Chromebook For 11 y-o

Dirk Diggler · 3 Dec 2017 at 11:53

Is this Chromebook any good for an 11 year-old (Xmas)? Celeron is putting me off, but is that all you need for these in terms of power?

Acer Chromebook 14 CB3-431 14-Inch Notebook

Armageus · 3 Dec 2017 at 12:15

Whats the thinking behind a Chromebook?

For kids a normal Windows based laptop will likely be a better choice, as popular Kids games such as Roblox and Minecraft won't run on a Chromebook as far as I know

Dirk Diggler · 3 Dec 2017 at 12:32

He says he uses a Chromebook R11 at school and he likes it. I think you're probably right about the Windows laptop as he likes PC gaming, but a gaming laptop would cost a fair bit over what's left in his budget.

Dirk Diggler · 3 Dec 2017 at 13:04

Actually, having had a think now... what would be an entry level Gaming Laptop? I've never really paid much attention to Laptops so not sure where to start there.

MM-Seat · 4 Dec 2017 at 21:18

String said:
Actually, having had a think now... what would be an entry level Gaming Laptop? I've never really paid much attention to Laptops so not sure where to start there.

Doesn't something like Minecraft run on everything these days?

LabR@t · 7 Dec 2017 at 09:47

MM-Seat said:
Doesn't something like Minecraft run on everything these days?

Runs on a pi!

o531 · 10 Dec 2017 at 12:30

String said:
Actually, having had a think now... what would be an entry level Gaming Laptop? I've never really paid much attention to Laptops so not sure where to start there.

Anything with an nVidia 1060 should really be considered entry-level for a gaming laptop. You can play most games at medium settings, but it might be overkill for an 11 year old.

I really wouldn't recommend a Chromebook to anyone. It's the shittiest, worst thing I have ever used. Basically a browser pretending to be an operating system. If you're kid likes it and needs it for school, I guess there isn't much you can do except look for the cheapest one available.

nightmare99 · 10 Dec 2017 at 13:00

A 1060 is more mid-range certainly not entry level.

David Bisset · 15 Dec 2017 at 17:20

You can (just) game on intel iGPUs, don't need discrete gpu. Sure, a 1060 would be better but costs a lot more than no dGPU! To call 1060 entry level seems pretty odd, firmly mid-range.

iGPUs will heavily limit graphics options but if we're talking minecraft then it'll be ok.

New AMD apus are much more capable but still pretty rare.

Without a dGPU I guess it's not a 'gaming' laptop, just a laptop really

Ben Cole · 15 Dec 2017 at 22:22

I had a HP chromebook 11and absolutely loved the screen , sound and browsing on it.

I would not recommend one though because that’s all it is....a browser that can play some files.

Unless the Chrome OS has had a massive change since I sold, you’d be far better off with a laptop running Chrome as a web browser.