Oh my God, I remember the video I seen yesterday up in marques brownlee doing a full sponsored video and then I see Josh refuse the offer. My appreciation only grows. Thanks for the integrity
There's a lot of room between $300 and like $2, 000. Like I rarely seem to see many reviews these days of even like $700 laptops which should be enough to get you something more than serviceable. How a couple years ago it used to be enough to get you a brand new Surface Pro. Which was a flawed device but certainly an acceptable Ultrabook for daily driver use for students in the like
The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 14IAU7 is $300 at MicroCenter, has an Intel Core i3 1215U, 8GB RAM (soldered with 1 open SO DIMM slot for upgrades), 256GB SSD (M.2 NVMe). It’s a pretty nice machine for the money. The display is only rated for 220 nits, and the webcam is mediocre. It’s a good bit faster than the two machines in this video.
@ Yeah, I guess Denver or LA is a bit of a drive. Good news is many (but definitely not all) of their deals are available for shipping. In-store only is a limited subset of the deals. Also, they say a Santa Clara store is coming soon. Still a big drive, but getting closer to you.
@@mrbobgamingmemes9558 yes. ive wondered why they even manufacture these. maybe it is to show to customers that cheap usable laptops are impossible. while in reality a decent celeron cpu, 8gb ram and an ssd can make a usable laptop.
@@mrbobgamingmemes9558actually no. My previous work laptop was a measly 2 core 2 thread Intel atom with 4 GB of RAM to boot! It was actually fine for light work and browsing once I upgraded the drive to SSD. The problem is the RAM, 4 GB of RAM is barely usable in windows 10. I can only open several tabs on my browser before it got sluggish.
I've been using a Chuwi MiniBook with the N100 chip for like a year now and I have the screen "overclocked" to 90hz :) Its a low cost laptop so I didn't mind if it gets damaged but it's been pretty good so far. I use it regularly even with WSL for developer tasks. I wouldn't use it as a primary device but I love how cheap and performant it is
@@A4orce84 just be aware though, that forcing the refresh rate with CRU can potentially damage your screen. It’s not as straightforward or safe as overclocking a CPU, so proceed with caution
@@A4orce84 Sorry I tried to send another comment and nothing happened. The application I used is called CRU (custom resolution utility). It lets you force a higher refresh rate
I've been trying to send my reply multiple times but it gets deleted somehow. The app used is called Custom Resolution Utility (CRU) and it lets you set the desired resolution and refresh rate. I kept trying to get higher refresh rates 5hz more each time until it no longer showed display. It's pretty straight forward and easy to use IMO
I used to watch TechTablets just to follow up with Chuwi product development, but since the channel moved to a more established review, I feel somewhat relived seeing Josh reviewed it instead we surely need more 10-11inch functional 2-in-1 laptops!!
And 10 inch is basically similar to netbook form factor from the past. Like we got a full netbook experience, but actually usable for most basic-medium tasks
I really like that graph on 3:10. It shows why other $300 laptops are just e-waste; I don't think I could've even imagined a literal quarter the performance in single-core and a tenth the performance in multi-core. However, it also shows the jump in performance to the more commonly seen ultraportable processors to make it clear that there is a massive jump in performance again by paying more or going Used (M1 Macbook Airs in poor cosmetic condition with scuffs cost around $400 while refurbished ones cost $550). It's an important trade-off to consider, but, also, some people just need a laptop right now and cannot afford the extra cost. This video's still important because so many RUclipsrs just live in this bubble where they think people can always choose the optimal price to quality laptop. This is the real low-end, and it's even more important to get information here because people will get scammed with e-waste.
I bought a laptop on sale for under $300$. It's a Vivobook S14 Flip with an i3 1220p processor and 4GB RAM. I upgraded to 12 GB RAM. Compared to those Chuwi laptops, the only thing I really want is that 2K display.
Vertical row of Home-End-PgUp-PgDn is fantastic! I was absolutely happy to use a laptop with such a layout, it was super convenient. Even better than PgUp - PgDn around the top cursor key (which is still 100 times better than paging keys somewhere on top on no separate keys for these functions at all).
I'm from Poland here recently there is lot of laptops with Ryzen 5300 and Ryzen 5500 on sale for 300-350 USD. The only thing to keep in mind with them is to make sure that they have dual channel RAM. If yes then you can even play some games on those because they have much better integrated GPU Vega 6/7 depend on CPU model.
The minibook definetly looks fun. I wish more manufacturers would make smaller form laptops again. Processors nowadays are way better than the old celerons or atoms years ago.
With stuff like this coming out, lenovo isn't doing us justice with their regular yogas screens. 300 nits, 60 hz, and borderline color gamut. All for the average of $900. 3 times the cost of these.
