Should I buy a laptop or computer

burtons

I'm looking to spend under £400 on a laptop or computer for my 10 year old daughter christmas present but which one should I choose if she will mainly use if for youtube. If I buy a laptop I want something with a 15.6" screen but does it matter if the laptop is always switched on at the mains when in use and does a laptop cause to much heat if it's used on a computer desk.

Neil_Jones

Most laptops are 15.6" by default - if your daughter's used to watching YouTube on a phone which will only be 3-5" then it'll be fine.

Modern laptops makes no difference if you run it off the mains constantly, they're designed either way.

Heatwise, most laptops don't produce a lot of heat. Like most electrical items they require ventilation and will get warmer in the summer but they don't get that hot in normal use. In the summer the cooling fans may run a bit more but that's normal.

System

burtons wrote: »

I'm looking to spend under £400 on a laptop or computer for my 10 year old daughter christmas present but which one should I choose if she will mainly use if for youtube. If I buy a laptop I want something with a 15.6" screen but does it matter if the laptop is always switched on at the mains when in use and does a laptop cause to much heat if it's used on a computer desk.

With the advent of tablets the only reason to have a Laptop is for when you need programs that run better on a laptop or for heavy word processing when you need a good keyboard for fast typing.

My 11yo niece has had the iPad 2 and her parents are getting the iPad for her xmas at £340

What are the requirements your 10yo daughter needs that would require a laptop?

Cisco001

I recommend desktop PC.
It is purely due to you will be easier for you to monitor what she is doing.

Probably something like this

Frozen_up_north

Or for just YouTube, one of the new smart TVs has it built in...

A laptop is a lot less clutter in a kids bedroom, although for serious work laptops are sluggish compared to most desktops and are poor from a posture point of view, see: http://www.hse.gov.uk/msd/dse/

stator

Desktop:
More performance for money
Cheaper to repair (parts are interchangeable with other desktops)
Cheaper and easier to upgrade

Laptop:
Portable
Can run in powercut etc
Takes up less space


When a cheap laptop breaks generally you throw it away because the cost of repair is much higher. Especially if it's a broken screen.

burtons

john22 wrote: »

What are the requirements your 10yo daughter needs that would require a laptop?

With the amount of homework she is getting a laptop or computer would be handy so she could use a printer. The only other thing is she won't give me a headache when the tablet is not charged.

EveryWhere

Cisco001 wrote: »

I recommend desktop PC.
It is purely due to you will be easier for you to monitor what she is doing.

Probably something like this

Not good value at that price. £30 less here;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Zoostorm-Intel-Pentium-G4400-Dual-Core-Desktop-PC-8GB-1TB-DVDRW-Win-10-/263257930017

Wouldn't be my choice anyway.

burtons

stator wrote: »

When a cheap laptop breaks generally you throw it away because the cost of repair is much higher. Especially if it's a broken screen.

The computer or laptop would be kept on a computer desk in the living room as I was worried that if she had a laptop she would drop it and break the screen.

System

burtons wrote: »

With the amount of homework she is getting a laptop or computer would be handy so she could use a printer. The only other thing is she won't give me a headache when the tablet is not charged.

Tablet will last longer than a laptop when not plugged in. If she runs down tablet it can just be plugged in like a laptop.

Yes agree with you on printer if the printer is not a wireless printer.

Also I never knew kids got so much homework to do on a laptop/desktop. I will watch what happens when my niece goes to secondary school next year and see if she will require laptop.

EveryWhere

burtons wrote: »

The computer or laptop would be kept on a computer desk in the living room as I was worried that if she had a laptop she would drop it and break the screen.

A laptop is for portability. if that is not needed, get a desktop and a massive monitor.