low end windows laptop or Chromebook?

[EazyDuz]

Budget around 250. Only really want the full page version of websites, ability to have multiple tabs open with no lag. Also editing a spreadsheet with macros, torrents and movie watching and streaming movies to my TV.

Is the Chromebook a viable option or would I be best off with a low end windows 8 laptop?
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To shreds you say? Tss tss tss

[Tungtvann]

I know one person who had a chromebook, he didn't recommend it.

[Ben90]

Most Chromebooks have about 16gb storage, less when loaded with the OS, so no good for torrents unless you delete files after watching them.. External hard drive would work well but that's more £££
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Yamaha FZ6 S2

[prawny1]

chromebook requires an internet connection to even log on from what I recall, and because a lot of the programs are browser based most of those have limited functionality with out an internet connection.

Driver support is not great with it either. no Skype (Skype is Microsoft) or gaming out of the box unless you want to tweak for more Linux style functionality than the chromebook comes with in the o/s then you can use wine for windows progs and games etc.

Chromebooks rely on cloud storage for the most part so generally fall down on internal storage capacity.

They are cheaper to buy though which is a plus.

You can pick up high end core 2 or a decent 1st/2nd gen core I laptop for £100-200, use the excess for an ssd and a new/ spare battery job done.
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hellkat wrote:

Some people are only alive cos its against the law to kill them.

[EazyDuz]

[mentalboy]

My missus has a chromebook and it's a pile of shite.

The blasted thing keeps freezing up (look at reviews, it's a common fault)

And, even more annoyingly, she bought it so I could Skype her and it doesn't do Skype...
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Make mine a Corona.

[prawny1]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HP-EliteBook-8440p-14-250-GB-Intel-Core-i5-2-4-GHz-4gb-Ram-Webcam-/131336249996?pt=UK_Computing_Laptops_EH&hash=item1e9440228c


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cheap-Laptop-HP-Elitebook-6930P-2-53GHZ-2GB-60GB-SSD-WiFi-Vista-/251704429159?pt=UK_Computing_Laptops_EH&hash=item3a9ac0ca67

bump the core2 one up with some more ram (8gb max) and maybe a cpu upgrade (t9900 3.06Ghz is probably max depends on chipset), might need to fit a bigger ssd for daily use as it is only 60gb

Even the core 2 laptops have an early form of turbo boost bumping up clocks on one core at a time.
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hellkat wrote:

Some people are only alive cos its against the law to kill them.

[stinkwheel]

I have always been highly impressed with anything made by Asus. Their kit all seems to punch well above its weight.

As such, I'm going to recommend stretching your budget by a tenner to get this:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Asus-X553MA-Laptop-Intel-Celeron-4GB-RAM-1TB-15-6-Black-/171498807515?pt=UK_Computing_Laptops_EH&hash=item27ee2020db

1TB, dual core processor, HDMI output. a USB3.0 and a big screen and it's new not second hand.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[prawny1]

that Celeron based laptop looks like it would be slow as fu(( 1.86ghz dual core with 1mb cache,

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Celeron+N2815+%40+1.86GHz

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_lookup.php?cpu=Intel+Celeron+N2815+%40+1.86GHz&id=2158

it would be a low power drain on the battery though.
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hellkat wrote:

Some people are only alive cos its against the law to kill them.

[EazyDuz]

[prawny1]

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core2+Duo+T9400+%40+2.53GHz

strange this shows the t9400 as almost double the cpu score of the n2815

don't be fooled by it's age mid- high clocked core 2 and 1st/ 2nd geb core I stuff is often better than what is available in low end ultrabooks and notebooks if not on battery life.

It won't matter if the cpu is twice as power efficient if it take it twice as long to perform the tasks you set it, and considering manufacturers are using the power efficiency to reduce weight by removing or shrinking cell overall battery life is largely unchanged.

A lot of ultra books and entry level laptops have bga chips (cpu soldered directly to motherboard) so upgrading later is often not an option.


Is your old laptop dead? have you considered upgrading that,you might be surprised what it is capable of with some higher spec bits in it.

A quick google shows that model was available with a 2.1Ghz 35w n830 triple core cpu officially (paired with 95w power brick) so should in theory be able to take all the 25w and 35w cpu's 45w might be pushing it with the cooling though you would need to check what microcode is in the bios to see exactly what is supported..

ram can take up to 8gb and those models that have a discrete gpu can handle the hd5650 too.
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hellkat wrote:

Some people are only alive cos its against the law to kill them.

