Buying a laptop

[PotentialGamersMom]

1. What is your budget? $500 hardcore max, but trying for under $400
2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? Open
3. What screen resolution do you want? Open
4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop? Open
5. How much battery life do you need? Open
6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low, Medium or High)? Mainly Roblox right now but with the potential for more gaming in the future
7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.). General school use
8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need? Open
9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
10. How long do you want to keep your laptop? Minimum 4-5 years
11. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons. Great experience with Asus but open
12. What country do you live in? USA
13. Please tell us any additional information if needed.

My kids were using my and my husbands Asus Zenbooks which we weren’t using anymore. The laptops are 8 years old and our kids have been using them for the last 3 years. They mainly watch YouTube and play Roblox on them. One laptop recently broke (my son put a ziploc of ice on it to keep it cool to help with the gaming experience apparently and the water leaked when he left it so now it’s dead). We want to buy a new laptop now….potentially 2 new ones….the kids are elementary and high school age, they currently only play Roblox but we want something that will be suitable for the potential of other games. Honestly, the zenbook were pretty laggy with Roblox, really low FPS, so I feel like if a new laptop gave even a decent FPS, they’d be happy enough. I know Roblox requirements are low but if they do get into higher level gaming I want them to at least have a laptop that can work even at a base/moderate gaming level.

Low budget since we probably will get 2 laptops.

So far I’ve been leaning toward the Dell Inspiron 15 i3 with UHD graphics ($280)or the Dell Inspiron 15 i7 with iris Xe graphics ($480). Also glanced at Lenovo IdeaPad 3

Thanks for your help!

 

[BeardyHat]

You're probably fine with what you've already pointed out, but I almost always recommend used business class machines, as you're getting more for your money, as well as significantly better build quality over consumer grade stuff. It'll come with a Windows license, so you're ready to hit the ground running.

Here's a list of Dell used machines:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=Dell+latitude&_sacat=0&rt=nc&Processor=Intel%2520Core%2520i5%252011th%2520Gen%252E&_dcat=177

I personally prefer Lenovo Thinkpads, but it's pretty much six of one, half a dozen of the other, so the choice is yours.

Yes, you're not buying new, but generally you will not need to worry about a warranty, as business class machines often don't need service in the same manner. Sometimes, they even come with a factory warranty, as well. My own, which I bought about a year ago, still has another year or so of the factory warranty on it, though I don't expect to use it.