Chromebooks any good?

[R.O.S.S.I]

Been tasked with finding a new laptop for the MIL.

She's had a fairly new Acer laptop about 2-3 years ago from Currys but it is woefully slow and tbh it would be better served being chucked in thr bin.

She probs wants to spend around £500-£600ish on something and I want to get something that is going to last her now and just "works".

All she does on it is email, write up notes from meetings at the golf club and browse the web on it so doesn't need to be a beast but just needs to be snappy and responsive and not something g that's going to feel awfully slow in a couple of years.

A Mac is out of the question as they're a bit too expensive and the OS will blow their mind so I've been thinking about something like a Surface Laptop Go 2 or potentially a Chromebook.

Are Chromebooks any good? She does use Google docs exclusively so think it could be a good solution but just struggling to suss out whats going to last the longest.

Are Chromebooks a good option for the elderly?

 

[mattyfez]

.

She's had a fairly new Acer laptop about 2-3 years ago from Currys but it is woefully slow and tbh it would be better served being chucked in thr bin.

What spec is the Acer...at only 3 years old it should be fine...is there a load of guff installed and running on it? Maybe it just needs a spring clean.

 

[R.O.S.S.I]

I cant remember the exact spec/model but i've tried removing whatever junk off it i could find. Maybe it is a bit older than 3 years but it is woefully slow now. I even upped the RAM from 4gb to 8gb as a last ditch attempt and was considering trying an SSD in it but think she may just be better with something that its a bit better overall.

 

[mattyfez]

If it doesn't have an SSD that's your problem right there.
Just fit a cheap 120 or 240gb one. https://www.overclockers.co.uk/cruc...5-sata-6gbps-solid-state-drive-hd-06t-cr.html
8gb Ram is absolutely fine...

My laptop has 8gb ram.. SSD and 11th gen i5 and eats standard tasks for breakfast..


What cpu is it?

 

[R.O.S.S.I]

Well ive got the model number (HP 8UD54EA) and the spec is as follows - so as suspected the CPU isn't much cop and the HDD is poss a problem. Do we think an SSD will be the best upgrade here?

Microprocessor​	AMD A6-9225 Dual-Core (2.6 GHz base clock, up to 3 GHz max boost clock, 1 MB cache)​
Memory, standard​	4 GB DDR4-1866 SDRAM (1 x 4 GB)​
Video graphics​	AMD Radeon™ R4 Graphics​
Hard drive​	1 TB 5400 rpm SATA\​

 

[R.O.S.S.I]

Wild, didn't realise SSD's were so cheap. The only thing i'm not sure on is how to do a Windows reinstall with a completely new drive, its been years since i've done one tbh, but I'm presuming i'll need to make a bootable USB and install from that?

 

[mattyfez]

That CPU is a bit of a turd, tbh.... but if just a web browsing machine? for the sake of £24 you'll see a big diffrence with an SSD.

 

[R.O.S.S.I]

yeh thats what i thought, told the MIL for the sake of 24 quid its worth a punt.

Whats the best process for slapping a fresh install of windows on these days? back in the day i used to make a bootable USB and then just use the license stuck to the laptop but got a feeling that isnt how its done these days?

 

[mattyfez]

yeh thats what i thought, told the MIL for the sake of 24 quid its worth a punt.

Whats the best process for slapping a fresh install of windows on these days? back in the day i used to make a bootable USB and then just use the license stuck to the laptop but got a feeling that isnt how its done these days?

Yeah, same... if you're doing a clean install...make a bootable USB, download it from microsoft so you know it's a clean copy.
Fit New drive.
Install windows from USB.

You're only swapping the drive out so assuming its already registered it will just re-register itself when it goes online. (make sure to get the same version of windows you already have to put on the USB).
Keep the old drive handy incase of any issues/mistakes.

Your're not going to be doing any multi-tasking with that CPU, but as said..if it's just a web browsing machine/ bit of word processing etc, it should be fine.

 

[R.O.S.S.I]

Yeah, same... if you're doing a clean install...make a bootable USB, download it from microsoft so you know it's a clean copy.
Fit New drive.
Install windows from USB.

