Why would anyone buy a chrome book?

Original post by HucktheForde

The earliest one are cheap but the newest one are priced just like a low spec laptop. But here's the thing, you can do anything a laptop can do on a low spec laptop but you can only use android app and Google apps on Chrome book. So why buy Chrome book? Might as well get a low spec laptop?

I agree entirely. Chromebooks are heavily marketed. They have to be to sell. Some people follow the marketing hype. Some people are better informed. You are amongst the better informed.

I'd go further than you. Instead of buying a low spec laptop I'd buy a high spec laptop. A very high spec laptop. About as high a spec as you can get when it comes to the overall engineering content. A used premium business laptop from HP, Dell or Lenovo. For under £210 in today's market.

Reply 4

IJaguar

13

Original post by Dunnig Kruger

I agree entirely. Chromebooks are heavily marketed. They have to be to sell. Some people follow the marketing hype. Some people are better informed. You are amongst the better informed.

I'd go further than you. Instead of buying a low spec laptop I'd buy a high spec laptop. A very high spec laptop. About as high a spec as you can get when it comes to the overall engineering content. A used premium business laptop from HP, Dell or Lenovo. For under £210 in today's market.

Do you have any specific examples of these high spec laptops for under £210 please?

Reply 5

Original post by IJaguar

Do you have any specific examples of these high spec laptops for under £210 please?

At the risk of repeating myself over and over again from other threads in this section of the forum: HP 840 G5, HP 830 G5, Dell 7390, Dell 7490.

For example:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325250026402?hash=item4bba698ba2:g:eb0AAOSweopislDJ
Check with seller that it has a 1920 or better resolution screen before buying.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175350575927?hash=item28d3b57337:g:RFMAAOSwndNizyCE
Make a bid of £200. You might end up being the only bidder.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115430640447?hash=item1ae033cb3f:g:akUAAOSwq09irV87

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284896253008?hash=item425523d450:g:NGoAAOSwp7tirDo0
Bid up to £170 for this and either live with the 128GB hard drive or replace it with a new 500GB WD 750 SSD for £55.

Reply 6

username5884916

0

7

Original post by HucktheForde

The earliest one are cheap but the newest one are priced just like a low spec laptop. But here's the thing, you can do anything a laptop can do on a low spec laptop but you can only use android app and Google apps on Chrome book. So why buy Chrome book? Might as well get a low spec laptop?

My two pennies:

For the average user, who just needs a laptop to browse the web or write documents, there's a value in being able to walk into a local computer store and picking up a brand new laptop that works for everything most students (or people generally) need a laptop for for not that much money. Yes, you can get brand new Windows laptops for the same price of the average Chromebook but that doesn't necessarily mean you should - Windows on any comparably specced laptop is usually a sub-par experience and the overwhelming majority of tasks that Windows can do that Chrome OS can't, are gonna feel pretty poor on the Windows machine anyway.

Generally speaking, used laptops as suggested by Dunnig are generally the best option at that kind of price range. But going down that route, there's still the volatility of the used market; while it's possible to get absolute steals, it's also possible to get complete and utter duds (especially if you don't know where to look or what to look out for). For someone who knows a lot about tech and what to look out for, someone who wants absolute best bang for the buck, or simply won't be able to use a chromebook/cheap new laptop for their usage, they're an amazing choice. For a lot of other people though, walking into a store and picking up a Chromebook for fairly cheap that will more likely than not work with minimal issue is a very appealing option.

At the end of the day though, it's simply a matter of personal preference and different people will have different priorities and correspondingly best options.

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 7

OP

Original post by Dunnig Kruger

At the risk of repeating myself over and over again from other threads in this section of the forum: HP 840 G5, HP 830 G5, Dell 7390, Dell 7490.

