Question Laptop recommendation for son

[Bob George]

Hi, I'm looking for a laptop for my son for Christmas. My budget would probably be £400 maximum


Size unimportant, resolution I'm not too fussed with.

It'll be used for the standard browsing, YouTube, homework etc. Also some gaming, he likes Minecraft, Roblox and the like. He's also mentioned Among Us as a game he plays on Android, but says its not great on there. So it would have to play games, but main gaming would be on his Xbox, so not the big titles, stuff like above only

It'll almost exclusively be used in the house,so can be plugged in. Battery life not vital in that sense. Not fussy on brand and would consider a refurb.

He's only 10 so I really don't want to drop a lot of money, but at the same time I don't want to get him something so cheap it won't do more than the absolute basics.

I'm aware there's probably not much wiggle room in that sense, but would appreciate some input from those with some knowledge on here

 

[jimscreechy]

If he's not leaving the house with it perhaps a desktop may be better.

 

[Bob George]

If he's not leaving the house with it perhaps a desktop may be better.

Hi mate

I think he'd like the option to move it about the house when required, he's not keen on a desktop and space a consideration

 

[jimscreechy]

I see. Well there are a fair few under £400 from places like Argos, AO and... quite a few other places, but to be honest, I would just not buy one. For starters they all have quite small drives 128GB -256GB SSD which even for the larger size really isn't sufficient these days. That space gets eaten up in no time, and trying to reclaim disk space is not fun at all. Some will have larger Hard disk drives (HDD) the older spinning type, but these are becoming obsolete these days, and aside from the fact that they are much more prone to shocks and failures through rough handling, they are way slower. This will be noticeable, especially with a laptop that isn't particularly quick in the first place.

I'd not get a device with less that 8GB and most of these devices only come with 4GB of RAM.

The processors are usually Celerons or Pentiums which are ok for menial tasks, but don't give you a lot of headroom for future use, and if your son is ten then I'd consider this carefully since his requirements are only going to get more demanding as the breath of his use increases.

I know I'm not really giving you the good news but actually this is only for new gear. Personally I would get a refurbed model if you want new or next to new. Tesco called tesco-outlet on ebay (as well as several other big retailers) have stores on ebay where they sell their returned goods. These are normally considerably cheaper and have a 1year guarantee. You could probably get a much better spec with the money you are prepared to spend, though availability will largely depend on what they have at any particular time.

Then there is second hand, ebay or the classified forums here (yes there are others but these are the ones I tend to use). I have bought quite a few bits from the both and firmly believe its worth considering. The classifieds here are particularly good, and though they may be more limited in what they offer, I have a greater trust coefficient with my purchases here. Again you money will go considerably further with the specification you will get.

Hope this helps

 

[Bob George]

Thanks Jimscreechy

I had assumed that I wouldn't be getting much for my money from places above, which is why I asked on here. Appreciate the response.

I use the classifieds on here so I'm not adverse to seeing if there is anything of value there.

I'll also take a look on the Tesco site

Thanks

 

[jimscreechy]

If I see anything that would suit on my travels I will ping you a link.

 

[Krank]

@Bob George if you're out there let me see you dance! Sorry I couldn't resist that

Seriously though, did you get a laptop in the end, I'm in a similar boat as you. Thanks.

 

[Bob George]

@Bob George if you're out there let me see you dance! Sorry I couldn't resist that

Seriously though, did you get a laptop in the end, I'm in a similar boat as you. Thanks.

I did eventually get on from Currys ebay refurbished. Well worth a look

He also mentioned getting a Series S, typical!

Ain't that a bitch?!

 

[Krank]

I did eventually get on from Currys ebay refurbished. Well worth a look

He also mentioned getting a Series S, typical!

Ain't that a bitch?!

Great tune

I'll have a look at Currys on ebay thanks