Pairing that 10" laptop with a fantasy future processor that's the N100 with Lunar Lake process, would probably be awesome. Until then the battery life definitely is a bummer.
The freebook wouldve been my choice of college-notebook if it existed few years back! I bought a used ThinkBook x280 12,5inch for about 260 Euros, and i figure it has its advantages over the chuwi freebook in batterylife or buildquality maybe... but a bright 2k screen and 12GB of memory are just deciding factors vs the FHD 8GB RAM Thinkbook x280, the soldered measly 8GB just suffocate the performance so much. Im keen on the upcoming 10-13inch Notebook-reviews, its literally THE school and college formfactor for documentwork and research on the go due to the portability. Thanks for doing what you do Josh and Team, great video as always!
I still have a Chuwi Aerobook that works like a charm after all these years with windows 10. It was the reasonable choice for a cheap small laptop to consume media and browse the web during my work travels
I've owned a Minibook X for a couple of months already, been a big fan of Chuwi since they actually have local warehouses in Europe. It's a great lil laptop, which has enough memory and a nice screen to work with. The chip is a lil slow, but it has great media accelerators. Gaming is on the table, but only if you're fine with the most basic of games My only gripes with it really are that the glued on feet come off quickly, and that the hinge is starting to become a lil less strong after months of use. Nothing worrying yet, but Im sure it won't last for 6 years
why not use Arm SOCs? even mobile SOCs are faster than that(and probably more efficient and maybe even cheaper) like it would be really good to see dimensity 8300 or 8400 in 300-500$ laptops or even the dimensity 9400 in 500-600$ laptops with great display and TouchPad, most people don't need more than that level of performance especially since it has really good single core performance and very efficient
Before a full reccomendation can you guys send this to nuclear notebooks? Cheap laptops often suffer in build quality and i am interested what his full breakdown will reveal
Hey super cool to see you add the additional comment about the speakers and if they are affected by being on a blanket, I appreciate it. Now I just need you to go back in time and do that for the zenbook s14 and hp omnibook flip haha
I too like small laptops and have several inexpensive devices (a Chromebook and a Chrome tablet) but I followed Josh's original advice and bought a New Old Stock Lenovo ThinkPad Nano as a Windows/Linux machine. It was 2x the price of the Chuwis, but no real issues and it feels like it has many years left. I think buying low end is fine if the device fits your current need but if you can saving up and buying better should allow you many years of use.
I've watched your videos for a long. I bought an HP Omen 15" for my personal use. I don't need a lot of power and don't stress the machine very much but I wanted a good screen and a good cooling situation, and power if I did need it. The problem is quality control is difficult with a lot of brands and after a couple of year my keyboard has serious problems. So I think buyers should resist the urge to splurge on a laptop thinking it will be a long term investement because no brand can guarantee that. My philosophy will change to buying something that is adequate for my use at the lowest price so if it does turn out to have faults I won't be so upset if I have to replace it sooner than expected. I think in today's market even the most minimum/casual user needs 4 cores minimum, and 512GB SSD minimum.
I recently purchased a Thinkpad X1 Carbon Gen 6 for around 250$. I think it's a great option if you want something budget-friendly with no compromises. Mine had i5, 16 gb ram, and 512 ssd, plus a 2k screen. Being a used laptop, it's better to check its condition before buying.
I feel the trackpad would be a non issue for people like me that don't click the button ever. The Freebook 13 would be my choice if used business laptops were not an option. Old Thinkpads, Precisions usually had more parts available too. These new machines are so disposable. I want something that sold a lot so there is plenty of parts kicking around. Even replacement batteries are hard to get. USB-C Power Delivery is good to have for extending battery life too!
Josh, this video is a big step up. You have earned my respect. Back then there was a dip in quality but this video is a step up! ❤🎉 Also...where is the Thinkpad video you said in "best laptops over the years" 😅
I've had the gemibook pro 14 for 3 years now and the screen is amazing. The hardware inside allows me to do pretty much all I want. The only bad thing about it is only having a usb port.
I just don't understand what is the point of having higher than 1080p screens on laptops, especially weak laptops. The iGPU can barely run them when doing anything demanding and you are forced to use lower resolution which looks bad. Interesting about this CPU. Compared to the one on my laptop (i7-4710HQ), it is faster in single core, but slower in multicore performance, based on the Cinebench R23 scores here. The performance should be fine for most simple tasks.
@@luisortega8085 The problem is not the lower resolution on its own. The problem is the lower resolution with the higher resolution monitor. Gaming or not. And in this particular case, who is going to get a machine for rendering and go for a N100 laptop? Are you serious?
