I was FORCED to buy a Chromebook….

I was FORCED to buy a Chromebook….

I was FORCED to buy a Chromebook….

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My son needs a Chromebook for school so I began my search to find the best bang for the buck Chromebook…and of course, we tried to game on it.

Take a look at the available Chromebooks below:
Amazon: https://geni.us/jj8ruZ
Best Buy: https://geni.us/BF9Jru
Newegg: https://geni.us/OCdFABC

Purchases made through some store links may provide some compensation to Linus Media Group.

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Installing Steam on Linux Beta: https://www.linuxmadesimple.info/2021…

Chromebook Automatic Update Support Page: https://support.google.com/chrome/a/a…

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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 Intro
0:44 Chromebook Penetration
1:16 are Chromebooks bad?
2:01 look how cheap they are!
2:40 Linus goes shopping!
4:10 better luck online?
6:18 IMPORTANT TECH TIP
7:30 Gaming on Chromebooks
11:14 Why did you Cheap Out??
12:58 Outro

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Content

0.14 -> - Well, it finally happened.
1.9 -> The thing every parent fears the most.
4.28 -> My son needs a Chromebook for school.
8.13 -> So if we're doing this,
10.44 -> I guess it's up to me
11.65 -> to find the best dang bang-for-the-buck Chromebook...
15.18 -> But wait.
16.039 -> (plastic squeaking)
17.76 -> This is gonna be a lot harder than I thought.
21.04 -> Why can't they just be good?
22.96 -> Like our sponsor.
24.11 -> CableMod makes cables to last,
25.93 -> and their new keyboard cables
27.22 -> are the easiest way to spice up your desk.
29.36 -> With a ton of colors now available on Amazon,
31.25 -> you can complete your keyboard setup today
33.13 -> using the link down below.
34.957 -> (upbeat music)
43.89 -> If you or a loved one isn't currently in grade school,
46.56 -> I wouldn't you expect you to be aware
47.99 -> of just how dominant Chromebooks have become in that space.
51.64 -> In 2019 there were 30 million Chromebooks
54.53 -> deployed in schools, primarily in the U.S. and Canada.
57.16 -> And in January 2020
58.78 -> Google announced that that number had ballooned 33%
62.16 -> to a whopping 40 million Chromebooks
64.64 -> in classrooms around the globe,
66.07 -> and that is before the COVID techsplosion.
69.51 -> And now my son is gonna be joining the ranks
71.87 -> of Chromebook users whether I like it or not.
75.35 -> But then, maybe that's not so bad.
77.32 -> Like many of you, I've been guilty of dismissing Chromebooks
80.6 -> as glorified web browsing appliances because...
84.77 -> Well, that's what Google intended them to be.
87.76 -> But in the past few years,
88.94 -> they have become far more capable
90.72 -> with Google adding the ability to run Android apps in 2016,
93.83 -> introducing the Linux beta
95.41 -> on all new devices released since 2020
97.737 -> for you developer types out there,
99.49 -> and even allowing enterprise users
101.38 -> to run Windows through Parallels.
103.18 -> Wait. "Allowing"?
105.69 -> Okay, yeah.
106.62 -> The whole point of the schools' Chromebook requirement
109.21 -> is that the kids' machines will be running Chrome OS,
111.95 -> and the two main selling points of Chrome OS
114.48 -> are how easy it is to deploy a locked-down fleet of them
117.68 -> that keeps the kids from doing anything too fun,
120.5 -> and how lightweight it is,
122.25 -> which indirectly makes Chromebooks crazy cheap.
126.4 -> I mean, look at this thing. $190!
129.76 -> That's...
130.62 -> I mean, new Windows laptops
132.96 -> with MSRPs under $200 do exist,
136.31 -> but the ones that we've seen
137.96 -> come from less-than-reputable manufacturers
140.49 -> and I don't think that reputation is changing anytime soon.
144.38 -> I mean, even the options for Windows machines
146.08 -> around the $250 mark make no sense
149.25 -> 'cause they're basically just Chromebooks
