Please help me choose a new Chromebook

November 20, 2023 10:17 AM

I don't game, don't stream, don't edit graphics and have wee tiny hands. Help me choose a new Chromebook to take advantage of Black Friday, please?

Bought my first 11" HP Chromebook in 2014 and it was fine until it just got insanely slow and a lot of those "Wait for the page or leave?" and "Aw, snap!" notifications. In 2020 I bought another, stupidly not realizing that the AUE date was July 2022. Now I'm back to insanely slow and wifi dropping out. Diagnostic tests sometimes come back "WARNING Local Network Can't contact gateway" even though my network is stable.

I love the 11" for travel, which I do pretty frequently, but technically probably could get a 14" and take the 11" on the road until it dies. I'm a writer, frugal, this is my only computer, and my entire life is in the cloud. Like the idea of staying with HP since that would give me an extra charger, but am open to other suggestions. I'd like to stay under $300. The non-responsiveness and slowness in the Chrome browser is my biggest pain ... I barely use any other apps. Thank you!

posted by cyndigo to Computers & Internet (3 answers total)

Chromebook Plus is the new certification Google has for Chromebooks that have a minimum standard of specifications to ensure a modern experience. I'd personally look at the ASUS Chromebook Plus CX34. A bit more than your desired price, but the updated hardware (8gb ram, wifi 6, etc) that should give you a little future proofing.
posted by bluecore at 12:09 PM on November 20

I got this one recently and really like it. I also have an older version of the same one that still works.
posted by mareli at 7:38 PM on November 20

I can't recommend a specific model, but if you write a lot I would go for a 16:10 rather than 16:9 ratio screen. It is the only thing I don't like about my old Pixelbook Go.
posted by alby at 10:41 PM on November 20