Recommend a budget laptop for my 6 yr old son to play Minecraft

[hudson]

My 6 year old son's birthday is coming up and he says he wants a PC to play Minecraft on. He has it on his 2DS XL which he loves, but he's always seeing these custom user made worlds on YouTube that he wants, which the console can't get - at least I don't think so.

Plus, a PC would be good for school stuff etc.

Can anyone recommend a not so pricey laptop that could run it? I'm so out of touch when it comes to computer specs etc.

Thanks

[Nu-Eclipse]

What exactly is your budget? I would personally advise that laptops below £500 aren't worth it imho (a lesson I learnt the hard way with a laptop that I wasn't even using for gaming).

[wakka]

Surely there’s a cheaper way to do this - are the PC versions of Minecraft that more capable than the PS4/Bone ones?

[hudson]

PC for the mods though. Like I said, my son see lots of "amazing" mods, skins and maps on YouTube which he cannot access via a console. Well, that's my understanding.


@Nu-Eclipse I reckon £250 would be the most I'm willing to spend at this stage. I'd say that's a lot of money for a birthday prezzy. It's to run Minecraft, Roblox and internet.

[QualityChimp]

Tell him to suck it up.

He's already got Minecraft, use some imagination and get to your room with no gruel.

Seems a pricey way to fix his desire to copy YouTooobers.

[hudson]

I know. He will want/need his own PC someday anyway.

[QualityChimp]

Six seems a little young for a PC IMHO, especially when you can get Minecraft on so many formats, including The Switch, which he might enjoy more.

If you do get a PC/laptop, why not keep it in the lounge, so you're aware of how much time he's spending on it and check he's not Googling "big boobs". If it is going to be on the internet, put Net Nanny or something like that on it.

Unrequested parenting tips aside, my niece (11) wanted a laptop to play Minecraft on and they got one for a few hundred.

Maybe you could look at a refurbished PC/laptop, which will be a few years old, but be really good value and still run Minecraft nicely.

My son, 7, has just discovered Minecraft on the Vita and loves it.
I love how it triggers their imagination and he was excitedly telling me about his waterfall of milk filled with salmon. Nutter!

[speedlolita]

If he has a desk/TV then a desktop would be a much better value for a Minecraft solution. Maybe an old office PC and then chuck in an inexpensive graphics card.

[hudson]

You know what I might just let him use my PC. Create a sub-account on Windows10 or something and tailor it to him.

[speedlolita]

That sounds like a grand idea to me. Who knows, he may get bored of Minecraft mods in no time. Not onto Fortnite yet then?

[dataDave]

Surely there’s a cheaper way to do this - are the PC versions of Minecraft that more capable than the PS4/Bone ones?

Yeah, the mods are immense.

[speedlolita]

I’d expect mods to require more oomph from your hardware than the base game too, from what I’ve encountered in the past.

[Nu-Eclipse]

I know. He will want/need his own PC someday anyway.

Have you considered a Chromebook? Yeah, they're not the best for gaming AFAIK, but they are pretty handy for general computing stuff like web surfing, etc.

My niece was brought one by my siblings a couple of years ago. She is now 15 and is looking to upgrade and doesn't even want to contemplate using a Mac or Windows Laptop.

IMO Chromebooks are the only laptops that offer value-for-money at a budget pricepoint like £250. I could be wrong but I don't see how £250 gets you a laptop with enough oomph for gaming.

[hudson]

Does Minecraft run on Chromebook?

[speedlolita]

You wouldn’t be able to mod it.