Entry level laptop recommendations

[Andy from Kent]

 

 

The Missus' son will be turning 13 this month  and I'd like to buy him  a laptop in the range of 12 to 14,000 baht.     I'm unfamiliar with Windows laptops so I'd appreciate recommendations and reasons for your choice please.

 

   

[lovethai123]

You need to look at the requirements too. is he a gamer? if yes then even 50000 baht laptop may not be sufficient.

 

if the purpose is just to learn computers then buy the cheapest laptop of any brand like hp , dell, lenovo, acer, asus etc. 

 

u may consider buying second hand too.  available on lazada too..

 

u may consider buying a desktop(assembled or branded) or an all in one pc . again these are avaialbale on lazada. both 2nd hand or new. 

 

if the child does tantrums about using a 2nd hand machine, tell them it is no 1 quality. it come from japan. ????????

 

 

 

if u buy the cheapest laptop, then consider replacing hard disk with an ssd.   SSD prices have dropped a lot and a small investment would bring a drastic speed improvement . replacement is a 5 min job and there will be YT videos about it. contact me for any concerns or question via PM

 

 these days it is i3 , i5 or i7 laptops- 8th-10th generations... but when u go for cheapest it wud be some cheaper and slow intel or amd processor. that is why i am recommending changing hard disk with SSD to get a good speed in everyday tasks.

 

the OS would be windows 10 so look for anything with atleast 4Gb ram

 

 

contact me via PM for any questions. i wud be happy to advise

 

 

 

[tonray]

24 minutes ago, lovethai123 said:

is he a gamer? if yes then even 50000 baht laptop may not be sufficient.

then a 1000 baht gift card to a book shop might be a better option

[lopburi3]

Take a look here - have bought two Chuwi computers for grandchildren and they have worked well with no issues for four or five years now.  If you feel local service is a priority have also had good luck with Lenovo.  All have been about 10k.

[dddave]

9 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

Take a look here - have bought two Chuwi computers for grandchildren and they have worked well with no issues for four or five years now.  If you feel local service is a priority have also had good luck with Lenovo.  All have been about 10k.

Chuwi has a pretty good reputation but I have bought several Chinese laptops online and getting repairs, especially warranty repairs is a big problem thus maybe not a good option for a kid.  Virtually all Chinese laptops must returned to the manufacturer at OWNERS expense for warranty work with makes it totally impractical.

I suggest the OP involve the kid in the selection.   Give him a budget and let him pick.  Good basic computers can be had for B10,000 up though often without OS.

 

If he actually has deeper interests in computers and technology, a RASPBERRY 4 and some accessories might be a good choice...great learning set-up for a motivated kid.

[dddave]

OP, just a couple of points for you to consider:

Short term or long term?  Starter computer for now? Inexpensive(B8-12,000) and if he shows he has interest and is motivated, an upgrade in a few years? 

Long term, perhaps through High School; B15,000-20000  Better processor, more ram & storage. Perhaps some gaming ability.

 

Will he be carrying it to school and to friends homes or will it stay home?

Portability means a fairly small display: 10'-13", lightweight, long lasting battery,  stay at home means a bigger 14" -17" display, doesn't need long battery life as it is plugged-in.

 

Check-out "2 in 1s": basically a combination of tablet/laptop.  Many inexpensive Chinese models and quite age appropriate for a 13 year old.

Suggested minimum specs: 4gb ram expandable to at least 8, 256gb SSD (expandable good, slot for 2nd drive even better) Windows 10 included.

At least 2 USB-3 ports, HDMI out, SD Card reader, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth.

[lopburi3]

Actually is there any reason for a laptop?  Students do not carry to class here (they have phones for that) so a desktop or all in one might be a better choice for many.  

[Andy from Kent]

4 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Actually is there any reason for a laptop?  Students do not carry to class here (they have phones for that) so a desktop or all in one might be a better choice for many.  

 

The lad  requested a laptop and we saw no reason  for not fulfilling that request.      If it aids him in his education,   I think that's a great bonus as well.   He'll  be restricted to one hour a day for games.

 

[lopburi3]

7 minutes ago, Andy from Kent said:

 

The lad  requested a laptop and we saw no reason  for not fulfilling that request.      If it aids him in his education,   I think that's a great bonus as well.   He'll  be restricted to one hour a day for games.

 

My point was not to avoid providing computer or restrict access but to point out in our experience laptops stay in students bedroom now that phones provide internet service so a larger screen/performance and use of real mouse might be preferred at home if space available.  

[wn78]

Does he need to use Windows apps specifically?  If it's only for web sites and multimedia, consider a Chromebook?  Way more simple for a consumer, it maintains itself and no headaches (it might not work in China though.....)