Gaming Computer Recommendations

So my 13 year old daughter wants to get a gaming laptop for Christmas and I have no clue what to look for. I'm assuming at least 16gb ram and a 512gb ssd, but any specific brands? We are looking to spend no more than $750 since she is going to be mainly use it for Minecraft or online games. Thanks!

 

If you have a microcenter close to you they have great "starter gaming computers" that are expandable later. We got our daughter one two years ago that she still uses today and only added more ram.


https://www.microcenter.com/

https://www.microcenter.com/product/670241/hp-victus-15l-tg02-0231-gaming-pc-platinum-collection

 

I'm pretty sure you could boot up Minecraft on a potato out of your pantry, it is a very easy game to run on any semi-modern computer, unless your daughter intends to add mods and/or shaders (probably sounds like french to you). More important is what does "online games" mean to you? Is that like in a browser (literally online) or any game that can be played with friends?

• 16gb of ram is good for 99% of people so good there.
• 512gb ssd would be perfect for me but I'm not a heavy downloader. A better sense of what other games will be on there would be good, some games are near 100gb by themselves, but storage is an expensive upgrade to pay for from a manufacturer so I would try to pin that down closer.
• Again depending on the games desired you will need to be looking for a discrete graphics card. Nvdia 2060 would be my target, couple of generations old at this point so cheaper but plenty of guts for a laptop
• Brands are a dime a dozen not much performance difference as long as it is a reputable big-name brand.
• Laptops are also very locked down and, for the most part, not upgradeable. If there is any flexibility in that requirement I would push towards a desktop machine. This would mean that in the future a different game catches her eye and more performance is necessary it is pretty simple to swap one or maybe two internal components and you don't need an entirely new laptop.

 

My son has an Asus. No issues at all with it.

 

Start shopping:
https://slickdeals.net/laptop-deals/

I'd highly recommend that you get one with a dedicated gpu and not the integrated graphics of the cpu....something like a 3060 would be best, but might push your budget.

a quick look, this looks decent aside from the tiny battery (not sure if that matters:
https://slickdeals.net/f/17164084-c...rtx-4050-144hz-1080p-699-99?src=category_page

 

Last two comments are good. I've always had good success with Asus & Acer. If your daughter is mostly looking to game, then try to find one with a dedicated graphics card. The price will generally dictate the corresponding card, but a 3060/4060 (or 3070/4070 if you're feeling spendy) would be good for a while for most games!

 

When we bought for our daughter the tech at microcenter discouraged us from buying a laptop. They’re way more expensive, way more expensive to upgrade (when they can be), and have many more issues pushing heavy gaming software. Our daughter bought a power spec and has added ram and graphics cards on her own. YMMV

https://www.microcenter.com/product/668529/powerspec-g235-gaming-pc

 

No Microcenter near me, but I'll check them out. Thanks!

So the laptop is because she likes to take it with her (trips, friends, school) and I'd prefer her not chained to her room. Basically she likes to download games from Steam and her main game is StarStable which is downloadable but web based. I also want her to use it for her school work when the time comes.

I appreciate the input, definitely helps and confirms some items I'm looking for.

Thanks!

Thanks, I'll check i out!

Thanks, good to look out for.

Thanks! If she gets more serious I will definitely look into setting up a desktop for her.

 

https://www.costco.com/msi-cyborg-g...tx-4050---144hz-1080p.product.4000139298.html

With Costco 2 year warrenty

 

Steam deck.

 

Newegg.com is your friend. You can get a barebones kit for peanuts...or entry level setup for around $600.

Barebones kits consist of the case, motherboard, and PSU (power supply). I saw several on there for $2-300.

 

its pretty legit. its essentially a forum where people find deals and post them up. if you intend to make a purchase, you get linked to the website actually selling the product (be it Amazon, costco, etc).

 

I’ve got an Acer Predator that has handled pretty much everything I’ve thrown at it.

 

Slickdeals isn't a merchant it's just a forum of sorts where people post up deals when they find them.

You still buy the item through Amazon/Newegg/bestbuy/target/Walmart......

Been using it for yeaaaarrsssss....saved a lot of money but also spent a lot

 

Solid recommendation.

 

Well went into Costco and picked up this. Not the greatest but will work for the time being. Rather invest in a desktop in the long run. https://www.costco.com/lenovo-loq-15.6%22-gaming-laptop---13th-gen-intel-core-i5-13420h---geforce-rtx-2050---144hz-----1080p---windows-11.product.4000210515.html

Thank you everyone for the advice, never got into computers and more money for truck mods now!

 

The 2050 will kill it for Minecraft and similar games, no worries there at all! That's a pretty excellent deal and the screen on that should be butter smooth with the 144hz refresh.

Your thread's reminded me I need to sell my fiance's 'old' desktop as she also recently did the switch to a laptop for portability. It's a system I built myself in 2021, Ryzen 7 platform, 32GB RAM, miniITX in a Cougar case with a full-size Gigabyte RTX2080 in it. I'll plug it here for anyone else that might be looking. I even kept all the retail parts boxes for warranty purposes.

 

Good to hear, I don’t mind spending money but at this age thing go in and out so quick I hate to spend too much and regret it later. Also can’t beat a Costco return policy. Bought myself a bottle of Knob Creek as a concillary prize.