Dimensity should make cheaper ARM processors just for these laptops. These are going to sell like hot cakes among students and those who don’t need a beast all the time.
Only other good laptop I could think of for $300 is getting a used Dell XPS 15 9500 with an i5-10300H, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. But most people don't want to go used. Nice finds!
I had a Chuwi 10 years ago. Worked ok, but the CPU was a bit anemic. Would be cool if they had some AMD versions with big cores and competent GPU. If Linux works then ChromeOS flex shouldn't be an issue.
the msi modern c12m is a great budget laptop that I think deserves a look at, I've been using mine for months and its criminally good for the price, obviously it has its pitfalls but for what the retail price is they're more than acceptable.
Yeah I have the MSI Modern B7M, which is similar to your model and also great performance for value. For 329€ you get 16GB of RAM and a Zen 3 Ryzen 5 processor, which is much more powerful than the N100 in these Chuwi laptops, so Windows feel snappier. The only major downside is the annoying fan noise, but it's not that much of an issue if you use headphones.
Josh, this Freebook looks amazing for the price; this is exactly what I expect for the price, and it would destroy everything in the Chromebook market if it had Chrome OS. I would love to see this Freebook form factor with better specs and a much larger battery in the $500-700 range. I would buy that instantly, especially if it had a Chrome OS variant.
Damn, great laptops for the price. Only thing I can see being a problem is the small batteries. And on the minibook the 50hz screen. Otherwise, they would be "perfect" (for the price)
I have i3-3120m laptop with installed linux. I can work with android studio, pycharm and even firfox together. it works decently. I would not complain. it can handle my programming tasks. I don't think my laptop is only "usable". I like your video. don't get me wrong.
@JustJoshTech could you try overclocking the MIniBook screen refresh rate to 90hz and share your results? Mine's been working like that for almost a year. I'm aware it can damage the panel but I wanted to stress it since I have the intuition these panels have better specs than what CHUWI says they have
Last year, I bought Laptop I currently use (Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 14"). Well this Laptop use Intel Core i3 1115G4, 512 SSD, and 8 GB RAM, but mine are Upgradeable (SSD and RAM), it even comes with 2,5" drive bay. 1 year use, everything are just fine. With 1 exception, it kinda not works well if running Linux (perhaps this laptop is meant to run Windows by default) The Issues I found, is Randomly disappeared WiFi (perhaps it's issue from Wireless card). Display maybe TN, but at least it has matter coating and I'm person who already comfy with this panel
My old laptop from best buy is on sale for around $359 but it is lemon. Its msrp price is $1,299 which is crazy for its high price and weird combo of specs. Thankfully my new laptop (legion 7i gen 9) came around after my old laptop didn’t work and my birthday was approaching at that time. It’s been two months and I’m glad to have the legion 7i. Much better than my old laptop (asus q540 creators laptop).
It's it is out of stock but I don't know maybe there's a regional component to that. That's a wild price even for a thermally challenged device like that
Why don't buy the Acer Aspire? I got mine with i5 1235u at 25k inr (300usd) during sale. And i3 1215u model normally goes at 300. The N100 does NOT make any sense
It's very slight camera banding, not PWM. Take your camera, and set your monitor to 60, 59, 50, 49 hz refresh rates and you'll see. And most monitors have 8+FRC bit depth. I know people who get very nauseus from PWM or flickering lamps, but haven't heard complaints about FRC.
@@zzavatski My bad, I accidentally wrote 8 instead of 6...what do you think, it can be the reason why some IPS panel mobile phone are annoying to look at them? (also, what about OLEDs, I personally hate most OLEDs, especially post-2022 Apple and Samsung, my eyes hurt looking at their screen)
@@ajtatosmano2 Wide color gamut requires pure (narrow band) red, green and blue which can be perceived sparkling. You can try to limit offending color.
11:14 Lol you should hear me saying "b-b-b-b-but that ideapad 1i with 8GB of RAM". I'm sure it as problems, but I feel like it would be in the "doesn't make sense over a used laptop" category. The processor is better, but I image the screen is plenty worse, being FHD (and likely a TN panel). But hey, you're choosing between CPU/ports and Screen/keyboard. Poor college student vs poor office worker.
Most laptops you showed at the beginning of the video, have very good spec for what they're designed to do, and come from mainstream brands. They were listed with current i3's/Pentium CPU's, Celeron=dogshit even current ones, and 8Gb Ram). It's not the low end CPU or RAM, it's the storage that is problematic, because eMMC is literally a microSD card, which was designed to store polyphonic ringtones for Nokias, not to store and run 65GB operating systems. That's a 'bad dog' choice to whoever put the specs together, bad dog. An i3-XXXXU/N30x, 8 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD will give you like 5 years of seamless, inexpensive web browsing, youtube, email, document editing / web based work. Basically what 99% of people do 99% of the time. These are the people that don't want to spend £1000 on £100 worth of technology they actually use, including me. No bitcoin digging, no video editing, no HD video calls, no coding or gaming. Also, I hate clickable track pads, all of them, bring back the buttons.
