Buy My Son a New Laptop or Give Him Mine?

LMoomy on 03/04/2022 - 23:26
Last edited 04/04/2022 - 10:53 by 1 other user

Hey Guys,

I want to get my son(grade 5) a laptop to use at home and eventually be able to use it when he reaches high school. I plan on getting a new computer for myself in about 2 years time.

I'm currently using a Gigabyte Aero 15x v8 that bought in 2018. The specs are: 15.6" FHD, i7-8750H, 32gb DDR4 RAM, Geforce GTX 1070, 94.24Wh battery, and ~2.0kg.

Should I hand this computer down to my son to use at home while in primary school and eventually bring to school in High School. If i do this, I will have to move forward my purchase of a new computer for myself by about 2 years.

or

I just get him a ~$1000 laptop now that he can use from now till the start of high school. I keep my current laptop for myself before I upgrade in 2 years.

If i go with the first option, do you think my Aero15x will still be usable in 2 years for high school and will it handle the punishment of being at school.

Thanks

Computing 15.6inch Computer Gigabyte Laptop

Comments

  • kerfuffle on 03/04/2022 - 23:31
    +12

    2kg laptop plus all the books and PE uniform and stuff he'll have to carry in high school? Probably best to get him a new laptop.

    • smurftastic on 04/04/2022 - 08:30
      +1

      Agree with Kerfuffle.
      Bought my son the Acer Nitro 5 for school thinking he'd get a decent gaming and school-work laptop in one.
      Ended up also buying him a 1.2kg Microsoft Surface laptop as the 2.3kg Acer was too heavy and large for the poor kid to carry around with the rest of his school gear.
      Acer is now just a gaming laptop for him and me.

    • Moomy on 04/04/2022 - 10:43

      Good point. I didnt think about that

      • jv on 04/04/2022 - 10:58
        +2

        unless of course they choose weight lifting as their school sport…

  • Kangal on 04/04/2022 - 00:38
    +5

    Isn't that laptop a little too thick, large, heavy, hot, noisy and poor battery life?
    And with the specs in there, he's more likely to start AAA-Gaming on it, instead of studying.

    Why can't you stick with it, and get him something more sensible?
    Something that's more like a thin, medium, light, cool, silent, and good battery life.
    …Like a 12" with a good keyboard and trackpad, no glossy touchscreen, and a bog-standard 15W U-series chipset. There's many out there in both new and used category.

    • Moomy on 04/04/2022 - 10:44

      Its a thin and light gaming laptop with really good battery life(94wh battery). But you are rights its probably still too heavy for him to lug around.

  • elgrande on 04/04/2022 - 06:46
    +6

    Sounds like you want a new laptop..

  • salmon123 on 04/04/2022 - 07:27
    +5

    I just get him a ~$1000 laptop

    I thought primary schools were pushing chrome books.

    I'd just get one of those for now, sell in 2 year and buy whatever the kid needs for high school.

  • jikijiki on 04/04/2022 - 08:14

    Get him to work for it, chores, lawn, improvements in test scores. Then get him one of those thin, office use laptops with no dedicated graphics card so he doesn't game on it.

    Boom, two birds one stone.

  • dogboy on 04/04/2022 - 09:00
    +3

    Get him a new one. Not really fair to give him a hand me down and then upgrade yourself. Let the little guy have something new that is all his own.

    • Moomy on 04/04/2022 - 10:47

      My thought was that if i gave him mine it would actually be a better computer than a $1000 one.

  • CrispyChrispy on 04/04/2022 - 09:11
    +1

    I just get him a ~$1000 laptop now that he can use from now till the start of high school

    And then what's going to happen to this laptop? A laptop can hold up fine for more than 2 years, especially for a $1K laptop. Used a $500 laptop through all of high school, held up fine besides the battery after 4 years or so.

    If it's a relatively lightweight laptop, let him use it for as long as he can through high school. If it breaks, get a new one which he can use for the rest of high school/into Uni.

    • Moomy on 04/04/2022 - 10:49

      Sorry I wasn't clear. I meant that he can use this new laptop all the way though high school until it breaks or is too slow.

      • LiteDough on 04/04/2022 - 11:22

        No…way too heavy. You can keep it for him at home, but does he play games?
        A kid has to walk between different classes and might have textbooks too in high school…aim for something light. Tablet sized Chromebook might be decent and still cheap. No, it's not powerful or big but good enough for school.
        Also, do you plan on replacing the battery if you want this 4 year old laptop to last another 7 years? You can use it at home plugged in but when he starts taking the device to school, you need to consider battery life - there won't always be a free power outlet and kids just forget to plug it in or turn it off.

  • FireRunner on 04/04/2022 - 09:59
    +1

    That’s some serious overkill laptop for school.
    Gaming laptops are heavier and have shorter battery life than a general use laptop.
    I’d just get him a good non-gaming laptop.

