Intel representatives said Wednesday that the company currently doesn't have any plans to release an Evo specification for gaming, even as Evo PCs containing Intel's H-series gaming processors roll out this year. Still, the Evo specification itself will help define what features laptops shipping with Intel's new 12th-gen Core chips inside will include.

Intel formally released its new 12th-gen Core “Alder Lake” U-series and P-series processors on Wednesday, after originally announcing the chips in January. This was in conjunction with Alder Lake-H, the high-end notebook processor for the gaming market. It appears that Intel views content creation as the same target audience as gaming based on the response to an emailed question about an Evo badge for gaming PCs.

“We don't have plans for a gaming specific Evo brand at this time,” an Intel representative said in an emailed statement. “At CES, we did announce that you will see laptops with H-series processors pass Evo verification this year. Our research showed us that content creators have many of the same needs as the highly mobile, Intel Evo-buyer. They want larger screens, higher performance on the go AND responsiveness, battery life, instant wake and fast charge. “

How Evo will shape upcoming PCs

Intel announced the third edition of its Evo branding program in January as well. The company originally set out to create a set of specifications and experiences that would define a premium laptop experience — Project Athena — then created the “Evo” brand as a consumer-facing label to identify those laptops. The manufacturer said in January that it has expanded the Evo brand to include desktops, commercial PCs, and even a largely-absent group of folding PCs. They also said they're expanding the Evo brand to help identify peripherals such as Thunderbolt docks and displays.

Unfortunately, Intel hasn't published a consumer-facing Web page explaining what Evo is or how it can benefit consumers. Instead, they produced one-page marketing summaries such as the slide below. It's here that you can see what will be included inside an Evo PC, though the language is pretty dense.

Intel

Most of the new technologies are simple improvements over existing capabilities. Adaptive connected standby, for example, is just a more efficient way for your laptop to connect to a network while in sleep mode. Intel's third-edition Evo notebooks have moved to faster, more powerful memory as well as better connectivity with Wi-Fi 6E. One new feature will help define Evo laptops, though.

A new visual sensing controller will enable laptops to detect when you're near and unlock if it visually identifies you. Conversely, it will lock when you walk away. We've seen this before with certain Dell laptops, but now it's being extended to mainstream notebooks.

Likewise, more Evo PCs are being designed with 5G in mind. Josh Newman, Intel's vice president in charge of mobile innovation and also the general manager of the company's Client Computing Group, told reporters that more than eight Evo designs would include the new visual sensor and more than fifteen designs would include 5G.

Intel

Evo may influence the direction of external displays, too. Generally, external displays have shipped with HDMI or DisplayPort connections, even as the number of laptops with available Thunderbolt ports have grown. Thunderbolt connections can deliver both power and data. They connect to a Thunderbolt dock as an intermediary. The docks usually ship with their own DisplayPort or HDMI ports to connect to displays. Now, Intel says that they're seeing a shift to native Thunderbolt displays.

“We're seeing strong demand for Thunderbolt monitors especially as people look for simpler [work from home] setups and IT organizations are starting to re-configure offices for shared workstations,” Intel representatives said in a statement. “The Thunderbolt value proposition of simple connectivity to power accessories over a single cable, the reliability of Intel certification, and the performance enabled by the maximum bandwidth of 40 GB per second resonates strongly. All Thunderbolt monitors, as well as any PC, accessory, or cable must be certified to carry the Thunderbolt brand to ensure reliability.”

Finally, Intel still plans to still include a native app or technology to share photos, files, phone calls, and messages between multiple devices. This is part of the Screenovate technology that will apply to “select” Evo devices this holiday season. It's worth noting that Windows does this natively with a technology called Your Phone, but it doesn't support iPhones. Apple iPhones are listed as part of the device ecosystem that Screenovate supports, however.

If history is any guide, your next notebook's new processor launched today, as Intel unveiled a fresh lineup of 12th-gen Core CPUs for laptops—specifically the chips codenamed Alder Lake-P for mainstream notebooks, and Alder Lake-U for ultraportable PCs and tablets.