Looks like these are a generation or two away from being game-changers indeed. But I gotta say Josh, you need to get over the column of text nav keys. These are great for programmers or anyone who does a lot of typing. Most of us don't rotate between 20 laptops, it's fine for 99.99% of people.
@@JustJoshTech I use a laptop with these keys (HP Pavilion Plus 14) but dock it while at work with a Cherry Stream TKL keyboard with a totally different location for the keys. I haven't found it to be an issue at all. For me what's important is that these keys be present *somewhere*. I can adapt to a different location, but not to their absence.
Anyone know if like the Wacom bamboo second gen pen would work on these? I have a couple laying around for my LG phones and they also work on my Surface devices as well.
cool discord machines since android tablets have one trash usb-c port and usb-c DACs are e-waste + android will ruin the audio quality because of call mode the problems are even worse on iOS and iPad os, so if u don't have a pc and mainly use your phone for everything these are quite the good deal even if you have a tablet
👌 FreeBook 13: amzn.to/3AqjiKn
👉 MiniBook X 10.5: amzn.to/40Gb8Z1
🎁 Our Laptop Shopping Website: www.justjosh.tech/recommendations
Oh my God, I remember the video I seen yesterday up in marques brownlee doing a full sponsored video and then I see Josh refuse the offer. My appreciation only grows. Thanks for the integrity
this channel deserves so much more recognition than it currently has
LTT out! JTT in. Thank you sir for great content and integrity you portrayed is just what we need
this is so true
yep totally this man glazing everything on a laptop and them sending them out 2 laptops means he didnt get a sponsor
Josh is trying to develop a RUclips review empire that is sustainable and without controversy. But sometimes I’m wondering if he’s being TOO careful 😅
The best bit about the Minibook X is that when you can no longer use it, you can eat it. Not the best meal though, it is a little Chuwi....
thanks dad 🙏
Chewbacca agrees.
There's a lot of room between $300 and like $2, 000. Like I rarely seem to see many reviews these days of even like $700 laptops which should be enough to get you something more than serviceable. How a couple years ago it used to be enough to get you a brand new Surface Pro. Which was a flawed device but certainly an acceptable Ultrabook for daily driver use for students in the like
The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 14IAU7 is $300 at MicroCenter, has an Intel Core i3 1215U, 8GB RAM (soldered with 1 open SO DIMM slot for upgrades), 256GB SSD (M.2 NVMe). It’s a pretty nice machine for the money. The display is only rated for 220 nits, and the webcam is mediocre. It’s a good bit faster than the two machines in this video.
I wish we had Microcenters up in the PNW
@ Yeah, I guess Denver or LA is a bit of a drive. Good news is many (but definitely not all) of their deals are available for shipping. In-store only is a limited subset of the deals.
Also, they say a Santa Clara store is coming soon. Still a big drive, but getting closer to you.
@@stilldre7739same
They even showed a similar laptop with a 1215u at one part of the video for cheaper than these CHUWI laptops, not sure why it wasnt mentioned.
at 11:15
Chinese laptop brands make cheap laptops that can actually be used. Others make those cheap laptops unusable by giving 4gb ram.
Worst of all there are some windows laptop still selling with 4gb pf soldered ram so it is unusable unless you use linux or maybe tiny 11
@@mrbobgamingmemes9558 yes. ive wondered why they even manufacture these. maybe it is to show to customers that cheap usable laptops are impossible. while in reality a decent celeron cpu, 8gb ram and an ssd can make a usable laptop.
@@ShaffafAhmed any 2 core 2 thread cpu is unusable on regular windows 10 and 11 today to be honest , cuz it wont be responsive at all times,
@@ShaffafAhmed i dont know if 4 core celeron is exist
@@mrbobgamingmemes9558actually no. My previous work laptop was a measly 2 core 2 thread Intel atom with 4 GB of RAM to boot! It was actually fine for light work and browsing once I upgraded the drive to SSD. The problem is the RAM, 4 GB of RAM is barely usable in windows 10. I can only open several tabs on my browser before it got sluggish.
I've been using a Chuwi MiniBook with the N100 chip for like a year now and I have the screen "overclocked" to 90hz :) Its a low cost laptop so I didn't mind if it gets damaged but it's been pretty good so far. I use it regularly even with WSL for developer tasks. I wouldn't use it as a primary device but I love how cheap and performant it is
How do you overclock the screen? Any videos / docs on it? Thanks!
