New Samsung Chromebook issues

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CeeGee

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#311332 7-Jan-2024 09:55

Happy New Year everyone.

My grandson got a Samsung Chromebook for Christmas for his first year of intermediate.

While it seems hard to find specs,it says it has a Celeron N4020 @1.1 GHz.and 4 GB RAM

On startup, it appears to only have 1.2GB available, Is this normal and if so, is there anything that can improve this.

He tells me Roblox is glitchy, so I’m not sure if the specs are not good enough, or there is some configuration that can improve things.

Charlie

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Linux

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#3178632 7-Jan-2024 10:35

4GB will be the physical memory size but as laptop is running sounds like you are looking at free RAM 1.2GB

Linux

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#3178633 7-Jan-2024 10:37

Best idea is return the Chrome book and get a decent machine

heavenlywild

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#3178638 7-Jan-2024 11:07

There's not a lot of options for Chromebooks in NZ right now for under $500.

freitasm

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#3178639 7-Jan-2024 11:09

Is the school requiring a Chromebook or any laptop would do?

4 GB is not a lot of memory, even for a Chromebook, when you think about what these are used for and how much more memory you get even on phones today.

Going by the CPU you mentioned, I'll assume is this model Buy the Samsung Chromebook 4 11.6" HD AG Intel Celeron N4020 - 4GB RAM - 32GB... ( ) online - PBTech.co.nz

If that's the case, I'd agree with Linux - it seems underpowered for any task that is not just browsing.

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Qazzy03

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#3178642 7-Jan-2024 11:19

It appears it is the Chromebook specs.

These may be the min specs from their website.

Processor: Roblox recommends you have a recent processor (2005+) with a clock speed of 1.6 Ghz or better.
RAM or Memory: Roblox recommends you have at least 1 GB of memory on Windows 7, Windows 8.1, or Windows 10 (apparently 4GB of system ram might be recommended)
Storage Space: Roblox recommends you have at least 20 Mb of system storage space to install Roblox.

https://en.help.roblox.com/hc/en-us/articles/203312800-Computer-Hardware-Operating-System-Requirements

CeeGee

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#3178669 7-Jan-2024 13:18

Yup, that’s right 1.2 GB available out of the installed 4GB

IBM PC, 128 KB RAM, Twin 320 Kb floppy drives, PC-DOS 1.1. A real step up from the VIC 20

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lxsw20

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#3178723 7-Jan-2024 14:13

4GB RAM is pretty standard for a Edu Chromebook. It will do what he needs for school just fine, but outside of that, as others have mentioned - they are a bit gutless.

CeeGee

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#3178813 7-Jan-2024 18:35

Thanks for the conversation everyone,

Yes, it does seem underpowered. I have a 10 year old MacBook with 4 GB ram that runs Roblox just fine. It should do whatever they wa't for school. I probably would have tidied that up for school :)

The chromebook was a gift so I don't have a receipt, and it's a bit difficult to ask for one. I'll have to approach it gently.

On the related note of the memory usage, it seems extreme that the system used 3/4 of the ram on startup, leaving a bit over 1 GB to run anything. Surely that can't be normal?

IBM PC, 128 KB RAM, Twin 320 Kb floppy drives, PC-DOS 1.1. A real step up from the VIC 20

Qazzy03

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#3178820 7-Jan-2024 19:23

It appears that the RAM usage is normal, Chrome OS can commit more ram than it needs aka free RAM is wasted RAM.

As per comment above Robloxs min recomendation is a CPU that has core speed of at least 1.6Ghz.
Where the Chromebook has max core speed of 1.1Ghz.

Even if you free up more RAM by getting rid of any bloatware that may be on it, it still isn't going to be great for Roblox.
Your old Macbook probably has a more powerful CPU in it.

The Chromebook is built for a specific usage in mind and that is google doc and apps, with some web browsing, emails and Youtube, not spec'ed to play games.