ASUS Chromebook 14" CX54 Plus Fog Silver Review

The ASUS CX54 Chromebook Plus is a solid Chrome OS machine that gets the basics right. It's got a fantastic screen, a great selection of ports, and it's built to be carried around all day without fuss. This isn't a laptop for heavy lifting, but for web browsing, streaming, and Google Workspace, it's more than enough.

Let's be real, the Intel 115U CPU lands in the 20th percentile, so it's not breaking any speed records. It'll handle dozens of Chrome tabs and your usual apps just fine, but don't expect to edit video on this thing. The integrated Intel graphics are exactly what you'd expect, making this a non-starter for gaming. The real star is that 500-nit, 2560x1600 screen, which is bright and sharp enough to make everything look great.

At around $600, the value proposition is a bit shaky. You're paying a premium for that excellent screen and port selection, but you're getting stuck with minimal storage and RAM. If those two things are your top priorities, it's a decent buy. If you need more space or power for the same cash, you can definitely do better.

Don't even compare this to the gaming laptops or MacBooks on the list; that's a different universe. The real question is whether you need a Chromebook. Compared to a budget Windows laptop at this price, the CX54 has a much better screen and build quality, but the Windows machine will likely have more storage and run full desktop apps. It's a trade-off between polish and flexibility.

Buy this if you live in Chrome, need a super portable machine with a great screen for media, and you're okay with Google's cloud storage. Don't buy it if you need local storage, more than 8GB of RAM, or you plan to do anything more demanding than casual browsing and streaming.