CTL's Chromebook PX141EXT (starts at $350; $420 as tested) is geared toward schools and government use. This 14-inch model might not have many luxuries, but it's sturdy and comfortable to use, and it offers a touch screen, ample connectivity, and long battery life. It's a no-nonsense Chromebook that won't compete with deluxe consumer models in the Chromebook Plus tier and at the high end, but it delivers fine value for its target market, earning our Editors' Choice award for that crowd.

Design: A Quality Chassis With Minimal Frills

Aimed at educational and government-agency fleet use, this CTL model has an all-black design that is as understated as it gets. Only the small logos on the lid and just below the screen catch the eye.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

Although the Chromebook's plastic construction exhibits minor flex, it remains within acceptable limits. The material is reasonably thick and feels like it can withstand wear and tear. The PX141EXT has passed MIL-STD 810H testing for drop resistance and functionality in extreme conditions.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

At 0.74 by 12.9 by 9 inches, the PX141EXT is similarly sized to other 14-inch Chromebooks we've tried. While the bottom display bezel is thicker than expected, the display can open a full 180 degrees. This feature is particularly handy for sharing content with someone across from you, especially as this model has a touch screen—a feature still relatively uncommon among Chromebooks. On the downside, the CTL's 3.6-pound carry weight is somewhat heavy; the 14-inch Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 is nearly half a pound lighter.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

The laptop's connectivity is impressive, including two USB 3.2 Type-C ports (either suitable for charging), two USB 3.2 Type-A ports, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a microSD flash-card slot. Internally, it offers Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 wireless. Its security features include a Kensington cable lock slot and a physical webcam privacy shutter.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

The PX141EXT has just enough power to handle online tasks, with a quad-core Intel Processor N100, integrated Intel UHD graphics, 8GB of RAM, and a 128GB eMMC storage drive. (A stripped-down base model, the PX141E, has a lower-resolution 1,366-by-768-pixel non-touch display and half the storage.) While this hardware might not look impressive for a Windows laptop, ChromeOS is pretty lightweight and runs just fine with it.

CTL intends its Chromebooks to be used for the long haul. You can order one with up to four years of warranty, including accidental damage coverage. The company provides free RMA shipping and a five-day service turnaround, as well as fleet leasing programs with configuration and deployment services including zero-touch provisioning. Spare parts are also available, and CTL has a refurb and recycling program.

Using the CTL Chromebook PX141EXT: An Everyday Productivity Companion

I found the CTL's keyboard quite comfortable for brief typing sessions. I achieved a top speed of 120 words per minute with perfect accuracy in the MonkeyType online typing test. The keys have a good travel distance, and I could easily tell when they reached the top or bottom of the keystroke. The keyboard isn't backlit, but that's not expected in this price range, and it's one less thing to worry about breaking. The touchpad, while small, felt comfortable to use. My fingers glided smoothly over its anti-glare surface, and physical clicks required just the right amount of pressure.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

Creature comforts are limited on a basic Chromebook like this. The 720p webcam above the screen has a blurry picture, though it proved mostly grain-free even in low light. About the only missing port is an HDMI output for an external monitor, but you can use a USB-C DisplayPort adapter. I also noted that, because of the low-powered hardware, this Chromebook runs silently since it needs no cooling fan. The chassis barely got lukewarm in my testing.

The PX141EXT's screen does the job just fine for productivity. The 1,920-by-1,080-pixel resolution is clear enough for its 14-inch size, and the anti-glare surface and touch support are great additions. Colors look good, though the brightness could be better; I found myself turning it up to 80% or 90%, even in a dim room, for comfort.

Although the CTL's speakers aren't top-notch—audio is quite flat and can be a bit harsh—they do get surprisingly loud. Like the rest of this Chromebook, they'll serve perfectly well for the target audience.

The Intel N100 CPU does a decent job for web browsing, even with a bunch of tabs open in Chrome. Thanks to the 8GB of RAM, multiple ChromeOS-typical tasks run without a hitch. Also, the 128GB drive has plenty of local storage space for a Chromebook. Although it uses slower eMMC flash memory technology instead of the snappier UFS found in Chromebook Plus models, I noticed it still booted up and launched apps in just a few seconds.

Benchmark Performance Testing: Not the Fastest, But That’s Fine

To recap, the test configuration of the CTL Chromebook PX141EXT I received has an Intel Processor N100 (four cores, 3.4GHz boost speed), Intel UHD Graphics, 8GB of RAM, and a 128GB eMMC drive. As this model is intended for bulk purchasing by government agencies and educational bodies, we won't be making strict price comparisons among the systems presented here, as pricing on machines like this one tends to be negotiated based on volume and other factors.

Most of the Chromebooks we've tested recently are Chromebook Plus models, which offer more processing power compared to the PX141EXT. This group includes the Acer Chromebook Plus 514, the Asus Chromebook Plus CX34, the HP Chromebook Plus x360, and the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus. While the PX141EXT may be outmatched, it should still meet the needs of its intended user base.

Productivity and Content Creation Tests

Our ChromeOS productivity tests evaluate overall system performance with three key benchmarks.

The first, PCMark for Android, performs assorted productivity operations in a smartphone-style window, giving a sense of Android app performance on the device. Since Chromebooks rely heavily on the Chrome browser to access web apps and services, we also run two popular browser-based benchmarks. Basemark Web 3.0 runs in a Chrome tab to combine low-level JavaScript calculations with CSS and WebGL content, while WebXPRT 4 uses HTML5, JavaScript, and WebAssembly workloads to simulate tasks ranging from photo enhancement and OCR scans to sales graphs and online homework.

In all the tests, the PX141EXT lagged significantly behind the others, which was expected due to its low-powered Pentium, as opposed to Core-class, Intel processor. Its performance was closest to that of the Core i3-based Acer. While it can still handle many of the same tasks, it won't be quite as quick in executing them.

Component and Battery Life Tests

Two other Android benchmarks focus on the CPU and GPU, respectively. Primate Labs' Geekbench uses all available cores and threads to simulate real-world applications ranging from PDF rendering and speech recognition to machine learning, while GFXBench 5 stress-tests both low-level routines like texturing and high-level, game-like image rendering that exercises graphics and compute shaders. Geekbench delivers a numeric score, while GFXBench counts frames per second (fps).

Finally, to test a Chromebook's battery, we loop the playback of a 720p video file with screen brightness set at 50%, volume at 100%, and Wi-Fi and keyboard backlighting disabled until the system quits.

While the other units easily topped the PX141EXT in these processing and graphics tests, they saw the most variation in how their Intel integrated graphics performed. (The Core 3-based Samsung Galaxy model far outpaced the others, with its newer-than-the-rest CPU.) All, though, are on the whole only adequate for simple tasks and browser-based gaming.

On the upside, the PX141EXT showcased excellent battery life, lasting over 14 hours and matching the Asus contestant and leaving all but the premium Samsung far behind. However, I noticed the screen was rather dim at the 50% brightness setting used for testing; increasing it for real-world usage will reduce the runtime somewhat.