Intel ships about 80 percent of all notebook PC processors each year, meaning that you'll probably end up buying a notebook PC with one of these new chips inside. In January, Intel announced the Alder Lake-H, Alder Lake-P, and Alder Lake-U series, as part of Intel's notebook processor plans for 2022. Because of the way in which Intel rolls out its new chips, we already have our first review of the 12th-gen Core i9-12900HK, a fire-breathing, gaming-class processor that crushed the (older) laptop competition.

It's less likely, however, that you'll buy a gaming laptop in 2022 than a more mainstream device. Intel believes more than 250 different laptop models will include these new P- and U-series chips, which have already begun shipping. (Intel says that the proportions will favor the U series over the P series, roughly 75 percent to 25 percent.) Unfortunately, however, we don't yet have one of these new P-series or U-series notebooks in for testing, so we've instead summarized what we know of these new chips — including the specs, features, and estimated performance — in our summary below.

Don't count out AMD, Intel's chipmaking rival. The company recently announced Ryzen 6000 Mobile processors, which it is aggressively marketing at mainstream PCs. Our review of the new AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS chip showed it delivers game-changing performance for tiny laptops.

Intel's new Alder Lake-P chips: mainstream performance

Remember, Intel's Alder Lake-P series chips carve out a new product designation that hasn't existed before. Intel classifies the “P” processor as “performance thin and light,” implying that this will be its mainstream laptop offering. We're already seeing some business laptops adopt this processor, emphasizing performance without ditching the traditional laptop chassis for something thicker. The P-series chips consume 28 watts.

According to Dan Rogers, Intel's senior director of mobile product marketing, the reason to add a “P”-series processor wasn't for you, but for PC makers — Intel's existing processors allowed PC makers to push power consumption and performance upward to 28 watts, but they weren't taking advantage. Carving out the new “P” brand told customers and consumers alike that they could expect higher performance, he said.

Intel's Alder Lake-P chips will include up to six performance cores and eight efficiency cores, with a total of twenty threads. (This explainer can walk you through the difference between Alder Lake's new P-Cores and E-cores.) Processor speeds will begin at 1.5GHz for the performance or P-cores of the Core i3 chips, with up to 4.4GHz turbo options. At the high end, performance cores speeds will increase from a base clock of 1.8GHz, up to a maximum turbo clock speed of 4.8GHz.

Intel

Intel's Alder Lake-P series chips are designed for “enthusiast” levels of performance, but without some of the characteristics that would define a truly high-end PC powered by Intel's Alder Lake-H chips, Rogers said. For example, Intel's P-series chips lack the x8 PCI Express connection to the discrete GPU, because they aren't specifically designed for them. Instead, Intel's Alder Lake-P includes a pair of x4 PCI Express connections to connect to up to two SSDs. A pair of Thunderbolt 4 ports are supported as well, for connections to external Thunderbolt docks or external displays.

“The vast majority of P-series systems will be running integrated graphics,” Rogers said. Laptops with discrete GPUs attached to P-series parts will ship, but will be “less common,” Rogers said.

Instead of discrete GPU support, an Alder Lake P-series notebook will include a similar integrated Xe graphics core that's similar to Intel's 11th-gen integrated GPUs: up to 96EUs, with support for four 4K displays. As the chart above notes, the differences between the Core i3, i5, and i7 Alder Lake-P processors extend to graphics. As the number of EU cores decreases, you can expect the graphics performance to decrease as well.

Intel

The new Alder Lake P-serie s does allow for the same variety of memory support also found inside both Intel's desktop version of Alder Lake and its mobile H-series chips: DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200, LPDDR5-5200, and LPDDR4x-4267. That will allow for some flexibility if you need to upgrade your laptop.

12th-gen Alder lake desktop chips

Intel Core i5-12600K

MSRP: $289

Best Prices Today: $279.99 at B & H Photo | $294.99 at Best Buy | $319.99 at Newegg

Intel is also offering an Intel imaging chip, the IMX488, that you may see in some laptops; Intel also refers to this as the Intel IPU 6.0. This probably won't be highlighted on the list of specifications, though Intel is promising you'll see better webcam performance as a result. (Intel is still recommending a 720p webcam as part of its premium Evo brand, because the size of the 1080p camera modules can be too large to fit inside some laptop bezels.) Intel is also including a new intelligent audio noise suppression capability, so that your roommate vacuuming in the background won't break into your Zoom call.

