Buying a Chromebook was a BIG MISTAKE - Chrome OS Flex
Buying a Chromebook was a BIG MISTAKE - Chrome OS Flex
Try FreshBooks free, for 30 days, no credit card required at https://www.freshbooks.com/linus
Create your build at https://www.buildredux.com/linus
Your old MacBook is really chugging these days. But new computers with fancy Nvidia GPUs and AMD Ryzen chips are very expensive. Here’s a way you could save a buck! Chrome OS Flex! Google will now let you install Chrome OS on your own device for free. But can it actually improve old devices? We tested to find out!
Discuss on the forum: https://linustechtips.com/topic/14583…
Buy a 1 TB Samsung 970 EVO SSD NVMe : https://geni.us/WP3ETA
Buy a 240GB Crucial SATA SSD: https://geni.us/8sdi9Ht
Buy a Crucial MX500 250GB SSD: https://geni.us/XO5Dpj
Buy Bush’s Baked Beans: https://geni.us/QCj6V
Purchases made through some store links may provide some compensation to Linus Media Group.
► GET MERCH: https://lttstore.com
► SUPPORT US ON FLOATPLANE: https://www.floatplane.com/ltt
► AFFILIATES, SPONSORS \u0026 REFERRALS: https://lmg.gg/sponsors
► PODCAST GEAR: https://lmg.gg/podcastgear
FOLLOW US
---------------------------------------------------
Twitter: https://twitter.com/linustech
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LinusTech
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/linustech
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@linustech
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/linustech
MUSIC CREDIT
---------------------------------------------------
Intro: Laszlo - Supernova
Video Link: • [Electro] - Laszlo - Supernova [Monst…
iTunes Download Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/sup…
Artist Link: https://soundcloud.com/laszlomusic
Outro: Approaching Nirvana - Sugar High
Video Link: • Sugar High - Approaching Nirvana
Listen on Spotify: http://spoti.fi/UxWkUw
Artist Link: / approachingnirvana
Intro animation by MBarek Abdelwassaa https://www.instagram.com/mbarek_abdel/
Monitor And Keyboard by vadimmihalkevich / CC BY 4.0 https://geni.us/PgGWp
Mechanical RGB Keyboard by BigBrotherECE / CC BY 4.0 https://geni.us/mj6pHk4
Mouse Gamer free Model By Oscar Creativo / CC BY 4.0 https://geni.us/Ps3XfE
CHAPTERS
---------------------------------------------------
0:00 CrINgeTRO
1:45 The Laptops
3:05 How we tested
4:04 How slow are they?
5:25 Installing Chrome OS Flex
6:34 BIG CAVEAT
7:49 Chrome OS Flex Results
10:39 Can you run it?
11:53 Chrome OS Flex limitations
13:17 Alternatives
14:32 Outro
Content
0.06 -> is your laptop old and crappy download
3.12 -> Chrome and make it snappy are you trying
6.06 -> to be brutal bye bye Windows okay
12.44 -> why do I have to pick one
15.299 -> what no I'm tired of it for years now
18.72 -> consumers have been stuck asking do I go
21.359 -> for a Windows laptop or a Chromebook
23.64 -> knowing that neither of them can fully
26.279 -> match the features of the other and that
28.32 -> once they pick a path they're completely
30.84 -> locked in until they replace the whole
33.239 -> machine and it's so frustrating because
36.36 -> the actual Hardware in these computers
38.28 -> is especially in some cases darn near
41.76 -> identical
44.82 -> at least that's how it has been this
47.579 -> summer Google reversed course and
49.86 -> released their Cloud Centric OS to the
52.379 -> General Public
53.76 -> for free which means that you yes you
57.239 -> James Smith can install Chrome OS
59.719 -> anywhere you want that disgusting laptop
62.879 -> you use for cooking videos in the
64.379 -> kitchen Chromebook your great aunts
67.08 -> anemic Windows PC she somehow manages to
69.299 -> break every month boom now it's a
71.52 -> Chromebook but is Chrome OS the solution
74.04 -> for an aging computer
75.84 -> to find out we voluntold our team to
78.72 -> bring in any old laptops they could find
81.119 -> to see if Google could breathe new life
83.34 -> into their aging hardware and I gotta
86.34 -> say it is looking pretty good it can
88.68 -> even play
90.119 -> this Segway to our sponsor build Redux
93.6 -> build Redux makes it easy to configure
95.46 -> your new build with support guides to
97.38 -> help along the way they also offer
99.18 -> competitive pricing as compared to
100.5 -> building a PC yourself so head to build
102.18 -> redux.com Linus and start your new build
104.82 -> today so you brought in this laptop for
107.88 -> us to uh test out here's your laptop
110.939 -> tell us about it what what is it it's an
113.64 -> HP G56 it's a think FedEx 230. I bought
117.84 -> this uh geez what did I buy 2012.