@@A4orce84 just be aware though, that forcing the refresh rate with CRU can potentially damage your screen. It’s not as straightforward or safe as overclocking a CPU, so proceed with caution
@@A4orce84 Sorry I tried to send another comment and nothing happened. The application I used is called CRU (custom resolution utility). It lets you force a higher refresh rate
I've been trying to send my reply multiple times but it gets deleted somehow. The app used is called Custom Resolution Utility (CRU) and it lets you set the desired resolution and refresh rate. I kept trying to get higher refresh rates 5hz more each time until it no longer showed display. It's pretty straight forward and easy to use IMO
I used to watch TechTablets just to follow up with Chuwi product development, but since the channel moved to a more established review, I feel somewhat relived seeing Josh reviewed it instead
we surely need more 10-11inch functional 2-in-1 laptops!!
And 10 inch is basically similar to netbook form factor from the past.
Like we got a full netbook experience, but actually usable for most basic-medium tasks
I love this guy's integrity when reviewing products. Only channel I trust with laptop reviews.
him and Jarrod are the goats of laptop reviews
I really like that graph on 3:10. It shows why other $300 laptops are just e-waste; I don't think I could've even imagined a literal quarter the performance in single-core and a tenth the performance in multi-core. However, it also shows the jump in performance to the more commonly seen ultraportable processors to make it clear that there is a massive jump in performance again by paying more or going Used (M1 Macbook Airs in poor cosmetic condition with scuffs cost around $400 while refurbished ones cost $550). It's an important trade-off to consider, but, also, some people just need a laptop right now and cannot afford the extra cost. This video's still important because so many RUclipsrs just live in this bubble where they think people can always choose the optimal price to quality laptop. This is the real low-end, and it's even more important to get information here because people will get scammed with e-waste.
I bought a laptop on sale for under $300$. It's a Vivobook S14 Flip with an i3 1220p processor and 4GB RAM. I upgraded to 12 GB RAM. Compared to those Chuwi laptops, the only thing I really want is that 2K display.
A little beast My friend
Vertical row of Home-End-PgUp-PgDn is fantastic! I was absolutely happy to use a laptop with such a layout, it was super convenient. Even better than PgUp - PgDn around the top cursor key (which is still 100 times better than paging keys somewhere on top on no separate keys for these functions at all).
I'm from Poland here recently there is lot of laptops with Ryzen 5300 and Ryzen 5500 on sale for 300-350 USD. The only thing to keep in mind with them is to make sure that they have dual channel RAM. If yes then you can even play some games on those because they have much better integrated GPU Vega 6/7 depend on CPU model.
Shoutout for showing Linux usage
The minibook definetly looks fun. I wish more manufacturers would make smaller form laptops again. Processors nowadays are way better than the old celerons or atoms years ago.
Super keen for mini laptop reviews!! Always wanted one but didn’t want to take risks combing through bad ones, limited budget and all.
6:55 Fantastic drawing skills! You are truly an artist! ;)
I've been considering this laptop for 2 years but there were no legitimate reviews for it. Thank you!
I'm shocked that a 350 dollar laptop with usable specs even has pen input
What's the scream at 6:03? I thought I had hallucinations
Random Australian noises
Lmao it made me did a double take and look around.
With stuff like this coming out, lenovo isn't doing us justice with their regular yogas screens. 300 nits, 60 hz, and borderline color gamut. All for the average of $900. 3 times the cost of these.
Pairing that 10" laptop with a fantasy future processor that's the N100 with Lunar Lake process, would probably be awesome. Until then the battery life definitely is a bummer.
More mini laptop reviews please!
The freebook wouldve been my choice of college-notebook if it existed few years back!
I bought a used ThinkBook x280 12,5inch for about 260 Euros, and i figure it has its advantages over the chuwi freebook in batterylife or buildquality maybe...
but a bright 2k screen and 12GB of memory are just deciding factors vs the FHD 8GB RAM Thinkbook x280, the soldered measly 8GB just suffocate the performance so much.
Im keen on the upcoming 10-13inch Notebook-reviews, its literally THE school and college formfactor for documentwork and research on the go due to the portability.
Thanks for doing what you do Josh and Team, great video as always!
I still have a Chuwi Aerobook that works like a charm after all these years with windows 10. It was the reasonable choice for a cheap small laptop to consume media and browse the web during my work travels
Just imagine, cheap efficient laptop using N100 or N95 processor with 70watt battery!!! May be a tablet, I would love that!
how are you gonna fit that dude, dell actually makes one with a 54wh battery and it comes with n200, heard the battery is amazing
@@rafiy7150 Which one?
