Looking for the latest CPU in your ChromeOS laptop? Best Buy is offering $100 off a 12th gen Intel Chromebook right now. The Asus Chromebook Flip CX5 with Core i3 is seeing a sale from its $649 regular price, bringing your cost down to $549.
You’ll have to want a large laptop if you go for this deal. The refreshed Flip CX5 has a 16-inch display and a full number pad on the keyboard. Plus it weighs 4.77 pounds. But if you’re OK with all that, this is a heck of a deal.
I have the full specs available in a comparison table of the latest 12th gen Intel Chromebook models on the market right here. You can see that you’re getting quite a bit for your money when compared to Chromebooks from other brands with similar specs that are twice the price.
If you don’t want to make the comparison, here’s an overview of what you’re getting:
- A 16-inch, 16:10 display with 1920 x 1200 resolution, 300 nits brightness
- Intel Core i3-1215U CPU with Intel Irix Xe graphics
- 8 GB DDR4x RAM
- 128 GB NVMe M.2 storage and a microSD card reader
- 802.11ax (2×2) WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2
- Up to 10 hours claimed run time
There’s also a large selection of I/O too, including 2 USB Type-C 3.2 / Thunderbolt 4 ports, 1 USB Type-A, and HDMI output. The keyboard is backlit, there’s a fingerprint sensor, and the 1080p webcam has a privacy shutter as well.
If you were holding out for a more expensive Chromebook with an Intel Core i5 processor, I’m not sure I would. I reviewed the HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook which has the same processor, memory, and storage as this Asus Chromebook. Frankly, I was surprised by the excellent overall performance.
And I recently bought an Acer Chromebook Spin 714 which does have a 12th gen Intel Core i5 inside. Any speed difference over the Core i3 is negligible, based on my few weeks of usage. Simply put, a recent Core i3 powering a Chromebook will easily meet or exceed the needs of most people. So don’t let the i3 inside this model cause you to second guess a purchase decision.
