Hello. I'm a college student currently using a Toshiba Chromebook (CB30) as my main laptop. I bought it halfway through 2014 and have been so far impressed with the speed, performance, and battery life. However, recently, I've started eyeing the new line of cheap Windows 8.1 laptops that have started coming out.
I'm stuck between the HP Stream 11 ($171) and the ASUS X205TA ($161) , mainly because its under $200 in the Microsoft Store with student discount and because I'm starting to miss the ability to install some Windows app. Granted, I know that they are relatively weak laptops (Intel Celeron and Intel Atom) but I'm not concerned with getting a gaming machine. I want something that will last long on a battery, portable, and is a decent performer.
My main focus is for it to be able to multitask, such as having a couple of tabs open in Chrome and typing a Word doc simultaneously, with some music streaming. My Chromebook can handle that with Google Docs instead of Word. I would also like it to be able to play 1080p videos from YouTube with maybe some light browsing on the side. My Chromebook kind of stutters in 1080p playback so that might be a bit unrealistic. Still I'd like to have a Windows laptop again.
Should I keep my Chromebook or sell it and get one of the new Windows laptops? Any other suggestions with laptops around the $200 mark? Please don't suggest Linux or any other Linux distribution. Keep it between Chrome OS or Windows (From 7 to 8.1)
Any honest answers would be appreciated. Thank you.
I'm stuck between the HP Stream 11 ($171) and the ASUS X205TA ($161) , mainly because its under $200 in the Microsoft Store with student discount and because I'm starting to miss the ability to install some Windows app. Granted, I know that they are relatively weak laptops (Intel Celeron and Intel Atom) but I'm not concerned with getting a gaming machine. I want something that will last long on a battery, portable, and is a decent performer.
My main focus is for it to be able to multitask, such as having a couple of tabs open in Chrome and typing a Word doc simultaneously, with some music streaming. My Chromebook can handle that with Google Docs instead of Word. I would also like it to be able to play 1080p videos from YouTube with maybe some light browsing on the side. My Chromebook kind of stutters in 1080p playback so that might be a bit unrealistic. Still I'd like to have a Windows laptop again.
Should I keep my Chromebook or sell it and get one of the new Windows laptops? Any other suggestions with laptops around the $200 mark? Please don't suggest Linux or any other Linux distribution. Keep it between Chrome OS or Windows (From 7 to 8.1)
Any honest answers would be appreciated. Thank you.