Hello to all. Our son is in the 3rd grade (8 yrs old). My wife loaded Minecraft onto her laptop for him to play but it is an older Sony Vaio and doesn't take the updates needed to support the game. Took it to the Geek Squad at Best Buy and they confirmed that the game cannot be played on that laptop.
He is all about this game. All he has been doing for the last 2-3 months is coming home from school (when homework is done) and watching Minecraft videos on youtube. He does this so he can join the Minecraft discussions with his classmates who introduced him to the game.
I have an older Gateway desktop computer that I purchased back in 2002 or so. I think there may be video cards to make it possible for him to play on there. Ideally though we would like to get him a gaming laptop that out of the box will allow him to play the game. We need to be sure it's the right laptop and it will definitely work. Not sure I trust calling the Geek Squad on this one.
Please advise. Also, I know nothing about this game. I assume it is ok for an 8 yr old to be this into the game? Suitable for 8 year olds too? We also have a 6 yr old daughter who I assume will be getting involved as well.
Yes how much money do you want to spend and do you want a desktop or a laptop? And yes Minecraft is fine for eight year olds. There isnt any bad stuff in it... besides creepers :tongue.gif:
Minecraft is a great game. Basically its like letting your children play with legos, except these legos take a little more knowledge to play with. Depending on what you are wanting to buy, I always recommend Asus laptops. (Not the mini's), they are built well, and as long as its from this year I assume it should run minecraft. If it has dedicated graphics, all the better. Heres one that I think is affordable. Has a good processor, 4gbs of RAM, and a dedicated graphics card. Also smaller so its easier to lug around. http://www.amazon.com/U36JC-B1-Light-13-3-Inch-Laptop-Black/dp/B004LUU7E4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322852373&sr=8-1
Minecraft is a great game. Basically its like letting your children play with legos, except these legos take a little more knowledge to play with. Depending on what you are wanting to buy, I always recommend Asus laptops. (Not the mini's), they are built well, and as long as its from this year I assume it should run minecraft. If it has dedicated graphics, all the better. Heres one that I think is affordable. Has a good processor, 4gbs of RAM, and a dedicated graphics card. Also smaller so its easier to lug around. http://www.amazon.com/U36JC-B1-Light-13-3-Inch-Laptop-Black/dp/B004LUU7E4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322852373&sr=8-1
Depending on how much he was willing to spend I was also going to recommend an ASUS laptop! I just recently purchased a 15.6" ROG and it's fantastic.
Yo whats up minecraft dad. I'd like to first off say that your one of the coolest dads i have ever met. We the Minecraft community welcome you and your son. Now lets get down to the point of interest. Minecraft at best is a 64 bit java application that my windows 2000 can run. With the proper computer it can play pretty fast. A good computer to get is a 2007 Mac book. This is a good buy and fully supports the game. As for the game, think of it as rated E for everyone. Though it can be scary its probably the best thing your son should be playing at his young age. It teaches creativity, architecture, cranial mechanics and using redstone it teaches math. I think even you yourself would enjoy this laid back fun to play game. Hope i helped!!!
6 year olds . . . 8 year olds . . . this game is perfectly fine. Very G-rated. No sex, and only a little violence with no blood or gore whatsoever. This game is all about creativity. And that is the type of creativity that can expand intelligence, such as some of the math that is sometimes necessary to build structures to scale, not the "creativity" you may find in other games where one has to figure out how to slaughter the most things in as little time as possible.
I would suggest a desktop over a laptop, they seem to be easier to modify to what you need in regards to video cards and so on. However, there are many, if not most, others on this forum who are much more computer savvy than I am, so I would listen to them, and then confirm.
Assuming you're looking within the $500-800 range (which if he takes care of it will last him quite a while without needing a upgrade), and you'll want a good laptop for general gaming purposes. I'd suggest a macbook but, really they're limited with gaming options tbh. Plus they're overpriced for the older hardware they use.
In all honesty unless hes really gonna be taking the laptop around with him everywhere I'd seriously suggest a desktop, its usually more cost effective (unless you buy from a ripoff store like bestbuy or circuitcity, never store buy a desktop). Find someone around you who knows how to put together a PC and set a price range for them to be within. Desktops are upgradeable when the hardware begins to show its age, and usually lasts longer than a laptop which normally have heat issues.(on that fact if you get him a lappy i suggest getting a cooling pad too or w/e those are)
The $300 Netbook I bought last year can play this game, as long as I lower all the video settings. It doesn't take much to just be able to play it, but it definitely looks a lot better and will play much smoother if you have a decent computer.
As for content, it is pretty G-rated as others have said. Different parents are more strict than others regarding what they feel is appropriate though.
If hitting very blocky-looking zombies, skeletons, pigs, and cows with a very blocky-looking sword (with no blood or gore at all) is ok by you, then it should be fine. The online play is what you will probably want to restrict, just because letting an 8-year-old interact with random unknown people on the internet is never a really safe idea.
He is all about this game. All he has been doing for the last 2-3 months is coming home from school (when homework is done) and watching Minecraft videos on youtube. He does this so he can join the Minecraft discussions with his classmates who introduced him to the game.
I have an older Gateway desktop computer that I purchased back in 2002 or so. I think there may be video cards to make it possible for him to play on there. Ideally though we would like to get him a gaming laptop that out of the box will allow him to play the game. We need to be sure it's the right laptop and it will definitely work. Not sure I trust calling the Geek Squad on this one.
Please advise. Also, I know nothing about this game. I assume it is ok for an 8 yr old to be this into the game? Suitable for 8 year olds too? We also have a 6 yr old daughter who I assume will be getting involved as well.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Bryan
Depending on how much he was willing to spend I was also going to recommend an ASUS laptop! I just recently purchased a 15.6" ROG and it's fantastic.
I would suggest a desktop over a laptop, they seem to be easier to modify to what you need in regards to video cards and so on. However, there are many, if not most, others on this forum who are much more computer savvy than I am, so I would listen to them, and then confirm.
I'd recommend this.
My link
In all honesty unless hes really gonna be taking the laptop around with him everywhere I'd seriously suggest a desktop, its usually more cost effective (unless you buy from a ripoff store like bestbuy or circuitcity, never store buy a desktop). Find someone around you who knows how to put together a PC and set a price range for them to be within. Desktops are upgradeable when the hardware begins to show its age, and usually lasts longer than a laptop which normally have heat issues.(on that fact if you get him a lappy i suggest getting a cooling pad too or w/e those are)
As for content, it is pretty G-rated as others have said. Different parents are more strict than others regarding what they feel is appropriate though.
If hitting very blocky-looking zombies, skeletons, pigs, and cows with a very blocky-looking sword (with no blood or gore at all) is ok by you, then it should be fine. The online play is what you will probably want to restrict, just because letting an 8-year-old interact with random unknown people on the internet is never a really safe idea.