    • Moomy on 04/04/2022 - 10:52

      Mines a thin and light gaming laptop with good battery life, but yeah its till about 2kg. I think i will just get him a new and smaller laptop.

  • jv on 04/04/2022 - 10:06
    +7

    For grade 5, I'd just get him a refurb.

    https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/203261806216?hash=item2f53590688…

    Dell Latitude E7490 | Intel i5-8350U 1.7GHz | 16GB RAM | 256SSD | Win 11

    $576 with code SAVEAPRIL
    180 day warranty

    " will still be usable in 2 years for high school"

  • cuteseal on 04/04/2022 - 10:32

    Check whether your high school has a laptop program.
    Ours does and it is compulsory to buy through their program so we couldn't even source our own. Bit of a rort IMHO…

    • jv on 04/04/2022 - 10:54
      +1

      Ours does and it is compulsory to buy through their program

      sounds like someone is getting kickbacks…

      • cuteseal on 04/04/2022 - 11:12

        Definitely… although they also bundle in onsite support at the school as well as maintenance/warranty issues, as well as 2 free replacements.
        So if the laptop breaks for any reason they just do an immediate swap for a new unit on the spot and the student doesn't have to wait 2 weeks+ to RMA back to the manufacturer.

        • jv on 04/04/2022 - 11:33

          as well as 2 free replacements.

          They are not free, that is why you are paying so much more than the laptops are worth…

          • cuteseal on 04/04/2022 - 11:49

            @jv: Sorry you are right - see previous comment about rort.

    • Moomy on 04/04/2022 - 11:00

      They do have a laptop program. I'll give them a call and see what they say

    • Moomy on 04/04/2022 - 16:24

      Our high school partners with Edunet. I looked at the list of computers they provide and the prices seem reasonable. The macbook air is the same price as buying from the apple edu store and their Lenovo thinkpads seems pretty much in line with whats on the Lenovo edu store.

      If you go through Edunet you get the perks of 3 year onsite repairs and some repairs can be done on campus at the schools it dept plus 3 day turn around on most repairs. The computer is locked so you cant install your own programs on it.

      The school also allows you to bring your own device.

      • cuteseal on 04/04/2022 - 16:34

        Ok cool seems like you have more options then!

      • [Deactivated] on 04/04/2022 - 17:39
        +1

        The computer is locked so you cant install your own programs on it.

        Not worth. You're paying for the computer, it's yours, you shouldn't be restricted at all.

  • MS Paint on 04/04/2022 - 10:41

    To be fair that's a current spec laptop except DDR3 would have been better.

    • FireRunner on 04/04/2022 - 10:54
      +1

      Why would DDR3 be better?

  • BewareOfThe Dog on 04/04/2022 - 10:42

    Buy him an Acer, that's light. Furthermore if the screen cracks, Acer are usually economical to replace.

  • Moomy on 04/04/2022 - 10:59

    I must say researching for a ~$1000 is so much harder than looking for a top spec one.

    Would you guys say a 14" screen at about 1.5kg be a good size?

    • juzza87 on 04/04/2022 - 11:30
      +1

      Depends on their interests and what subject they'll be doing, if it's just for basic browsing and word processing then you can make it as small and light as you want. If they're into design/CAD/multimedia and will be running something like Photoshop then the bigger screen and extra processing power will help. Touch screen with an active pen is great in the classroom for taking notes as well.

    • LiteDough on 04/04/2022 - 11:44
      +1

      For something he will take to school or use at home? Is he gaming?

      For taking to school - I would aim 10-13" (kids can handle small sizes) - lots of kids take iPads and tablets as their school device, it's around 1-1.3kg with keyboard and case. For example - Lenovo duet 3.

      You're planning a computer upgrade in 2 years, you can get him a refurb or a Chromebook now and he can use the Acer in high school at home for gaming, and something else to bring into school.

      • Moomy on 04/04/2022 - 16:19

        He has interest in doing programming(scratch, codecamp). Hes looking into creating things in Roblox studios now. The only game he plays on the computer now is Minecraft.

        The high school hes going to doesn't support ipads, they only support Windows and Mac computers. They have laptop program that they partner with Edunet which give you 3 year onsite warranty and 3 day turn around on repairs.

        Right now i'm looking at some of the Lenovo Thinkpads or Ideapads with education discount.

  • jayboi on 04/04/2022 - 23:05

    Get him an MacBook Air M1, it's a great all around laptop, or if you can, wait towards the end of the year for the redesigned M2 MacBook Air.
    you can get it for $1294 on AOC EDU store https://www.apple.com/au_edu_5000447/shop/buy-mac/macbook-ai… .
    or as you said get it from the edunet with the 3 year warranty.

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