Chromebook c720

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drbrock

drbrock

Golden Member
Feb 8, 2008
1,333
8
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Just bought the c720 for 100 bucks from the best buy deal. Really pumped about it but I don' t know that much about chromebooks. This is primarily going to be a media player with light browsing. Is uBuntu really worth my time for dual booting? What can I do on it that makes a huge difference? I have only used windows for an OS so far so I don't have a lot of knowledge regarding linux.

Debating about upgrading the harddrive to 128 but might just add a 64gb sd card if I need a ton of space.

any great apps for usenet?

Any great apps in General for Chrome OS?

Heck any tips in general will be appreciated.
 
Kaido

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,912
5,545
136
I have the C720P, touchscreen version with 2GB. It's plenty fast with 2GB, I wouldn't bother with the 4GB model. I also wouldn't buy the touchscreen again. I have an 11.6" Lenovo touchscreen laptop for work and it has a far better touchscreen quality. I thought some apps like Cut The Rope & stuff would be fun for my kiddo, but meh. It also gets annoying if hair or dust gets on the screen & you wipe it off, and the screen scrolls or clicks.

2GB C720 is the way to go imo. BB has a great deal on it with the trade-in. It's so effortless to use...great battery life, instant-on, mine just kind of hangs around the house.
 
poofyhairguy

poofyhairguy

Lifer
Nov 20, 2005
14,612
318
126
drbrock said:
Just bought the c720 for 100 bucks from the best buy deal. Really pumped about it but I don' t know that much about chromebooks. This is primarily going to be a media player with light browsing. Is uBuntu really worth my time for dual booting?
Click to expand...

Seeing how you are asking about Usenet downloading that would be a yes.

A Chromebook is just a stripped OS with a web browser and web browser apps. It is meant for people with really basic needs. If you know what the Usenet is you are too advanced of a user for Chrome OS. There is nothing like SABnzbd for Chrome OS, nor any really good media players. I think there is a torrent client though.

With Ubuntu you could run SABnzbd, Sickbeard, coach potato, etc. You could also run top-tier media apps like VLC. If that was my Chromebook it would boot Ubuntu day one and never go back...

I have only used windows for an OS so far so I don't have a lot of knowledge regarding linux.
Click to expand...

It can be quite a learning curve, but it would be worth it for the capability. It is like learning any new OS, luckily there are many guides online to help you on Ubuntu's website.
 
Last edited:
CuriousMike

CuriousMike

Diamond Member
Feb 22, 2001
3,044
543
136
FYI, reddit has sections for chromeos and crouton (dual-booting into Linux.)
 
luv2liv

luv2liv

Diamond Member
Dec 27, 2001
3,499
94
91
i got a chromebook and expected it to work like a normal laptop. boy was i wrong!
opening an 8megapixel jpg from a p/s cam took at least 10 seconds.
it works fine for email and surfing. think of it as a tablet with kb and trackpad.
 
CuriousMike

CuriousMike

Diamond Member
Feb 22, 2001
3,044
543
136
luv2liv said:
opening an 8megapixel jpg from a p/s cam took at least 10 seconds.
Click to expand...

That doesn't sound normal.

I have used my 12mp Nikon D5000 memory card plugged straight into my Chromebook and it loaded the files pretty quickly.
 
gmaster456

gmaster456

Golden Member
Sep 7, 2011
1,877
0
71
A Chromebook is good for web browsing, checking emails and creating documents. It is a more functional tablet. But if you want to get heavier work done a Surface, T100, or another windows tablet or laptop would probably suit you better. $100 is a great price though.
 
Ravynmagi

Ravynmagi

Diamond Member
Jun 16, 2007
3,102
24
81
luv2liv said:
i got a chromebook and expected it to work like a normal laptop. boy was i wrong!
opening an 8megapixel jpg from a p/s cam took at least 10 seconds.
it works fine for email and surfing. think of it as a tablet with kb and trackpad.
Click to expand...

CuriousMike said:
That doesn't sound normal.

I have used my 12mp Nikon D5000 memory card plugged straight into my Chromebook and it loaded the files pretty quickly.
Click to expand...

If it's an ARM based model with eMMC, then it probably sounds about right.

I used my BB coupons and got the HP Chromebook 11 which runs off an old dual core ARM (circa 2012) with eMMC storage. It's slow, but I love the beautiful IPS display and I think the build quality is better than other Chromebooks.
 
Ravynmagi

Ravynmagi

Diamond Member
Jun 16, 2007
3,102
24
81
Zxian said:
It's not. The C720 has a Haswell processor that's plenty quick for everything short of Crysis.
Click to expand...

I was replying to Luv2liv who said it said it takes 10 seconds to open a picture from a Chromebook. Not sure if you mean you know what type of Chromebook Luv2liv has or are just trying to confuse me. :)
 
Bateluer

Bateluer

Lifer
Jun 23, 2001
27,730
8
0
Zxian said:
It's not. The C720 has a Haswell processor that's plenty quick for everything short of Crysis.
Click to expand...

I can attest to this. The 2955U in my Asus Chromebox runs circles around the A6 1450 in my subnotebook. No slow downs or performance problems at all.
 
Zaap

Zaap

Diamond Member
Jun 12, 2008
7,162
424
126
100 bucks is a steal for that.

I wonder that the parameters are for the $100 XP exchange at Best Buy.

I've got several old and mostly useless laptops I'd happily (even guiltily) trade in for a $99 chromebook. (At least one running XP). Might have to look into that unless the trade up is over.
 
Bateluer

Bateluer

Lifer
Jun 23, 2001
27,730
8
0
Zaap said:
100 bucks is a steal for that.

I wonder that the parameters are for the $100 XP exchange at Best Buy.

I've got several old and mostly useless laptops I'd happily (even guiltily) trade in for a $99 chromebook. (At least one running XP). Might have to look into that unless the trade up is over.
Click to expand...

There's some strings attached to it. Working order, must boot, battery&charged need to be included, must have WinXP sticker on it, etc. Details on on the Slickdeals link I posted.
 
G

gus6464

Golden Member
Nov 10, 2005
1,848
32
91
My wife has the oldest Compaq laptop ever that meets all those requirements. Now to decide on whether to buy the C720 or the Toshiba chromebook and put Linux on it.
 
drbrock

drbrock

Golden Member
Feb 8, 2008
1,333
8
81
gus6464 said:
My wife has the oldest Compaq laptop ever that meets all those requirements. Now to decide on whether to buy the C720 or the Toshiba chromebook and put Linux on it.
Click to expand...

From what I have read the c720 is the best chromebook out for the money.
 
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