ASUS Chromebook C300: At First Glance
At first sight, the ASUS Chromebook C300 may give the impression of a low-standard, fragile device. However, this laptop comes with a few decent features that will catch your attention.
Some of these features include impressive battery life and brilliant stereo speakers. However, with performance in view, the ASUS Chromebook C300 is best for handling basic computing tasks like video streaming.
Notwithstanding, like most Chromebooks, this ASUS Chromebook, which was released in 2014, is relatively cheap. To give more details, this laptop had a starting price of $199.99 in January 2022 when I wrote this review.
Most importantly, with its relatively low price tag, does the ASUS Chromebook C300 have enough power to give users what they want? To find out, ensure that you keep reading to the end of this article.
ASUS Chromebook C300: Design, Dimension, and Weight
To begin with, most Chromebooks come with a very simple design. This is because Chromebooks are mostly inexpensive, and their manufacturers are trying to cut costs.
That said, the ASUS Chromebook C300 features a plastic chassis that makes it lightweight. However, due to its plastic build, this Chromebook is far from solid and durable.
Therefore, it is best you handle this laptop with care.
On a positive note, the laptop is available in a variety of vibrant colors, which give it a bit of elegance. These colors include black, red, yellow, and blue.
Furthermore, the lid of this laptop is beautified with a white “ASUS” logo at the center. Also, there is a colorful Chrome logo placed on the top-right corner of the lid.
Moving on, the ASUS Chromebook C300 features a 13.3-inch TN display screen with an HD (1366 x 768) resolution. This display offers decent picture quality for casual video streaming and web surfing.
However, the display has very poor viewing angles. Therefore, colors will look washed out when viewing the display from the sides or at extreme angles.
To make matters worse, this display lies within relatively thick bezels, which may cause some obstruction. On a bright note, the top bezel houses an HD webcam at the center.
Therefore, the ASUS Chromebook C300 will serve you well in live video streaming and casual Skype call. However, with this webcam, this laptop may not be your best option if you love taking pictures.
Moreover, on the bottom bezel, there is a shiny “ASUS” logo brightly placed in the middle.
Proceeding to the base, this Chromebook features a chiclet-style keyboard and an extra-spacious touchpad on the bottom. This keyboard operates with a high-quality mechanism that makes it responsive and accurate for typing.
In the same fashion, the touchpad on the ASUS Chromebook C300 supports multi-finger gestures for easy navigation and usage. Also, this touchpad is very responsive and accurate.
Are you a lover of music? if yes, then the two high-quality stereo speakers on this ASUS Chromebook will make you happy.
Specifically, the ASUS Chromebook C300’s speakers are positioned at the right and left edges of the laptop’s base. Furthermore, these speakers are facing downward to offer you an amplified sound when this laptop is resting on a flat table.
Moreover, despite looking small, these speakers deliver a pleasant sound quality. Also, they are loud enough to fill a medium-sized room with sound.
Moving on to the ports, the ASUS Chromebook C300 features a few basic ports. Basically, this laptop comes with only one USB 2.0 port and a lock slot on its right side.
The left side, on the other hand, houses the charging port, an HDMI port, a USB 3.0 port, an SD card slot, and a headphone jack. For wireless connectivity, this Chromebook features Bluetooth 4.0 and dual-band 802.11 b/g/n WiFi.
Moving on to dimension and weight, the ASUS Chromebook C300 measure 330.2 x 231.14 x 22.86 mm (W x D x H) and weighs just 1397 g. With this dimension and weight, this laptop is just light and portable enough to carry around easily.
However, it isn’t light enough when compared to the Acer R11 Chromebook. Specifically, the Acer R11 Chromebook measures 294 x 204 x 19.20 mm (W x D x H) and weighs only 1250 g.
In conclusion, the ASUS Chromebook C300 comes with a very simple design, just like most affordable Chromebooks. However, it is quite disappointing that the laptop comes with a few ports.
Hence, I will rate the ASUS Chromebook C300 an eight out of ten in this design review section.
ASUS Chromebook C300: Processor (CPU) Performance
Coming to the processor, the ASUS Chromebook C300 runs on an Intel Celeron N2830 processor. Furthermore, this processor features a dual-core and a cache memory of 1 MB.
Also, the processor has a base frequency of 2.16 GHz and a maximum frequency of 2.41 GHz. Just like most Chromebooks, the ASUS Chromebook C300 is only capable of handling basic computing tasks with this CPU.
Therefore, you will have no problem browsing the web or editing word documents on the laptop. However, you might experience some slowdowns when running demanding apps like Corel Draw or performing heavy multitasking on the laptop.
To give you more information on the performance of this ASUS Chromebook, I will now share the laptop’s result on a WebXPRT 2013 benchmark test. WebXPRT 2013 is a web-based benchmark that uses Javascript to measure the processing performance of a Chromebook.
Furthermore, on this web-based benchmark, a high score signifies better processing power. In this test, the ASUS Chromebook C300 achieved a score of 640 points, which is well above the 400 points category average.
Comparatively, the Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga 11e scored 286 points, which is far below the ASUS Chromebook C300’s 640 points.
Thus, based on the result from this benchmark test, I will conclude this review section by rating the ASUS Chromebook C300 an eight out of ten.
ASUS Chromebook C300: Memory (RAM) Performance
The ASUS Chromebook C300 comes with a standard memory of 2 GB DDR3L-1600 SDRAM in its single slot. Moreover, the maximum memory size that this Chromebook supports is 4 GB RAM.
Therefore, it is not possible to upgrade the RAM of this laptop to more than 4GB. Notwithstanding, 4 GB memory on this Chromebook is just enough for handling day-to-day computing tasks.