I've owned a Minibook X for a couple of months already, been a big fan of Chuwi since they actually have local warehouses in Europe.
It's a great lil laptop, which has enough memory and a nice screen to work with. The chip is a lil slow, but it has great media accelerators. Gaming is on the table, but only if you're fine with the most basic of games
My only gripes with it really are that the glued on feet come off quickly, and that the hinge is starting to become a lil less strong after months of use. Nothing worrying yet, but Im sure it won't last for 6 years
why not use Arm SOCs?
even mobile SOCs are faster than that(and probably more efficient and maybe even cheaper)
like it would be really good to see dimensity 8300 or 8400 in 300-500$ laptops or even the dimensity 9400 in 500-600$ laptops with great display and TouchPad, most people don't need more than that level of performance especially since it has really good single core performance and very efficient
Amen brother, I wish I could speak to a product manager just to have an answer for this very much legitimate question
Before a full reccomendation can you guys send this to nuclear notebooks? Cheap laptops often suffer in build quality and i am interested what his full breakdown will reveal
Hey super cool to see you add the additional comment about the speakers and if they are affected by being on a blanket, I appreciate it. Now I just need you to go back in time and do that for the zenbook s14 and hp omnibook flip haha
I too like small laptops and have several inexpensive devices (a Chromebook and a Chrome tablet) but I followed Josh's original advice and bought a New Old Stock Lenovo ThinkPad Nano as a Windows/Linux machine. It was 2x the price of the Chuwis, but no real issues and it feels like it has many years left. I think buying low end is fine if the device fits your current need but if you can saving up and buying better should allow you many years of use.
I've watched your videos for a long. I bought an HP Omen 15" for my personal use. I don't need a lot of power and don't stress the machine very much but I wanted a good screen and a good cooling situation, and power if I did need it. The problem is quality control is difficult with a lot of brands and after a couple of year my keyboard has serious problems. So I think buyers should resist the urge to splurge on a laptop thinking it will be a long term investement because no brand can guarantee that. My philosophy will change to buying something that is adequate for my use at the lowest price so if it does turn out to have faults I won't be so upset if I have to replace it sooner than expected.
I think in today's market even the most minimum/casual user needs 4 cores minimum, and 512GB SSD minimum.
I recently purchased a Thinkpad X1 Carbon Gen 6 for around 250$. I think it's a great option if you want something budget-friendly with no compromises. Mine had i5, 16 gb ram, and 512 ssd, plus a 2k screen. Being a used laptop, it's better to check its condition before buying.
That 'yeeahh' on showing the screen display scared the sh out of me.
I got a 12 gen intel version, its a solid notebook with some build quality issues. For the price - it's okay.
I feel the trackpad would be a non issue for people like me that don't click the button ever. The Freebook 13 would be my choice if used business laptops were not an option. Old Thinkpads, Precisions usually had more parts available too. These new machines are so disposable. I want something that sold a lot so there is plenty of parts kicking around. Even replacement batteries are hard to get. USB-C Power Delivery is good to have for extending battery life too!
Josh, this video is a big step up. You have earned my respect. Back then there was a dip in quality but this video is a step up! ❤🎉
Also...where is the Thinkpad video you said in "best laptops over the years" 😅
im so happy you listen to your viewers Josh! This is what makes you different from other RUclipsrs. 😊
Finally a full video with just josh which i didn't quit midway.
We are producing alot of content these days. It's hard to present all
@JustJoshTech I do understand. But the transition from low to high pitch, normal smooth conversation to high pitch it's just a little odd.
I've had the gemibook pro 14 for 3 years now and the screen is amazing. The hardware inside allows me to do pretty much all I want. The only bad thing about it is only having a usb port.
What is the charging voltage? Some of the most basic laptops can accept 5V which makes phone chargers an option.
i thought it would be like the usual "sponsored but review Not AffEcted by it", turned out to be full blast no bias. me likey!
I just don't understand what is the point of having higher than 1080p screens on laptops, especially weak laptops. The iGPU can barely run them when doing anything demanding and you are forced to use lower resolution which looks bad.
Interesting about this CPU. Compared to the one on my laptop (i7-4710HQ), it is faster in single core, but slower in multicore performance, based on the Cinebench R23 scores here. The performance should be fine for most simple tasks.
ui rendering, font rendering. Games aren't everything and at least for me playing at a lower resolution isn't that annoying
@@luisortega8085 The problem is not the lower resolution on its own. The problem is the lower resolution with the higher resolution monitor. Gaming or not. And in this particular case, who is going to get a machine for rendering and go for a N100 laptop? Are you serious?
Dimensity should make cheaper ARM processors just for these laptops. These are going to sell like hot cakes among students and those who don’t need a beast all the time.
