Hello everyone! Thought I'd tap the collective brain. I'm looking for a relatively inexpensive laptop for my son, who mostly just plays minecraft (and occasionally needs the computer for school work, using google docs & a browser). Any suggestions of models, or places to buy? I'm looking for something pretty inexpensive, but with dedicated graphics that will allow him to play minecraft comfortably for the next year or so at least. Thank you! m
| From: Matt Price | Hello everyone! Thought I'd tap the collective brain. I'm looking for a relatively inexpensive laptop for my son, who | mostly just plays minecraft (and occasionally needs the computer for school work, using google docs & a browser). Any | suggestions of models, or places to buy? I'm looking for something pretty inexpensive, but with dedicated graphics that | will allow him to play minecraft comfortably for the next year or so at least. | From: William Park <opengeometry@yahoo.ca> | | Not sure about dedicated graphics, but ThinkPad T420 (refurbished) is on sale at Canada Computers again. | -- Bestbuy has them too, with a dock. Also refurb.io <http://forums.redflagdeals.com/refurb-io-labour-day-clearance-select-desktop-computers-laptops-1805521/> <http://forums.redflagdeals.com/ca-refurb-io-lenovo-thinkpad-t420-i5-2nd-gen-4gb-300gb-hd-win-7-pro-261-a-1805549/> Note: these different sources have units with different generations of Intel processors, and I seem to recollect that that matters for GPU power. But I don't really think that these are great for the price considering that they are used. It depends on how much you value the ThinkPad attributes (good keyboard, repairable, very well-built, heavy). These use the CPU chip's built-in GPU. Although Intel's GPU has been getting better, it was fairly poor for gaming in older generations. Someone who knows more about Minecraft performance would perhaps know if these GPUs are good enough. Or use google <http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Hardware_performance> I would *guess* that current Intel i-series processors would have a good enough GPU for Minecraft. I would also guess that the GPU part of any recent AMD APU is good for Minecraft (APU is what AMD calls their CPU + GPU chips). But beware: low-end AMD CPUs are very slow by today's standards (and they go by a lot of different names). This is cheap but I think that it isn't quite good enough: <http://www.nmicrovip.ca/asus-amd-a4-5000-6gb-ram-750gb-hdd-15-6-1366x768-dvdrw-windows-8-bilingual-kb-x552ea-sh41-cb-refurbished/> A4 series are probably too weak. Shoppers Drug Mart has a bunch of cheap notebooks on sale this weekend. I have no idea about their specs since SDM's ad doesn't give model numbers! They have a points bonus today which actually makes a difference in the effective cost (if you are willing to bother with their points program).
On Sat, Sep 05, 2015 at 11:13:58AM -0400, D. Hugh Redelmeier wrote:
Bestbuy has them too, with a dock. Also refurb.io <http://forums.redflagdeals.com/refurb-io-labour-day-clearance-select-desktop-computers-laptops-1805521/> <http://forums.redflagdeals.com/ca-refurb-io-lenovo-thinkpad-t420-i5-2nd-gen-4gb-300gb-hd-win-7-pro-261-a-1805549/> Note: these different sources have units with different generations of Intel processors, and I seem to recollect that that matters for GPU power.
But I don't really think that these are great for the price considering that they are used. It depends on how much you value the ThinkPad attributes (good keyboard, repairable, very well-built, heavy).
These use the CPU chip's built-in GPU. Although Intel's GPU has been getting better, it was fairly poor for gaming in older generations. Someone who knows more about Minecraft performance would perhaps know if these GPUs are good enough. Or use google <http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Hardware_performance>
I would *guess* that current Intel i-series processors would have a good enough GPU for Minecraft. I would also guess that the GPU part of any recent AMD APU is good for Minecraft (APU is what AMD calls their CPU + GPU chips). But beware: low-end AMD CPUs are very slow by today's standards (and they go by a lot of different names). This is cheap but I think that it isn't quite good enough: <http://www.nmicrovip.ca/asus-amd-a4-5000-6gb-ram-750gb-hdd-15-6-1366x768-dvdrw-windows-8-bilingual-kb-x552ea-sh41-cb-refurbished/> A4 series are probably too weak.