You're only swapping the drive out so assuming its already registered it will just re-register itself when it goes online. (make sure to get the same version of windows you already have to put on the USB).
Keep the old drive handy incase of any issues/mistakes.

Your're not going to be doing any multi-tasking with that CPU, but as said..if it's just a web browsing machine/ bit of word processing etc, it should be fine.

How does Windows re-register itself when installed on the fresh SSD? I take it CD-Keys and the like arent a thing anymore?

 

[mattyfez]

How does Windows re-register itself when installed on the fresh SSD? I take it CD-Keys and the like arent a thing anymore?

CDkeys is still a thing...but if you are already running, I dunno, win10 home or whatever and its registered (i.e.. you dont' have a watermark on your desktop saying 'you need to register windows' or whatever it says) then just install the same version (download it from MS, via USB onto the new drive.)

When the laptop goes online for the first time, along with windows updates, it will automatically re-register itself, as it's recognised as already licenced, or you can manually force it to check i think in the settings somewhere if needed.

 

[The_Arbiter]

If the SSD doesn't work out, i can recommend a Chromebook for your use case. Whilst i dislike Google in general, Chromebooks for web browsing and basic documents do the job well. Compared to Android which i think is poor, the Chrome OS is tidy and intuitive enough.

After some strong convincing i got my parents to use them. Windows now is just too much of a faff and i cba to babysit them with it.

The limited timeframe of security updates is annoying, but i still prefer it over Windows.

They can have the physical keys to do volume, scaling, etc, which again makes life much better for older people.

 

[SexyGreyFox]

I bought one of these about two months ago and it's very fast - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08BWQF2B9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[radderfire]

To answer your original question, my perception of Chromebooks is that they are very good. I say perception, because I've never actually owned one. However, Google did a great job designing the Chrome browser, and they are basically built around that. I would think that a Chromebook would do a great job for your MIL and do a better job than a Windows laptop for this use case, because they are simpler and more intuitive. Another selling point is they are better in terms of security, i.e. locked down so less/no virus thread. I would also imagine they keep themselves updated well with little fuss, much like an Android phone.

 

[SexyGreyFox]

I would think that a Chromebook would do a great job for your MIL and do a better job than a Windows laptop for this use case, because they are simpler and more intuitive.

That's not true, an icon on a desktop is an icon whether it's Chromebook or Windows.
My work colleague had a Chromebook and 3 months later she was buying a PC Laptop.

 

[Ahleckz]

Rather than starting a new thread, what’s the speakers like on a Chromebook?
It’ll be for mainly watching films/Netflix so doesn’t need to be amazing but would like some decent enough volume.

 

[radderfire]

Rather than starting a new thread, what’s the speakers like on a Chromebook?
It’ll be for mainly watching films/Netflix so doesn’t need to be amazing but would like some decent enough volume.

Similar to Windows laptops I would imagine, i.e. won't go that loud. It will vary from model to model but if you want decent and loud audio you'd probably need to get some external speakers.

 

[The_Arbiter]

Rather than starting a new thread, what’s the speakers like on a Chromebook?
It’ll be for mainly watching films/Netflix so doesn’t need to be amazing but would like some decent enough volume.

Tiny speakers have made leaps and bounds in quality over the years, i'd say they're good for what they are. Given you can buy (again) small decent rechargeable speakers for ~£20, that would be my choice if movies were a regular thing.

Slightly off topic, but my LG B1 has seriously impressive built speakers. So much so i never bothered to use my AVR with it and buy some more bookshelves, the soundstage is pleasant enough.

 

[Richard_16v]

At 3 years old it may just be a reinstall - if it's like most of my family's machines it will have so much rubbish installed where they just click away while browsing

Chromebooks are good (or I have got on well with mine), but it will also slow down if you add loads of rubbish.

 

[mattpj]

I’ve always found chromebooks reliable for your use case. The battery life is fantastic and the locked down OS stops non techies from getting in too much bother.

I would use one now but an iPad Pro m1 with a Magic Keyboard just take care of this use case.

Seems like a seem ssd will take care of pretty much all your issues here though.