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Resolved Question

Which Chromebook / laptop should I buy ?

Feb 15, 2015 7:46PM PST

Hey,

I am looking to buy an inexpensive laptop to serve as an image reference library for when I am drawing. The four main tasks I would be doing are viewing images, doing basic image manipulations to images (along the lines of what can be found in a program like irfanview or similar app when talking about a chromebook), webbrowsing and from time to time writing up a document.
The laptop doesn't need to be very big, I would say around 11" - 13" (max 15") and my budget is under 400(-500)€.
I was looking at Chromebooks because of their basic functionality and affordable price which would suite the purpose. Someone suggested I should wait for the Acer Chromebook 15 for it's high quality, large screen and powerful processor...but the question is if I need that functionality and what the price would be I guess ?

What are your thought ?

Discussion is locked

Alexander-p has chosen the best answer to their question. View answer

Best Answer

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What country?
Feb 15, 2015 11:27PM PST

If I look at the best sellers on Amazon in USA, UK and Canada I spot a few laptops around the 250 or less USD mark. These look fine. HOWEVER you want IRFANVIEW on a Chromebook. I own a Chromebook and have not found such there. I'd stick with Windows in this case and use the app in question. There are models there from 11 to 15 inches but I can't guess your country.
Bob

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Country: belgium
Feb 16, 2015 1:16AM PST

Hey Bob,

Thanks for your suggestion, I'll have a look around at those and post some that I like maybe you could then give me some feedback ?
The country I live in is Belgium but buying (from a trustworthy source) online is also an option.


Thanks!

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So this site?
Feb 16, 2015 1:31AM PST
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Amazon uk or france is the closest I think
Feb 16, 2015 2:13AM PST

Hey Bob,

Thanks for the link but amazon.nl only sells books or so it seems.
I browsed the bestsellers in the US and looked at the reviews for the ASUS 15,6-inch Intel Dual Core Celeron 2.16 Ghz Laptop and they are a bit worrisome. There are complaints about laptops not functioning (battery not recharging) but especially a general complaint is the bad customer service to get your laptop repaired if there is something wrong with it. I'll have to search around some more.

Having a look around the apps for Chromebooks I found the Pixlr app (maybe not comparable to irfanview) which would suffice for what I want to do (fine rotation and scaling).

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Aha. Now that I can pull up.
Feb 16, 2015 2:39AM PST
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Great!
Feb 16, 2015 4:45AM PST

Ok, from the Asus, Lenovo and Acer which one would you recommend ?

Would any of these be able to run photoshop ?

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I'm typing on my Lenovo y510p
Feb 16, 2015 4:57AM PST

Seems great. The one in the current #1 slot is the http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenovo-G50-30-15-6-inch-Notebook-Black/dp/B00PC8166C/ref=zg_bs_429886031_1 which looks to be the same CPU and RAM as my wife's x200ca which was a fine upgrade from an Vista HP model that was a slug in comparison.

To make like a little easier we installed Classic Shell (it's free and addresses about 99% of what folk don't like about 8.)

The G50 or some model like it should be in shops for a test drive. The Acers tend to be a little more flimsy (at least the ones we had over the years.)

The x200ca looks to be similar to ours at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-Vivobook-X200CA-CT112H-Intel®-1500/dp/B00GPJ4Z1K/ however I changed the HDD for some under 99USD SSD and it's a hoot.
Bob

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ok!
Feb 16, 2015 5:08AM PST

Thanks alot for the info!