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I've been following this thread with interest. The underlying question is invariably that it depends on what she wants to do with it. The minute you say "browse", for example, the answer is simplified. I've tried 4GB machines with linux, with Windows 10, with android, and if you go beyond a dozen tabs or a day's browsing you slow to a crawl. It's not a processor issue, it's a memory issue. If anyone here has had a better experience on 4GB I'd be interested in a description. I've tried the HP Stream with linux and with Windows 10, and the Lenovo s130, and the Geo, and the memory is the eventual limitation with any browser I tried. The session starts out fine and eventually it goes downhill. I would imagine that if you stick to one or two tabs and check a page or two every hour you could manage fine but it's a big restraint. Has anyone used a Chromebook and not had this experience? Maybe they can but I can't see how. I can think of two cheapest approaches to avoid the memory limitation. The Raspberry Pi-4 with 8GB holds up indefinitely. I don't think you could turn it into a laptop easily but that extra memory makes it problem-free for browsing all day. Or, in laptop terms, you might be willing to buy off eBay if a laptop's still in original manufacturer warranty, much like you might buy a car - the big depreciation from new has already happened. I'd buy fanless so the laptop will keep running past the point where dust would make the machine hot and noisy - cleaning fans in a laptop is not nice. I've set up two fanless laptops this year for £400 and £480, both 16GB FHD, a Thinkpad A285 and a Dell Latitude 7370, both under a year old. No moving parts. I don't need a lot of processor or GPU. For the one I use I keep the windows 10 M.2 drive in a drawer and run a linux M.2 which works in most machines if I need options. I don't think you'd get a new 8GB laptop for less than that, and I don't think a laptop less than 8GB is a good buy. On Sun, 27 Sep 2020 at 11:32, Neil <barnaby@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > > My wife has an old laptop, over seven years now, and says it is getting > a bit slow. (Not an SSD). I agree it is time for an upgrade. She has > been looking around the internet and has come across chromebooks. I have > told her that it would not be a good idea to go in for one of those. Too > slow for a start. > > Did I do the right thing? > > Thanks, > > Neil > > > -- > The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG > https://mailman.dcglug.org.uk/listinfo/list > FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/listfaq -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG https://mailman.dcglug.org.uk/listinfo/list FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/listfaq