University students: did you buy a chromebook? Regret or recommend?

Serene Dreams

22

University students: did you buy a chromebook? Do you regret the purchase or recommend it? :smile:

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 1

Serene Dreams

OP

22

I currently have a laptop (6th former) but the idea of carrying a lightweight tech around seems so appealing. Small yet efficient.

Was wondering if I should save up for one before university or if it would be bad investment of money. :/

What's a false economy?

Reply 2

Dunnig Kruger

16

13" ex business laptops can bought from places like ebay for the price of a new Chromebook. Give or take a bit depending on the laptop and the chromebook.

You do get more versatility from a laptop.
Although one big advantage of Chromebooks is not having Windows 10 on them. :eviltongue:

But then you can always run Linux if you want to get away from the Microsoft empire. :creep:

Reply 3

Sky06

13

I'm a sixth former but I think one aspect you might want to consider is if you prefer a particular operating system. My current laptop has microsoft windows 10 because I am used to using it and personally prefer it over chromebooks. I have no complaints and it does/has all the things needed for studying.

Reply 4

MidgetFever

21

I'd rather stick with Windows 10, so I didn't bother.
No need to fix something that ain't broken.

Reply 5

Joe1000000

16

I have/had a Chromebook for uni. There's nothing wrong with it, and for a lot of stuff it was fine, but there was just enough little bits of faff that I can't really recommend one.

I would say it was worth paying extra for a new Windows machine, or paying similar amounds for a 2nd hand one of Ebay/wherever (see comment above about ex-business machines, they're what you should be looking for if you go down that route).

If absolutely all you're wanting it for ever is web browsing and typing then it's fine, and it is nice having a big screen. light netflix device, but the little things it can't do did build up.

Reply 6

Serene Dreams

OP

22

Original post by Sky06

I'm a sixth former but I think one aspect you might want to consider is if you prefer a particular operating system. My current laptop has microsoft windows 10 because I am used to using it and personally prefer it over chromebooks. I have no complaints and it does/has all the things needed for studying.

I am very happy with my current laptop (has all the functions I need), but it's 3 years old and makes slight noise that most old devices do...it's also quite heavy and so carrying it around can be inconvenient. I am just thinking of lectures and whether it would be better to have a smaller device for use in them.

Do university students actually use laptops/chromebooks in lectures, I wonder?

Reply 7

Dunnig Kruger

16

What make and model is your laptop Law-yer?

It sounds like a 13" laptop would be ideal for you. Something light and portable.
Keep your old laptop. If nothing else you can use it as a device to automatically back up your data onto.

Reply 8

Serene Dreams

OP

22

Original post by Dunnig Kruger

What make and model is your laptop Law-yer?

It sounds like a 13" laptop would be ideal for you. Something light and portable.
Keep your old laptop. If nothing else you can use it as a device to automatically back up your data onto.

Model number: 15-ac107na

I definitely will keep it, lol sentimentally attached to it as well, my dad gifted it to me.

Reply 9

Dunnig Kruger

16

Original post by Law-yer

Model number: 15-ac107na

I definitely will keep it, lol sentimentally attached to it as well, my dad gifted it to me.

It's a bottom of the range consumer grade HP laptop.
I'm not keen on this type of laptop.

A used HP, Dell or Lenovo business laptop, on the other hand is a nice laptop to own and use. And not too expensive on ebay, if you buy right.
Would a HP 430 or 830 G5 or G6 off ebay be affordable to you?

Reply 10

Serene Dreams

OP

22

Original post by Dunnig Kruger

It's a bottom of the range consumer grade HP laptop.
I'm not keen on this type of laptop.

A used HP, Dell or Lenovo business laptop, on the other hand is a nice laptop to own and use. And not too expensive on ebay, if you buy right.
Would a HP 430 or 830 G5 or G6 off ebay be affordable to you?

Bottom of the range consumer grade?
Why not? Just wondering.

Not too keen on used tech if I am honest, it probably doesn't last for long. Very keen on new, reasonably priced laptop though. Will ask my cousin to look one up for me (he knows about these things, I am clueless), I just need to decide first if it's worth getting a new one.

Reply 11

boods8897

18

I got an HP Pavilion laptop the year before I started uni (2016). It was good for working at home, a bit bulky for taking in to use on lectures, but then again I prefer taking notes on paper anyway.
I did consider getting a chromebook this year just as something I could carry around with me easily, decided for the price I'd just get a decent tablet instead so got a Samsung Galaxy Tab A instead.
Tl;Dr - I have my old laptop for use at home and a tablet I take into uni

Reply 12

Dunnig Kruger

16

Original post by Law-yer

Bottom of the range consumer grade?
Why not? Just wondering.

Not too keen on used tech if I am honest, it probably doesn't last for long. Very keen on new, reasonably priced laptop though. Will ask my cousin to look one up for me (he knows about these things, I am clueless), I just need to decide first if it's worth getting a new one.

I have an HP 8440p business laptop that I bought off ebay used for £80, quite a few years ago. I fitted an SSD (that I got for free) into it.

My laptop is faster than your HP 15-ac107na. My CPU benchmarks slightly worse than the one in your laptop. But my SSD will be a lot quicker than your mechanical hard drive. My laptop also has a better keyboard than your laptop and a more rugged aluminium chassis.

My laptop is 9 years old now. There's every chance it'll be good for another 9 years. It's built like a tank. It is also silent.

It's common for business laptops to be sold with a 3 year warranty. Buy one that's a year old and you have a warranty that twice as long as a brand new laptop from Currys.
Business laptops are better built and better engineered than bottom of the range consumer laptops.
Business laptops from HP, Lenovo and Dell are the big sellers. Making it easier to get spare parts for them in the future.

Your laptop will do a job and is fine for web browsing and word processing. Fitting an SSD hard drive for £35 would speed it up nicely and is something that I would strongly recommend if you will carry on using it.

Reply 13

Confused G

10

Original post by Law-yer

I currently have a laptop (6th former) but the idea of carrying a lightweight tech around seems so appealing. Small yet efficient.

Was wondering if I should save up for one before university or if it would be bad investment of money. :/

What's a false economy?

Buy a macbook instead. It's lighter has a better connection range and battery life is better. This is my personal opinion