From a performance standpoint, Intel is using the argument that it can't make generation-to-generation comparisons, as there were no 11th-gen P-series chips to compare them to. Instead, Intel provided two sets of benchmarks, one covering common productivity applications and the other a more generic gaming roundup. Intel believes that you'll be able to play many games using just the chip's integrated graphics, though potentially at lower settings.

Intel

Intel

Intel's U-Series: optimized for low power

Intel's Alder Lake U-series chips are offered in one of two configurations: either 15 watts or 9 watts. At one time, Intel might have called these “Y”-series chips for ultralight laptops and Windows tablets. In any event, Microsoft will almost certainly offer them as options inside its Surface tablets, though whether they'll reside within the main Surface Pro lineup or the smaller, cheaper Surface Go line remains to be seen. The 9W chips are also designed for upcoming foldable PCs, though that category has remained a bit of a white whale to date. Naturally, long battery life is more the focus here, rather than performance.

Designing the same processor for two different types of machines will affect performance, though the core counts will be the same across the U-series line: two performance cores, and between four and eight efficiency cores. If you opt for a thicker, more full-featured laptop with an Alder Lake-U series chip inside, you'll be buying at least a Core i3 chip with a base P-core frequency of 1.2GHz, up to a turbo frequency of 4.8GHz. A U-series Core i7-1265U's two performance cores will run at 1.8GHz at its base frequency and 4.8GHz while in turbo mode. The graphics capabilities will be about the same as the P-series chips in terms of EU count, though the clock speeds have been dialed down to conserve power.

Both the 15W and 9W configurations also include Pentium and Celeron options, shrinking down the core counts further to save cost at the expense of performance.

Intel

The lower-power 9W U-series chips dial down the core clocks dramatically, though the number of cores remains the same. Note how the Core i3 base frequency, at 1.0GHz, is lower than the 15W option; the Core i3 turbo clock for the performance core is still 4.4GHz. At the high end, the base P-core clock speed increases from 1.1GHz to a turbo speed of 4.7GHz.

Intel

We don't have performance data for Intel's new U-series chips…but consumers probably won't be buying them for performance. The key metric, though, will be battery life — and we don't know much about the actual numbers there, either.

Intel

That shouldn't matter, however. Now that Intel has officially launched both the Alder Lake U- and P-series, we should be seeing more and more notebook PCs with them inside, especially with Intel's plans to expand its Evo premium notebook brand even further. (We're hearing that reviews may begin in March.) We'll have a good idea of how they shape up before long. Stay tuned to our roundup of the best laptops to see how Intel's new chips shake out.

This story was updated at 10:25 AM with additional detail.

While the internet argues about whether Microsoft's blockbuster $70 billion buyout of Activision Blizzard is a good thing or a harbinger of a dangerous future, Microsoft's other big-stakes acquisition just released some very welcome news indeed: The Bethesda launcher is being killed off.

Say it with me, and say it with heart: Hallelujah.

“We're saying goodbye to the Bethesda.net Launcher this year,” Bethesda's announcement states. “Starting in early April you'll be able to migrate your games and Wallet to your Steam account.”

The post goes into details about how the transition will happen, from purchases to game saves to virtual currency balances. The migration begins in April, and the Bethesda launcher will shutter for good in May. Hopefully the news doesn't affect many of you—but you shouldn't have been using the Bethesda launcher anyway. It's terrible.

The Bethesda launcher debuted in 2018, at a time when every major game publisher wanted to get off Steam and roll their own platforms. The Bethesda launcher was the exclusive platform for Fallout 76's early days. Far from being a dynamic duo, the launcher couldn't even get the basics right, and the game was just as terrible as the launcher itself.

Fallout 76 refused to work on many people's PCs. There was no way to uninstall the space-hogging beta once it ended. Creating a new account was a byzantine hassle. Buying games required being booted out of the launcher, onto Bethesda's website, then having to close and reopen the launcher so it could see your purchase. There was no client-wide friends list, and actually becoming friends with someone was a hassle (that had to be redone for every game you wanted to play in). And despite all the jank, Bethesda did not allow refunds on its nascent launcher.

