Haier Chromebook 11 vs HP Stream 11

[Geodude074]

Haier Chromebook 11, $149 Chromebook.
http://www.amazon.com/Haier-Chromeb...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU4349182

HP Stream 11, $199 Windows 8 Laptop
Amazon.com: HP Stream 11 Laptop Includes Office 365 Personal for One Year (Horizon Blue): Computers & Accessories

Which one would you rather have, and why?

Also, there's the ASUS X205TA, $199 Windows 8 laptop
http://www.amazon.com/EeeBook-X205T...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU4349182

 

[B. Diddy]

Chromebook by a mile. I find cheap Windows laptops to be very tedious to use. Slow bootup, slow updates (and soooo many updates), general lagginess.

 

[Geodude074]

I like the idea of Chrome OS, but I'm extremely skeptical of the Rockship SoC. I doubt it's any better - if even equivalent - to Samsung's Exynos SoC. And Samsung's Exynos simply cannot compete against Intel's Baytrail or Haswell CPUs inside other Chromebooks.

Also, most Chromebooks come with only 2 GB of RAM, which is simply insufficient for Chrome. Chrome is a total memory hog, and anything more than 4-5 tabs will completely bog the system down. If you were to get a Chromebook, I would advise getting one with 4 GB of RAM, since RAM is nonupgradable in Chromebooks.

Then there's the issue of storage. While you can expand the storage with a 128 GB SD card, what sucks is that 128 GB SD cards are the same cost as 128 GB SSDs, or even MORE expensive if you want a high quality one.

SanDisk 120 GB SSD for $55

[URL="http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Memory-Frustration-Free-Packaging--SDSDU-128G-AFFP/dp/B00DGKYRPA/?t=androidcentral00-20&tag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU4351242]SanDisk 128 GB SD card for $70[/URL]

I mean, wtf, why get a lower-performing SD that's less than half the performance of an SSD, when the SSD is cheaper as well? And if you shop around, you can get a good deal on an SSD as well. A few months ago I bought a Crucial 256 GB SSD for $84! Brand new from NewEgg.

Anyways, I've been doing some shopping, and the Chromebook I'm most interested in is the Dell Chromebook 11.

 

[B. Diddy]

Good point about the Rockchip. It'll be interesting to see how it performs in the real world.

I find that my Acer C720 (with the Haswell) actually performs quite nicely with only 2 GB RAM and 16 GB SSD. I primarily do a lot of web activity (like posting on these forums, checking out G+ and Facebook, doing light productivity with Google Drive apps, and listening to Google Play Music). I never have any problems with 5 or even 6 tabs open. But the advice of getting 4 GB RAM if possible is always good.

 

[B. Diddy]

Here's an initial hands-on from JR Raphael: Hands on: What a $149 Chromebook is actually like to use | Computerworld