Laptop Confusion

benson1980

I looked at the refurb windows laptop options before getting the chromebook. I'm not a computer expert by any means but I've had windows laptops for 15 years, and currently own a new macbook air, chromebook and high spec windows laptop- the latter being a work one but I could use it for personal as well. The macbook now gathers dust as we use the chromebook for everything, and the windows laptop just gets used for work, only because I have to. I bought the chromebook as a cheap laptop for the kids but its so good we have all ended up using it. If I bought the chromebook first I wouldn't have bothered with the macbook.

Even with no personal software on it and being an almost new hp probook it is so much slower than the chromebook which cost me £260. Years ago I'd need a windows laptop to connect digital cameras and sat navs but times move on with smart phones etc and I can't remember the last time I did anything like this.

Also with the chromebook you get free 100gb cloud storage for 2 years, from google.

As mentioned prior we went for a dell 3380 from xsonly as they have some good deals.

[Deleted User]

benson1980 wrote: »

I looked at the refurb windows laptop options before getting the chromebook. I'm not a computer expert by any means but I've had windows laptops for 15 years, and currently own a new macbook air, chromebook and high spec windows laptop- the latter being a work one but I could use it for personal as well. The macbook now gathers dust as we use the chromebook for everything, and the windows laptop just gets used for work, only because I have to. I bought the chromebook as a cheap laptop for the kids but its so good we have all ended up using it. If I bought the chromebook first I wouldn't have bothered with the macbook.

Even with no personal software on it and being an almost new hp probook it is so much slower than the chromebook which cost me £260. Years ago I'd need a windows laptop to connect digital cameras and sat navs but times move on with smart phones etc and I can't remember the last time I did anything like this.

Also with the chromebook you get free 100gb cloud storage for 2 years, from google.

As mentioned prior we went for a dell 3380 from xsonly as they have some good deals.

what printer would you recommend for a Chromebook? That is the only stumbling block for me is cloud printing which I’ve never had any luck with.

ballyblack

Best to get a wifi printer Google Cloud ready printer

I bought a Canon Pixma Mx535

here is a list of all Canon Google Cloud printers

https://www.canon.co.uk/support/consumer_products/pixma_printer_google_cloud_print_setup/

Other manufacturers probably have a similar site


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EveryWhere

benson1980 wrote: »

I looked at the refurb windows laptop options before getting the chromebook. I'm not a computer expert by any means but I've had windows laptops for 15 years, and currently own a new macbook air, chromebook and high spec windows laptop- the latter being a work one but I could use it for personal as well. The macbook now gathers dust as we use the chromebook for everything, and the windows laptop just gets used for work, only because I have to. I bought the chromebook as a cheap laptop for the kids but its so good we have all ended up using it. If I bought the chromebook first I wouldn't have bothered with the macbook.

Even with no personal software on it and being an almost new hp probook it is so much slower than the chromebook which cost me £260. Years ago I'd need a windows laptop to connect digital cameras and sat navs but times move on with smart phones etc and I can't remember the last time I did anything like this.

Also with the chromebook you get free 100gb cloud storage for 2 years, from google.

As mentioned prior we went for a dell 3380 from xsonly as they have some good deals.

Does your HP Probook have an SSD fitted? Decent spec fitted with SSD should be snappy.
There is no way that I would spend that much for a Chromebook. £280 for a Celeron laptop and a 32 GB eMMC drive and a low resolution screen?
It's marketed as a laptop for education. Children at school it seems.

benson1980

EveryWhere wrote: »

Does your HP Probook have an SSD fitted? Decent spec fitted with SSD should be snappy.
There is no way that I would spend that much for a Chromebook. £280 for a Celeron laptop and a 32 GB eMMC drive and a low resolution screen?
It's marketed as a laptop for education. Children at school it seems.

Yes the HP has got SSD- it's only a year or so old.

Have you ever owned or used a chromebook? I'm going to guess not. £280 for a laptop that does everything I want, is speedy, has a good quality touch screen is pretty good value I think. Spend the equivalent on a new windows laptop and there's no way it will be half as quick as using a chromebook for the vast majority of what people use laptops for, and will be ten times more frustrating. Being able to install whatever android apps I want on in is also a bonus.

