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  #1  
Old Yesterday, 12:43 PM
sokyroadie sokyroadie is offline
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OT: Cheap Laptop probably Chrome

Looking for a cheapish Chrome laptop for internet access while traveling (car). I think a 14" minimum screen, but not a requirement. Lets say max. $299.00.

Best Buy has a HP for $199.00 supposedly $200.00 off:

HP - 15.6" Chromebook Laptop - Intel Processor N200 - 8GB Memory - 64GB eMMC - Natural Silver
Model:15a-nb0013dxSKU:6535992
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-15-6...?skuId=6535992

Appreciate the experts weighing in.

BTW - not stuck on Chrome, but seems the best for what I want to use it for.
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  #2  
Old Yesterday, 12:55 PM
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Dired Dired is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sokyroadie View Post
Looking for a cheapish Chrome laptop for internet access while traveling (car). I think a 14" minimum screen, but not a requirement. Lets say max. $299.00.

Best Buy has a HP for $199.00 supposedly $200.00 off:

HP - 15.6" Chromebook Laptop - Intel Processor N200 - 8GB Memory - 64GB eMMC - Natural Silver
Model:15a-nb0013dxSKU:6535992
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-15-6...?skuId=6535992

Appreciate the experts weighing in.

BTW - not stuck on Chrome, but seems the best for what I want to use it for.
Got this one for the wife for $185 using a coupon promo they ran a few weeks ago - it's excellent.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/276237750527

Kid needs a 14" and touchscreen for school and I'm holding out for this deal:
https://slickdeals.net/f/17838459/?u...external+share

Pro tip - the new chromebooks come with 1 year of google ai plus premium (usualy $20/mos), which you keep even if you return the hardware.
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  #3  
Old Yesterday, 01:26 PM
benb benb is offline
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My son has a Dell Chromebook for school.

That has got to be one of the nastiest screens I've seen on a laptop since the 1990s. Amazingly bad screen, and because it's running 2024 Google software the experience is worse than the 1990s because all the ChromeOS software and Google Classroom stuff was designed around some Nerd's 30" 4k screen at Google HQ.

Actually I just looked it up and the one my son has (Dell) is an 11.6" screen with a 1366x768 screen.

The last laptop I had with a screen worse than that was the first one I purchased in 1995 when I was 18.

So just beware of the screens and maybe go check them out in person. Otherwise you're going to be doing a heck of a lot of scrolling as Chrome takes up almost the whole screen with it's Chrome (Chrome literally means the decorations on an application that look cool but waste space). The original intent of Google's Chrome Browser was for it not to waste all your screen space with Menu bars and controls... these days it has failed at that job.

I would probably want Windows if I was severely budget constrained and it was my choice. The Chrome OS experience is just so bad if you're used to Windows or Mac. I would say you at least don't have to worry about it getting screwed up like Windows, but that has gotten a lot better. And things like plugging in a Mouse and expecting it to work are much less likely than on Windows. We have actually tried that... thought the mouse was broken until we plugged it into my Mac and it was working perfectly. You could see the mouse connected in Chrome OS but it didn't actually let you use it.

The other thing is breaking them.. our school had insurance for $40 or something. The Principal gave the tally of how many were broken last year. Something like 60/400 chromebooks broken to the point they had to be completely replaced in a school year. And this in a school with a full time Chromebook repair tech who can replace screens, keyboards, cases, etc.. in school. We bought a protective case too.

Last edited by benb; Yesterday at 01:33 PM.
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  #4  
Old Yesterday, 01:46 PM
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Dired Dired is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by benb View Post
My son has a Dell Chromebook for school.

That has got to be one of the nastiest screens I've seen on a laptop since the 1990s. Amazingly bad screen, and because it's running 2024 Google software the experience is worse than the 1990s because all the ChromeOS software and Google Classroom stuff was designed around some Nerd's 30" 4k screen at Google HQ.
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  #5  
Old Yesterday, 01:53 PM
Likes2ridefar Likes2ridefar is offline
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The nerds that would never be caught using a puny 30” (32” minimum) 4k screen take issue with such comments

Last edited by Likes2ridefar; Yesterday at 01:58 PM.
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  #6  
Old Yesterday, 02:25 PM
benb benb is offline
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Yah I typed that sitting in front of the 2x 34" monitors my employer paid for.

In any case like last night I was helping my son proofread a paper and the way the screen is setup out of the box with the default font sizes in Google apps neither one of us could tell a period apart from a comma with the screen on our lap. We had to increase the zoom.

There is nothing really wrong with the Chromebook it's really the software not being well setup. Google Classroom is really a horror show. Everyone at the school openly admits it but say you just can't beat free.

14" might be a LOT better. That is much more in the size range of normal laptops these days. The screen might not be as sharp but default fonts will at least be closer to the correct size.

The thing with plugging in a mouse and it sees it but doesn't let you use it is probably down to it being based on linux. Linux is famous for that stuff. Even when I put linux on my PS3 I remember the mouse didn't work and I had to hack on the drivers.
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  #7  
Old Today, 08:32 AM
el cheapo el cheapo is offline
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For some really great deals...look at pawn shops for laptops. I've bought a couple over the years and never had a problem. Right now I'm using a Lenovo gaming system (paid $350 retail $1200). And everything is negotiable at pawn shops. Check to see what return policy they have. Good luck.
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  #8  
Old Today, 10:08 AM
CAAD CAAD is offline
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I rather have a full Windows PC. The chrome books I feel are limited in what they can do. My chrome book is just sitting on a shelf now. There always comes a time when you try to do something computery on it and the thing just can't do what you want it to do. At least with a Windows computer everything just works without needing a workaround.
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  #9  
Old Today, 10:43 AM
sokyroadie sokyroadie is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CAAD View Post
I rather have a full Windows PC. The chrome books I feel are limited in what they can do. My chrome book is just sitting on a shelf now. There always comes a time when you try to do something computery on it and the thing just can't do what you want it to do. At least with a Windows computer everything just works without needing a workaround.
I am basically retired and have a nice desktop, and an older windows laptop which has limited battery life and not worth putting any money in. I have never used a Chrome PC so not against a windows laptop.

Thanks for the replies.
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  #10  
Old Today, 11:48 AM
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rice rocket rice rocket is offline
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I like fanless Chromebooks, less stuff to go wrong and no heat buildup.

Snapdragon processors (basically glorified smartphone CPUs) sip power, and suspend/resume cleanly without the whole rigmarole of Intel stuff.
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  #11  
Old Today, 01:08 PM
Alistair Alistair is offline
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Did I miss your intended use for this laptop? If it’s just surfing the web, email, etc then maybe a tablet would get you more bang for your money?
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