Only other good laptop I could think of for $300 is getting a used Dell XPS 15 9500 with an i5-10300H, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. But most people don't want to go used. Nice finds!
I had a Chuwi 10 years ago. Worked ok, but the CPU was a bit anemic.
Would be cool if they had some AMD versions with big cores and competent GPU. If Linux works then ChromeOS flex shouldn't be an issue.
Then they wouldn't be cheap. Just go with options that are already out there.
the msi modern c12m is a great budget laptop that I think deserves a look at, I've been using mine for months and its criminally good for the price, obviously it has its pitfalls but for what the retail price is they're more than acceptable.
Yeah I have the MSI Modern B7M, which is similar to your model and also great performance for value. For 329€ you get 16GB of RAM and a Zen 3 Ryzen 5 processor, which is much more powerful than the N100 in these Chuwi laptops, so Windows feel snappier. The only major downside is the annoying fan noise, but it's not that much of an issue if you use headphones.
@Phxstick definitely agree! such great machines
Excellent video as always. Detailed and unbiased. Although I'm not in the market for this laptop, I'm compelled to watch the entirety of this video!
Josh, this Freebook looks amazing for the price; this is exactly what I expect for the price, and it would destroy everything in the Chromebook market if it had Chrome OS. I would love to see this Freebook form factor with better specs and a much larger battery in the $500-700 range. I would buy that instantly, especially if it had a Chrome OS variant.
Just got a mini 3 weeks ago. Speakers and less then 4 hours of work on battery are the worst part. Chassis, keyboard and performance are good.
In my region I found an Msi 15 with i5 12 gen with 8 gb of ram For 379€ with 1 year of warranty
thinkpad, just buy an old thinkpad, they're just that good for the price
A Little Linux machine, possibly!
Love mini laptops for this reason, can just do more with them over a phone or tablet and easy to travel with.
Damn, great laptops for the price. Only thing I can see being a problem is the small batteries. And on the minibook the 50hz screen. Otherwise, they would be "perfect" (for the price)
Wait until you find out about second hand Thinkpads, your mind will be blown
@JustJosh, Amazing video.
When are you releasing the video on, is m4 macbook worth buying the price?
Should be one of them on Thursday and maybe another one Sunday or Monday
I have i3-3120m laptop with installed linux. I can work with android studio, pycharm and even firfox together. it works decently. I would not complain. it can handle my programming tasks. I don't think my laptop is only "usable". I like your video. don't get me wrong.
Josh I'm literally dying to see your MacBook M4 review!!!!
@JustJoshTech could you try overclocking the MIniBook screen refresh rate to 90hz and share your results? Mine's been working like that for almost a year. I'm aware it can damage the panel but I wanted to stress it since I have the intuition these panels have better specs than what CHUWI says they have
Keep going guys, love ur vids!!
Thanks, glad you liked it. We are working super hard
@@JustJoshTech its great to see that there are still some channels which make good and high quality content!
Your videos are always a joy to watch, and I love that you cover laptops in this price range!
Last year, I bought Laptop I currently use (Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 14"). Well this Laptop use Intel Core i3 1115G4, 512 SSD, and 8 GB RAM, but mine are Upgradeable (SSD and RAM), it even comes with 2,5" drive bay. 1 year use, everything are just fine. With 1 exception, it kinda not works well if running Linux (perhaps this laptop is meant to run Windows by default)
The Issues I found, is Randomly disappeared WiFi (perhaps it's issue from Wireless card). Display maybe TN, but at least it has matter coating and I'm person who already comfy with this panel
Not good laptop.Become e waste after certain period and no support from brand.
the hinge is the issue with this laptop based on the reviews in my country
My old laptop from best buy is on sale for around $359 but it is lemon. Its msrp price is $1,299 which is crazy for its high price and weird combo of specs. Thankfully my new laptop (legion 7i gen 9) came around after my old laptop didn’t work and my birthday was approaching at that time. It’s been two months and I’m glad to have the legion 7i. Much better than my old laptop (asus q540 creators laptop).
It's it is out of stock but I don't know maybe there's a regional component to that. That's a wild price even for a thermally challenged device like that
would love to see a comparison of performance when running linux. i think it would free up some resources
Thank you Josh
Everyone on Amazon is saying that the free book 13 breaks down after 6 months of use
Why don't buy the Acer Aspire? I got mine with i5 1235u at 25k inr (300usd) during sale. And i3 1215u model normally goes at 300. The N100 does NOT make any sense
They should have added an optional 60w for those willing to pay a bit more
aye joshy, do a review on the new benq benq rd280ua "coding monitor",(4:3) can't wait to see you gooning over it. or go nuclear who really knows.