121.079 -> to be like 2014 or something like that
123.24 -> oh I have no idea probably I got it in
127.22 -> 2001 2001 yeah no in 2011. 11 oh 11 yes
132.54 -> 2011. yes 2011. I bought this laptop at
137.099 -> the Best Buy that I used to work at back
139.379 -> in like 2014 my wife and I were doing a
143.459 -> long distance at that time and she had a
145.8 -> real piece of and so she needed a
149.58 -> new one and so I surprised her with this
151.56 -> now this is a bit of a PC too because
153.78 -> it's been so long I'm a distracted
155.76 -> person I was trying to do some writing
158.04 -> and I it was very hard so my dad's like
160.739 -> I'm buying you a computer that won't be
162.78 -> connected to the internet that it was so
164.16 -> it's so cumbersome and slow that I
166.379 -> didn't it didn't help uh I bought it
168.48 -> anticipating that I would do a lot more
169.98 -> traveling that that I've ended up doing
172.019 -> this is like my school computer I got it
175.2 -> because it's like it just so gigantic so
177.84 -> we're gonna do is that we're gonna
179.28 -> install Chrome OS on it I'm very curious
181.98 -> if it's gonna help
184.14 -> sir
185.4 -> appreciate it to quantify any gains that
188.04 -> we might get from Chrome OS we need to
189.78 -> do some baseline testing before we
191.879 -> install Google's operating system and
193.98 -> that's going to be a little trickier
195.54 -> than usual because Chrome OS does not
197.819 -> have the same robust Suite of
200.04 -> benchmarking tools that PC enthusiasts
202.62 -> have come to expect on Windows machines
204.659 -> but we did find a few browser-based
207.18 -> benchmarks and we were able to create
208.86 -> some of our own real world benchmarks to
211.62 -> fill in the gaps
212.94 -> first up we measured how long it took to
215.76 -> boot the device open a browser and start
218.22 -> watching a YouTube video you know the
220.56 -> basics we also timed waking up from
223.019 -> sleep tested the number of chrome tabs
225.36 -> each could handle we're calling 36 tabs
227.819 -> a pass and counted how many concurrent
230.819 -> 1080p streams we could get running
232.68 -> without any stutters we Then followed
235.44 -> this up with a battery test to see if
237.42 -> Chrome OS can not only make your system
238.98 -> faster but also run longer
241.86 -> and just how slow are these computers
245.64 -> pretty bad Lloyd's old MacBook took
248.819 -> almost 30 seconds to wake from sleep
252.36 -> sleep more like mostly dead and horse
256.519 -> hpg56 that took over five minutes to
260.639 -> reach YouTube thanks to its ungodly slow
263.479 -> 3200 RPM hard drive making matters worse
267.06 -> it only managed a single 720p stream
270.12 -> before giving up the ghost as for
272.699 -> performance in a browser in our tabs
274.8 -> test the HP and Asus units almost got a
277.74 -> pass crashing out right near the Finish
279.54 -> Line with Lloyd's pretty much blowing
282.06 -> its engine right out of the Starting
283.259 -> Gate failing at a truly pathetic four
285.96 -> tabs then in our 1080p playback test
288.3 -> Jaime and Adam Pease machines both
290.28 -> managed four 1080p YouTube streams with
293.04 -> no drop frames while horsts and Lloyd's
296.04 -> devices failed to play even a single
297.84 -> stream at full HD in the battery test
300.3 -> every machine sucked frankly but that's
303.78 -> kind of expected given the age of the
305.46 -> cells in these devices the MacBook does
308.04 -> take its first W here though at nearly
310.08 -> three hours of time away from the wall
312.36 -> we also ran our canned benchmarks but
314.22 -> we're going to talk about those a little
315.36 -> bit later since it's already clear that
