Chromebook size help

[robinh73]

I am in the process of buying a Chromebook to replace an ageing laptop. Decided on a Chromebook as I use Google apps such as Docs, My Business, Calendar and Drive and like the way that these integrate with my phone. I use my laptop for Xero accounts package, internet browsing and basic Google apps. Does anybody have any experience of day to day use of a laptop with an 11.6" screen? I like the portability of this size, but want it to be usable. I am torn between an 11.6" or 13" machine.

[Horace Van Khute]

If I was buying a Chromebook I'd wait for the IdeaPad Flex 5 Chromebook.

I would never go lower than 13 inch personally.

[AlexC1981]

11.6" is fine for browsing the web, but anything more then go with 13".

[AJB88]

13" or 15" if you are using it daily.

[robinh73]

Cheers, that has confirmed what I thought. I think I will opt for a 13" as my current laptop is just under 14, so a pretty close match.

[ZesPak]

Bought my son a 14" Asus Chromebook iirc, it fits in most 13" bags (thin bezels) and I wouldn't mind having to work on it for a couple of hours.
We've got a 13" windows machine as well and that's about the smallest I'd go, good for sofa browsing but not for several hours of working imho.

[Corso Marche]

I use a 12.3" 3:2 display, and that's about the limit for a laptop. My advice is go for something which supports more than 1920x1080 if you can. It may not be possible given budget constraints etc but it makes a world of difference to me when I've multiple apps open, use split-screen, and use virtual desktops.
I occasionally hook it up to an external monitor for image editing, but most of the time I just use the in-built display.

The advice above on the Flex 5 is sound. Like most Chromebooks in that bracket it has a 1920x1080 display, but by all accounts it seems to be a very decent machine which would be hard to pass by if you're shopping for Chromebooks.

I've another smaller 10" device, and that's perfect for surfing on the couch etc, or typing up something simple like a 1 page document, but for productive work both 10" and 11.6" are too small.

Edited by Corso Marche on Thursday 18th June 20:23

[51mes]

Make sure it has at least 64GB of disk (internal) and more than 2GB of RAM. This is whats needed for the android subsystem to run - so you can use play store apps rather than Chrome's web store.

I'd go for a 13" - bought one of the Asus flip C302 core M3 touchscreen machines about 18 months ago and it's a great machine (touch works well with Android - and it makes a great tablet). I find a 10 or 11" screen too small for long term use and liek other posters like the 1920x1080 high resolution,
some of the smaller machines suffer from the cheap laptop case issue poor keyboard and an awful lot of body flex.

Also check the end of support dates from google for ChromeOS on the device to ensure you will keep on getting updates. - I've got another 3 years on my flip. https://www.theregister.com/2019/08/22/buying_a_ch...

I use it for all sorts of things and travel with it rather than with my Dell XPS

Edited by 51mes on Thursday 18th June 20:49

[AJB88]

I'd say 4gb ram isn't enough either.

[51mes]

AJB88 said:

I'd say 4gb ram isn't enough either.

For home normal use - web browsing some google docs and a few android apps I'd say 4GB is fine - I've not had problems in the last 18 months, power users on the other hand yeah totally agree.

[AJB88]

My LG Chromebase was sluggish with 4GB, If I ran TOP I could see it was maxing out, I set up a swap Ram to help but ended up installing 8gb, that was literally browsing with about 8 tabs open and Youtube/Google Play Music.

My old Acer C710 was the same as well.

[sparkyhx]

AJB88 said:

13" or 15" if you are using it daily.

NOD