Windows V Chromebook

riddles

Am looking at a laptop for a teenager for schoolwork etc. I was wondering about the merits of a google chromebook V windows laptop.

Also on a max budget of €500 would you be able to recommend a flip screen touch screen model. I have been looking on which.co.uk but the choice is mind boggling.

Was thinking of this

https://www.littlewoodsireland.ie/acer-chromebook-r13-quad-corenbsp4gbnbspramnbspemmc-64gb-133-inchnbsptouchscreen-2-in-1-chromebooknbsp--silver/1600225944.prd?gclid=Cj0KCQiAxNnfBRDwARIsAJlH29DV4QaAc692bfV2IHg9tHFmtlXrUDJlSLfiMtNTbizzq1XE7-9vIggaAlbYEALw_wcB#sku=sku20308254

Mantis Toboggan

riddles wrote: »

Am looking at a laptop for a teenager for schoolwork etc. I was wondering about the merits of a google chromebook V windows laptop.

Also on a max budget of €500 would you be able to recommend a flip screen touch screen model. I have been looking on which.co.uk but the choice is mind boggling.

Was thinking of this

https://www.littlewoodsireland.ie/acer-chromebook-r13-quad-corenbsp4gbnbspramnbspemmc-64gb-133-inchnbsptouchscreen-2-in-1-chromebooknbsp--silver/1600225944.prd?gclid=Cj0KCQiAxNnfBRDwARIsAJlH29DV4QaAc692bfV2IHg9tHFmtlXrUDJlSLfiMtNTbizzq1XE7-9vIggaAlbYEALw_wcB#sku=sku20308254

The acer chromebook 15 is €340 on littlewoods, seems a better piece of kit.

https://www.littlewoodsireland.ie/acer-chromebook-15-intel-pentiumnbsp4gbnbspramnbsp64gbnbspstorage-156-inchnbsptouchscreen-laptop-silver/1600269295.prd

Alanstrainor

That chromebook is pants. Honestly. The spec is bad and the price is high. Here is a Windows machine with a very capable processor, more and faster storage and running Windows 10 for over 100 cheaper:

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/lenovo-ideapad-330s-15-6-ryzen-3-laptop-128-gb-ssd-grey-10180849-pdt.html

Chromebooks do have their uses, but IMO they do not suit when you need specific software that only comes on Windows. The above machine will do even do games to a certain degree. It's only downside is it has a relatively low RAM and storage. But both can be upgraded later if need be.

Mantis Toboggan

Alanstrainor wrote: »

That chromebook is pants. Honestly. The spec is bad and the price is high. Here is a Windows machine with a very capable processor, more and faster storage and running Windows 10 for over 100 cheaper:

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/lenovo-ideapad-330s-15-6-ryzen-3-laptop-128-gb-ssd-grey-10180849-pdt.html

Chromebooks do have their uses, but IMO they do not suit when you need specific software that only comes on Windows. The above machine will do even do games to a certain degree. It's only downside is it has a relatively low RAM and storage. But both can be upgraded later if need be.

The chromebook 15?

My experience of Windows machines is that they get slower over time, after 3 years you could be looking at 5 minutes just to power on and battery life is generally only a couple of hours. Not to mention the bugs, viruses and lack of updates associated with windows.

That Acer chromebook 15 will power on immediately and the battery will last at least 12 hours. I'd definitely recommend a chromebook if all you want is to scroll the Internet, email, YouTube etc. You can now download android apps from the playstore also.

Ursus Horribilis

What age is your teenager? If they're going to move on to college in the next couple of years, you might end up having to buy them a windows laptop for their course

AndrewJRenko

The fundamental difference is that the Chromebook is largely dependent on a decent Internet connection to do anything productive. You'd want to be fairly confident of having a reliable connection with decent bandwidth at home, at school and anywhere else where work is going to be done - such as on a train or a bus.

the cpu in that laptop - you'd get a faster one in a 130 euro phone.

guitarhappy

The missus and I both bought Acer Chromebooks the same week and they both died the same week exactly 18 months later. They're very fast surfing the web and are a great light weight carry around. The storage doesn't matter because we stored everything on flash drives. Where they come up short is documents and printing. Everything had to be upped to the cloud, not like our windows PC's that we just hooked up the printer. For school work or in our case, we're both published writers, you can't beat windows. We didn't buy new Chromebooks when they died, we just went smart phone for internet surfing email etc. and windows PC's for working​, creating documents and published papers.

Alanstrainor

Mantis Toboggan wrote: »

The chromebook 15?

My experience of Windows machines is that they get slower over time, after 3 years you could be looking at 5 minutes just to power on and battery life is generally only a couple of hours. Not to mention the bugs, viruses and lack of updates associated with windows.

That Acer chromebook 15 will power on immediately and the battery will last at least 12 hours. I'd definitely recommend a chromebook if all you want is to scroll the Internet, email, YouTube etc. You can now download android apps from the playstore also.

That may have been the case with Windows XP, but IMO it is no longer the way. Especially with a machine with an SSD. Comparing the device in the OP versus the one I linked, there is a vast difference between the two. And the Windows machine is by far the better in every aspect. Windows 10 even allows you to do a type of system reset without destroying your files (images, movies, docs etc) if it slows up due to third party programs.

IMO a chromebook should be a seen as a web access device that can do other bits and bobs at a push, but with compromises. The low cost Windows machine linked will do everything a normal user could do. Internet, office, games and more. The chromebook really can't compete.

yes with solid state hard drives the issue of windows slowing down dramatically has effectively gone - especially when you do a reinstall the odd time.

spinning hard drives slow dramatically after a few years of constant use (.i.e as the main hard drive in a pc), ssds do not.

now that ssds are pretty cheap compared to what they used to cost, this has dramatically changed the landscape for windows users. ssd drives are now becoming the norm even on budget pcs.

with an ssd win 10 will launch up in 10 seconds from boot.

windows 10 is a good os and offers so much more than chrome os, even if you're only a relatively basic user.

xi5yvm0owc1s2b

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

The fundamental difference is that the Chromebook is largely dependent on a decent Internet connection to do anything productive. You'd want to be fairly confident of having a reliable connection with decent bandwidth at home, at school and anywhere else where work is going to be done - such as on a train or a bus.

Chromebooks can use Google apps in offline mode, including Gmail, Google Docs, Google Sheets, etc. So saying that you can't do anything productive without an internet connection just isn't true. E.g., if the teenager is working on an essay, he/she can do it in Google Docs offline and then sync when the Chromebook is next connected to the Internet.

OP, the major benefits of a Chromebook over Windows are better security and ease of maintenance. Chromebooks are highly regarded by security experts because they are practically immune to malware, viruses, ransomware, and the like. ChromeOS also automatically encrypts locally stored files, unlike Windows, where data encryption is available only on the Pro versions. And ChromeOS updates are simple and easy to install, while Windows updates are a source of frustration to many users.

Comparing specs of Windows laptops vs Chromebooks is not necessarily relevant because Windows requires much greater resources to run effectively. ChromeOS will still feel zippy and responsive even on lower-powered laptops.

If you're buying one for a teenager, note that you can get rugged Chromebooks specifically designed for students that can withstand a fair bit of abuse. Look at the ASUS C202 or the Dell 3180 for instance. The ASUS even has a spill-proof keyboard.