Best Chromebook for gaming 2023

The ASUS Chromebook CX9 comes with the sort of processor that you’d more typically find in a Windows laptop. The Intel Core i7-1165G7 CPU with Intel Xe iGPU graphics might not be powerful by gaming laptop standards, but these are (almost) the most hard-hitting core components you’ll find in a Chromebook and are complimented by 16GB of DDR4 RAM and a 512GB SSD – again, both very non-typical but ideal for gaming. Although it doesn’t quite win out in terms of its processor power compared to our second pick, the 16GB of RAM gives it the edge when playing games as it simply lets you play more of them. This does unfortunately increase the price well beyond what you’d normally pay for Chromebook, however if you’re looking to game using Steam on ChromeOS, this is the best option out there.

The machine is built to a military grade standard of durability, including the 180 degree hinge on the display, which als0 has touch screen functionality. The 60Hz screen has decent color, replication, great contrast, and a solid 366 nits peak brightness. Although the speakers and webcam aren’t the best quality, the keyboard and touchpad are both great and a pleasure to use – with the chassis of the laptop also raising upwards to improve both the typing angle and airflow for cooling.

The port selection is good, including a microSD card reader, and despite having the most powerful components on this page the CX9 is exceptionally light at 2.54 lbs, with nice and thin dimensions.

Battery duration (when battery saving mode is enabled and brightness reduced to 50%) is a bit disappointing for a Chromebook at around 7-8 hours, but this is still okay by normal laptop standards.

As you can probably guess from the name the Acer Cloud Gaming Chromebook 516 GE is specifically geared towards gaming, and not just cloud gaming services – it’s quite capable of running Steam for ChromeOS thanks to its 12th Gen Intel 12-Core i5-1240P (plus Intel Iris Xe graphics) – which is the most powerful option you’ll see in a Chromebook in terms of single and multi-core processing.

On top of this it comes with a 120Hz maximum refresh rate on the high-res 1600p display – a rare sight on Chromebooks and one which certainly gives it the edge for competitive shooters when cloud gaming. The reality is you’re unlikely to reach this FPS if you’re running games with the device’s hardware using Steam for ChromeOS or something similar, but as you use the hardware of a remote gaming PC when cloud gaming this is certainly possible (providing your internet is sufficiently good).

Besides this it’s got a solid selection of ports including an ethernet socket for that all-important ethernet connection when cloud gaming. The only real downside of this machine is the 8GB RAM cap, which limits its ability to play some more demanding games on Steam for ChromeOS.

The 14″ Acer Chromebook Spin 714 is the latest iteration in a line that has previously included the 13.5″ Acer Chromebook Spin 713 (another solid high-end pick) and this version offers an Intel 12th gen CPU along with the classic 2-in-1 convertible design that lets you transition between laptop and tablet form-factors.

The particular version we’ve picked comes with 512GB of SSD storage (very welcome for gamers), along with an Intel Core i5-1235U and Intel Iris iGPU – not as powerful as our two top picks, but still a respectable performer. Unfortunately for gamers you only get 8GB of RAM in this Chromebook, but this is the standard cap for nearly every Chromebook device, so we can’t really complain too much – ultimately it will still run non-demanding games on the lowest settings that don’t require more than 8GB of memory (which is quite a few).

Although the Spin 713 comes with a 2K screen option, we’ve picked this 1200p variant of the newer model as it’s a better option for gaming on if you’re relying on the core components to actually run the games – as in Steam for ChromeOS rather than using Cloud services. The screen refresh rate is capped at a maximum of 60Hz, as in our top pick.

Although the quality of the speakers is again a bit lacking and the fans can get a bit noisy under stress, thee overall build quality is sturdy, including the 2-in-1 hinge (generally a week point) and it’s nice and portable. Battery life at half brightness will extend to around 9 hours, which is okay, if not particularly good for a Chromebook. Still, this is a nice looking, premium Chromebook machine that you can definitely games on.

This Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming Chromebook is very similar to the Acer Cloud gaming Chromebook reviewed above (providing you pick up the right loadout), however only has eMMC storage and the Intel Core i5-1235U, whilst decent, isn’t quite as powerful as the option in the Acer machine.

However, it does have considerably superior battery life: hitting above 12 hours on battery saver mode at half battery, which is impressive indeed considering the CPU and the display.

Onto that display, you once again get a 1600p 120Hz screen, ideal for cloud gaming at high FPS. The port selection is decent, although once again you’re capped at 8GB or memory which can limit your ability to play certain games on Steam for ChromeOS.

Finally, be aware that much less powerful ARM Cortex variants exist of these machines that are often confusingly labelled as Intel – these Chromebooks will not be compatible with Steam for ChromeOS and aren’t recommended as gaming Chromebooks.