Laptop for a teenager

[surveyor]

Apparently her laptop has died. Long overdue to be honest.

I've got a budget of less than £500. I'd like it to last a few years, and it needs to run Minecraft apparently.

She would like an overpriced apple machine. It's out of what I want to spend, and I still think that they are bad value.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. I have too much choice.... and am under attack by a teenager who has spotted an opportunity.

[miniman]

I bought an Asus for my daughter - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B083WVG6KP/ - seems decent. Bit more than your suggested £500 but there might be similar for a bit less.

[Chainsaw Rebuild]

Look at a refurbished laptop, you will get a lot more for your budget.

[maccas99]

I've just ordered one of these: https://www.dell.com/en-uk/work/shop/laptop-comput...

via Dell Outlet and with a 10% UKHotdeals discount so a smidge over £700 for a good specification. I realise that is over your original budget by some way but food for thought.

Main considerations are an SSD and minimum of 8Gb RAM...

[surveyor]

IS this any good as a spec?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/HUAWEI-MateBook-Multi-scr...

[maccas99]

surveyor said:

IS this any good as a spec?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/HUAWEI-MateBook-Multi-scr...

Yes - spec is good for that price.

[page3]

surveyor said:

She would like an overpriced apple machine. It's out of what I want to spend, and I still think that they are bad value.

She’s right though. The M1 MacBook Air is a bargain.

Buy her something she doesn’t want by all means, just for better reasons.

[AJB88]

Graphic quality of Minecraft youd be better of with a £20 Pi.

[Meltham Terrier]

We purchased one of these for our 14 yr old

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/la...


Colour options too as we have the white one
Has gone down very well in our house

[covmutley]

page3 said:

surveyor said:

She would like an overpriced apple machine. It's out of what I want to spend, and I still think that they are bad value.

She’s right though. The M1 MacBook Air is a bargain.

Buy her something she doesn’t want by all means, just for better reasons.

Is she a young or older teen? My daughter just turned 16 and had m1 macbook for Christmas. Expensive, but my rationale is it will last her right through her studies.

She likes it more than she thought she would, and with current home schooling is on it all the time.

I also reckon having something nicer to use will encourage her to work on it and generally help her be more productive.

[surveyor]

covmutley said:

page3 said:

surveyor said:

She would like an overpriced apple machine. It's out of what I want to spend, and I still think that they are bad value.

She’s right though. The M1 MacBook Air is a bargain.

Buy her something she doesn’t want by all means, just for better reasons.

Is she a young or older teen? My daughter just turned 16 and had m1 macbook for Christmas. Expensive, but my rationale is it will last her right through her studies.

She likes it more than she thought she would, and with current home schooling is on it all the time.

I also reckon having something nicer to use will encourage her to work on it and generally help her be more productive.

It's a fair point - she is 15...

[covmutley]

surveyor said:

It's a fair point - she is 15...

Yep, you will be buying twice if your not careful!

I've never had a mac before, put people seem to say they last well, so should get her right through studies?

[surveyor]

Yes well. Lets close this thread.

My budget is dead. My wallet is empty. My daughter will be happy.

Thanks all!

[mmm-five]

surveyor said:

IS this any good as a spec?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/HUAWEI-MateBook-Multi-scr...

I don't do laptops if I have the choice (work have provided an upgraded 17" HP Z-Book instead of the standard issue 14" 860), but I'd probably pay the extra £15 and go for the faster, newer processor in this one...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/HUAWEI-MateBook-Ultrabook...

This is assuming I need to run Windows - otherwise it would be a new M1 MacBook Air as has been suggested previously.

Edited by mmm-five on Tuesday 2nd February 16:30

[page3]

surveyor said:

Yes well. Lets close this thread.

My budget is dead. My wallet is empty. My daughter will be happy.

Thanks all!

Oops, sorry. My son was the same. I get to keep my old creaking machine a year longer.

[BlueMR2]

Remember to check education prices especially if you have a child in High School or University.

Often they have free headphones / app store credit etc in the run up to the new school year as well.

[Masiv]

https://www.very.co.uk/huawei-matebook-d-15nbspamd-ryzen-5-8gb-ramnbsp256gb-ssd-156-inch-laptop-with-optionalnbspmicrosoft-365-family-1-yearnbsp-nbspgrey/1600458576.prd?msclkid=b6dbfc1d0faf170f33bd9c025a428cda&gclid=b6dbfc1d0faf170f33bd9c025a428cda&gclsrc=3p.ds#sku=sku22363877&cm_mmc=msn-_-PLA+-+Generic-_-Electricals+-+Laptops-_-PRODUCT_GROUP_p33936130795_[*AdID*]&utm_campaign=Generic_Electricals+-+Laptops&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=bing&utm_term=PRODUCT_GROUP&campaigntype=shopping

Same model, but with a 256GB SSD. For the money you save you could put a larger SSD in and still be quids in. Use TopCashback at 8% and it works out at only £459

[sutoka]

covmutley said:

surveyor said:

It's a fair point - she is 15...

Yep, you will be buying twice if your not careful!

I've never had a mac before, put people seem to say they last well, so should get her right through studies?

The 15' MacBook Pro Retina I'm using now is coming up on 8 years old, the unibody one I had before I had 5 years and never had any issues with them. I have a 2007 iMac I keep on a shelf for decoration but it runs perfectly at 14 years ol. Ok it's not going to beat the 4k one I use daily for work but they do last even when worked hard.

A workmate uses Dell and replaces them at least every 18 months. Had one of those leather backed ones few years ago and it gave nothing but trouble and he spent well over a grand on it.

Edited by sutoka on Sunday 7th February 03:51

[Gary C]

sutoka said:

I have a 2007 iMac I keep on a shelf for decoration but it runs perfectly at 14 years ol.

Edited by sutoka on Sunday 7th February 03:51

thats true

I have a 1998 G3 and the display is crisp, clear and perfect even after 23 years and a Apple II Europlus which is 38 years old and works great!

[maccas99]

Give it a rest fanboys, I run Dell's and they all last 5 years plus with zero issues!

(I may get a Macbook next though)