For example:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325250026402?hash=item4bba698ba2:g:eb0AAOSweopislDJ
Check with seller that it has a 1920 or better resolution screen before buying.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175350575927?hash=item28d3b57337:g:RFMAAOSwndNizyCE
Make a bid of £200. You might end up being the only bidder.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115430640447?hash=item1ae033cb3f:g:akUAAOSwq09irV87

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284896253008?hash=item425523d450:g:NGoAAOSwp7tirDo0
Bid up to £170 for this and either live with the 128GB hard drive or replace it with a new 500GB WD 750 SSD for £55.

what a coincidence, i just happen to be checking out the dell latitude series and hp pro book / elite book series.

all refurbish tho

Reply 8

Original post by HucktheForde

what a coincidence, i just happen to be checking out the dell latitude series and hp pro book / elite book series.

all refurbish tho

It's not worth paying more than a £10 for refurbished laptop over a non-refurbished. Describing a laptop as "refurbished" is largely a marketing gimmick to lure in the unwary.

Laptops are not classic cars where a refurbishment might mean something. For a laptop describing it as refurbished means nothing or next to nothing.
There's a lot of overpriced used laptops out there. They are not worth buying.

Stick to paying less than £210 for your fantastic used, fully working premium business laptop.

Reply 9

OP

Original post by Dunnig Kruger

It's not worth paying more than a £10 for refurbished laptop over a non-refurbished. Describing a laptop as "refurbished" is largely a marketing gimmick to lure in the unwary.

Laptops are not classic cars where a refurbishment might mean something. For a laptop describing it as refurbished means nothing or next to nothing.
There's a lot of overpriced used laptops out there. They are not worth buying.

Stick to paying less than £210 for your fantastic used, fully working premium business laptop.

hmm dual core but 16gb ddr 4 ram or quadcore but 8gb ddr4 ram? dilemma

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 10

Original post by HucktheForde

hmm dual core but 16gb ddr 4 ram or quadcore but 8gb ddr4 ram? dilemma

What will you be using it for?

Are either of the deals you're looking at better than the deals I mentioned in post #6 of this thread?

Reply 11

OP

Original post by Dunnig Kruger

What will you be using it for?

Are either of the deals you're looking at better than the deals I mentioned in post #6 of this thread?

they are similar. anyway, i have decided to send my current laptop to repair and take my time to find a good bargain

Reply 12

Original post by HucktheForde

they are similar. anyway, i have decided to send my current laptop to repair and take my time to find a good bargain

What's wrong with your current laptop? Is it still under warranty?

Laptops are about as easy to repair as a bicycle. Which means that they are DIY repairable, even if you've never picked up a screwdriver before in your life.

There's pleasure in extending the life of a laptop with sensible investments in replacement batteries, SSD's etc.

Reply 13

OP

Original post by Dunnig Kruger

What's wrong with your current laptop? Is it still under warranty?

Laptops are about as easy to repair as a bicycle. Which means that they are DIY repairable, even if you've never picked up a screwdriver before in your life.

There's pleasure in extending the life of a laptop with sensible investments in replacement batteries, SSD's etc.

a **** ton of problems, its 8 years old at least, speaker is broken, CMOS battery is out, battery is out and the fan is noisy, i cant use it in library, i suspect its probably full of dust inside too. its an i5 2th gen , if i remember correctly.

Reply 14

Original post by HucktheForde

a **** ton of problems, its 8 years old at least, speaker is broken, CMOS battery is out, battery is out and the fan is noisy, i cant use it in library, i suspect its probably full of dust inside too. its an i5 2th gen , if i remember correctly.

Does it have an SSD? Or does it have a mechanical hard drive?

This hot weather will get the fan going hard on any laptop of that age. Usually dust removal from laptops makes no difference or next to no difference to the noise levels, but it's worth giving it a brush / vacuum to remove the internal dust when you open it up anyway.

If you can find a donor speaker for your exact make and model of laptop, it should be a cheap part, like £5 or less.
CMOS battery for your laptop should be about £5
Battery will depend on your make and model. About £35ish - depending.
A syringe of Arctic MX-4 long lasting thermal paste is £5.

So that's £50ish for those bits, which if you fit them yourself, or get a friend to fit them is a reasonable course of action.

If your laptop needs an SSD to bring it up to speed, or if you're looking at significant labour costs for a technician to fit these then it starts becoming highly marginal as to whether it's worth spending this money.

Especially when you can get fully working Dell Latitude 7390's or 7490's for under £210.

Reply 15

OP