Laptop for a child

[Tom]

My mate's lad (about 10 years old) wants a laptop for Christmas. Currently he plays stuff on his dad's Macbook, but I think that's becoming a bit of an issue.

My mate sent me this link, which I think is the one his son has suggested:

Alienware M11x Gaming Laptop Details | Dell UK

I know sod all about laptops (or computers for that matter), so is this a really good laptop for games, or is it overpriced tat? He plays stuff like TF2, Civilisation, WoW, etc.

 

[Raven]

Over priced tat...basically.

 

[Moriath]

ASUS X5EAE-SX047V 15.6" M320 3GB WINDOWS 7 HOME PREMIUM | Gaming PC | Custom PC | Desktop PC

that will play aion most nicely and thats pretty gfx intensive and a lot cheaper than alienware

 

[Madmaxx]

get a ps3 to be honest I think, then once it gets a bit old you can get rockband or Move etc. Probably some good bundle deals at X-mas to.

 

[Scouse]

Yeah. Get him to get a console and make his kid give up playing all the games he loves 'cause consoles are really good at strategy and MMORPG's



Alienware rigs are expensive. They're good, but expensive. I've not clicked on teh linky but I daresay that it's probably a more cost-effective solution.

 

[Yaka]

not always got mine alot cheaper than asking price.if you ont know anyone who has accses to a buisness account then the key to buying with dell is to haggle and and mention hp alot

 

[Madmaxx]

Yeah. Get him to get a console and make his kid give up playing all the games he loves 'cause consoles are really good at strategy and MMORPG's



Alienware rigs are expensive. They're good, but expensive. I've not clicked on teh linky but I daresay that it's probably a more cost-effective solution.

OR get him a laptop and addicted to WoW and MMO games for life lol.

 

[Tom]

So, any other recommendations?

The lad is only 10 or thereabouts, I think his dad might be spending too much.

 

[Yaka]

alienware lappy for a ladd of 10 is spending too much. as others have said console might prolly suit him for gaming.

 

[kirennia]

Gaming laptop? This is a concept which still has yet to work sadly. You can buy a desktop for half the price which will be 4 times faster then that for gaming and you wont have the large problems of overheating, unreliability, small screen, huge cost and generally lackluster gameplay which you will nigh on always get with a 'gaming' laptop. Even with the last comment on that page, the guy says as a PLUS it can run SC2 on ultra 1vs1. That is not a big ask of a <£400 rig these days...

Others will disagree but still, show me a laptop spec for gaming and I'll show you a much better desktop (or console if you find a really low priced naff one ).

It's nice if you have a desktop to use for properly playing games and this is only used in lectures or something (and you earn a lot) but for a primary gaming rig? Nonono.

Please please persuade him otherwise.

 

[Moriath]

So, any other recommendations?

The lad is only 10 or thereabouts, I think his dad might be spending too much.

guess you didnt like the asus then ?

 

[Tom]

A desktop isn't practical for him.

 

[Moriath]

its a laptop not a desktop

 

[ford prefect]

To be honest Dell is very pricey, for a child I would probably go with a reasonably speced acer or asus, that way you are talking maybe half that price and probably as much poke.

 

[Moriath]

which was why i linked th asus above

 

[Raven]

I wouldn't go for a laptop for a child full stop. They will develop a hump by the time they are 15 being bent over with that on their knee/sat on the floor/bed or whatever. If they want to use it on a desk...get a desk top.

 

[kirennia]

I wouldn't go for a laptop for a child full stop. They will develop a hump by the time they are 15 being bent over with that on their knee/sat on the floor/bed or whatever. If they want to use it on a desk...get a desk top.

Not to mention the inevitable massive disappointment when they end up dropping the thing.

 

[Yaka]

but it will help him discover the delights of pr0n!

on another note acclero meters are in pretty much most lapps why dont they have built in feature to stop peeps from using em on thier laps and get burnt? or peeps developing the hump when not using m on the desk as mentioned above
http://www.dimensionengineering.com/accelerometers.htm

 

[dysfunction]

Because if I want to use my laptop while on the sofa I don't want some stupid hardware telling me I cant!!

 

[ford prefect]

I use a logitech cooling tray for my laptop so it doesn't get too hot on my knee and it is a bit more comfy. My mac book pro doesn't really get hot unless you are doing some pretty heavy gaming and then the aluminium case distributes the heat pretty well, so it doesn't get uncomfortable.

As for kids dropping laptops, teach them to respect their stuff and they won't do it.

 

[ECA]

The msi gaming lappies are ok, much better value than any alienware.

MSI Europe ? Computer, Laptop, Notebook, Desktop, Mainboard, Graphics and more

 

[Zenith]

Wait, he's 10 and plays WoW and civilization? Wow.

 

[Scouse]

Wait, he's 10 and plays WoW and civilization? Wow.

Why not. Lets face it, neither of them really require that much brain power.


At ten, you can do pretty much what you like given enough motivation. And games are motivation aplenty for ten year olds.

 

[ford prefect]

Wait, he's 10 and plays WoW and civilization? Wow.

Not really sure what the big deal is. I was playing Gauntlet and Little Computer People on my c64 and was getting reasonably proficient at 6502 Assembly Language at that age :/