151.4 -> that have been saddled with the additional cost
153.54 -> of a much heavier operating system.
155.44 -> So it's really in this low price tier
158.14 -> that Chromebooks shine as capable
160.04 -> and cost-effective machines.
161.36 -> But what kinda sacrifices are being made
163.96 -> to achieve these crazy low price points?
167.46 -> Let's go shopping!
170.06 -> Disclosure: I'm an investor in Framework, a laptop company.
173.2 -> They don't make Chromebooks, but I thought you should know.
175.67 -> All right, let's see what we got here.
177.11 -> Too big for a little kid.
178.48 -> Opposite problem.
179.75 -> This one doesn't have any ports.
181.25 -> All plastic.
183.34 -> These suck!
185.47 -> Well, this is a good price.
186.9 -> Wow, is that screen ever tiny.
188.64 -> Not to mention those bezels.
190.95 -> Is this YouTube video running at 720p with the CPU at 100%?
196.14 -> That's just embarrassing.
197.721 -> Ooh!
199.15 -> Look at this tiny thing! That's cute.
202.15 -> Oh, it's a tablet with a detachable keyboard cover. Neat.
205.238 -> (alarm wailing) Oh! Shoot, uh...
208.23 -> Boy, is this keyboard ever gonna be cramped.
210.77 -> Though for a child, maybe.
213.07 -> Touchscreen is nice to have for Android apps.
214.9 -> Maybe some drawing. It is a bit small though.
217.65 -> Oh, okay. It's got eMMC storage.
220.5 -> That's when the essentially embed
222.01 -> an SD card into the motherboard
223.77 -> and then use that as your system storage.
226.94 -> It's really not very fast compared to an SSD,
229.8 -> and this is only 32 gigs.
232.13 -> But it'll be more responsive than a hard drive,
235.03 -> and with tight integration with Google Drive,
237.08 -> I might need that much local storage.
239.23 -> And since we're not doing any heavy computing,
241.06 -> it doesn't need to be that fast, but...
243.41 -> Ooh, the Best Buy demo
244.5 -> doesn't even fit on the screen properly.
246.58 -> I don't think this thing's gonna cut it.
248.15 -> Maybe we should look online for some other options.
250.72 -> Oh, Samsung has a Chromebook.
252.58 -> Look at that. Fiesta Red.
254.88 -> Built-in S Pen. Nice.
256.89 -> A 4K screen.
258.81 -> Okay, the screen size. This is what, 13 inches?
262.87 -> Kinda overkill. Could hurt battery life.
265.49 -> A Core i5!
267.12 -> I don't think we've seen anything with a Core-tier CPU yet.
270.14 -> Feels a little overkill too.
272.21 -> 8 gigs of RAM is nice.
274.1 -> But while we love to joke about Chrome being a RAM hog,
277.314 -> I mean, you don't have Windows sucking back
279.29 -> a bunch of your resources.
280.95 -> And there's probably a reason that most Chromebooks
282.76 -> only have 4 gigs.
284.61 -> 256 gigs of real SSD storage? How much is this thing?
287.63 -> $1,000!
289.77 -> If I wanted to spend MacBook money, I would get a MacBook.
292.68 -> See ya later, Samsung.
294.07 -> Okay, how about this one? Lenovo Flex 5.
296.6 -> Got a Core i3.
298 -> That should be adequate for watching an HD video
300.66 -> and taking notes without being overkill.
303.52 -> USB-A for connecting devices at school.
305.97 -> It's a two-in-one.
307.78 -> That added flexibility could really come in handy.
310.12 -> Screen looks pretty good too.
311.71 -> This is checking a lot of boxes right now.
313.85 -> And it's in stock.
315 -> Of course, we can't just buy the first thing
316.36 -> that tickles our fancy.
317.66 -> This one says up to 12 hours of battery life.
320.54 -> And knowing that he's my son,
321.72 -> he'll probably forget his charger,
322.87 -> so a long-lasting battery is good.
325.84 -> Then again, these all claim to have great battery life.
328.62 -> I guess that's another benefit
329.72 -> of running low-end hardware and a lightweight OS.
332.63 -> But this display seems pretty lousy. Is this a TN panel?
336.24 -> You know, we recommend these types of displays
338.38 -> in the past for gamers
339.71 -> due to their super fast response times,
341.89 -> but the colors look bad and the viewing angles are terrible.