I would not think minecraft is heavy on the graphics either. -- Len Sorensen
On Fri, Sep 04, 2015 at 08:18:36PM -0400, William Park wrote:
<html><head></head><body lang="en-US" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: initial;"> <div style="width: 100%; font-size: initial; font-family: Calibri, 'Slate Pro', sans-serif, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); text-align: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Not sure about dedicated graphics, but ThinkPad T420<span style="font-family: Calibri, 'Slate Pro', sans-serif, sans-serif; font-size: initial; text-align: initial; line-height: initial;"> (refurbished) is on sale at Canada Computers again. </span></div><div style="width: 100%; font-size: initial; font-family: Calibri, 'Slate Pro', sans-serif, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); text-align: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-family: Calibri, 'Slate Pro', sans-serif, sans-serif; font-size: initial; text-align: initial; line-height: initial;">-- </span></div><div style="width: 100%; font-size: initial; font-family: Calibri, 'Slate Pro', sans-serif, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); text-align: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-family: Calibri, 'Slate Pro', sans-serif, sans-serif; font-size: initial; text-align: initial; line-height: initial;">William </span></div> <div style="width: 100%; font-size: initial; font-family: Calibri, 'Slate Pro', sans-serif, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); text-align: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br></div> <div style="font-size: initial; font-family: Calibri, 'Slate Pro', sans-serif, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); text-align: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone on the Rogers network.</div> <table width="100%" style="background-color:white;border-spacing:0px;"> <tbody><tr><td colspan="2" style="font-size: initial; text-align: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> <div style="border-style: solid none none; border-top-color: rgb(181, 196, 223); border-top-width: 1pt; padding: 3pt 0in 0in; font-family: Tahoma, 'BB Alpha Sans', 'Slate Pro'; font-size: 10pt;"> <div><b>From: </b>Matt Price</div><div><b>Sent: </b>Friday, September 4, 2015 6:33 PM</div><div><b>To: </b>GTALUG Talk</div><div><b>Reply To: </b>GTALUG Talk</div><div><b>Subject: </b>[GTALUG] OT: Inexpensive laptop for Minecraft?</div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="border-style: solid none none; border-top-color: rgb(186, 188, 209); border-top-width: 1pt; font-size: initial; text-align: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></div><br><div id="_originalContent" style=""><div dir="ltr"><div><div>Hello everyone! Thought I'd tap the collective brain. I'm looking for a relatively inexpensive laptop for my son, who mostly just plays minecraft (and occasionally needs the computer for school work, using google docs & a browser). Any suggestions of models, or places to buy? I'm looking for something pretty inexpensive, but with dedicated graphics that will allow him to play minecraft comfortably for the next year or so at least. <br><br></div>Thank you!<br><br></div>m<br></div> <br><!--end of _originalContent --></div></body></html>
That's a tad hard to read. -- Len Sorensen
Sorry about that. I'm still learning to use BlackBerry Q10. Now I know why RIM went belly up. Whoever designed UI must have been on drug. -- William Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone on the Rogers network. Original Message From: Lennart Sorensen Sent: Tuesday, September 8, 2015 12:05 PM To: GTALUG Talk Reply To: GTALUG Talk Subject: Re: [GTALUG] OT: Inexpensive laptop for Minecraft? On Fri, Sep 04, 2015 at 08:18:36PM -0400, William Park wrote:
<html><head></head><body lang="en-US" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: initial;"> <div style="width: 100%; font-size: initial; font-family: Calibri, 'Slate Pro', sans-serif, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); text-align: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Not sure about dedicated graphics, but ThinkPad T420<span style="font-family: Calibri, 'Slate Pro', sans-serif, sans-serif; font-size: initial; text-align: initial; line-height: initial;"> (refurbished) is on sale at Canada Computers again. </span></div><div style="width: 100%; font-size: initial; font-family: Calibri, 'Slate Pro', sans-serif, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); text-align: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-family: Calibri, 'Slate Pro', sans-serif, sans-serif; font-size: initial; text-align: initial; line-height: initial;">-- </span></div><div style="width: 100%; font-size: initial; font-family: Calibri, 'Slate Pro', sans-serif, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); text-align: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-family: Calibri, 'Slate Pro', sans-serif, sans-serif; font-size: initial; text-align: initial; line-height: initial;">William </span></div> <div style="width: 100%; font-size: initial; font-family: Calibri, 'Slate Pro', sans-serif, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); text-align: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br></div> <div style="font-size: initial; font-family: Calibri, 'Slate Pro', sans-serif, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); text-align: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone on the Rogers network.</div> <table width="100%" style="background-color:white;border-spacing:0px;"> <tbody><tr><td colspan="2" style="font-size: initial; text-align: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> <div style="border-style: solid none none; border-top-color: rgb(181, 196, 223); border-top-width: 1pt; padding: 3pt 0in 0in; font-family: Tahoma, 'BB Alpha Sans', 'Slate Pro'; font-size: 10pt;"> <div><b>From: </b>Matt Price</div><div><b>Sent: </b>Friday, September 4, 2015 6:33 PM</div><div><b>To: </b>GTALUG Talk</div><div><b>Reply To: </b>GTALUG Talk</div><div><b>Subject: </b>[GTALUG] OT: Inexpensive laptop for Minecraft?</div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="border-style: solid none none; border-top-color: rgb(186, 188, 209); border-top-width: 1pt; font-size: initial; text-align: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></div><br><div id="_originalContent" style=""><div dir="ltr"><div><div>Hello everyone! Thought I'd tap the collective brain. I'm looking for a relatively inexpensive laptop for my son, who mostly just plays minecraft (and occasionally needs the computer for school work, using google docs & a browser). Any suggestions of models, or places to buy? I'm looking for something pretty inexpensive, but with dedicated graphics that will allow him to play minecraft comfortably for the next year or so at least. <br><br></div>Thank you!<br><br></div>m<br></div> <br><!--end of _originalContent --></div></body></html>
That's a tad hard to read. -- Len Sorensen --- Talk Mailing List talk@gtalug.org http://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
On Tue, Sep 08, 2015 at 12:14:31PM -0400, William Park wrote:
Sorry about that. I'm still learning to use BlackBerry Q10. Now I know why RIM went belly up. Whoever designed UI must have been on drug.
