Chromebooks come in a variety of configurations. Sometimes, even trying to decide what options to have on a single model can be overwhelming. As a product tester, I use a spreadsheet to make sure everything goes smoothly. But you don’t have to do that, so here it is some broad specifications keep in mind.
processor: Chromebooks use half a dozen different processors, most of which you’ve probably never heard of. There’s a reason for that: These processors are slow, and they don’t show up in Windows laptops. After trying so many Intel Celeron based machines, my advice is to go for something more powerful if you can afford it. The next step up from Celeron is the Core m3, which is the best option for most people. If you want a more powerful, future-proof machine, buy an i3 or i5 chip.
We’re starting to see more ARM-based Chromebooks, such as the Lenovo Duet above. I haven’t had any issues using Chromebook ARM, but they’re not as fast as Intel Core chips. There are a number of newer Chromebooks that use AMD’s latest Ryzen chips, and I’ve had good experiences with them.
DAMING: Get 8 GB of storage if you can afford it, especially if you plan to run any Android apps. When I experience slowness and serious hiccups, it almost always happens on Chromebooks with only 4 GB of RAM.
Screen: Get an IPS LCD monitor. There are still some low-end models with worse TN LCDs and you should avoid those. Your pixel resolution depends on the size of your screen. I’ve used (and recommend) several 11-inch Chromebooks with 720p displays. Because those screens are compressed into a small form factor, I found them to be acceptable sharp, but a 1080p display would be much nicer.
Gate: Most of what you do on your Chromebook is cloud-based, so you don’t really need to worry too much about ports. You might want a computer that charges via USB-C if you want to be able to run your Chromebook on a portable battery/charger, but USB-C charging is almost exclusively available on mid- to high-priced models. than. It also helps to have a MicroSD slot to expand storage if you need to download a lot of files in a typical day, but that option isn’t widely available either.
