My 12 year old son has asked for a computer for Christmas.
He uses a chromebook for school but would like tla desktop setuo for home. It would be used mainly for Excel, Word and coding python and JavaScript.
We will probably get him 2 monitors.
Any suggestions? Small format factor would be great.
Its very much a matter of how much you are willing to spend.
Gmktec n97 sold on Amazon, 512gb version, sold by gmktec_aus for $249.99
A door with a decent lock on it for him for his research purposes
I second this
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/924992
Optiplex SSF
Can do all you need + bit of Roblox for a 12 year old
That link is not an SFF.
But the only reason for getting SFF is to install a GPU for gaming.
If you do want games, something like this: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/257062073355 .
and add a low-profile gpu.
What is your budget? Would he be interested in building one? You could get him all the components. Might be a fun summer holiday project.
save some $$$ and get an Optiplex (used is also fine as long as it is 8th gen or above). Optiplex is built for corporations, it's well tested for airflow, temperatures, and a lot of other things + built using good quality componenets. Optiplex is toyota of PCs. Get good monitors (24 inch is minimum). Once he is older, he will ask for a gaming pc or an upgrade thats whan you spend money and get 32inch monitor and latest PC or high end laptop. Also, dont fall for building PC bullshit, that is just some teenager BS (yes for some idiots teen years lasts until they are 45-50 years).
As the family administrator of 9 computers and 1 laptop, I fully agree with the Optiplex route. They are bulletproof, well documented, lots of spare parts floating around, and very cheap. Anything for kids, older parents, secondary PCs, they get an Optiplex and I don't have to deal with troubleshooting as much.
I would suggest 1 laptop and connect to 2 external monitors, what's your budget?
I like the idea of both the optiplex and gmktek. I will look at both.
No budget per se but dont want to go crazy. Certainly under $1k.
Also, I guess we could look at one 34" monitor rather than dual screens. Never used one myself though.
If only for the purposes you mentioned then get him a monitor only and connect the chromebook to it.
If you are looking for a full PC:
It is from last year, so you may have to update the parts:
Stick to a good brand, otherwise the part will die sooner than you would like.
AMD is now a good alternative to Intel and Nvidia.
Intel CPU come with or without a graphic card, so ever you buy one, or you need it to be integrated to the CPU.
I buy licenses for stacksocial.com (Windows, Office, …)
Finally, I'll go with mwave.com.au or umart.com.au
https://www.logicalincrements.com/
This is a very good website that shows you different "tiers" and associated costs of computer builds. Good reference even for prebuilts
Great for someone who is a beginner PC builder or not in the know regarding new tech.
Not too bad as a rough guide. Recommending single sticks of ram even in "excellent" builds was one of the only major issues that jumped out at me.
Seems like a fair trade. Is this still available?
Duelling Monitors