317.52 -> some of these computers are struggling
319.199 -> hard maybe Chrome OS is the medicine
321.419 -> they need so let's get started the
324.24 -> Chrome OS Flex install process is less
326.82 -> than elegant but if you're Chrome
328.86 -> curious and halfway tech savvy you
331.139 -> should be able to grab a USB stick and
332.94 -> follow along at home
334.259 -> when you Google Chrome OS Flex you get
336.419 -> taken to a Google Enterprise site you
338.94 -> then click try Chrome OS flex and it
342.18 -> asks you to sign up and fill in your
344.039 -> company's details
345.6 -> you can safely ignore that what you
347.88 -> actually want is this little link right
349.74 -> here then it takes you to an
351.72 -> installation guide great but you need to
354.72 -> download a Chrome extension to create
356.58 -> the installation media
358.56 -> seems kind of random but there is a
360.96 -> reason for it it's because this is
363.12 -> actually a chrome recovery tool that's
365.94 -> designed to repair your existing
367.74 -> chromolis install on your Chromebook
369.84 -> they've just repurposed it
372.12 -> at this point it confusingly asks you to
374.52 -> choose from a selection of Chromebooks
376.259 -> and it's here that you select Chrome OS
378.9 -> flex and then Target your preferred USB
381.36 -> drive note that this will wipe out any
384.479 -> other data on that drive once you've
386.94 -> created your installation media you can
388.8 -> plug her into your device and
390.5 -> non-destructively boot from the USB
392.759 -> drive to try out the OS and at this
395.22 -> point I could see you thinking this is
397.38 -> super cool maybe I'll dual boot it hold
400.02 -> it right there
401.58 -> if you decide that you want to install
403.8 -> Chrome OS to your SSD or your hard drive
406.02 -> rather than running it off of a USB
408.24 -> stick you need to know that for some
410.52 -> probably stupid reason Google's Chrome
413.639 -> OS Flex installer does not allow you to
416.699 -> choose where to install it so even if
420.3 -> you've set up one partition for Windows
422.639 -> and one for Chrome OS it will wipe out
425.699 -> both of them eliminating all of your
428.46 -> data making matters even worse if you
431.28 -> have two completely separate physical
433.38 -> drives it might Target the empty one or
437.34 -> it might Target your main drive and
439.979 -> completely wipe out its data you've been
442.56 -> warned so make sure you've either backed
445.199 -> up everything important or as an
447.539 -> alternative you can whip out your
449.46 -> handy-dandy LTT screwdriver available in
451.86 -> four colorways and remove your main
454.08 -> drive so you can keep your data safe
455.819 -> while you install Chrome OS on the spare
457.8 -> one that is not okay yeah bunch of
460.62 -> googlers what is okay is our test
463.38 -> results sorry spoiler but it's the truth
466.86 -> they're not great just okay let's start
469.979 -> with the canned benchmarks that we
471.599 -> mentioned earlier webgl aquarium it's a
474.539 -> bit of a mixed bag with both our
475.979 -> ThinkPad and our Asus machine recording
478.38 -> drops in Prof performance while horst's
481.319 -> HP took a huge leap forward then in
484.68 -> Whirlpool HTML5 the story is the same
487.259 -> with only the HP improving in any
489.66 -> meaningful way in speedometer 2.1 our
492.36 -> story gets even less compelling and we
494.46 -> see a consistent drop in performance
496.68 -> across all devices Chrome OS isn't
499.979 -> looking so hot but maybe this reigned in
502.979 -> performance is one of the ways that
504.599 -> Chrome OS manages better battery life
507.12 -> uh well if our testing is anything to go
509.879 -> by