345.51 -> It's not something you want to put up with on a laptop,
348.02 -> and especially not in 2022
349.82 -> when IPS panels have become so affordable.
353.33 -> Okay, back to the Lenovo.
355.34 -> Seems durable. Not too big, not too small.
357.74 -> The keyboard didn't wow me, but none of them really did.
360.69 -> And the speakers are... (tinny techno music)
362.94 -> Well, they're speakers. (tinny techno music)
364.37 -> But at 370 U.S. dollars, I think this is our best deal.
367.97 -> Let's buy it.
368.86 -> But wait, Shopper Linus.
369.94 -> You aren't ready to make a decision yet.
371.62 -> You forget to get hydrated.
375.14 -> LTTStore.com.
376.57 -> And you forgot another big thing: long-term support.
380.22 -> Did you know that the support window
381.76 -> of your Chrome OS device
382.87 -> is determined by when it was released?
385.21 -> I mean, that makes sense.
386.33 -> Newer item is gonna have more life left in it.
389.4 -> But there is a big gotcha in there
391.34 -> because devices made in 2018
393.45 -> are gonna get automatic update support until 2022.
396.62 -> That's a period of four years.
398.46 -> Meanwhile, a device released in 2020
401.09 -> is gonna be supported until 2028!
404.35 -> This is because in 2020,
406.13 -> Google promised that all new Chromebooks
408.19 -> would receive eight years of automatic update support,
411.11 -> but they didn't bother to extend that eight-year guarantee
413.9 -> to devices that were already released,
416.63 -> even if they were only a few months old.
418.88 -> So look closely and double-check
421.29 -> on Google's Chromebook support site,
422.9 -> which we're gonna have linked down below.
424.72 -> It's really easy to make a mistake here.
426.63 -> Like, look at this Acer Chromebook 14.
428.9 -> It doesn't look all that different
430.2 -> from this Acer Chromebook 514,
432.51 -> but that first device is only gonna be supported
434.76 -> for seven more months
436.27 -> while the 514 will be supported for seven more years.
440.46 -> My Flex 5 here is theoretically good until 2028,
443.46 -> meaning that my son will be enjoying
445.07 -> this mediocre computing experience
447.6 -> until he is well into high school.
450.341 -> Or will he?
452.33 -> Darn it! ("God Save the King")
453.88 -> This is Linus Tech Tips. ("God Save the King")
455.4 -> We don't take kindly to computers
457.06 -> merely doing what they were designed to do.
459.09 -> Which is why we're going to break out of Google's sandbox
462.12 -> and see what this Chromebook can do
463.82 -> from a gaming standpoint.
466 -> They are actually quite a few options these days.
468.37 -> We could use a game streaming service
470.13 -> like GeForce Now or Google Stadia,
472.75 -> and if triple-A games are your priority,
474.89 -> then this is gonna be pretty much the only option.
477.44 -> And it's actually a surprisingly solid experience,
480.67 -> though I would strongly recommend a USB Ethernet dongle
484.24 -> for a more stable connection.
485.95 -> If you're after lighter games...
487.548 -> Man, Android has a lot going on these days.
491.63 -> Everything from SNES and PlayStation emulators
494.86 -> to indie hits like "Stardew Valley."
497.16 -> That's honestly all that most people will need
499.55 -> or even want,
501.15 -> but we can go deeper.
502.78 -> Chrome OS, like Android, is based on Linux,
506.41 -> and some very clever people have developed a nifty way
509.29 -> for us to install Linux on our machine called Crouton.
512.64 -> It lets us put our own Linux install in chroot,
515.51 -> a self-contained directory
516.97 -> that is separate from the rest of the system,
518.98 -> but this is essentially an exploit.
521.51 -> Whoa! What are you doin'?
523.38 -> Didn't you know Google has added
524.64 -> their own implementation of Linux on Chrome OS
526.493 -> through a project called Crostini?
529.08 -> Trust me, it is way simpler to set up and much more secure.
533.44 -> The catch is that you need a Chromebook
