Using Steam on a ChromeBook Is Shockingly Good, Actually

Did you cognize that Steam was disposable connected immoderate Chromebooks? I didn't, until my brag sent maine a Chromebook Plus and I stumbled connected the installation enactment successful its menus. A fewer clicks and a login later, and I was successful business, but however bully could it be?

It turns out, if you person 1 of these newfangled Chromebook Pluses, you mightiness person much gaming options that you think, and the acquisition is really downright good!

It Was Dead Easy to Install

The installation process for Steam (which is successful Beta) connected a Chromebook Plus could not beryllium simpler. If you deed the "Everything" button, which utilized to beryllium known arsenic the Launcher button, and past hunt for "Steam", and the installer shortcut volition travel up. This is pre-installed connected Chromebook Plus laptops that are compatible. So if you don't spot it, that means it won't enactment with your Chromebook anyway, sorry!

So Many of My Steam Games Work Thanks to Proton

ChromeOS isn't precisely Linux, but it's closely-related and tin tally Linux bundle wrong peculiar app containers. You whitethorn besides person heard that, acknowledgment to projects similar the Steam Deck and bundle similar Proton, Linux gaming is successful a superb spot close now.

When I clicked the small penguin fastener successful Steam to amusement games listed arsenic moving with Linux either natively oregon done Proton, determination were virtually hundreds of options from my library.

Of the games I tried, I'd accidental lone astir 1 successful 10 had issues related to compatibility. Everything other worked, speech from show issues, but fixed the specs of the system, that's not excessively surprising.

The Little Core i3 Is Shockingly Performant

Speaking of performance, my Acer Chromebook Plus 514 sits precisely connected the minimum requirements enactment for Steam connected a Chromebook. It has an eight-core Intel i3-N505 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and of people the Intel integrated graphics that travel with that processor. It besides has 128GB of space, which tin beryllium an contented for reasons I'll get to successful a moment.

Now, with these humble specifications, you mightiness ideate that games would play poorly, but if you, similar me, haven't touched a machine with entry-level components similar these successful a while, you mightiness beryllium successful for a shock.

There are decidedly games that are simply ne'er going to tally connected this, but if you're astute astir your enactment you're really going to person a decent time.

Seventh-Generation Console Games Run Almost Perfectly

While it varies, I recovered that games from the Xbox 360 and older generations ran better than they did connected those archetypal consoles. For example, Fallout 3 connected mean settings astatine 1080p runs astatine adjacent oregon astatine 60fps. Final Fantasy 13 astatine 1080 beauteous overmuch stuck to 30fps successful the segments I played. Broadly, this Chromebook offers astir the aforesaid acquisition arsenic a Nintendo Switch, though with higher framework rates. Here I'm moving the archetypal The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion astatine a coagulated 60fps.

2D games are, of course, a given, but games similar Half Life 2 tally with zero issue, which is mind-blowing considering that I built a alternatively costly machine backmost successful the time conscionable to play that crippled astatine 30fps.

There Are Some Problems That Need Attention

It's not cleanable by immoderate stretch, and this is simply a beta diagnostic arsenic of this writing, truthful immoderate knowing is deserved. Just arsenic with the Steam Deck, there's nary warrant that a fixed crippled moving done a compatibility furniture volition enactment correctly, adjacent the ones that I spent immoderate clip testing, since they mightiness tally into errors later. I would truly similar a Chromebook mentation of the "Steam Deck Verified" program, which shows that games volition enactment connected a Steam Deck.

Luckily, Steam has a bully refund policy, truthful if you bargain a crippled specifically to play it connected your Chromebook Plus, and it doesn't work, you tin get your wealth backmost easily. That said, the lone crippled I played that ran with glitches (as opposed to not moving astatine all) was Commanche 4, and I'm not definite that's not conscionable the game's ain issue.

A overmuch bigger occupation is the information that there's seemingly nary mode to instal Steam games connected an outer drive. It volition lone instal them to the meager interior SSD. Now, luckily, astir of the games that really tally good connected this strategy are nether 10GB, truthful there's really country for a half-dozen titles, but I'd emotion to person the enactment to instal games connected my 128GB SD card, conscionable arsenic I tin connected my Lenovo Legion Go handheld, oregon immoderate different level that runs Steam. It mightiness person thing to bash with the stricter information connected Chromebooks, but I anticipation Valve tin fig thing retired for the last release.

Chromebooks Are Good for Gaming Now?!

I had an implicit blast hooking up my Xbox controller and pretending my Chromebook Plus was a portable Xbox 360 for a weekend, and if I were a pupil contiguous and got 1 of these machines (we paid $329.99) I would beryllium stoked. I would ne'er urge that anyone bargain a Chromebook for gaming, but if you're getting 1 of these anyway, and you already person a clump of games successful your Steam library, you virtually person thing to lose.

Even immoderate much modern games mightiness beryllium playable astatine murphy settings, though I can't marque immoderate promises. What I bash cognize is that arsenic the entry-level for Chromebooks becomes much almighty each year, these computers are primed to entree much and much of the monolithic PC gaming room connected Steam, and it would beryllium beauteous astonishing if, successful a procreation oregon three, PlayStation 4 people games go possible, but for present this plucky small laptop is an fantabulous 3D retro gaming surprise.

It's excessively atrocious that I tin lone usage Steam this mode astatine present, truthful nary of the PC games I bought done GOG, for example, tin beryllium tally rather arsenic easily. However, present that I cognize however overmuch grunt a basal Chromebook Plus has these days, I'm keen to effort my manus astatine emulation for systems similar the PlayStation 2 next, oregon getting a due DOS emulator moving with immoderate of my GOG titles. I besides program to spot if I tin usage a CRT show and my arcade instrumentality to crook my Chromebook into an impromptu retro arcade system. I mightiness adjacent get immoderate enactment done connected it astatine immoderate point!