Therefore, with 4 GB RAM, the ASUS Chromebook C300 should be able to handle word processing, internet surfing, and video playing with ease. Additionally, this Chromebook should be able to perform light multitasking.
To give more details, the ASUS Chromebook C300 will perform smoothly when you open up to 8 Chrome tabs concurrently. However, with its 4 GB RAM, resource-heavy apps such as Adobe Premiere and Microsoft VB sure will make this laptop slow down.
Moving on, I will now present to you the ASUS Chromebook C300’s result on an Octane V2.0 test. In case you’re curious, the Octane V2.0 test is a benchmark developed by Google that measures how fast a computer’s browser can load pages.
Also, a high score on this Octane 2.0 test indicates a better performance. Unfortunately, the ASUS Chromebook C300 scored 6606 Points on this test, which is way below the category average of 20,000 points.
Also, the ASUS Chromebook C300’s score of 6606 points falls below the Acer R11 Chromebook’s 10237 points.
In conclusion, with its 4 GB RAM, this laptop delivers good performance for light computing tasks. However, the laptop falls short when compared to another Chromebook in a benchmark test.
Therefore, to end this memory review section, I will rate the ASUS Chromebook C300 a seven out of ten.
ASUS Chromebook C300: Storage Options and Performance
When it comes to storage, the ASUS Chromebook C300 features an eMMC storage type, just like most Chromebooks. Sadly, the maximum storage size supported by this Chromebook is just 32 GB.
As a matter of fact, 32 GB of storage space will be insufficient for users to save all their important files. Thankfully, this laptop comes with one SD card slot for expanding its storage capacity.
Besides, as with most Chromebooks, this laptop comes with free 100 GB Google Drive storage. Thus, with the ASUS Chromebook C300, you get up to three different storage options for storing files.
As our custom at www.itechguides.com, I’m supposed to include the ASUS Chromebook C300’s result on a CrystalDiskMark benchmark test. For clarity, this benchmark test measures the performance of a computer’s storage drive.
Unfortunately, Chromebooks do not support the majority of benchmark test tools because they run on Chrom eOS. Therefore, I was unable to obtain the CrystalDiskMark benchmark test results of the ASUS Chromebook C300.
Hence, I will be rating this Chromebook depending on the number of storage options that it possesses. Thus, in this review section, I will rate the ASUS Chromebook C300 an eight out of ten.
ASUS Chromebook C300: Graphics Card Performance
In terms of graphics configuration, the ASUS Chromebook C300 features integrated Intel HD Graphics. This Chromebook’s GPU has a base frequency of 313 MHz and can be boosted to 750 MHz.
For clarity, as an integrated graphics card, this laptop’s GPU shares the same memory as the processor. This is because the GPU is embedded into the processor.
As a result, with this Intel HD Graphics, the ASUS Chromebook C300 won’t be able to run demanding apps or games. Notwithstanding, the laptop will easily run less-demanding Android games like Zuma Sparkle.
To be certain about how well the ASUS Chromebook C300 can perform with this GPU, I’ll now highlight the laptop’s score on a 3DMark benchmark test. 3DMark test is a benchmark that tests the 3D graphics rendering performance of a computer.
Moreover, a computer achieving a high score on this test indicates better performance. Thus, on this test, the ASUS Chromebook C300 scored 171 points.
Sadly, this score is way below that of the ASUS ZenBook Flip UX360CA. Specifically, with its Intel HD Graphics 515, the ASUS ZenBook Flip UX360CA scored 617 points on the 3DMark test.
Hence, a rating of seven out of ten is ideal for the ASUS Chromebook C300 in this GPU review section.
ASUS Chromebook C300: Battery Life and Performance
When it comes to battery life, Chromebooks are known to be the best among other types of laptops. This is because Chromebooks use a power-conservative operating system called Chrome OS.
That said, the ASUS Chromebook C300 comes with a 3-Cells 48 Whrs Lithium-Ion battery. According to ASUS, this laptop can run for up to 10 hours with this battery.
However, it’s important to verify whether this 10-hour claim is correct or not. Therefore, I’ll now share the results of the ASUS Chromebook C300 on a battery rundown test.
This battery rundown test involves continuous web surfing via a WIFI connection on the laptop until it dies. Impressively, the ASUS Chromebook C300 delivered a battery life of 14 hours at the end of this test.
Comparatively, this laptop has a longer battery life than the Dell XPS 13-9343, which lasted 9 hours on the same battery test.
In conclusion, the ASUS Chromebook C300 delivers better battery performance than most other laptops. Thus, I will rate the ASUS Chromebook C300 a nine out of ten in this battery review section.
Frequently Asked Questions
As of the time I wrote this review in January 2022, the ASUS Chromebook C300 had a starting price of $199.99.
The ASUS Chromebook C300 was released in 2014.
No! The ASUS Chromebook C300 doesn’t come with a touchscreen.
The major difference is the Operating System. A regular laptop runs on operating systems like Windows or Linux.
Chromebooks, on the other hand, run on the less-demanding Chrome OS.
Yes, it does. The ASUS Chromebook C300 has Bluetooth 4.0 and dual-band 802.11 b/g/n WiFi for wireless connectivity.
Conclusion
The ASUS Chromebook C300 is an affordable laptop that comes with a portable and lightweight design. Impressively, this Chromebook is a laptop you can take to your workplace or classroom without a charger.
Specifically, this laptop has an impressive battery life that allows you to use it for the whole day without having to plug it in. However, just like most Chromebooks, this laptop can only perform basic computing tasks.
Therefore, if you need a laptop for basic office tasks, you should consider buying this ASUS Chromebook C300.
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