This 16-inch QHD 120Hz Chromebook is only $317, don’t miss it like I did

Sometimes, I just miss it. I’ll own it when I do, and honestly, I owe this particular Chromebook another look. We did our unboxing video on it and between some limited availability and other models of this Chromebook hitting the market when it was first introduced, a review just never happened. And it should have.

The Lenovo Gaming Chromebook was launched at the same time as the very-popular Acer Chromebook 516 GE, and the winner between the two was apparent from the get-go. Though quite similar, the Acer had a better chassis, was lighter, and was far more available to people wanting to buy one.

Meanwhile, the Lenovo Gaming Chromebook was rarely in stock, had variations that I wouldn’t recommend, and was always priced a bit too high for what you were getting. Out of the gate, it was $50 more expensive than the Acer 516 GE, and that made it incredibly difficult to recommend at any point.

A different version at an insane price

But at one point, a 12th-gen Core i3-1215U version of this Chromebook emerged, and it was of interest when it would go on sale every once and a while. It was still never quite enough to move me from recommending the very-similar Acer 516 GE, however, and this solid Chromebook continued to fly just under my radar.

But lately, Walmart has a version in stock that has me very, very interested. It is the same overall as the one we have in the office, but it cuts the storage in half to just 128GB and drops the processor to the 12th-gen Core i3-1215U (here’s the official Lenovo PSREF entry showing it’s specs). Other than that, however, this device is the exact same, and as I type from a very similar model for this post, I’m reminded of how great of a device this actually is.

The screen – like the Acer 516 GE – is fantastic, hitting 350 nits of brightness, 120Hz on the refresh, and packing in a 2560×1600 resolution across 16-inches of 16:10 screen real estate. The keyboard is RGB and feels great to type on, it comes with a full numeric keypad, and the internals are quite fast as well. Though the model I have is rocking the Core i5-1235U, the Core i3-1215U feels just as snappy and still gets staggering Octane scores of 83,000+ single core and 370,000+ on multi-core. Trust me: it’s fast.

With great sounding upward-firing speakers, a solid port selection, 4-pound chassis, and a reasonably-thin build quality, this Chromebook is actually pretty fantastic. While the $699 price the original stayed at for far too long kept me recommending the Acer 516 GE instead, this latest price on the Core i3 version has me singing a very different tune.

For just $317 at Walmart right now, you can pick up one of these for yourself or for a family member, and it gets regular updates until June of 2032. That’s nearly 8 more years of OS and security updates that you’ll be able to enjoy on this device that will feel fast for a very long time.

But it’s Walmart, so I have no idea how long this deal will last. $317 for this device is pretty silly, so I’d wager it will go quick. If a larger Chromebook with killer performance and an absolute knock-out screen is what you are looking for, this is definitely the deal for you. Don’t miss out!