Chromebook To Save Money

I am big windows 10 fan but in our office we have a lot people on road and need nothing but web browser pretty much I thought we could save some money on hardware by getting chromebooks instead of windows pc thoughts?

Conversation 11 comments

  • jimchamplin

    Premium Member
    01 June, 2017 - 9:53 am

    <p>Why not find decent Windows notebooks for similar money? They're going to run office type software pretty well, including all the stuff you already have… AND have a web browser!</p><p>I have a Lenovo IdeaPad 4. It's got a Core m3 and it was about $500. There's a Celeron version in the $275 range as well. The Celeron version and mine felt identical in the showroom in build quality. </p><p>I repeat: These machines will run your software just fine. </p>

    • helix2301

      Premium Member
      01 June, 2017 - 10:54 am

      <blockquote><a href="#121400"><em>In reply to jimchamplin:</em></a></blockquote><p>http://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-ideapad-110s-11-6-laptop-intel-celeron-2gb-memory-32gb-emmc-flash-memory-white/5580020.p?skuId=5580020 I found it for less</p>

      • Sprtfan

        01 June, 2017 - 11:46 am

        <blockquote><a href="#121428"><em>In reply to helix2301:</em></a></blockquote><p>with one year free on office 365 that seems like a really good deal. I think you can still upgrade the personal to a family plan pretty cheaply too. I'm guessing the laptop itself is pretty underwhelming though and you probably don't need that version of office 365 since you are looking for work. </p>

        • jimchamplin

          Premium Member
          01 June, 2017 - 12:01 pm

          <blockquote><a href="#121447"><em>In reply to Sprtfan:</em></a></blockquote><p>Well, my roomie just picked up the 64GB version of the Celeron edition so I'll give you an update after she's got it all configured. Her aim is indie games and cartooning probably in Photoshop.</p><p>I have no doubt that the thing will be just fine for all of these tasks.</p>

      • jimchamplin

        Premium Member
        01 June, 2017 - 11:56 am

        <blockquote><a href="#121428"><em>In reply to helix2301:</em></a></blockquote><p>Don't get a 32GB machine. Go for 64 at least or you'll want to rip your own arteries out.</p>

  • Sprtfan

    01 June, 2017 - 10:47 am

    <p>I think at this point you can find Windows notebooks with the same specs and build quality as the chromebooks for about the same price. The question then becomes do the lower spec machines run Windows as well I guess. From my limited experience with these type of devices the performance once you are up and running are about the same. I think the main advantage that chromebooks have over Windows laptops would be management and that doesn't seem to be an issue for you. </p>

  • Vuppe

    01 June, 2017 - 11:05 am

    <p>You have to remember you're not just potentially saving a few dollars on hardware but introducing a new operating system to your employees. Governments around the world switched from Windows to Linux in order to save those few dollars, but productivity dropped significantly from the change in OS. At least some are switching back to Windows.</p><p>This might not be as big of a problem if most of your needs are mostly browser-based, but it's still something to consider. Will your team be okay with using chromeOS? Will you suffer a loss in productivity? Will that loss of productivity exceed the hardware savings?</p><p>Then there's support to worry about. Microsoft has a habit of supporting software for long periods of time. Google has less data in this area, but generally do a good job. Plus it's easy for an IT team to work with a system they're used to like Windows, but if your IT solution is not familiar&nbsp;with chromeOS you may also see problems there leading to additional costs.</p><p>Whatever you decide on, best of luck!</p>

    • skane2600

      01 June, 2017 - 12:30 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#121433"><em>In reply to Vuppe:</em></a></blockquote><p>NIce, balanced, post.</p>

  • Tony Barrett

    01 June, 2017 - 11:54 am

    <p>The TCO for Windows *is* higher than a Chromebook. They're generally more expensive to buy (you pay a Microsoft tax on each one), they're more vulnerable to attack, require more admin overhead for management (patching, deployment etc). Chromebooks are generally cheaper to buy – although there are more expensive ones, are rapid to boot, update almost instantly and are very secure. Google do also provide Enterprise admin tools to manage them. If you just need a web browser, they will easily fit the bill.</p><p>What you've actually just realised, as many more will over time, is that you don't actually *need* Windows (no matter what others say here). You just need something with a web browser that's fast, cheap, secure and reliable, and that, in a nutshell, is a Chromebook. No one I've ever seen can't just pick up a Chromebook and use it – it's that simple. Once you're in the browser itself, nobody will notice any difference.</p>

    • skane2600

      01 June, 2017 - 12:29 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#121452"><em>In reply to Tony Barrett:</em></a></blockquote><p>You can buy low-end PCs for less money than a Chromebook, so purchasing cost isn't really a factor. How much management a PC requires is really up to the organization. If an organization likes to micromanage their computers, it's likely that a Chromebook won't fit the bill. Very few organizations rely 100% on web apps. </p>

  • wunderbar

    Premium Member
    01 June, 2017 - 3:21 pm

    <p>This has been said but can't re-iterate enough that you have to weigh *all* the associated costs.</p><p><br></p><p>Sure, you'll a couple hundred dollars in savings per unit, but over 3-4 years you'll have it, it'll be nothing. And the support costs in terms of learning a new system, time, user training, etc, might end up costing more in the longer run.</p><p><br></p><p>I'm not saying don't do it or that it won't work, but often times the shorter term thinking about saving a little bit of money now ends up costing more in the long run. Take the time and do a proper analysis of the actual costs instead of just jumping at a lower sticker price.</p>

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