Minecraft laptops, 2017 edition

August 5, 2017 10:17 AM

Seeking laptop recommendations for my nephew, who mostly plays Minecraft plus a few other games of middling-requirements. What should we be looking at in 2017? Budget isn't too much of an issue. It does need to be a Windows laptop.

From his parents, what he plays most are:

Minecraft
Sims 3 and 4
SimCity (the latest online version, and older versions)
Black and White 2
Contraption Maker
Algodoo

Minecraft is the biggie, both vanilla and modded, but anything that can handle its gross Java specs can probably take care of the rest. I know Lenovos were malware-ridden a few years back but don't know if that's still the case; the last time this question came up, Acer was mentioned for good performance but poor warranties. What's the news in Windows-laptops world?

This doesn't need to be a super-light laptop, but I don't think we're looking for a "gaming" laptop, either. If it can take a drop/shock or two, that'd be worth extra dollars to the family.

posted by curious nu to Computers & Internet (2 answers total)

Personally, since he uses it mostly for games, I'd get him a budget gaming laptop. You can pick up an Acer Predator for around $1,000, and then if he gets into any more demanding games he's all set. It also has a 1060 graphics card on the off chance he gets into VR at some point.
posted by Huck500 at 10:42 AM on August 5, 2017

This info is probably overkill for your nephew's needs, but I recently went shopping for a high end gaming ultrabook and ended up with a Razer Blade 14. The Gigabyte Aero was also a close contender. These are about $2000 and overkill for Minecraft, etc.
posted by Nelson at 4:10 PM on August 5, 2017