Hayden Dingman/IDG

“If publishers don't want to put their games on Steam, that's fine—but they'd better make sure their replacement launcher reaches a baseline level of quality,” we said in a scathing evaluation of the then-new Bethesda launcher. “If you're going to shoot at the king, you'd better not miss—and right now, Bethesda couldn't come near the crown even with V.A.T.S. active.”

Did it ever get better? Honestly, who knows. Fallout 76 launching in such a dire state on such a dire platform meant I never touched the Bethesda launcher again (though Fallout 76 improved). Bethesda kept publishing its games on Steam, and eventually Xbox Game Pass after the Microsoft acquisition, and those were significantly better places to play Bethesda's compelling arsenal of games, like Doom, Elder Scrolls, Dishonored, Fallout, Deathloop, and others.

Soon, you'll mercifully have no choice but to buy Bethesda games from one of those storefronts. You should've done that already anyway. EA itself recently began publishing its games on Steam again and working with Xbox Game Pass despite being the publisher who kicked off the whole splintered-off-platform craze with Origin. Now that Valve, Microsoft, and Epic are engaged in a fierce battle for the attention of PC gamers (not to mention killer offshoot options like Itch.io and GOG), here's hoping the era of publisher-specific PC storefronts is drawing to a bloody and long-overdue close.

Good riddance, Bethesda launcher. You won't be missed. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

Google has released Chrome OS Flex, a way to take older Windows and Mac hardware and replace the operating system, turning them into Chromebooks. It's an interesting development given Windows 11's strict hardware requirements, which could leave legions of older PCs stranded when Windows 10 goes end-of-life in 2025.

Although Google is calling Chrome OS Flex an “early access” and “unstable” project, the concept is intriguing: Instead of disposing an old PC that's nearing the end of its life, you can turn it into a Chromebook instead. Google has launched the new operating system on its dedicated Chrome OS Flex site, though you'll have to sign up with an email to receive download instructions.

Google appears to be positioning Chrome OS Flex for a dual purpose: a way for consumers to try out the benefits of Chromebooks, and a way for enterprises to evaluate how well they can be managed. For example, a Chrome OS Flex “fleet” can be managed with Chrome Enterprise Upgrade, Google says. If this all sounds familiar, you're right: Google bought CloudReady a few years ago, and used that company's work as a way to turn laptop PCs into Chromebooks. Google describes CloudReady as a “previous version of Chrome OS Flex.” “Google will automatically update CloudReady devices to Chrome OS Flex, when Chrome OS Flex is stable,” the company added.

Traditionally, DIY PC enthusiasts would either leave an older PC running, scavenge it for parts, or replace the Windows operating system with a resource-light version of Linux. Now, Google is offering them an additional option: Replace Windows with Chrome OS, and enjoy the benefits of that streamlined operating system. And that's a point to be reiterated: Chrome OS Flex doesn't offer the ability to run Chrome OS in a window or a virtualized environment, a la the new Android apps for Windows. Instead, it replaces Windows, and all of its files.

On a support page, Google says that Chrome OS Flex will be a more limited version of CloudReady, at least for now: “Chrome OS Flex will not allow some system-level access currently available on CloudReady Home Edition, including: command line access via shell and command line access via teletype (TTY),” Google says.

Don't expect things to go smoothly, either. “This operating system is still in early access on the dev channel—you may experience some instability,” Google says.

Matthew Smith / IDG

Installing Google Chrome OS Flex looks similar to installing Windows 11 via installation media on a new PC. You'll need a USB key with 8GB or more. PCs will need at least 4GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. The CPU restrictions are more lenient: You'll need a 64-bit CPU, period. Which is basically any processor made after the year 2000. There are GPU restrictions, though: Intel GMA 500, 600, 3600, and 3650 graphics hardware do not meet Chrome OS Flex performance standards, Google says.

The real gotcha, however, appears to be simply in the diversity of compatible PC hardware, and how it will interact with Chrome OS Flex. Google has published a list of “certified models” that are either currently certified or planned to be certified with Chrome OS Flex, and many, many of them are listed with the caveat “minor issues expected” next to them. (“Models are likely to support at least basic functionality, but are still being worked on by our team,” Google says rather circularly, in describing what “minor issues” might mean. “You might run into minor issues.”)

