Basic laptop for child - roblox

[Westyrs]

Hi,

After some advice. My son has asked for a laptop for Xmas. It will mainly be for playing Roblox and a few games as apparently the PC version is different to the android version.

I really don't want to spend much. Does anyone know of anything suitable please ?

[popegregory]

No but do check what you get with someone who knows as we bought a cheap one from Argos for the 7 year old and it was rubbish for Roblox - it just couldn’t handle it and lagged like mad.

[Westyrs]

Thanks. This is what worries me thst I buy one and its a bit of a let down come Xmas day.

At the same time he is only 8 so doesn't need to be top spec.

[popegregory]

You’re absolutely right, but I think you’d be surprised at how limited “not top spec” will render it. Just check the spec and you’ll find your kids got something they can get a decent bit of use out of for a while to come.

[Westyrs]

Any idea of the minimum spec I should be looking at please.

I've had company laptops for years so abit out of date with it all.

[Puggit]

Roblox is web based, so most laptops with a modicum of oomph should cope adequately. My recommendation would be a refurbed work laptop, prices have come back down considerably after the 'work from home' panic of 2020. Look for a refurbed Lenovo Thinkpad with i5 processor and 8GB of RAM and you'll be fine for a £300 budget. That budget would buy you very little in the stores.

It will then also run Minecraft

I would also educate yourself on what Roblox is and some of the issues around it https://www.parents.com/kids/safety/internet/is-ro...

[Westyrs]

Many thanks Puggit.

Ill take a look

[ecsrobin]

My nephew is also 8 and has recently got a gaming PC he plays Roblox, quite a few stories of parents buying the wrong kit and costing a small fortune so they just listened to the feedback from other parents.

I’d be trying to convince your son to go down the PC route as you can upgrade them slowly over time far easier than a laptop. However its likely a slightly higher outlay for you at the start. The plus side with either device is they can use it for homework.