Asus Chromebook CX14 Review: What You Can Get for $429

Like the mediocre quality of the display, the touchpad is also quite central. I used it even worse, but the plastic surface is as smooth and not as responsive as the glass surface. The click mechanism is loud and requires too much effort to push. It’s also loose, so you can press the touchpad without registering a click. This is all common on cheap laptops and over time, that’s something I think I’ll get used to. But when you go back to something more premium, you will notice a huge difference. The keyboard isn’t too much of a hassle, but the keys are more clear than what I like. I don’t mind the grippy texture of the keycaps.

It has solid ports such as HDMI 1.4, USB-A 3.2, USB-C 3.2, USB-C port for charging, and headphone jack. It’s well rounded, but it has problems. They are all on one side. There is only a Kensington lock slot on the right side of the device. Unfortunately, that means you can charge your laptop from the left side.

Just enough power

Photo: Luke Larsen

Currently available Asus Chromebook CX14 comes in two versions. My review unit is a more expensive configuration, which comes with even more CPU, double RAM (8 GB), and double RAM (128 GB). The processor is the Core 3 Series 1, also known as the Intel Core 3 N355. This is an interesting chip, using only 8 efficiency cores and no performance cores compared to the traditional dual-core setup of the Celeron chip.

Performance is not something you write about at home, but on the Celeron-based benchmark, the Speedometer 3.1 benchmark was 38% faster. Asus Chromebook CX15 I tested it last month. This means that web applications feel a little creepy and more responsive, especially when a lot is done at the same time. It’s difficult to discuss the price of that cheap configuration (especially when on sale), but if you’re using the CX14 for active work or studying, we’d appreciate the boost in performance and additional storage.

Asus claims that the CX14 lasts for 8 hours on a charge. In my test, it lasts for that long. Take care, this is available in local video playback on the 100 Lux screen. It’s not a heavy load. My normal working day use reduced it quite a bit and I certainly needed to recharge during the day. No, not long lasting Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14and not even rivals more premium laptops, such as the MacBook Air or the Surface Laptop. But for a laptop at this price, it’s decent.