The certified models include both PCs and Macs.

So why wouldn't you want to install Chrome OS Flex on an older PC? Well, there is the substantial list of caveats that come with the installation. For one, forget Android apps, Google Play, or Parallels Desktop support—that's out, Google says. Google can't manage firmware updates on Chrome OS Flex devices, nor can it provide verified boot capabilities. ARM PCs? Nope.

All this makes it seem like adding Chrome OS Flex to an older PC is very much a “use at your own risk” type of project—but one that can still turn your older PC into a Chromebook, for free. It's worth checking out before you toss it out.

Sometimes, a Chromebook beats a Windows laptop. Complexity often makes life harder for users easily confused by computers—and the people who provide them IT support. A Chromebook's simplified interface does away with driver management, endless system updates, and even malware avoidance.

More importantly, Chromebooks run a lightweight operating system that feels fast and responsive on older and budget hardware, making them far more affordable. In fact, you can create your own Chromebook for free if you have an older laptop lying around. You just have to install the equivalent of Chrome OS on it. 

The process takes less than an hour, and the end result often feels snappier than today's dirt-cheap Chromebooks. Here's how to do the conversion.

How to convert a laptop into a Chromebook

For this project, we'll be using Neverware's CloudReady operating system, which is based on Chromium OS—the same open-source code that Google built Chrome OS on. You can read more about the basic differences between the two if you're curious, but all you need to know is that Neverware has made the experience of using CloudReady nearly identical to Chrome OS.

The one key feature missing is support for Android apps. (Despite purchasing Neverware in December 2020, Google has not merged development for CloudReady and Chrome OS.) So if that's integral to your needs, you'll have to buy an official Chromebook. Otherwise you're good to go.

Update (Feb 15, 2022): Google has launched an early version of Chrome OS Flex, which builds upon and will ultimately supercede CloudReady. Since Chrome OS Flex is a limited version of CloudReady, with some missing features and compatible devices still experiencing “minor issues,” this guide will continue to rely on CloudReady for now. Google says that existing CloudReady installations will automatically be upgraded to Chrome OS Flex when the latter is stable.

Step 1: Check that your laptop will meet the requirements

Like Chrome OS, CloudReady's system requirements are very minimal. The laptop must have 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, full BIOS access, and ideally been manufactured after 2007. You will still need to check your CPU model, though, as Neverware says that processors with Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 500, 600, 3600, or 3650 graphics hardware don't meet CloudReady's performance standards. (In other words, Atom processors from the Silverthorne, Lincroft, and Cedarview families, which were found in low-end laptops between 2008 and early 2012.)

Your best-case scenario is to find your laptop on Neverware's list of certified devices, which clearly outlines support for features like a webcam or touchscreen. (Click on the model's name to see those details.) We lucked out that our test model, a 2013 Lenovo ThinkPad X240, had full feature support across the board.

Note: On the compatibility list, you'll see desktop systems like iMacs and NUCs listed as well—so if you have a spare monitor, mouse, and keyboard, you can instead spin up a Chromebox. Systems running integrated graphics work best.

If your laptop meets the hardware requirements but isn't on the certified devices list, don't worry. You can try out CloudReady from the flash drive you'll create next, which will allow you to test out how well it works without having to nuke your system.

FRIENDLY REMINDER: Before you begin installing CloudReady, back up any files within your existing OS! The process is the same as a clean install of Windows, Linux, or MacOS and will completely wipe your drive.

Step 2: Prepare the flash drive for installation

To install CloudReady, you'll need an 8GB USB drive (at minimum) and a PC, Mac, or Chromebook to create the installation media. The process takes about 20 minutes.

We'll be using CloudReady Home edition, which is free and will work even if you plan to use this Chromebook for school. You can ignore any notes or warnings about restrictions related to management licenses—they're for the CloudReady Enterprise and Education versions, which would be purchased by an institution.

Using a Windows PC to create the flash drive installer is easiest, as you can download the USB Maker and let it take care of the whole process. For Macs, Linux PCs, and Chromebooks, you'll need to download the CloudReady Home Edition image first, then follow Neverware's instructions for manually building your installer.

