Chromebook Computer System Selection Guide

What is the minimum specification for a Chromebook computer to suit your needs?
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Chromebook Advantages and Disadvantages
Chromebook Computer Advantages	Chromebook Computer Disadavantages
Cheaper laptop style computer.	Limited expansion options.
Start time is under 10 seconds.	Internet connection needed for many apps.
Can be used without mains power for 8-12 hours.	Slow Internet can slow applications.
Google office suite included + cloud storage.	Costs for more than the free 15 GB cloud storage.
Self updating. No Anti virus needed.	Applications are mainly website / cloud based.
Very low power consumption. < 20 Watts.	Lower performance compared to a laptop.

Chromebook Computer System Selection Guide

Click in the check boxes or select values on the right for each row that describes your usage. Click the Get Results button to generate the computer system specification results.

Chromebook Computer System Requirement

Computer Hardware Category	Examples	Needs	Specifications	You Require
Light use	email, Internet browsing, social media, word processing, cloud services	Single Processor, minimum memory	Celeron, Pentium 1GB memory 32 GB hard disk
Medium use	+ more tabs (websites / applications) open	+ more memory	2 GB memory
High use	High definition playback + even more tabs (websites / applications)	+ more processor + more memory + high definition screen	Quad processor 4 GB memory HD Screen e.g. 1920 x 1080
Chromebook Display	LCD Monitor	A HDMI port and cable can be used to connect to a larger monitor. A Chromecast can be used to deliver video and audio to a television wirelessly.	10" 11" 12" 13" 14" 15" inches
Chrome + Android	Limited models allow both	Chrome browser apps + Android Google Play apps	Touchscreen Chromebook
External Mouse	Optical mouse have less maintenance issues. Wireless mouse also possible.	USB connector	One spare USB socket
Web Camera	Used for video conferencing.	Many Chromebooks have a web camera built in.
Backup drive Documents stored in cloud by default.	Copy user files, pictures, video, documents Very small sized flash drives can be used to extend Chromebook storage.	For a single computer use a USB external drive.	USB Flash drive 8 GB to 128 GB. USB drive 320 GB to 2000 GB.
Printer	Print documents or photos	Printer must be Google Print compatible.	Inkjet or mono laser or colour laser printer. Inkjets are better for photos. Laser is cheaper per print cost.
Sound	For music, VOIP communications, video conferencing etc.	Can be headphones or USB headset with microphone	Audio connectors assumed on all computers. Many Chromebooks have webcam, microphone and speaker built in.
Networking	Wireless Ethernet Wifi 3G Wifi modem	Most Chromebooks use Wifi and requires a broadband router that supports Wifi. Wireless 3G modems may suit when other broadband types are unavailable.	Wireless Ethernet ac/a/b/g/n standards for house area. Mobile 3G /4G for city wide coverage. School, library, university may have Wifi available also.
Power Surge Protection	This can be on a single power point or a power board.
Software Type	Chromebook Provided Example	Free Example	Paid Example	Check if you require the paid example
Word Processor	Google Docs		Office 365 Word
Email	Google Gmail	Yahoo \ Hotmail	Office 365 Outlook
Spreadsheets	Google Sheets		Office 365 Excel
Presentations	Google Slides	Slideshare	Office 365 PowerPoint , Sway
Photo Editing	Google Drawings	Picasa, Pixlr Editor	Photoshop Online, Canva
Web pages		Drive Notepad, sFTP Client, Wordpress	Premium content management system (CMS) E.g. Templates, plug ins, ecommerce.
Databases	Google Forms >> Google Sheets		Office 365 Access, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Compute, Amazon Web Services, Website hosting database

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Chromebook Computer System Selection Results

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How to connect to the Internet?

A Chromebook needs a wireless Ethernet WiFi connection to the Internet.
The wifi network name and password is needed for a connection.
There are multiple wireless network standards available AC B G N. G is most popular and also handle B protocols. AC is fastest but a relatively new standard. All wifi components need to work to one standard.
If the building is very hard to cable and the solid walls are too thick for wifi, then Ethernet adapters can use the house mains wiring as a communication medium. These are expensive and relatively slow. Wireless Access Points and Wireless repeaters can be used to extend the wired / WiFi network.

For a new Internet connection the options include ADSL, cable, Fibre NBN, Wireless NBN, Satellite NBN and mobile 3G/4G. Appropriate hardware and possible cabling need to be considered.

Chromebook Alternatives

Chromebox - Small box like Chrome computer that requires an external screen, keyboard and mouse. Often uses wired Ethernet connection. Useful for computer kiosk or office location.

Chromebit - Very small HDMI / Micro USB Chrome computer that plugs into the back of a monitor or television. Uses Bluetooth for keyboard and mouse. Wifi is used for networking.

Chromebook Advanced Uses

Thin Client / Remote Desktop A Chromebook can use Chrome RDP application to log into a Windows Server and use a Windows 7/8/10 virtual machine instance.

Cloud Based Application User A Chromebook can use Office 365 (cloud) Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Sway, Mail, People, Calendar and One Drive cloud storage. You need a Office 365 paid subscription. Group Business Office 365 subscriptions can share documents.

Chromebooks for Education Chromebooks for a school can be managed as a group. Multiple users can share Chromebooks each with their own individual login. Documents are stored in the cloud.

Chromebook Selection Product Examples

Click on Chromebook images for more information

Samsung XE510C24-K01US Chromebook Pro	Dell Chromebook 11 3180 83C80 11.6-Inch Traditional Laptop (Black)	ASUS C302CA-DHM4 Chromebook Flip 12.5-inch Touchscreen Convertible Chromebook, Intel Core m3, 4GB RAM, 64GB Flash Storage, All-Metal Body, USB Type C, Corning Gorilla Glass, Chrome OS
Acer Chromebook Spin 13 CP713-1WN-53NF Convertible Laptop, 8th Gen Intel Core i5-8250U, 13.5" 2256 x 1504 Touchscreen, 8GB LPDDR3, 128GB eMMC, Backlit Keyboard, Aluminum Chassis	HP Chromebook, Intel Celeron N2840, 4GB RAM, 16GB eMMC with Chrome OS (14-ak040nr)	Lenovo Flex 11 Chromebook 11.6-Inch HD IPS Touch Panel (1366x768) MTK 8173c 4GB 32GB Chrome - ZA270025US

Chromebook Computer System Selection Guide