Laptop query

[Subeccoo]

It is an aibu in a way but mostly shamelessly posting for help (I did look for a better board I promise!!)
16 year old ds, massively into gaming, speaks gaming speak I don't understand but I know he'd love a gaming pc which is completely out of my budget however he has a part time job and will save up (for years looking at the prices!)
Anyway he's always used my laptop but I'm starting a course next year which means I'll need it a few evenings a week and with gcses looming then A levels he's going to need his own.
I have up to 400 budget, but as always I'm lost with these things and getting stressed trying to work it out.
From what I can tell gaming laptops are only a thing if you've got mega bucks to spend. So I just need a great one for that price. Things that will matter to him will be looks and speed.
Has anyone found a great one in that price bracket and could advise me??
My aibu is am I being unreasonable to have no idea what grumpy 16 year old grunting boy actually wants from a laptop? If I ask him he just says he doesn't need one 😕 but he doesn't realise how much I'll need mine just yet...

Don't think it can be done for your budget. Certainly not brand new.

I spent £650 18 months ago and about to replace it as its now too slow. You'd be better putting the £400 towards his savings and looking at a gaming desktop around £900+ to get something upgradeable for the future...

The absolute minimum spec I'd go for is an i5 / ryzen 5 processor, 8gb ram and gtx 1650 graphics. Laptop outlet have an asus one for £550

Sorry I know I can't get a gaming one!!
I just want a decent laptop for 400 quid, the gaming will wait

I looked on Which for you. Their cheapest best buy was £550 but this one gets a decent rating: www.which.co.uk/reviews/laptops/acer-swift-1-sf114-34

There is also this one with a slightly lower rating: www.which.co.uk/reviews/laptops/hp-14b-na0502na

I always recommend Dell laptops.

Can you push to £450?
www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/laptops/new-inspiron-15-3000/spd/inspiron-15-3511-laptop/cn31133sc11slv

Or from their Outlet store

outlet.euro.dell.com/Online/SecondaryInventorySearch.aspx?c=uk&cs=ukdfh1&l=en&s=dfh&sign=PXhcOSHtr1T4IOw%2fPR7UdYJpWHrh9Oyt6NeaEh2jFjNeQFd0uACh90KqJ2M4mLppwfGyl3squcp9Xd2io%2b56IaGBlIOZ2y90tOn%2fpso6GXcgOH1gT5V7znPPJJz3%2fSjSnX77E7%2flKGvJCR%2b%2fB1jvPEP7fO7QnKOJyXaChTUVYueO6MfxhJf8TV9SyaalLcilOBOqlSVdSckQtLdjm5muR%2bxq11y8cR57ZSRZQ%2bGqk5wYC5sY4oD8v35azIFjQI6%2bbdohMlJIbo4%3d

You can’t get a decent laptop for gaming for £400 as the other poster said. It will honestly be a complete waste of money if that’s what your plan is. Laptops are generally terrible for games anyway. If it’s for doing work on, that’s different, but your OP and your reply are saying two different things. I have complete sympathy because it’s one of those things that you need to vocalise what exactly it’s for so you can buy the right one but you have a 16 year old that substitutes talking for grunts…

I agree Dell are good, I got one for my son as it was a Which? best buy but cost £550 so I didn't mention it here. I also have one myself.

What you need to look at when getting a laptop is the specs, not so much the money. But yes for the spec you need for gaming, £400 won't get it. It should get you a decent laptop for non-gaming. Argos usually have some decent ones. I've gotten a few HP ones there.

Matebook d 15 is £449 from argos, I have the more expensive matebook 14, which is decent build and performance.

For a decent gaming laptop (depends on the games):

At least Intel i5 or AMD Ryzen 5. Anything above 3.5GHz. Atleast Quadcore processor.

Atleast 8GB RAM.

Atleast 512 GB hard drive storage inbuilt or external (If external, you may as well get atleast 1TB).

Atleast 128GB SSD.

NVIDIA RTX or GTX series dedicated graphics card.

Remember to check screen size preferred. I'd think from 15.6" FHD.

Windows 10.

USB ports, ethernet port, wifi-enabled, etc.

This spec will work for you too except, to save money, you don't need the SSD or NVIDIA dedicated graphics. Integrated from Intel or AMD is good. From 2.5GHz.

Haven't had good experience with Acer laptops for gaming or their customer service in the past. HP has been great both gaming and non-gaming but there are others too, like PP mentioned.

If he's really content with using yours for now, maybe you should buy yourself the new one!

Can I pop on here and ask please - how much do I need to buy a decent gaming laptop? DS is only 9 but already mumbling about one. I have no idea. Are we talking a grand, 2 grand?

I’d give him yours and buy yourself a new one. Waste of money getting him a new one especially if he’s big on Gaming as he won’t be able to game on a £400 one and it will just get discarded for a gaming one when it can be afforded. Seems a waste.

Ps our gaming laptop cost £1700

@MrsArchchancellorRidcully

Can I pop on here and ask please - how much do I need to buy a decent gaming laptop? DS is only 9 but already mumbling about one. I have no idea. Are we talking a grand, 2 grand?

If you find a laptop that has those specs I posted, you can get a good gaming one from £700 or £900+, especially for a 9year old. To go into the thousands, you'll have to be going into higher specs, which they may not need right now.

I suggest start with the good basics and upgrade after a few years.

Just give him yours and buy a cheaper one for yourself if that would solve things. I'm sure you'll be able to find one for 400 or under if you just need basic things like word, zoom, internet etc.

Take a look at Laptops Direct,they very often have refurbished machines on there and they're generally an all round great company to buy from

I got a Dell G3 last year which is great for all the games I play although not an actual gaming laptop, cost about 1k. Would defo recommend Dell for normal usage and some gaming, should be able to get one for £400

If you look for a refurbished one you'll save a bit of money. Amazon have them

CEX sometimes have good ones if you know the spec you need

Sorry that no one is listening to you Sub, really frustrating! You can easily get a non gaming laptop for below £400. Look at Lenovo, they have an education store with better discounts if you've got a school/ academic email aaddress.

I recently bought a gaming laptop from Currys - you should check them out as they often have deals on that can help.

The one I bought was £900, but they were doing a part exchange deal where if you sent your old laptop they'd guarantee a price for it. As I was spending £900 they guaranteed £150 cashback on any old laptop - so I sent them my crappy old one that barely turned on and they valued it at £55, so they gave me £205 cashback!

There was also another deal on it that you could get a Phillips Hue starter bulb bundle that was worth £150, that I sold on ebay for £100.

I also happen to get 10% off Currys vouchers through my work's discount scheme so it only cost me £810 up front. Minus the £305 above means the £900 laptop cost me £505 in the end.

Sorry that no one is listening to you Sub, really frustrating!

You're not talking about this thread, are you? PP have listened to the OP and some of us have also listed what she should be looking out for, in answer to both her OP and subsequent post.

What exactly will he be using the laptop for? Will it just be for school work & studying or is he actually planning to game on it?

My boys have got cheap laptops for school and are saving up for gaming PCs (which are cheaper for the same spec than gaming laptops but still cost upwards of £1000 for a decent one). They share an Xbox so mostly game on that.

Sorry if I wasn't clear, I can't afford a gaming one nor would I be getting him one. Just need a decent work house for gcse and a levels.