Step 3: Boot to flash drive

In order to boot to your newly created flash drive, you must bypass your laptop's automatic boot order, which usually defaults to the primary storage drive. You'll do this by hitting a key on your keyboard when your PC first powers up, similar to entering the BIOS. Search online for how to access the boot priority menu for your particular laptop, since it's not universal. For example, our Lenovo ThinkPad X240 required mashing F12 right at startup, while for our HP Spectre x360, it was F9. CloudReady even provides a list of boot keys for major laptop makers.

An alternative method is to enter your laptop's BIOS (again, you will need to search for which key to press when powering on your laptop) and rearrange the automatic boot order, then undo that change after your CloudReady install.

In either case, you should be able to choose the USB drive as your boot device. A white screen with the CloudReady logo will appear shortly thereafter.

Tip: Did you end up in your laptop's default operating system after booting, despite repeated button mashing? You likely waited too long to start pressing the key, or you aren't pressing the right combination of keys. (Example: Function keys may require also holding the Fn key—or not.)

Step 4: Install CloudReady

When the welcome screen appears, you can take one of two routes: Immediately wipe your laptop's drive and install CloudReady, or configure CloudReady on the flash drive. Choose the latter if you'd like to test drive CloudReady for short while—doing so allows you to try out Neverware's OS without any destructive changes to your system.

Note: Neverware does not recommend running CloudReady indefinitely from a USB drive due to performance and storage limitations, as well as a lack of OS updates.

Option 1: Installation

After booting to the flash drive, wait for the welcome screen to appear, then click on the bottom right-hand part of the screen where the time shows. In the menu that appears, choose Install OS.

Confirm you've backed up your data, and then proceed with the hard drive wipe and CloudReady installation. Neverware says the process will last between 5 and 20 minutes, depending on the speed of your flash drive and the size of your laptop's hard drive.

Upon completion, your laptop will shut down. Remove the USB drive, then power the system back on (and undo any changes to your BIOS's automatic boot order, if applicable). You'll see a welcome screen once again, now running from your laptop. Click on Let's Go to begin setup.

Option 2: Try out CloudReady from the flash drive

When the welcome screen appears, click on Let's Go to start setup. After passing through configuration screens for Wi-Fi, data sharing, and Google account login, you'll reach the desktop. Close out of the pop-up window that shows info on the paid editions and current release notes to begin using CloudReady.

You can later install CloudReady locally by clicking on the time in the bottom right-hand part of the screen. Choose Install OS in the menu that appears. After completion, your laptop will shut down. Remove the USB drive, then power the system back on (and undo any changes to your BIOS's automatic boot order, if applicable). You'll see the welcome screen once again, now running from your laptop; begin setup by clicking on Let's Go.

Step 5: Log into your Google Account

If you installed CloudReady to the laptop's storage drive, you now only need connect to the internet (either via Wi-Fi or ethernet), set your data sharing preference, and log into your Google account. You'll then reach the desktop, where you'll see a pop-up window that shows info on the paid editions and current release notes.

Close it to start using your DIY Chromebook—you're all set to go. As of version 89 of CloudReady, proprietary media plugins no longer need to be installed manually. You can start streaming video from services that rely on DRM (Netflix, Hulu, etc) right away!

How well does it run?

For this article, we used a 2013 Lenovo ThinkPad X240, borrowed from our IT department's stash of decommissioned laptops. This 12.5-inch touchscreen laptop is long in the tooth by today's standards, mostly due to a spinning-platter hard disk drive—when working within Windows 8.1, the system felt sluggish even during basic use.

But our X240's Intel Core i5-4300U processor, 8GB RAM, and 500GB drive absolutely crushes today's budget Chromebooks. It hangs pretty well with mid-range models, too, despite its 1366×768 resolution display. When we tried CloudReady off the flash drive, the touchscreen worked immediately and the system ran buttery smooth; even when installed on the hard disk drive, CloudReady had a much faster response time than Windows 8.1. Normally in an older laptop, I'd swap in an SSD to prolong its life, but I found I could use CloudReady on the X240's existing hardware without yearning for that upgrade.

Standby battery life also improved, allowing us to go from a day of use between charges in Win 8.1 to a couple of days in CloudReady.

