Support our independent tech coverage. Chrome Unboxed is written by real people, for real people—not search algorithms. Join Chrome Unboxed Plus for just $2 a month to get an ad-free experience, access to our private Discord, and more. Learn more about membership here.
START FREE TRIAL (MONTHLY)START FREE TRIAL (ANNUAL)
It has been a few months since Google, Acer, Lenovo and ASUS took the wraps off of the world’s first gaming Chromebooks. Thus far, the reception to these gaming-focused ChromeOS laptops has been mostly positive. The long-term merit as gaming devices will have to flesh itself out over the coming months but the fact remains that these devices offer up powerful internals, awesome displays, and many of the other features we look for in a premium Chromebook and they do so at very competitive prices.
Our top pick of the three gaming Chromebooks available has to go to Acer’s 516 GE. Like Acer’s other consumer offerings, the 516 GE Gaming Chromebook offers up the most bang for the buck with a 12th Gen Intel Core i5, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, RGB keyboard, and 120Hz display. All this for only $649. That’s cheaper than some traditional Chromebooks with lesser specs. ASUS took a slightly different approach with its first gaming Chromebook by packing in an 11th Gen Intel Core i5 but made the device a convertible. While I’m not personally a fan of 2-in-1 devices, this is a better offering for someone who will actually use the convertible form factor. The ASUS Chromebook Vibe CX55 also bumps the display to 144Hz but it does omit the RGB keyboard.
Anyway, the ASUS Vibe is still a solid Chromebook with really good speakers and a respectable price tag of $699. While it’s easier for me to recommend the Acer at $649 if you simply want the best gaming Chromebook, I’m not you. You very well may want the convertible or perhaps you just fancy the ASUS over the other options. Whatever your reasoning, today is your lucky day.
For the second time since it debuted, the ASUS Chromebook Vibe CX55 has gone on sale at Best Buy. The first time around, Best Buy was offering a cool $100 off the Vibe which made it a very formidable deal when you consider what this massive 2-in-1 has to offer. However, this week’s discount blows that paltry Benjamin out of the water. Right now, you can pick up the ASUS Chromebook Vibe CX55 for the ridiculously low price of $499 which equates to a $200 saving with which you can buy a whole lot of coffee for your late night gaming sessions. Or, you know, whatever else you want to blow the cash on.
As an added bonus, eligible buyers of this premium gaming Chromebook can score a slew of free game streaming subscriptions. The ASUS CX55 comes with three months of GeForce NOW, Amazon Luna and now, you can claim a free month of Boosteroid, the latest streaming game service to offer up support for ChromeOS. Check out the ASUS Chromebook Vibe CX55 over at Best Buy before this deal is no more.
