I’ve been disappointed with this year’s Prime Day Chromebook deals! The price tags haven’t been as shockingly low as I expected. However, Amazon’s Prime Day discount on the Asus Chromebook CX1 represents the best deal I can find, and it’s what I think most people want.
The Asus Chromebook CX1 is down to $180 on Amazon (28% off). Even at its MSRP of $250, it’s a good buy—at this price, it’s fantastic.
Here’s why I like it. First, it has 8GB of RAM. That may sound a little stupid, but memory matters in Chromebooks, especially if you tend to run with a dozen or more open tabs. A 1080p screen isn’t an absolute must but it’s close, and the 15.6-inch size makes for a very comfortable screen to look at without the need for an external monitor.
I’m not worried about the processor—an Intel Celeron N4500, which is perfectly reasonable—or the storage. Chromebooks tend to work in the cloud, so 64GB is really more than you’ll need.
I will say this, however: before you jump on this deal, take a screenshot of the listing. Weirdly, the Amazon description lists all of the above specifications, but the listing itself offers a choice of three different models, which change when you click a specific model. (This is an extremely annoying thing that Amazon does.)
The deal above highlights when you click the “Pentium N6000” button. The processor isn’t the issue, though the Pentium N6000 is a tad better: 3.3GHz turbo speed versus the 2.8GHz speed of the Celeron N4500. The N6000 also can process four instruction threads versus the two threads that the N4500 can handle. I just want you to make sure you have a record of the things that matter—like the screen and memory—just in case there’s an issue.
I took a screenshot of the listing for you to check against, too:
Asus / Amazon
Asus / Amazon
Asus / Amazon
You always have to be a bit wary of retailers dumping older hardware, but I think this is a solid deal on a good Chromebook. There aren’t many, but I’ve gone through listings on Amazon, Best Buy, and more for the best Chromebook deals for Prime Day. Remember, Prime Day ends today, July 17! Grab this while you can.
Get the Asus Chromebook CX1 for 28% off on Prime DayNote that this is a Prime Day deal for Amazon Prime members. Despite Prime Day ending soon, you should get yourself a Prime subscription. If you’ve never had a Prime subscription before, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial and take advantage of these sales now.
And if you’re looking for discounts in other tech categories, be sure to check out PCWorld’s comprehensive Prime Day deals coverage!
More Prime Day deals
Author: Mark Hachman, Senior Editor, PCWorld
Mark has written for PCWorld for the last decade, with 30 years of experience covering technology. He has authored over 3,500 articles for PCWorld alone, covering PC microprocessors, peripherals, and Microsoft Windows, among other topics. Mark has written for publications including PC Magazine, Byte, eWEEK, Popular Science and Electronic Buyers' News, where he shared a Jesse H. Neal Award for breaking news. He recently handed over a collection of several dozen Thunderbolt docks and USB-C hubs because his office simply has no more room.