I'm getting a laptop for my kid this x-mas, mostly for playing games like minecraft and Sims 4. Does it have to be a "gaming" laptop or could any laptop with good specs do? I looked at Lenovo Z50-70 and it should do fine, right? I'm on a pretty tight budget, so less than $700 is my goal... preferably less.
Please share your thoughts and recommendations, thanks!
The Lenovo Z50-70 should play those well ... even more intense games should play ok
decent specs for a mid level laptop
Lenovo Z50-70 15.6-inch Full-HD 1080p Laptop (Silver) - (Intel Core i7-4510U 2.0 GHz, 8 GB RAM, 1 TB HDD, NVIDIA GT840M 4 GB, HDMI, Webcam, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Windows 8.1)
Here is another option on a $700 build that ... IMO will have a longer lifespan ... it can be repaired and upgraded easier.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/r9VB4D
It has been my experience that laptops don't last long around kids ... could just be my kids though. lol
I'm personally not a fan of gaming laptops either myself, simply because, if your primary agenda is to game on it, i will guarantee it will not last very long, simply because, you have high specifications in a small form-factor which is a laptop you will most likely see over-heating issues in about a year and a half or so, compared to just building a PC and having it last years down the line. cause the components are made to last unlike some gaming laptops.
however if I HAD to choose a Laptop primarily for gaming and i had no other choice but to grab one i'd choose this one.
http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-15-6-Inch-Gaming-Laptop-59418222/dp/B00K6ZIO2K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417311397&sr=8-1&keywords=Lenovo+Gaming
It would be awesome to build a pc with my kid, but it's just not portable enough... Some day though!
I've looked at the Y50-70 aswell, the specs are similar and it doesn't look like it has that much better cooling. Maybe if I can find it on sale, otherwise it's $200 over budget.
Thanks!