510.66 -> sorry Chief not really the three laptops
514.08 -> that we could measure all performed
516.06 -> similarly to Windows but slightly worse
519.24 -> and this was probably the biggest
521.099 -> surprise for us because anecdotes from
523.38 -> around the web have suggested that
525.18 -> Chrome OS Flex should have a huge
527.339 -> positive impact on battery life with
529.8 -> some people reporting 25 to 50 percent
532.32 -> gains maybe on these models Chrome OS
535.5 -> didn't automatically kick on power
537.42 -> saving mode or maybe their battery life
540.24 -> tests were run under different
541.44 -> conditions I can't say all I know is
544.68 -> that at the moment Chrome OS Flex is
546.779 -> feeling a little more like Chrome OS
548.339 -> flaccid
549.72 -> fortunately these lower scores that
552.12 -> we've seen so far do not tell the whole
554.519 -> story the experience of using these
557.279 -> devices improved massively across the
560.519 -> board and you can see that in our real
563.04 -> world tests look at these boot times to
566.459 -> be clear a minute it's still pretty slow
569.04 -> but it's a lot faster than 5 minutes and
572.22 -> 45 seconds we also saw more 1080p
575.82 -> streams on every single device faster
578.88 -> wake from sleep more tabs and just
581.82 -> subjectively less chugging while
584.16 -> navigating the operating system but
586.2 -> don't listen to me listen to our
588 -> volunteers whoa
591.48 -> wow it's like a different laptop
595.32 -> oh my goodness that is fast
598.38 -> oh that's pretty fast the q key has
601.08 -> stopped working that's yeah there's
602.88 -> something wrong with the keyboard yeah
604.32 -> if you could fix the keyboard then this
606 -> would be a solid like write your novel
608.519 -> at Starbucks sort of computer it's a
611.16 -> trackpad work too oh so so does cool
614.399 -> and the nub works
616.26 -> sorry the track Point uh works perfectly
619.86 -> fine
621 -> look at that it's running incredible as
622.68 -> an apple
623.64 -> it's like clay cord
626.399 -> unfortunate news for you what Chrome OS
629.399 -> does not work oh okay ah that
633.54 -> the key night among you might have
635.04 -> noticed that Lloyd's MacBook was
636.779 -> conspicuously absent from our test
638.58 -> results and this seems like as good a
641.22 -> time as any to mention the minimum
642.839 -> requirements for running Chrome OS Flex
644.82 -> you will need an x86 64-bit compatible
648.24 -> device 4 gigs of RAM and 16 gigs of
650.64 -> internal storage with the final caveat
652.86 -> being that components made before 2010
655.8 -> may result in a poor experience
658.86 -> but all of that is well below the specs
661.56 -> of Lloyd's old MacBook so what's the
663.48 -> deal here
664.56 -> well the thing is you might also have a
667.74 -> poor experience if you install Chrome OS
669.839 -> Flex on a non-certified device Jamie's
673.5 -> ThinkPad here was actually our only
675.6 -> device that happened to be on Google's
677.76 -> list and it worked so well that it might
680.64 -> as well have been a Chromebook in the
681.839 -> first place almost we'll talk about that
684.24 -> in a second
685.26 -> as for the others we saw issues that
687.66 -> ranged from mildly annoying like
689.94 -> mislabeled function keys or
691.8 -> non-functioning volume controls all the
694.14 -> way to completely game breaking like not
697.14 -> handing off rendering to the dedicated
698.82 -> GPU on Lloyd's MacBook even though we
701.64 -> could tell that Chrome OS was totally
703.38 -> still running behind that blank screen
705.839 -> do you want to activate Chromebox the
708.06 -> built-in screen reader for Chrome OS if
710.94 -> so press the space bar it's important to