If you don't have an old laptop

Try hunting for gently used notebooks among reliable friends or family. Local universities sometimes also have surplus departments, which offload older computer equipment by selling it to the public. On occasion, you can find good refurbished computers through Amazon WarehouseRemove non-product link or Woot, too.

Final tips

• If your older laptop has low-end hardware (or very old hardware) paired with a hard-disk drive, you'll get better performance by swapping in an SSD. Find out the height of your existing hard drive before buying to ensure it'll fit.
• Though CloudReady functions all but the same as Chrome OS, one small difference is that the keyboard layouts don't match exactly. Most keyboard commands carry over, but a few are a little different. Our Lenovo ThinkPad X240 didn't even match Neverware's suggestion of CTRL + F5 for taking a screenshot; for some inexplicable reason, CTRL + F11 worked instead. You may also need to experiment to find the right key combos.

Editor's Note: This story originally published on 8/24/2020 and has been updated with current instructions for installing CloudReady.

Google has released Chrome OS Flex, a way to take older Windows and Mac hardware and replace the operating system, turning them into Chromebooks.

Although Google is calling Chrome OS Flex an “early access” and “unstable” project, the concept is intriguing: Instead of disposing an old PC that's nearing the end of its life, you can turn it into a Chromebook instead. Google has launched the new operating system on its dedicated Chrome OS Flex site, though you'll have to sign up with an email to receive download instructions.

Google appears to be positioning Chrome OS Flex for a dual purpose: a way for consumers to try out the benefits of Chromebooks, and a way for enterprises to evaluate how well they can be managed. For example, a Chrome OS Flex “fleet” can be managed with Chrome Enterprise Upgrade, Google says. If this all sounds familiar, you're right: Google bought CloudReady a few years ago, and used that company's work as a way to turn laptop PCs into Chromebooks. Google describes CloudReady as a “previous version of Chrome OS Flex.” “Google will automatically update CloudReady devices to Chrome OS Flex, when Chrome OS Flex is stable,” the company added.

Traditionally, DIY PC enthusiasts would either leave an older PC running, scavenge it for parts, or replace the Windows operating system with a resource-light version of Linux. Now, Google is offering them an additional option: Replace Windows with Chrome OS, and enjoy the benefits of that streamlined operating system. And that's a point to be reiterated: Chrome OS Flex doesn't offer the ability to run Chrome OS in a window or a virtualized environment, a la the new Android apps for Windows. Instead, it replaces Windows, and all of its files.

On a support page, Google says that Chrome OS Flex will be a more limited version of CloudReady, at least for now: “Chrome OS Flex will not allow some system-level access currently available on CloudReady Home Edition, including: command line access via shell and command line access via teletype (TTY),” Google says.

Don't expect things to go smoothly, either. “This operating system is still in early access on the dev channel—you may experience some instability,” Google says.

Matthew Smith / IDG

Installing Google Chrome OS Flex looks similar to installing Windows 11 via installation media on a new PC. You'll need a USB key with 8GB or more. PCs will need at least 4GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. The CPU restrictions are more lenient: You'll need a 64-bit CPU, period. Which is basically any processor made after the year 2000. There are GPU restrictions, though: Intel GMA 500, 600, 3600, and 3650 graphics hardware do not meet Chrome OS Flex performance standards, Google says.

The real gotcha, however, appears to be simply in the diversity of compatible PC hardware, and how it will interact with Chrome OS Flex. Google has published a list of “certified models” that are either currently certified or planned to be certified with Chrome OS Flex, and many, many of them are listed with the caveat “minor issues expected” next to them. (“Models are likely to support at least basic functionality, but are still being worked on by our team,” Google says rather circularly, in describing what “minor issues” might mean. “You might run into minor issues.”)

The certified models include both PCs and Macs.

So why wouldn't you want to install Chrome OS Flex on an older PC? Well, there is the substantial list of caveats that come with the installation. For one, forget Android apps, Google Play, or Parallels Desktop support—that's out, Google says. Google can't manage firmware updates on Chrome OS Flex devices, nor can it provide verified boot capabilities. ARM PCs? Nope.

All this makes it seem like adding Chrome OS Flex to an older PC is very much a “use at your own risk” type of project—but one that can still turn your older PC into a Chromebook, for free. It's worth checking out before you toss it out.