I rarely do email on my phone. I just tried sending one to myself from gmail on my blackberry, and yes it is a horrible mess. Selecting 'plain text format' from the menu before sending does generate a perfectly nice message though. I wonder why they don't do dual format like sane mail clients do. Maybe I should do a feature request. Being able to set plain text as default would be a nice feature too. Being able to set it as a setting for each email address in the contacts would be ideal. -- Len Sorensen
Wanted to say a belated thank you to everyone. I don't think a thinkpad is the right tool for htis particular job, though I've had only thinkpads myself for the last little while. our experience has been that even recent T-series laptops with pretty decent integrated intel graphics are just a little slow for adequate gameplay. It looks like there are quite a few used gaming laptops hovering around the $500 mark on Craigslist: http://toronto.craigslist.ca/search/sya?query=gaming+laptop And that seems a pretty good option for now! m On Tue, Sep 8, 2015 at 2:36 PM, Lennart Sorensen < lsorense@csclub.uwaterloo.ca> wrote:
On Tue, Sep 08, 2015 at 12:14:31PM -0400, William Park wrote:
Sorry about that. I'm still learning to use BlackBerry Q10. Now I know why RIM went belly up. Whoever designed UI must have been on drug.
I rarely do email on my phone. I just tried sending one to myself from gmail on my blackberry, and yes it is a horrible mess.
Selecting 'plain text format' from the menu before sending does generate a perfectly nice message though. I wonder why they don't do dual format like sane mail clients do. Maybe I should do a feature request. Being able to set plain text as default would be a nice feature too. Being able to set it as a setting for each email address in the contacts would be ideal.
-- Len Sorensen --- Talk Mailing List talk@gtalug.org http://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
On Wed, Sep 09, 2015 at 11:17:38AM -0400, Matt Price wrote:
Wanted to say a belated thank you to everyone. I don't think a thinkpad is the right tool for htis particular job, though I've had only thinkpads myself for the last little while. our experience has been that even recent T-series laptops with pretty decent integrated intel graphics are just a little slow for adequate gameplay. It looks like there are quite a few used gaming laptops hovering around the $500 mark on Craigslist:
http://toronto.craigslist.ca/search/sya?query=gaming+laptop
And that seems a pretty good option for now!
My experience also says thinkpads can handle being brought places, while many gaming laptops break very easily due to cheap crappy screen hinges and such. Very annoying. -- Len Sorensen
On Tue, 8 Sep 2015 14:36 Lennart Sorensen <lsorense@csclub.uwaterloo.ca> wrote: On Tue, Sep 08, 2015 at 12:14:31PM -0400, William Park wrote:
Sorry about that. I'm still learning to use BlackBerry Q10. Now I know why RIM went belly up. Whoever designed UI must have been on drug.
I rarely do email on my phone. I just tried sending one to myself from gmail on my blackberry, and yes it is a horrible mess. Selecting 'plain text format' from the menu before sending does generate a perfectly nice message though. I wonder why they don't do dual format like sane mail clients do. Maybe I should do a feature request. Being able to set plain text as default would be a nice feature too. Being able to set it as a setting for each email address in the contacts would be ideal. There are some settings for gmail available on the desktop that one can't access in the mobile app. There is an option there about sending in plain text.
participants (5)
-
D. Hugh Redelmeier -
Ivan Avery Frey -
Lennart Sorensen -
Matt Price -
William Park