The amount of time I wasted waiting for my cheap windows laptops to whirr into action was painful. The only way around it is to spend a decent amount of money on something decent or look at a refurb options. And it still won't be as quick loading webpages and streaming.

Regarding printers there's tonnes of options.

ballyblack

£280 for a Celeron laptop and a 32 GB eMMC drive

its A CHROMEBOOK! ........ does not have/need the power of a Windows laptop which has to run all those programmes etc

Call it a laptop browser so need for high specs

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EveryWhere

ballyblack wrote: »

its A CHROMEBOOK does not have/need the power of a Windows laptop which has to run all those programmes etc

Call it a laptop browser so need for high specs

.

You are right, I have never used a Chromebook. Simply because I can do everything on my laptop that a Chromebook can do and more.
My nine year old laptops, fitted with SSD, take perhaps half a minute to be up and running and once up and running are relatively snappy.
Odd that you state your HP is new and fitted with an SSD, but is slow.
So speed is not an issue, so I have no issue with the performance of my machines.
Yes, A Chromebook might start up more quickly than a price equivalent Windows machine, but when you are talking about seconds, it's really not an issue for most people.

Interesting that you talk about having to buy a refurb laptop to get decent value when likely you bought a refurb Chromebook to get best value.

Simply speaking, the only benefit of a Chromebook is for people who don't want to be on Windows.
With the amount that you paid for yours, there is no price benefit. I'm posting this from a Netbook that I purchased almost ten years ago...for £130. A Netbook was the Windows equivalent.
Speed? Other than on start up, there is little to no difference.
I can do everything on my Windows machine that you can do on your Chromebook. But you cannot do everything that I can.
Sorry, but I'm not paying £280 for a browser.

benson1980

EveryWhere wrote: »

You are right, I have never used a Chromebook. Simply because I can do everything on my laptop that a Chromebook can do and more.
My nine year old laptops, fitted with SSD, take perhaps half a minute to be up and running and once up and running are relatively snappy.
Odd that you state your HP is new and fitted with an SSD, but is slow.
So speed is not an issue, so I have no issue with the performance of my machines.
Yes, A Chromebook might start up more quickly than a price equivalent Windows machine, but when you are talking about seconds, it's really not an issue for most people.

Interesting that you talk about having to buy a refurb laptop to get decent value when likely you bought a refurb Chromebook to get best value.

Simply speaking, the only benefit of a Chromebook is for people who don't want to be on Windows.
With the amount that you paid for yours, there is no price benefit. I'm posting this from a Netbook that I purchased almost ten years ago...for £130. A Netbook was the Windows equivalent.
Speed? Other than on start up, there is little to no difference.
I can do everything on my Windows machine that you can do on your Chromebook. But you cannot do everything that I can.
Sorry, but I'm not paying £280 for a browser.

Stick to windows then. No one is asking you to buy a chromebook. The op asked for the best options for their usage. A couple of us who have owned both windows laptops and chrome books are saying chrome books are probably better. Maybe if you had actually tried one rather than just going on about windows and how chrome books are rubbish you could have an informed opinion about the pros and cons.

EveryWhere

benson1980 wrote: »

Stick to windows then. No one is asking you to buy a chromebook. The op asked for the best options for their usage. A couple of us who have owned both windows laptops and chrome books are saying chrome books are probably better. Maybe if you had actually tried one rather than just going on about windows and how chrome books are rubbish you could have an informed opinion about the pros and cons.

I have an informed opinion, since I used to experiment with the Chrome OS in the past.
You can install it on an old Netbook.
My point is that I wouldn't spent anything like £280 on a Chromebook.
Of course Windows laptops needed tweaking in the past and many people suffered with that.
So ballyblack suffering with a cheap laptop with a slow HDD and possible bloatware is understandable.
But I have never suffered with that.
So the statement that a Chromebook is better is subjective.
I say it isn't.
It doesn't mean that I cannot or will not turn an old Windows laptop into a Chromebook. Just I have no reason to do so.

EveryWhere

Now if you pointed him towards a good value second hand Chromebook for under £100, I perhaps wouldn't be arguing against it.
I'd be hesitating even at £175