Acer Chromebook 14 CB3-431 - (Intel Celeron N3160, 4GB RAM, 32GB eMMC, 14 inch FHD Display, Google Chrome OS, Silver)

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Workflows, are in essence, a sequence of app usage and OS-based tasks. Even if you overcome the app hurdles, workflows are where you're more likely to run into a deal-breaker. And these type of deal-breakers are something you often can't discover until you actually try to work it through.

Greetings all! I wanted to share my experiences installing Windows 10 Home on the Acer Chromebook 14 cb3-431 for anyone who might be considering doing something similar. I have alternative Android and online Bible resources and I can use them in a pinch when I need to, but in no way would I want that to be my primary mode of operating. There are hardly any tablets in this display size range anymore. For subnotebooks, on the other hand, it is the standard format. It is a well-built and attractive-looking device, IMO. I've used it extensively as a chromebook and have been able to do much of the work that I need to get done on a traditional laptop. There are a few areas where Chrome OS falls short (regardless of device) which prevents it from being a true daily-driver. Chrome OS has evolved into an entirely different beast. It may not be quite as user-friendly as Windows, and it’s still a pain to locate specific files and change system settings, but it is now compatible with existing Android apps on the Google Play Store. At least, in theory.

Reviews for the Acer Chromebook 14 CB3-431-C9WH

Performance is surprisingly good. Win10 runs better on this device than Gallium OS did... which is the surprising part. Windows 10 seems to handle the Celeron N3160 very efficiently. It's early in my testing, but battery life seems to be upward of 10 hours. Working with my apps, it feels no different than a native Windows notebook. Acer computers are designed for a variety of purposes, including ultrabooks for mobile use, gaming laptops for gamers, affordable options for everyday tasks, and 2-in-1 convertible laptops for versatility. Acer's product portfolio also includes tablets that offer portable computing and multimedia capabilities. Acer Chromebook 14 review: Premium styling, long battery life and a big screen make this a tempting Chromebook

I removed the write-protect screw, and installed custom firmware. Once that was done, I wiped out Chrome OS and installed Gallium OS, which is a Linux distribution that is highly optimized to run on chromebooks. All hardware components are supported and the look and feel running Linux on this thing is extremely good... especially considering the processor.Based on what you described how you would use a chromebook, it sounds like photo work will be the deal-breaker. At one time, I was using Crossover (WINE for Android/Chrome) that allowed me to install the Windows version of e-Sword on my Pixelbook. Worked adequately until a Chrome/Android update broke Crossover. Because this is a Chrome OS laptop, I was unable to run our usual suite of benchmarking tests. On this occasion, I opened up WebGL’s Aquarium benchmark to test the Chromebook 14’s graphics capabilities. It handled the lowest setting with ease, successfully reaching the laptop’s maximum refresh rate at 60fps. With 5,000 fish on screen, though, the laptop struggled to reach over 9fps.

I don't have any first-hand experience with SmugMug, but there are Chrome extensions for SmugMug and an Android app for it so between those, you should be able to interact with SmugMug as you currently do. Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List. I ran with Linux on this device for 6-9 months. It worked very well. Even one of the key pieces of software I rely on (that is only available on iOS, macOS, and Windows) was easily installed via WINE. It ran flawlessly after installing without the usual need to tweak WINE settings to get things looking correctly. Anything web-based is going to really shine on the chromebook... because the version of Chrome on chromebooks is the full desktop-strength version, not the mobile version you find on Android or iOS.I don't have Apple Music so I'm not sure how well that would work on a Chromebook. But there is an Android app for it and I've heard that people have had great success running it on chromebooks. If you rely on a particular piece of (Mac or Windows) software then that's a major deal breaker. For me, that is e-Sword Bible software. Although I also have Logos (which has an online version) it doesn't have the full features that their native Windows or Mac versions have. The advantage of subnotebooks is that the entire laptop can be small and therefore easily portable. The smaller display also has the advantage of requiring less power, which further improves battery life and thus mobility. The disadvantage is that reading texts is more strenuous on the eyes. High resolutions are more likely to be found in standard laptops.» To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.