535.27 -> from 2020 or later to use it.
538.15 -> So if you have a newer Chromebook,
539.66 -> we've linked a simple tutorial down below for you.
542.51 -> But note that due to the implementation,
545.14 -> Crostini runs Debian in a VM,
547.26 -> the performance will take a hit.
549.46 -> So if you want to be running your games on the bare metal,
552.21 -> then keep following along because Crouton
554.62 -> is your best option for now.
558.1 -> That requires to activate developer mode on your Chromebook,
561.03 -> which will not only wipe all of your local files
563.84 -> but it also makes your device more vulnerable to attacks.
566.83 -> And if the unit was loaned to you
568.66 -> by your school or workplace,
570.52 -> this will for sure get you in trouble.
573.09 -> Not to mention that there are numerous other caveats
575.71 -> that you can pause and read here.
578.22 -> Now, I'ma just fast forward us
579.56 -> following the instructions on the GitHub page.
581.36 -> We're gonna have that link down below as well.
584.27 -> As you can see then, in Crouton,
586.03 -> while we do have access to games via Proton,
589.24 -> with this low tier of hardware
591.35 -> it is not a super smooth experience.
595.41 -> Like "Rocket League," for example.
597.18 -> It's a relatively lightweight game,
599.54 -> but it's modern and requires a modern system.
603.15 -> And as you can see from just loading into the menu,
606.05 -> it's not gonna go very well.
607.83 -> The game's barely runnable.
609.18 -> So let's lower our expectations and try out "Half-Life 2."
613.11 -> Hitches, but it's not half bad.
616.04 -> How about "Broforce?"
617.31 -> This is a 2D game.
618.48 -> It's an action side-scroller that is crazy fun,
621.05 -> especially when playing with friends.
622.67 -> And honestly, it's a pretty good experience,
626.6 -> which means that while Linux gaming can be a challenge,
630.29 -> I'm hopeful that as that continues to improve,
633.13 -> this is gonna be a viable way
634.63 -> to unlock an even greater library of games.
637.49 -> At least those that are light enough to run.
640.25 -> But there's evidence showing
641.4 -> that Valve is working with Google
643.25 -> on a Chrome OS-native version of Steam
645.38 -> that would allow games to run via Proton on Chrome OS itself
649.05 -> with no workarounds or VMs required.
651.94 -> The project is under the codename Borealis,
654.54 -> and some users recently spotted
656.69 -> flags for it in Chrome's settings,
658.09 -> meaning we could potentially see
659.71 -> an optimized gaming platform for Chrome OS
662.41 -> later on this year.
663.86 -> Stay tuned.
665 -> But for now I'll have to settle for running
666.6 -> unoptimized software on the suboptimal hardware
669.4 -> in the Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5.
671.48 -> By "I," I mean my son.
673.41 -> Which raises a key question:
675.597 -> "Linus, surely you could've afforded
678.29 -> a premium Chromebook like the Pixelbook Go.
681.57 -> Why did you cheap out then on your only begotten son?"
685.74 -> I'm really glad you asked,
687.01 -> and it's because an expensive Chromebook
690.08 -> is still a Chromebook,
692.13 -> and the way that I see it,
693.26 -> no matter how much money you have to throw around,
695.65 -> if you're spending more than about
697.42 -> 500 U.S. dollars on a laptop,
699.7 -> you're gonna be getting hardware
701 -> that's not gonna be dragged down by Windows anyway.
703.96 -> So you might as well have something
706.18 -> that can run Windows natively
708.32 -> without a whole bunch of hackery
710.51 -> and hassle in order to get running
712.21 -> because Windows is still a lot more flexible
716.54 -> in terms of what you can do.
718.88 -> What you can also do
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778.42 -> If you guys enjoyed this video, go check out our video
780.117 -> "Running Windows on a Chromebook."
781.97 -> It's a pretty fun adventure.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXvzM9PPEAc