kenaij
AQ score: 38, Aspie Score: asp 142/200 nt 58/200
Hi,
I have been looking around with this question but most answers seem to come from people who all think everyone needs a super computer. I figured there might be some tech savy people around here. I am not completely unfamiliar with computers and what does what in a system. So before I start. I know neither of these options are 'great' laptops. But we are working within a budget. Also my daughter is about to turn 10. She loves computers but does not do any high end stuff with them yet.
She has been using a very old laptop (i5 5200u) to get to know windows and play some games.
A quick summary of what she is going to do on the system.
- Schoolwork, mainly googling, MS word/powerpoint. Maybe some MS excel but no big sheets.
- Play games like Starstable online and Roblox, Sims 4 is about the most demanding game she is going to play. (Roblox and starstable at about medium 1080p, and Sims low-medium 1080p)
- Streaming some media like Netflix or watching videos on youtube.
We have been to a shop so she could pick which model (look) laptop she would like. And she picked the Asus vivobook 14". This model has a Numpad on the mousepad which she absolutaly loves.
Whatever it is going to be internally, she wants the laptop to look like this.
So I have been looking around and found 3 models. One of which is kind of outside of our budget.
My daughter saved up about 100 euros, and we want to spend about 300-350 euros.
She would also love to get the premium version of starstable which is 70 euros. So picking the cheaper model will allow us to give her that along with the laptop.
The models are as followed:
1: 525 euros (slightly over budget, and only this price when it is on sale)
i5-1235u, Intel iris XE, 2x8gb DDR4, 512GB SSD
2: 430-480 euros (on budget, no premium starstable)
i3-1215u, Intel UHD 64eu, 1x8gb DDR4, 512GB SSD (this model is upgradable to 1x 16GB DDR4 later on)
3: 350-380 euros (under budget, can add premium starstable)
i3 N305, Intel UHD 770 (I think), 1x8gb DDR4, 256GB SSD (this model has soldered RAM so not upgradable, 256GB should leave about 80-100GB after installing all programs and games)
I have also found models with a Ryzen chipset Ryzen 3 7320u, Radeon 610M, 1x8gb DDR5 (non expendable), 512GB SSD at around 450. But think the Radeon 610m preforms much worse than the UHD counterparts in the intel models. (BUT I MIGHT BE WRONG!!!)
She will be using this laptop for about 3 or 4 years. When she goes to highschool and has to do more demanding school projects we will get her a more powerful machine.
Given the basic tasks and the games she wants to play. What would be the best laptop for my money. Is the cheapest model enough? Or will we regret underspending on the laptop because she will have low FPS and lagging games?
Again low-medium settings on SIMS 4 at 1080p are fine.
I live in the Netherlands so pricing might seem off compared to your country. The chipsets in this laptop model to equal other laptops in their price ranges.
Also, if she wants to start playing more demanding games later on we have my dedicated gaming laptop she could use parttime.
Thank you for your replies
I have been looking around with this question but most answers seem to come from people who all think everyone needs a super computer. I figured there might be some tech savy people around here. I am not completely unfamiliar with computers and what does what in a system. So before I start. I know neither of these options are 'great' laptops. But we are working within a budget. Also my daughter is about to turn 10. She loves computers but does not do any high end stuff with them yet.
She has been using a very old laptop (i5 5200u) to get to know windows and play some games.
A quick summary of what she is going to do on the system.
- Schoolwork, mainly googling, MS word/powerpoint. Maybe some MS excel but no big sheets.
- Play games like Starstable online and Roblox, Sims 4 is about the most demanding game she is going to play. (Roblox and starstable at about medium 1080p, and Sims low-medium 1080p)
- Streaming some media like Netflix or watching videos on youtube.
We have been to a shop so she could pick which model (look) laptop she would like. And she picked the Asus vivobook 14". This model has a Numpad on the mousepad which she absolutaly loves.
Whatever it is going to be internally, she wants the laptop to look like this.
So I have been looking around and found 3 models. One of which is kind of outside of our budget.
My daughter saved up about 100 euros, and we want to spend about 300-350 euros.
She would also love to get the premium version of starstable which is 70 euros. So picking the cheaper model will allow us to give her that along with the laptop.
The models are as followed:
1: 525 euros (slightly over budget, and only this price when it is on sale)
i5-1235u, Intel iris XE, 2x8gb DDR4, 512GB SSD
2: 430-480 euros (on budget, no premium starstable)
i3-1215u, Intel UHD 64eu, 1x8gb DDR4, 512GB SSD (this model is upgradable to 1x 16GB DDR4 later on)
3: 350-380 euros (under budget, can add premium starstable)
i3 N305, Intel UHD 770 (I think), 1x8gb DDR4, 256GB SSD (this model has soldered RAM so not upgradable, 256GB should leave about 80-100GB after installing all programs and games)
I have also found models with a Ryzen chipset Ryzen 3 7320u, Radeon 610M, 1x8gb DDR5 (non expendable), 512GB SSD at around 450. But think the Radeon 610m preforms much worse than the UHD counterparts in the intel models. (BUT I MIGHT BE WRONG!!!)
She will be using this laptop for about 3 or 4 years. When she goes to highschool and has to do more demanding school projects we will get her a more powerful machine.
Given the basic tasks and the games she wants to play. What would be the best laptop for my money. Is the cheapest model enough? Or will we regret underspending on the laptop because she will have low FPS and lagging games?
Again low-medium settings on SIMS 4 at 1080p are fine.
I live in the Netherlands so pricing might seem off compared to your country. The chipsets in this laptop model to equal other laptops in their price ranges.
Also, if she wants to start playing more demanding games later on we have my dedicated gaming laptop she could use parttime.
Thank you for your replies
