$250-$300 laptops

[LadyCrimson]

Here's what I want/my needs:

 

--Web browsing/forum posting, netflix/video streaming that doesn't feel real "laggy." This is most important, because, while I get it won't be as smooth/fast as my desktop, I don't want script heavy webpages to make me rage either.

--Windows O/S

--5 pounds or less (15.9 screen may be about as big as I'd care for?)

 

I don't care about:

--Playing games or running heavy-duty software. I won't even run/need stuff like Office. I might play ancient gog games now and then.

 

Most in this el cheapo range seem to use the Intel Celeron which aren't awesome I know but would it do ok for this use, or too stuttery on modern websites? Think I should go $50-$100 more for the i3 even for my simple wants?

 

Examples of the Celeron's:

 

ASUS 15.6-Inch Dual-Core Intel 2.16 Ghz

Dell Inspiron i3531-1200BK 15.6-Inch

[Humanoid]

CPU doesn't matter, an Atom would be perfectly good for this kind of use (but then Atoms are mainly used for 8" to 11" Windows convertible/tablets). The benefit of this route though is that they tend to just come with embedded flash storage, so they'll actually feel a fair bit zippier than the absolute bargain basement full-size laptops in this price range. And recommendations for those will be very thin on the ground, it'll all be a muchness with every vendor cramming in the cheapest parts in their cheapest, most plasticky chassis.

 

EDIT: Personally for an extreme budget I'd buy this 11.6" Asus and a 64GB microSD card to get reasonable storage. But if movies are your thing then it's probably not the right device. The Asus T100 is an even more popular device, but is even smaller at 10.1" - a bit dearer since it's a convertible (the keyboard is detachable) but it has an IPS screen which is fantastic at this kind of price point.

Edited November 20, 2014 by Humanoid

[LadyCrimson]

Thing is, I want to use Firefox and my programs. My understanding of a lot of the mini-books or tablets is I can't do that, you have to use "their"/other apps or something.

 

And I definitely do not want to be forced to use cloud-anything to port files from desktop to the other device which seems to be where tablets are going?

[Humanoid]

Nah, these are full version Windows 8.1 tablets, they're full function PCs, just in a tablet chassis. The cloud storage is optional, though given <100GB storage onboard even with the microSD card, it might be useful.

 

You might be thinking of the discontinued Microsoft Surface convertibles that ran Windows RT, which made them incompatible with regular Windows applications. Those would indeed be a bad idea.

[LadyCrimson]

I was thinking about Chromebooks.

 

That Asus might be ok, but it'd be nicer if it had a numpad. And yeah, the limited non-cloud storage isn't ideal, although I wouldn't be planning on using it for huge storage generally. I'm not sure I want card storage vs. internal. I tend to lose things if they aren't stapled to my forehead.

[LadyCrimson]

Also, that Asus thingie doesn't have a wired ethernet port? I might like having that option available. Tho seems like a USB adapter may work? Hm.

[Humanoid]

I use a similar device (Samsung 700T) which had 64GB internal and a microSD slot. I put in a spare I had on the day I bought it and haven't ever removed it, so it's essentially permanent storage (unless you need the card slot for something else). It does require some judgement about what to put on it, of course, applications go on the internal storage, media on the card. Total data I've accumulated over the year and a half that I've owned it is still only about 40GB including Windows, so as a machine solely used for Internet stuff I haven't run into any practical limitations.

 

And yeah, numpads are an endangered species these days, even most 15" laptops seem to lack them, let alone anything smaller. Heck, tenkeyless keyboards are becoming increasingly popular even on desktops.

 

 

EDIT: Indeed no ethernet ports, such is the case with any device emphasising portability these days, it physically doesn't fit on the thin designs of today. But yeah, USB adapters are an option, and at negligible cost.

Edited November 20, 2014 by Humanoid

[AwesomeOcelot]

I bought a Chromebook for my niece, Acer c720. It's very limited, but it was very cheap ($282 almost a year ago), and with ChomeOS and the standard SSD, its pretty fast, even with a Celeron CPU. No viruses, no system admin, no drivers. If all you want is web access, and things that webapps are adequate at, e.g. word processing, it's a great option.

[LadyCrimson]

Well maybe I'll try that Atom thingie. I can always return it to the store if I hate it. And if it doesn't work, guess I'll look into pricier laptops. That just wouldn't be my first preference.

 

Winter always makes me want a house-portable option, because this "office" room of mine gets really cold and while I could lug my whole desktop/monitor out into the living room and back again, that becomes rather cumbersome.

[LadyCrimson]

The cheaper $250+ Asus Transformers only have 1GB RAM, which seems icky. Plus a memory card would hike the price up even further. So I said screw it and bought this HP Pavilion latop instead. i3, dvd, numpad. Touchscreen too, not that I care.

Display is adequate but nothing special, not unexpected. Internet is fine with our wifi, and performance with multiple FF tabs open and video streaming seems fine too. I hate Win8 even via desktop but oh well what can you do. I also seem to keep hitting the wrong keys or something. But I like 15" vs. 10" and so far it seems great for couch-use (which is where I'm sitting now). We'll see how it goes after a few days.

[Bartimaeus]

I hate Win8 even via desktop but oh well what can you do.

Reformat to Windows 7?