Surprisingly the $200 Emachine from last year plays WOW just as good as my other sons E8300 dual core processor does, and it cost me $1600. The biggest difference you will see is if he also wants to play computer games like COD 4 and Assassins creed among others. It’s not a graphics intense machine. The 17-inch dual core laptop should be your best bet for your son going to college. He will probably need the dual core processor later on for some of his classes. Some programs are now requiring it. You don’t want him to have to upgrade his computer while he is in school. The 14 yr old just depends. He probably will not be required to need a dual processor or better If he is just surfing the web and only playing WOW then the $200 dollar should work fine. I would recommend the lower price one for him and see how he does. You could always get him a better computer later when he gets older say 4yrs from now when he decides to go to college.
All kids are different. My oldest (18) only plays WOW and searches youtube on his, while my 9yr old try’s to play every video game on the market that is including Facebook, Hulu (for cartoons) you name it. Who would have thought my 9yr old would blow my oldest out of the water when it comes to computer use and he he is the one that plays every sport the county offers. 18 year old just hangs around with nothing better to do. I just recommend to get the computer that fits his or her needs.