ASUS Chromebook 14" CX1405CKA-BS01T-CB, Celeron N4500, 8GB, 128GB eMMC, Pure Grey

The ASUS Chromebook CX1405CKA-BS01T-CB is a budget 14-inch touchscreen Chromebook that handles everyday tasks fine but struggles with anything demanding. The Celeron N4500 and eMMC storage are the weak links, though 8GB of RAM and a Full HD touchscreen help offset the pain. At CAD 400 to CAD 450, it's a decent pick for students who need a cheap, lightweight machine for writing and browsing.

Let's be honest about the Celeron N4500. In our database, this CPU lands in the 1st percentile for laptops, which is about as close to the bottom as you can get without falling off the chart. It's a 2-core, 1.1GHz chip with no turbo headroom to speak of. Paired with 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM, which itself sits in the 13th percentile, you're looking at a machine built for patience. ChromeOS helps a lot here. The OS is light enough that basic tasks feel snappier than the specs suggest. But open ten tabs, a YouTube video, and a Google Meet call at once, and you'll start seeing lag.

The 128GB eMMC storage is another weak spot, landing in the 5th percentile. eMMC is slower than even budget SATA SSDs, so app launches and file transfers take their sweet time. The integrated Intel UHD Graphics are fine for video playback and casual Android games, but the gaming score of 4.4 out of 100 tells you everything you need to know. This is not a gaming laptop, not even a little bit. The 50Wh battery is decent for a machine this size, and Wi-Fi 6 support is a nice touch for a budget Chromebook.

Stacked against the competition, the ASUS CX14 is playing a different game entirely. The Apple MacBook Air M4, Lenovo Slim 7, HP OmniBook X Flip, Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition, and Samsung Galaxy Book6 Pro all cost several times more and deliver performance this Chromebook can't touch. That's not a fair fight, and it's not meant to be. The CX14 exists for people who want a functional laptop for under CAD 500, not for people cross-shopping premium ultrabooks.

Where it gets more interesting is against other budget Chromebooks and cheap Windows laptops. The 8GB of RAM is actually a point in its favor, many budget machines still ship with 4GB. The touchscreen is another differentiator at this price. But the Celeron N4500 is a real liability. A refurbished Lenovo ThinkPad or Dell Latitude from a few years back with an i5 and an SSD will run circles around this thing for similar money, assuming you're okay with Windows and a chunkier chassis.

Pricing on this unit is a bit of a moving target. We're seeing CAD 400 to CAD 450 across two Canadian listings, and the spread matters when you're shopping in this bracket. The lower end of that range, around CAD 400, feels fair for what you get, especially with the open box discount baked in. At CAD 450, you're creeping into territory where a used or refurbished Windows laptop with a proper SSD and a better CPU starts looking tempting. The affordability score sits in the 88th percentile, which tracks. This is a cheap laptop, and for students who just need something to write papers and watch lectures, it's a reasonable buy. Just don't expect it to age gracefully.

The ASUS Chromebook CX1405CKA-BS01T-CB sits in that budget Chromebook bracket where you're mostly asking one question: can this thing handle a full day of tabs, docs, and video calls without making me want to throw it out a window? The short answer is mostly yes, with some caveats. You get a 14-inch Full HD touchscreen, 8GB of RAM, 128GB of eMMC storage, and an Intel Celeron N4500 inside. It's a Geek Squad Certified Open Box unit, which explains the aggressive pricing we're seeing in Canada, around CAD 400 to CAD 450 depending on the vendor.

This is a Chromebook for students and light productivity users. ChromeOS keeps things lean, so the modest specs go further than they would on a Windows machine. The touchscreen is a nice bonus at this price, and the 1.39kg weight means it won't wreck your shoulder in a backpack. But the Celeron N4500 is a 2-core chip from 2021, and it shows when you push past a handful of tabs.

Is the ASUS CX14 good for everyday use? For writing, browsing, streaming, and Google Workspace stuff, sure. For anything heavier, you'll feel the ceiling fast. This is a machine that rewards realistic expectations.

Skip this one if you need real performance. Anyone doing photo or video editing, software development, or heavy multitasking will hit the Celeron N4500's limits within minutes. Gamers should look elsewhere entirely, this thing scores 4.4 out of 100 for gaming in our database. If you need more storage or faster load times, the 128GB eMMC drive will frustrate you. And if you're the type who keeps 20 browser tabs open while streaming music and running a video call, you'll be happier with a refurbished Windows laptop with an i5 processor and a proper SSD, even if it costs a bit more upfront. The CX14 is for light users only, and that's not a knock, it's just the reality of the hardware.

Should you buy the ASUS Chromebook CX1405CKA-BS01T-CB? If you're a student or casual user who lives in Google's ecosystem, needs a lightweight machine for writing, browsing, and streaming, and can grab it near the CAD 400 mark, it's a solid deal. The touchscreen, 8GB of RAM, and decent build quality make it feel less cheap than it is. ChromeOS will keep it usable for basic tasks for a few years.

But if you're planning to do anything beyond the basics, or if you're the type who keeps 20 tabs open and wonders why everything is slow, look elsewhere. The Celeron N4500 is the bottleneck here, and no amount of ChromeOS optimization can fully hide it. This is a single-purpose machine, and that purpose is light productivity on a budget.