So as of late, I have been on the hunt for the best Chromebook or laptop that doesn’t cost much at all. For a long time, I have been under the impression that you can spend a lot less on the PC side versus Mac side. Basically, you can get more bang for your buck buying a PC.
A couple years ago, with the help from some PC gurus, we built a custom gaming PC for performance purposes. The PC is meant for video editing and content creation. It’s been a great tool to have. However, that is setup on a desk on the other side of the house from my living room. My personal preference is using a laptop while in the comfort of sitting in a recliner or couch. Therefore, there’s been a MacBook for those uses.
In a nutshell, the PC is for large projects and the MacBook for everything else (browsing, emails, some small video projects, etc.). Unfortunately, the MacBook that was in use is no longer available for use, which brought me to my hunt for the perfect, inexpensive laptop or Chromebook options.
For Christmas I bought my wife an HP laptop from Best Buy that was on sale for about $350. It had a 15″ screen and 500gb hard drive. Not specked out, but enough to power to blog and email with. Which is what my wife needed something for. She’s been using an old MacBook (white uni-body) that I used to use when I first started Bane Tech. The HP was surely going to be better than the old clunker MacBook. Well, I was wrong. The HP was slower than the MacBook! The keyboard was difficult to navigate as well. So we took it back.
Next take, last week I bought a Acer Chromebook 15 CB3-532 and the experience has been better than the HP and about the same as the MacBook concerning blogging goes. The Chromebook only costs $199 from Walmart. It’s got 2gb of RAM and 16gb hard drive. It does boot up super fast, types well, and the screen size is nice. However, loading webpages is just slow enough that it’s kind of irritable.
Now, I am used to using fast paced computers with my PC and a MacBook Air at work. I do have to keep that in mind knowing that a cheap Chromebook is not going to match the performance of a gaming PC and MacBook Air. At this point I am testing a theory that because of the way a Chromebook is designed, that things like webpages would load quick. That assumption is tanking. It’s starting to look a lot like the concept that you get what you pay for.
The next option is to try a 4gb ram Chromebook and see if there is a noticeable difference. The dilemma from that though, is I was trying my best to not spend much money, which is why a 15″ screen Chromebook was so compelling at only $199 new. To get something with 4gb you’re climbing into the $250-$350 price range and is a bit more than I want to spend on. Keeping in mind that I am basically wanting to use the Chromebook for blogging, emails, and social media management. At this point, I am doing all video projects on my PC.
With that said, I am usually in a crunch to type out a post and need something to fly through webpages, loading photos, etc. I need to be able to create a blog post without hindrance. Which brings me to my last point.
Should I get the new Samsung Chromebook Plus? It’s got touch scree, S-Pen, 4gb RAM, USB C, etc. Not to mention being able to use it like tablet at times with the ability to use Android apps.
Right now it is for pre-order for $450 and won’t get here till about February. From what I have seen the new Chromebook from Samsung has gotten good attention and reviews. But as you can see, the price is out of the range I am looking to spend on. Is it worth just taking the hit on the wallet and invest in something that will get the job done efficiently or is a Chromebook like the Samsung Chromebook 3 or Asus Flip going to be as good as it gets for under $300?
What’s your experience been like? Do you have any suggestions?
The Samsung Chromebook Plus looks very intriguing, but once I start to get into that price range (thinking tax adds extra cost), that I mind as well save up more money and get an older model (maybe 2015ish) MacBook… I’d be a very happy camper with a MacBook anyway.
This blog post turned out to be way longer than I expected it to be. Perhaps you can be of some assistance. For real though, there are SO many options out there.
If you’re curious, I used the Acer 15 for this blog post. The process was OK. Great typing experience while blogging, but getting some of the links and images was a little sluggish.
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