What PC or Laptop for Game Design?

My son is a video game addict. He is also very creative, so I would like him to explore video game design this Summer and see if I can get him hooked!! All of our PCs have died over the last several years, and we have a couple of laptops for homework, etc., but I doubt they are fast enough for that. We don't have a lot of money to spend, so no crazy suggestions, please. Do you get more bang for your buck with PCs versus Laptops? Any info on requirements or recommendations are greatly appreciated!!

This really depends on what you envision him to do, what's his experience and age range?

Let's say he is in elementary school and is going to a camp that's using something like GameMaker as a tool to build beginner video games, then most mid-level laptops with a Core i5 CPU will do just fine.

If he's a high schooler that wants to do more advanced 3D gaming design, based on something like the Unreal engine, he wants to look at something powerful like a gaming level i7 laptop, or desktop.

Also important for game design is have a big enough screen and if he's more of a graphic artist a nice digitizer like a Wacom Pen tablet will make drawing sooo much more enjoyable. But now you're talking $$$.

Here is an article about various software tools for the budding game designer. http://lifehacker.com/the-best-free-tools-for-making-your-own-video-games-1689905461

It's a good start to get an idea of what he might be interested in, from there on it's easier to figure out what the right hardware would be.

Thank you!! He is going into High School. Is a good level laptop more expensive than that same level in a PC?

Desktops tend to be a bit cheaper, but not all that much anymore. I'm in the software development field and my work provided core i7 laptop with 8GB of RAM is all I need. Evan most laptops with core i5 processors will probably do for what he's trying to do. More important to me is a good screen, keyboard and mouse.

Getting something that has a good graphics card (better then the standard Intel Graphics) will make a difference if he's looking at developing 3D action games.

One advantage of a desktop is that he can upgrade individual components like the graphics card later on, on a laptop that's usually not possible, besides of memory and hard drive.

On the other hand a tablet/laptop hybrid with a good digitizer and pen on the screen, like a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 could be a good option if he wants to do a lot of graphic design.

One thing to think about is where you want him to use it....I have pried my budding programmer out of her bedroom by buying a "gaming" PC with better graphics and faster speed, but buying it as a desktop, tethered to a desk in a more public space. Cost a bit less than an equivalent laptop (especially since we had a nice large monitor available to attach to it), gives us more flexibility to upgrade.

There is still a less powerful laptop available if she wants to do work (or casual gaming) in her room, but she spends less time shut up behind a closed door, and I have a better sense of how she is spending (or misspending) her online time.

Susan1014,

That fact had crossed my mind as well!!!