While you can do a lot even when spending little on a Windows laptop, you must set your expectations accordingly. What to look for in a cheap Windows laptop Chromebooks limit you to the apps and programs in The Play Store and the Chrome Extensions store, reducing any others to unusable, space-sucking icons in your Downloads folder. You can run things like Adobe Creative Suite, certain VPNs and programs like GIMP, Audacity and ClipMate on a Windows device, which just isn’t possible on Chrome OS. Windows also gives you the ability to download and use programs from other sources, like direct from the developer. Windows may not have as many apps as Android, but at least the experience is fairly standard across the board. Android apps, in particular, often haven’t been optimized for Chrome OS, which makes for a wonky user experience. Chromebooks have some Chrome apps, numerous browser extensions and the ability to download Android apps, but quality control is… inconsistent. Windows also has thousands of apps that you can download from its app store. So, not great for hoarding Netflix shows before a long trip or using a Chromebook as a gaming laptop. Not only is that less convenient when you need to work offline, but it also limits the size of programs and files that you can download. In contrast, cheaper Chromebooks often have less storage because they’re built on the assumption that you’ll save all of your documents in the cloud. That will come in handy if you prefer to keep your most important files saved locally on your laptop. Even the most affordable devices tend to have at least 128GB SSDs. When it comes to specs, a bright spot for Windows laptops is storage. The only caveat is that you may run into some slowdown on low-powered devices if you’re multitasking or working with large data sets in Excel or a lot of photos and graphics in Powerpoint. While yes, there is a browser based version, the native, desktop apps are considered a must have for many and will run smoothly on even the most bare-bones budget laptop. Windows laptops have a big advantage, though, in Microsoft Office. They’re great for web browsing, checking email, video streaming and more - but, yes, all of those things can be done on Chromebooks as well. So what can you realistically accomplish on a cheap Windows laptop? Quite a bit, especially if you’re doing one thing (or a limited number of things) at a time. Tablets can also be just as expensive as some of the cheapest Windows laptops, and that’s without a mouse or keyboard.Ĭhromebooks are a good alternative for those that basically live in a browser, the trade-off being you must give up the “traditional desktop.” And Chrome OS is a more limited operating system than Windows when it comes to the programs you can install and run. Tablets will only work for the most mobile-competent users like kids who have been grabbing smartphones out of their parents’ hands since they’ve been dexterous enough to do so. Those instincts aren’t wrong, but Chromebooks and tablets aren’t the best buy for everyone. Now, you may be inclined to recommend a Chromebook or a tablet to all of the people listed above. And, depending on what you need them for, these devices can be decent daily drivers, too. (Hello, mom and dad?) They’re also good for kids who have no business putting their sticky little hands on a $2,000 gaming rig. Another good option Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2Īffordable Windows notebooks are great options for people that only use a computer to check email, shop online or post on Facebook.
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