713.64 -> note that even if you install Chrome OS
715.8 -> Flex on a certified device it doesn't
717.839 -> quite have all the features of regular
720.18 -> Chrome OS and the big one here is no
723.48 -> support for Android apps that reduces
726.24 -> your options for non-web apps to
728.579 -> basically zilch and is a huge hit to the
731.519 -> versatility of these things your zombie
733.68 -> Chromebook also won't get features that
735.6 -> are exclusive to Google Certified
736.98 -> devices like access to their Linux shell
739.8 -> of course you tinkery types can remedy
742.68 -> this by using something called the
744.12 -> brunch framework it's a community
745.8 -> project that uses an official recovery
748.14 -> image to install Chrome OS on any x64
751.079 -> device but without any of the
753.24 -> limitations that Google imposes on
755.22 -> Chrome OS Flex so at the very least you
757.62 -> get your Android apps back which is a
759.66 -> big plus since it's honestly kind of
762.12 -> confusing that Google locked it off in
763.74 -> the first place we didn't have a chance
765.779 -> to give brunch framework a shot though
767.519 -> so those of you who have let us know
769.68 -> what your experience was like in the
771 -> comments down below
772.56 -> bottom line would we recommend Chrome OS
774.6 -> Flex
776.519 -> installation caveats actually yeah it
779.16 -> really can breathe new life into an old
781.68 -> device and is great if you just need
783.959 -> something that's easy to lock down to
786.18 -> give to a child or you want a device for
788.76 -> light Computing tasks around the house
790.44 -> if nothing else it takes about 15
793.019 -> minutes to get the installer onto a USB
794.94 -> to try out so it's at least worth giving
796.8 -> it a shot and if Chrome OS isn't your
799.56 -> thing hey there's lots of other options
801.66 -> you could go with a lightweight Linux
803.22 -> distro like lubuntu or anti-x or if you
807.06 -> want to stick with Windows the single
809.16 -> best upgrade for older devices is an SSD
812.24 -> Jamie's 10 year old ThinkPad felt like a
815.279 -> totally different machine with a solid
816.72 -> state drive in it and we're going to
818.04 -> throw a couple of super affordable
819.36 -> options in the link down below where you
821.279 -> will also find a link to our sponsor
823.579 -> freshbooks now I'm going to go ahead and
825.36 -> guess you're not an accountant which is
826.8 -> why you're going to love this software
828.48 -> it's built for Freelancers and small
830.279 -> business owners who don't have time to
832.26 -> waste on invoicing and accounting and
834.24 -> payment processing in fact freshbooks
836.579 -> users can save up to 11 hours a week by
838.74 -> streamline and automating pesky admin
841.32 -> tasks like time tracking and following
843.3 -> up on invoices and expense tracking with
845.459 -> features like the new digital bills and
847.139 -> receipt scanner over 24 million people
849.36 -> have used freshbooks and they love it
850.98 -> for its intuitive dashboard and reports
853.2 -> it's easy to see at a glance exactly
854.88 -> where your business stands and it's even
856.38 -> easier to turn everything over to your
858.24 -> account income tax season 94 of
860.94 -> freshbooks users say it's super easy to
862.74 -> get up and running and with
863.88 -> award-winning support you're never alone
865.62 -> try freshbooks free for 30 days no
867.779 -> credit card required go to
869.339 -> freshbooks.com lattice get started today
871.5 -> if you guys enjoyed this video check out
873.48 -> our Steam on Chromebooks video that's
876 -> right gaming on Chromebooks it's a thing
878.95 -> [Music]
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZiaHEmE9PQ