Advice on the best laptop to buy for a 9 year old?

el_gringo_3

I'd say the best laptop for a 9 year old is a desktop. Far less to go wrong and cheaper/easier to fix when something inevitably does. Will probably get more for his money thus allowing him to play more/better games, and he'll miss his xbox/ds less as a result.

I wouldn't associate ex-business laptops being plentiful with quality - more that companies replace their hardware more frequently than private users (often as they get grants and tax cuts). That and if you have information vital to the continuation of your job/career on your laptop your more likely to keep it in good knick than if you've just got a couple of games and internet access on there.

buglawton

You didn't say whether the laptop has to be good enough just for DVDs/Homwork or also needs to run GAMES. If the latter then you will need a high spec one - decent graphics card, decent processor - and the earlier mentioned budget is still too small.

While I would not recommend laptops for 9 year old sons & daughters of non-computer-savvy people, were it my own 9 year old I would buy an high grade corporate refurb Lenovo, confident that spare parts, esp screen and keyboard, can be had for a long time to come at reasonable prices, and refitting parts is nearly 'child's play' since this brand is designed to be maintained and not thrown away at first serious problem (full how-to manuals are online, the screws all size-coded with special markings on the underside). Plus many Lenovo models have proper disk shock protection.

KillerWatt

No DVD drive, and only Windows 7 Starter Edition for £269.......walk away.

Another £30 and you can have a laptop with a proper copy of 7 and a DVD-/+RW multi drive.

Donnie

Not much of quality around at that price point at the moment. Argos Clearance has this Toshiba Satellite L500-1XL for £284. But it has no webcam. Not the greatest value and he should hold out a little longer. Something will appear soon enough.

lisae03

I think he will have to wait until he hits the £300 - £320 mark so we can get something a bit better, its not worth rushing into.

He won't be using it for gaming, he has his Playstation 3 for that.

I will look out for deals on the grabbit board, love it over there!

mrcow

Do they do laptops that bounce these days?

If so, get one of them!

I think £300 is a much more realistic price to get something worthwile tbh - happy saving!

flossy_splodge

lisae03 wrote: »

You are obviously stuck in the past with your narrow minded views. Thanks for the compliment, I'd HATE to be an example of modern parenting, I'm not the first parent to allow a child a laptop, times are changing.

That, they may be, but it doesn't make it good or right.

richardw

How would you feel if he came across the most shocking extreme pornography that may not be hidden from him by Net nanny or similar?

Hammyman

lisae03 wrote: »

My 9 year old has sold his Xbox and Ds and now has nearly enough for a laptop. He has about £260 and wants to get something now opposed to waiting till he has a bit more as he is off off to Nans half term and wants to take it with him! We don't know alot about computers so would appreciate some pointers. We have a mini laptop in mind from Argos at £230...

Is that a good deal? Any recommendations would be appreciated :-)

Buy a second hand IBM Thinkpad T61. They're absolutely bombproof. The T61 is a dual core laptop with wifi and bluetooth. They also have drain holes in the keyboard so if he drops his drink on it, no harm will be done. They have a solid metal plate on the lid to protect the screen and the HDD has shock protection from knocks and drops. Also the lid is a rubberised material so light scratches can be rubbed away with a rag.

Those mini laptops are seriously dire for performance. They're only any good for web browsing and email. Once you even start to try and play videos on them you'll find the limits of their performance.

buglawton

@hammyman

One of my everyday machines is a T61P. It is very bombproof and has a wonderfully accurate keyboard. If you are wondering why it is so heavy, it has an 'anti roll cage' around the screen apparently, to prevent the screen being twisted under pressure.