[prawny1]

If you would be happy with windows 8 and just won't it for browsing and office stuff have you considered a windows 8 tablet?

the Toshiba encore and encore 2 look reasonable only 1.33ghz but is quad core which can boost to 1.86 when needed, the 7 & 8" screen versions are cheaper because they don't have to buy a licence from Microsoft for them.

https://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3143029.htm#pdpPromotions

The 7" is available new from argos and a few other places for £100 lower res screen and only 16gb storage rather than 32gb with the newer ones but you get 1tb onedrive storage included.

Running windows will make it far more compatible with generic programs than a chromebook, and comes with a years office 365 subscription.
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hellkat wrote:

Some people are only alive cos its against the law to kill them.

[EazyDuz]

I have a tablet now, a 2012 nexus 7 but its slow now, and I miss faster browsing with a laptop.
No my old one broke and I sold it for spares, shame because it was pretty good.
If I eBay 'laptop' and sort it as best match there are a lot of dell machines being sold as refurbs which look good, some have sold in the hundreds. Have you seen them?
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To shreds you say? Tss tss tss

[EazyDuz]

Like this?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WINDOWS-7-DELL-LATITIUDE-LAPTOP-CORE-2-DUO-4-80GHZ-2GB-80GB-WIFI-CHEAP-LAPTOP-/181265566455?pt=UK_Computing_Laptops_EH&hash=item2a34450af7
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To shreds you say? Tss tss tss

[sensi5446]

Love my HP chromebook, does everything I need it to do apart from downloading torrents. I use a lot of google services like G+ and google docs so it works a treat with them. For general use, surfing the net, youtube, sending email etc its perfect. Can download pics, music, docs straight onto my 64gb pen drive so space isn't a issue.

[prawny1]

most of them look like ex big office stock the latitude is the basic run of the mill stuff, the precision range is usually better speced though.
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hellkat wrote:

Some people are only alive cos its against the law to kill them.

[EazyDuz]

Hmm I'm unsure now. Didn't really want a refurb but if the low end new ones are shit I suppose I'll have to. I'm not too fussed which laptop it is as long as its as good as or better than my old one
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To shreds you say? Tss tss tss

[prawny1]

I know it isn't really a good judging criteria but have a mooch around a few showrooms and check the wei scores for these newer models.

You often see lower clocked amd and intel stuff with score reminiscent of an old pentium m, all in one touch screens seem worst for it.
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hellkat wrote:

Some people are only alive cos its against the law to kill them.

[EazyDuz]

Look at this one if you will

https://www.ebuyer.com/639630-toshiba-satellite-pro-c50-a-1mm-laptop-pscg7e-038041en

My 5551a had this processor (found it on argos reviews, where I bought it from)
https://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Celeron-1005M-vs-AMD-Athlon-II-PCs-P320

Would it be safe to assume something like that will perform similar if not a bit better than my old laptop? It has an extra gig of ram too
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To shreds you say? Tss tss tss

[mentalboy]

[hmmmnz]

what about a galaxy note 10.1 tablet (£189 delivered)
i have the older version (not the 2014 version)
its got a decent dual core processor, and a couple of gig of ram,
16gig internal memory, also will take a 64gb micro sd card as well,

coupled with a keyboard dock, and a keyboard case, its pretty handy, and has an exceptional battery life
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the humans are dead
I kick arse for the lord
Wiring Diagrams BIDNIP it bitches

[prawny1]

the problem with non windows tabs is not all websites work properly with them, they are getting better at it but not quite there yet.
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hellkat wrote:

Some people are only alive cos its against the law to kill them.

[hmmmnz]

surely thats a browser issue rather than an operating system issue,
i have firefox on mine and am yet to come across a website that its had a problem with,
my only complaint with tablets is no frigging right click, i never realised how much i right click the mouse untill i didnt have one
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the humans are dead
I kick arse for the lord
Wiring Diagrams BIDNIP it bitches

[trevoriv]

I know its over the OP's budget but I've just picked up a surface pro 2 with i5 and 128gb ssd for £365. Granted its another £80 for a keyboard but I'm just using an old Bluetooth keyboard with it at the moment. Still pricey but a decent bit of kit.
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Past: '96 Thundercat, '02 ZX636R (A1P), '58 KTM 690 SM LC4 Current: '06 ZX636R (C6F)
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[panrider_uk]