Budget laptop/device: better CPU or more RAM?

[Arthur Dent]

Hi all

I'm planning to buy a cheap second "device" (ie. laptop or tablet/keyb combo) for carrying around, so not too big, 10-13" display. Doesn't need to be massively powerful.

There seem to be quite a few mini laptops with the same spec, ie. Atom CPU, 2GB RAM, 32GB storage. Putting aside the obvious storage issue, is 2GB RAM really enough for Windows? It strikes me that it will grind to a halt as soon as you run a couple of programs.

An alternative I've seen is an HP 11" laptop, with 4GB RAM but a Celeron N3050 CPU - enough memory, but a horribly slow CPU. (Just for reference, the model is HP x360 11-k151sa).

So, my question is: CPU or RAM? Which will hurt me most? Please post particularly if you've had experience of one of these 2GB/32GB Atom laptops. Thank you.

 

[POB]

Windows does well enough on 2GB of RAM. I'd want more personally but it is workable as an email checking machine.

One possible pointer is the Atom CPUs don't have SSD support, they are stuck with slower EMMC drives.

The Celeron may have a SATA drive which could give it a major speed boost, if you have a spare SSD.

The newer Cherry Trail Atoms are still slow to replace the older models, they are a bit faster and might come shipped with slightly faster eMMC drives.

Before buying my Dell XPS 13 (way way over budget!) I was liking the Asus Transformer Books T100HA. Which as Cherry Train, but could not find the 4GB RAM version in the UK (France has it for example)


Surface 3 has the perfect specs, but pricey compared to these.

Random Chinese tablet seem to have Cherry Trail and 4GB RAM options. But the quality of these is going to be iffy with regard to battery life.

 

[Arthur Dent]

Thanks for the reply, POB. Since my first post, I've discovered that HP does actually make a 4GB variant of their detachable tablet/PC. It has 64GB storage too (search HP L5G91EA, for anyone who's interested).

The EMMC thing is a real shame, and the 32Gb machines seem pointless to me. I only got interested in one of the HP ones because it has 1TB hard drive in the base. Now, if they made a combo - 4GB RAM, 64GB onboard AND a hard drive too I'd be REALLY interested

You're right about the Celeron laptop, upgrading the hard drive to an SSD might make up for the lack of CPU power for some things. A 250GB SSD would sufficient and is only £45.

Not tempted by random brands I've never heard of. Did consider the Asus T200TA but it has terrible reviews on Amazon. So, I'm still thinking...