My son is turning 10... and wants to play some games on a computer. This game, Stormworks, has some higher than standard spec requirements...
i5 4th gen, 8 meg Ram, Geforce 650... I would look ike to spend around $500.

First, what type of "low cost/high value" gaming laptop would you guys recommend?
Second, Can I get a laptop like this for $500?
Third, any other recommendations do y'all have?

Any reason it has to be a laptop, or can it be a desktop?

aggiebq03+ said:

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Any reason it has to be a laptop, or can it be a desktop?

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Agree, have him build a desktop. Then he'll also learn about all the components. It's really easy

If your son will continue to be into gaming for the foreseeable future you should future proof a bit. Otherwise you'd have to buy another in little time to handle other games, even current ones. That or stick with consoles. I'd double you budget if he's going to continue with PC games.

I'm in a similar boat, but I'm looking to get my son a desktop. It will be used for doing school projects and maybe playing Minecraft or Roblox, which are currently both played on the iPad. This is the one I was looking at.

https://www.cnet.com/products/acer-aspire-tc-330-tower-a9-9420-3-ghz-8-gb-1-tb/

Unfortunately at that price range you aren't going to be able to get much value. I searched for a while and couldn't really find a good deal on a computer in that price range that had a little bit of staying power or that even could handle more modern games. I think he would probably need an upgrade in a year or so. If you are okay with that, there are some options out there. But unfortunately, as far as laptops go, the ones that are more apt for gaming are going to be a bit more expensive.

If you are handy and are good at following directions, and if he has a bit of interest in the technical aspects of electronics or computers, I think building a budget system from parts could provide you a better value. The key to that though is doing plenty of research and making sure you have a good idea of what you are doing before you start. It is actually quite easy once you understand the groundwork.

This is a great site and here is a reference system that would provide more value than a budget gaming laptop:

https://pcpartpicker.com/guide/GFLrxr/entry-level-amd-gaming-build

And note, that processor will have a better, new version released tomorrow. So the value aspect of that system will change.

AW 1880 said:

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I'm in a similar boat, but I'm looking to get my son a desktop. It will be used for doing school projects and maybe playing Minecraft or Roblox, which are currently both played on the iPad. This is the one I was looking at.

https://www.cnet.com/products/acer-aspire-tc-330-tower-a9-9420-3-ghz-8-gb-1-tb/

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What type of school projects? Internet research, etc? I don't think Minecraft/Roblox are too taxing.

The integrated graphics might be the limiting factor. Plus it only supports HDMI, which most monitors now have HDMI but just something to think about.

Internet research, power points, and online math/reading stuff. I would have to get a new monitor with that one. I was also looking at these two:

Lenovo IdeaCentre 310S ($270)- https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/desktops-and-all-in-ones/ideacentre/300-series/310s-AMD/p/99IC9S30262

Acer TC-855 ($370)- https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/model/DT.BAPAA.012

Thank you guys for all of your feedback... you guys are full of knowledge and good ideas... I built my own computer when I was in high school and really liked it... I will look at doing this with my boys one day.

I need to do a ton more research for the next step... I will reach out in the near future to ask more questions... thanks again and Gig'em!

You can do a 970-1070 i7 with a SSD on FB marketplace. Let someone else buy it new. Who cares if it's used. You'll find things barely used going for half the price with warranties still included. I built a 3K gaming rig and I still refuse to buy a laptop new. Food for thought. People offloading this always do it for the same reason. Wife, or money problems. They will a lot of times include a mouse and headset.

As others have said, it would be tough to find a new gaming laptop that I would be comfortable recommending in that price range. Used is the only way to get something solid at that price. There are some decent new options once you get closer to $700-$800 range.

As others have also said, you can get better bang for the buck with a desktop system and building one is easy and fun. It's also a great time to build thanks to what looks to be another great launch from AMD with the Ryzen 3000 series CPUs and no real GPU mining demand driving up costs on that wide of things.

I was in the market for a budget friendly gaming laptop a little over a year ago and picked up the Acer Nitro V for $500 on the dot and I would highly recommend it. It only comes with a 256GB SSD and 8 GB of RAM so I slapped a matching 8GB ram stick and a 1TB hard drive in there just for storage only purposes but it handles everything I throw at it on medium to high settings no problem. And I'm pretty sure the new version of this thing has the 8th gen i5 processor in it, mine is just a 7th gen. They go on sale all the time for anywhere between $500 and $600 so I would just keep an eye out for it and setup price alerts on Slickdeals.net because they'll be all over it when it's on sale.

Acer Nitro V - Best Buy Listing

Computer parts are pretty much the lowest they've been in years. No better time to build s desktop. Totally agree