What do you do when your Chromebook’s screen breaks? You might try and get it fixed or buy a good new Chromebook, but that might cost you a pretty penny. Depending on how old your machine is and how long it’s slated to receive updates, it might not even be worth it. You might as well embrace the fact that half of your laptop isn’t functional, and get rid of the extra ballast. That’s exactly what an avid Redditor did with an old broken Pixelbook Go they acquired on the cheap.

Redditor u/dingody took to the ChromeOS Subreddit to share images of their “half Chromebook,” living on their desk with the screen cleanly removed. This only leaves the slab consisting of the keyboard and trackpad, along with the usual connectors on the sides, with a single cable connected to a 4K monitor that also supplies the laptop’s battery with power. Interestingly enough, the Pixelbook Go unit they bought appears to be a pre-production unit, with it saying “ProductName” at the top rather than Pixelbook.

The Redditor says they were able to get the laptop for only $60, which is a great deal even considering the broken display. It’s possible that the reason is the fact that this is a prototype model, which might come with other caveats that the poster has not mentioned. It’s unclear if this machine receives the same support window, with production units slated to be updated until June 2026.

This isn’t the first time someone has modded a laptop to become what is essentially a small desktop with a trackpad and a keyboard slapped on top of it. There is a whole “Halftop” Subreddit dedicated to the concept, aptly linked by one of the commenters on the post. While not all laptops are capable of booting up without their internal screen, there are enough that support this mode for this mod to become a meme of sorts.