Chromebook or Windows Laptop

tony6403

My granddaughter is going to university and I am going to buy her a pc.
Would a Chromebook be the best choice.
Any advice would be very much appreciated.

missile

Ask her what she wants?

flaneurs_lobster

Ask her to ask her University what she needs.

macman

As above, what software does she specifically need to run?
If just general use, a Chromebook is fine.
Ask her, and she'll probably want a Macbook, which may be above your budget.

Bonhomie

Most definitely not a Chromebook. She won't thank you if she cannot run essential software.

prowla

The uni may have a cheap purchase "Student" scheme for laptops and/or software; you could check out that before deciding.

Essentially if they standardise on Microsoft applications (Word, Excel, etc.) then you'll need a Windows or Mac machine.

Definitely not a Chromebook.

Without wanting to sound like an evangelist, my preference, the OS I find easiest to use, is Linux; I use a Mac for work (which I find obtuse and annoying) and have a Windows 11 PC (which I occasionally use), but I just find the Linux one most natural; however, if the above applications are what's needed then that defines the choice.

So, check out the requirements and uni discounts before buying anything.

macman

How come you are saying 'not a Chromebook' without any input as to what the OP's granddaughter needs to run in the way of software? OP hasn't come back to give any more info in 2 weeks now, and the uni's are opening next week...
The Chrome apps are perfectly capable of saving to the standard MS Office formats, so if she is an arts or social sciences student just using Word and Excel, then a Chromebook would do the job. 

400ixl

prowla said:

Essentially if they standardise on Microsoft applications (Word, Excel, etc.) then you'll need a Windows or Mac machine.

Definitely not a Chromebook.

Not true, you can install Office 365 on a Chromebook as a PWA application and it then runs as if a native application.