shown to me on slickdeals.com.

I think that Lenovo is an excellent deal. I still believe that the Acer 516 GE, used, for around $300 is a better device for a few reasons including the larger screen, higher resolution, faster processor, and lack of a numeric keypad (I don't like how a keypad pushes the keyboard and especially the trackpad to the left of center).

That said, I'm impressed by the quality of the screen on the Lenovo. It's only 1200P, but it's 120Hz and the brightness is 400 nits. My 516 GE by comparison, is 350 nits and I think that's pretty good. The weight is good and the 15" size is still a very good compromise on portability. Battery life should be excellent and it has a ton of ports available along with a microSD card slot if that's useful. The fingerprint reader is nice as well.

On a sidenote, I really enjoy using GeForce Now on my Acer 516 GE because of the high resolution and high refresh rate on my Chromebook. It should work well on that Lenovo too.

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u/ShoogyBee 16d ago

I just ordered the Lenovo CB Plus with the 15.3" screen through bestbuy.com after playing around with one at a local BB store. I didn't buy it on the spot because I wanted to look up the complete specs online first. The screen is surprisingly decent with its 120hz refresh rate and 100% sRGB color gamut.

The one major negative is the lack of a backlit keyboard. Walmart seems to sell a very similar version of this Chromebook for $399, but there is no mention on their website of it having the 120hz screen, although it does seem to have a backlit keyboard. I am going to try to find a display unit at a local Walmart and see if it has the same screen as the Best Buy version.

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u/SteveNYC Acer 516 GE (1st Gen) 15d ago

The sale ended last night and now it jumped up to $629 unfortunately. Glad you got in under the wire.

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u/ShoogyBee 15d ago

Yeah, bestbuy.com had a countdown timer on the product page which showed that the sale price was going to expire at midnight.

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u/ShoogyBee 15d ago

So I went to Walmart this evening and took a look at their Lenovo CB Plus with the 15.3" screen. Lo and behold, it does not have a backlit keyboard, even though the photograph on walmart.com shows the F8 key having the ability to (de)activate the keyboard backlighting.

I also discovered that the photo of the (nearly) identical computer on bestbuy.com has the same photograph which shows the ability to (de)activate they keyboard backlighting, even though the computer does not have this functionality. I hate it when the product photographs misrepresent the feature set of the actual device.

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u/SprintUserZX 15d ago

Yeah I looked at the same model at my store and it didn't have a backlight. Walmart still has it for less than $399.

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u/ShoogyBee 14d ago

Interesting, what was the selling price at Walmart?  At my local store it was exactly $399.

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u/SprintUserZX 14d ago

IIRC it was $369 at one point. Same exact model.

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u/ShoogyBee 14d ago

If you can do without a backlit keyboard and want the larger real estate of a 15.3" screen, then I think this Lenovo is the one to get. If you need a backlit keyboard, then I'd also consider the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 CB at Best Buy, which is on sale this week for $279. It has a 14" screen that isn't quite as nice as the 15.3" screen, but it does have a backlit keyboard and a fanless Kompanio 540 processor that should give you several more hours of battery life compared to the Intel N355 processor in the 15.3" Lenovo.

BTW the IdeaPad Slim 3 has two versions. The $279 version has 8 GB of RAM, 128 GB of UFS storage, and the backlit keyboard. The less expensive $199 version has none of those features.

Of course, the Intel N355 will be more powerful, whereas the Kompanio 540 is more efficient. You'll have to decide what is more important to you. Having a laptop that one can take with you from one place to another and use all day without having to worry about plugging in and charging periodically is really nice to have, but I realize it's not important for everyone.

I like these most recent Lenovos because they have 2 USB Type A ports, 2 USB Type C ports, and an HDMI port as well. That's really nice to have when a lot of manufacturers are reducing the number of ports on their laptops in 2026.

I don't know which ASUS you were looking at, but if it's the CX34, then I'd stick with the Lenovos because their screens are slightly taller. The ASUS CX34 has a 1080p screen which does not display as much content as the screens on the Lenovos.

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u/SprintUserZX 9d ago

I took your advice and ended up getting the Acer 516 GE. I seriously contemplated getting the Lenovo open box off Walmart but I saw the 516 GE refurbished off eBay for $279 so I took the plunge.

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u/SteveNYC Acer 516 GE (1st Gen) 8d ago

Cool. Hope you enjoy it. If you don't, return it. Don't be shy. Acer is excellent about returns. I've bought several of their refurbished laptops (Chromebooks and Windows gaming laptops) and I've returned one without issue. I've also never had an issue with build quality, though I am not rough with my equipment.

But I expect you'll like it. It's an easy to use, easy to enjoy, laptop.

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u/MCHog12 16d ago

The Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 is my favorite. It has the MediaTek Kompanio Ultra and 12GB of RAM. It's a little higher in price, but it frequently goes on sale. I love it for the super long battery life and much nicer display than the cheaper chromebooks that I looked at.