2:07 And the price of the Apple keyboard is more than the Chuwi itself.
Is that an HP envy x360 in the background?
Anyone else noticing the audio isn't syncing with the video?
How does this compare with a used Thinkpad t14 gen 1 AMD?
6:41 - PWM (dimming) or FRC (temporal dithering) doesn't matter, flicker is flicker, which is bad. Refresh rate has nothing to do with flicker on LCD.
It's very slight camera banding, not PWM. Take your camera, and set your monitor to 60, 59, 50, 49 hz refresh rates and you'll see. And most monitors have 8+FRC bit depth. I know people who get very nauseus from PWM or flickering lamps, but haven't heard complaints about FRC.
@ajtatosmano2 If it is FRC than it is 6 bit native panel or even less. It can be annoying.
@@zzavatski My bad, I accidentally wrote 8 instead of 6...what do you think, it can be the reason why some IPS panel mobile phone are annoying to look at them? (also, what about OLEDs, I personally hate most OLEDs, especially post-2022 Apple and Samsung, my eyes hurt looking at their screen)
@@ajtatosmano2 Wide color gamut requires pure (narrow band) red, green and blue which can be perceived sparkling. You can try to limit offending color.
@@zzavatski thx for the tip!
Is the Ideapad slim 5 good? Its under my budget so..
11:14 Lol you should hear me saying "b-b-b-b-but that ideapad 1i with 8GB of RAM". I'm sure it as problems, but I feel like it would be in the "doesn't make sense over a used laptop" category. The processor is better, but I image the screen is plenty worse, being FHD (and likely a TN panel). But hey, you're choosing between CPU/ports and Screen/keyboard. Poor college student vs poor office worker.
I think the Chuwi laptops would be better with the N97 but the one downzide to all the alderlake N series is the single channel ram
Cool review
in amazon belgium/germany it's ~ 500 euros
Josh can you review Honor products? Thank you
Now lets mod it with a framework mainboard and battery and then it would be a 650$ 2 in 1 with good performance and a screen that doesnt suck
I'd have given you a quadruple like for not doing paid "reviews" (AKA lon ads) if it was possible.
If you want a cheap but capable laptop, you’re looking for a used ThinkPad, Toshiba, Dell, etc.
Chuwi is the king of true budget laptops
9:23 RIP left handed users
I paid less than that for the minibook n100 more than a year ago, how did it went pricier?
Inflation.
2nd hand m1 macbook air 13 still is my edc
Previous advice "buy used" still stands, imo
Does the pen works on Linux ?
They make a surface pro alternative too
Basically, if you want a decent screen and good battery then get a tablet, or spend the money on a bigger, more expensive laptop.
Wacom chip on the pen had me weezing
Most laptops you showed at the beginning of the video, have very good spec for what they're designed to do, and come from mainstream brands. They were listed with current i3's/Pentium CPU's, Celeron=dogshit even current ones, and 8Gb Ram). It's not the low end CPU or RAM, it's the storage that is problematic, because eMMC is literally a microSD card, which was designed to store polyphonic ringtones for Nokias, not to store and run 65GB operating systems. That's a 'bad dog' choice to whoever put the specs together, bad dog.
An i3-XXXXU/N30x, 8 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD will give you like 5 years of seamless, inexpensive web browsing, youtube, email, document editing / web based work. Basically what 99% of people do 99% of the time. These are the people that don't want to spend £1000 on £100 worth of technology they actually use, including me. No bitcoin digging, no video editing, no HD video calls, no coding or gaming. Also, I hate clickable track pads, all of them, bring back the buttons.
Looks like these are a generation or two away from being game-changers indeed. But I gotta say Josh, you need to get over the column of text nav keys. These are great for programmers or anyone who does a lot of typing. Most of us don't rotate between 20 laptops, it's fine for 99.99% of people.
That is a very good point. I will counter with this... many people use a different computer for home than work. So they will still notice this issue
@@JustJoshTech I use a laptop with these keys (HP Pavilion Plus 14) but dock it while at work with a Cherry Stream TKL keyboard with a totally different location for the keys. I haven't found it to be an issue at all. For me what's important is that these keys be present *somewhere*. I can adapt to a different location, but not to their absence.
Anyone know if like the Wacom bamboo second gen pen would work on these? I have a couple laying around for my LG phones and they also work on my Surface devices as well.
Why not review the cheaper vivobooks? Plenty of good and options in that lineup
Heavy flickering at 7:13 tho?
cool discord machines since android tablets have one trash usb-c port and usb-c DACs are e-waste + android will ruin the audio quality because of call mode
the problems are even worse on iOS and iPad os, so if u don't have a pc and mainly use your phone for everything these are quite the good deal even if you have a tablet