Trying to Decide Between ASUS X555LA-HI31103J vs. Lenovo G50-80L000H2US Laptop

[FarNerdy]

Tom's Hardware is where I always get the best advice, so I'm asking for it once again.

I'm trying to decide on a laptop purchase between the following:
ASUS X555LA-HI31103J (http/www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i3-4gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-spin-pattern-in-black/4352000.p?id=1219735415083&skuId=4352000#tabbed-customerreviews)
or the
Lenovo G50-80L000H2US (http/www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i3-4gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-black/9679149.p?id=1219706108461&skuId=9679149#tabbed-customerreviews).

I'm looking for a bottom-line, basic needs laptop. This will mainly be my travel laptop, so I only need to it do the basic functions such as:

- accessing the Internet from hotels, airports, etc.
- web browsing
- Netflix streaming
- word processing (either via Office 365, Google Docs, OpenOffice, or Microsoft Office software)
- and maybe some Google Hangout or Skype calls (but this is rare)

I don't want a Chromebook. I've been down that route and that is what I am replacing. My Samsung Chromebook crashed, and I think I want to stay with a PC. But, if you can give me some good reasons to stay with a Chromebook, I'm willing to listen to them.

Any advice between the two machines would be extremely helpful. Thank you in advance!

 

[saratj1]

Tom's Hardware is where I always get the best advice, so I'm asking for it once again.

I'm trying to decide on a laptop purchase between the following:
ASUS X555LA-HI31103J (http/www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i3-4gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-spin-pattern-in-black/4352000.p?id=1219735415083&skuId=4352000#tabbed-customerreviews)
or the
Lenovo G50-80L000H2US (http/www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i3-4gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-black/9679149.p?id=1219706108461&skuId=9679149#tabbed-customerreviews).

I'm looking for a bottom-line, basic needs laptop. This will mainly be my travel laptop, so I only need to it do the basic functions such as:

- accessing the Internet from hotels, airports, etc.
- web browsing
- Netflix streaming
- word processing (either via Office 365, Google Docs, OpenOffice, or Microsoft Office software)
- and maybe some Google Hangout or Skype calls (but this is rare)

I don't want a Chromebook. I've been down that route and that is what I am replacing. My Samsung Chromebook crashed, and I think I want to stay with a PC. But, if you can give me some good reasons to stay with a Chromebook, I'm willing to listen to them.

Any advice between the two machines would be extremely helpful. Thank you in advance!

It's a toss up really, they have very similar hardware and features. It would be personal preference really both Asus have a good rep for their products, I'm torn as well, I like the Lenovo because I've heard really good things about their laptops and it's priced lower, but I've owned quite a few different Asus products (no laptops though) and I'm a fan of their products, this laptop seems to be slightly higher spec'd than the Lenovo, but not enough to pick a clear better value. I know this isn't much help, but flip a coin you get a decent laptop either way, and I doubt you would regret purchasing either.

 

[FarNerdy]

Tom's Hardware is where I always get the best advice, so I'm asking for it once again.

I'm trying to decide on a laptop purchase between the following:
ASUS X555LA-HI31103J (http/www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i3-4gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-spin-pattern-in-black/4352000.p?id=1219735415083&skuId=4352000#tabbed-customerreviews)
or the
Lenovo G50-80L000H2US (http/www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i3-4gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-black/9679149.p?id=1219706108461&skuId=9679149#tabbed-customerreviews).

I'm looking for a bottom-line, basic needs laptop. This will mainly be my travel laptop, so I only need to it do the basic functions such as:

- accessing the Internet from hotels, airports, etc.
- web browsing
- Netflix streaming
- word processing (either via Office 365, Google Docs, OpenOffice, or Microsoft Office software)
- and maybe some Google Hangout or Skype calls (but this is rare)

I don't want a Chromebook. I've been down that route and that is what I am replacing. My Samsung Chromebook crashed, and I think I want to stay with a PC. But, if you can give me some good reasons to stay with a Chromebook, I'm willing to listen to them.

Any advice between the two machines would be extremely helpful. Thank you in advance!

It's a toss up really, they have very similar hardware and features. It would be personal preference really both Asus have a good rep for their products, I'm torn as well, I like the Lenovo because I've heard really good things about their laptops and it's priced lower, but I've owned quite a few different Asus products (no laptops though) and I'm a fan of their products, this laptop seems to be slightly higher spec'd than the Lenovo, but not enough to pick a clear better value. I know this isn't much help, but flip a coin you get a decent laptop either way, and I doubt you would regret purchasing either.

Thank you for your answer, I really appreciate it - even if it just proves I'm not the only one in this toss-up!

What would you think if I began to consider the Toshiba Chromebook 2 that everyone is raving about? (http/www.bestbuy.com/site/toshiba-13-3-chromebook-2-intel-celeron-4gb-memory-16gb-solid-state-drive-silver/8790147.p?id=1219370473818&skuId=8790147)

Just something else to consider. Thank you!

 

[saratj1]

The chrome book is a much less capable machine than the other two. It's basically for web browsing, word processing , and video playback (streaming) as storage space is very limited. I would stick with the first two, and while I'm not familiar with the chrome books software , I would be much more comfortable on a Windows machine .