Reddit mentions of 2016 HP Stream 13.3" HD Laptop - Intel Dual-Core N3050 up to 2.16GHz, 2GB RAM, 32GB eMMC, 1-yr Office 365 Included, DTS Studio Sound, WLAN, Bluetooth, Webcam, Windows 10

HP Stream 13?

I'd also strongly recommend a chromebook.

You're actually somewhat in luck. MSFT has been selling laptops at a loss to try and keep Chromebooks from taking hold.

http://www.amazon.com/HP-Stream-13-3-Inch-Celeron-Personal/dp/B015CQ8PNA/ref=zg_bs_565108_4

http://www.amazon.com/HP-Stream-13-3-Inch-Celeron-Personal/dp/B015CQ8PNA/ref=zg_bs_565108_4

I know you said no Chromebooks, but this one is pretty neat from the POV of screen and keyboard.

A Chromebook won't run those games. Your best bet is probably a Windows machine.

• New machine: HP Stream 13
  
• Used/refurbished machine: Dell Latitude E6420

Your buddget is a little low, so our options is a little limited, but it looks like you don't need anything with a lot of power, so that is good too, I think the best option for you if you don't want refurbished is the HP Stream 11 11.6-Inch Notebook or the HP Stream 13.3-Inch Laptop if she prefer the bigger screen , they come with Intel Celeron Processor 1.6, 2GB RAM, 32 GB Hard Drive eMMC, Windows 10 Home 64- Bit the down side of those is no Optical Drive and a lot of bloat ware that can take a couple of hours to remove

Yes I have played around on an HP Stream and other "cheap" Windows laptops and the big issue is just for surfing they lag. The core problem has been shared by an actual Windows kernel engineer.

""I Contribute to the Windows Kernel. We Are Slower Than Other Operating Systems. Here Is Why.""

http://blog.zorinaq.com/i-contribute-to-the-windows-kernel-we-are-slower-than-other-oper/

The difference of a Chromebook with 4GB or RAM compared to Windows is very noticeable.

I have 8 kids and now have a couple of them with Acer 14s and they are simply miles and miles ahead of anything you can get at $200. They look and feel like something that is $500.

It is not just the all metal chassis, peppy performance, long battery life, etc.

But it is the little things like the quality of the touchpad and feel of the keyboard and then the display is simply miles ahead of anything close to the price.

On ratings. I look at the HP Stream 13 on Amazon and it has 3.5 stars.

https://www.amazon.com/HP-Stream-13-3-Inch-Laptop-Celeron/dp/B015CQ8PNA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1501845908&sr=8-3&keywords=HP+Stream+13

I have zero problem that you are a fan of Microsoft. But if we are going to work with facts instead of emotions it is just not close.

There are NO Windows machines that are useable that are around $200. It just is not possible with the cost of the hardware in combination in the inefficiencies in Windows.

Please read the article from an actual MS employee as it explains why it is NOT possible to have a useable $200 Windows laptop.

If you don't insist on new stuff you can easily grab a used windows laptop (with something like 3rd/4th gen i5 and 8 gigs of DDR3) for $200 and that should be more than enough for any programming work.

If you plan on buying new, something like this or this should get the work done. Also, you can try looking for a laptop without OS (as you can get the code for free if you are a student afaik) but I'm not sure if those are a thing anymore in US (they still are in EU, because we are cheap bastards, but they are going away, sadly).

Is the ~$250 range the absolute max?

I know it's over budget, but this Asus F555LA is worth the extra investment if at all possible.l

It has a full HD 15.6" 1920x1080 display for much less than you'd find that feature elsewhere. That would do a lot of good for browsing and writing. The higher resolution is much easier on the eyes, but even more importantly, it'd provide a lot of display real estate to see a lot more at once.

If that isn't doable, and you just need something with a lot of battery life for cheap, the HP Stream 13 would be a good option.

HP model: 817D according to the laptop

but amazon says it's the
13-c110nr

This is the exact listing I purchased from on amazon

this is the n3050 version that was sold through 2015 early 2016. In total there were at least two versions made, with the first having the n2480. I thought there was a 2016 version but it seems to have been replaced with the stream 14. This is the non touch matte display as well.

I was unable to pull more information from the computer itself, and I haven't found evidence of more internal variations of the hp stream 13 from the website (e.g. different emmc/wifi card/ram suppliers). Sorry for not providing this earlier.

These work great and are relatively cheap, can personally attest. Effectively the poor mans mackbook air.

https://www.amazon.com/Discontinued-HP-11-r010nr-11-6-Inch-Processor/dp/B015CQ8PNA?th=1

You can probably find a better price somewhere

The problem we them is you cant really download anything beyond PDFs and stuff so you cant really have music/movies/video games.