Laptop as a kids Christmas present

altyfc · 26 November 2015 at 6:22PM

Hi, we have two boys (12 and 10) who would be keen to get their first laptop (or Apple equivalent??). I like the idea of it for their school work (they do quite a bit on the computer and online nowadays) rather than for games. They on the other hand... (well you can guess

)

I am concerned that if they start intalling games, it'll slow the machine down, put it more at risk with viruses, etc. etc. Also I'm conscious that to play 'decent' games can often mean you need a fairly high spec. But also a computer that they can't play on at all wouldn't be much fun as a Christmas present.

Any advice on a good compromise? I know at the very least they'd be keen to use it for Minecraft (don't know if that uses a lot of resources?) and I think there's a game called Smite that they've got their eye on (again, have no idea how much of a drain that would be)

Any suggestions as to what to get? I'd prefer to be under the £500 mark per machine but would sooner get something that 'does the job' if it means spending a little more.

Thanks so much for any help anyone can offer!