Tips for buying a student laptop
If you are a student looking to buy a new student laptop for yourself or for a friend of yours, here are a few tips you could follow.
Portability
This is a very important aspect you need to consider while buying a laptop as you will need to carry the student laptop to class every day. Look for a laptop that has an 11- to- 14-inch display and weighs less than 4 pounds. However, if you are an engineering student, you may need a CAD workstation which will make it slightly heavier. Also, if you are a film student, you may require a large screen to view your edited masterpieces.
Right Specifications
If you want a student laptop that won’t be obsolete for a few years, then you need to ensure that your laptop has the following specifications:
- CPU
Choose a model that has an Intel Core i5 or Core i7 CPU. Also, the processor model number should have 7000 on it which means that it is the latest Intel 7 th generation chip (Kaby Lake). For light productivity work, you can opt for Pentium or Celeron CPU or a Core i3. - Display
Since a student laptop is usually used for doing research and writing papers, do make sure that you choose a laptop having a display of at least 1920 X 1080 or 1080p resolution.
A laptop must generally have a RAM of 4 GB but as a student laptop should ideally have a RAM of 8 GB. This will help you multitask better.
Preferably, a student laptop should have a solid state drive (SSD) instead of a mechanical hard drive.
Currently, USB Type A ports are used more often while USB type-C ports are the future. Hence, it is advisable to buy a laptop having a mix of both the ports. Multiple ports will be great as you will not have to bother carrying several dongles along every time.
Choose a laptop that comes with 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard instead of 802.11n.
Right OS
In many cases, the school or University will need you to have an operating system or software keeping in mind the future workload. A popular and versatile operating system is Windows 10. It supports several applications and also includes Cortana digital assistant.
Battery Life
Look for a system that offers a quality battery life of at least 8 hours regardless of the price.
Durability
If you can afford to spend on high-end laptops, look for a student laptop that is made of magnesium alloy, aluminum or carbon fiber. Such laptops are a lot sturdier than the traditional laptops.
Right Keyboard and Touchpad
Ideally, a keyboard needs to be comfortable and not mushy. Also, make sure that the touchpad has a smooth responsiveness and gestures (pinch-to-zoom) are reactive.
Here’s a list of few models that are worth considering before buying the right student laptop for you:
- Samsung Notebook 9 Pro
- Asus Chromebook Flip
- Dell XPS 13
- Microsoft Surface Pro
- Samsung Notebook 7 Spin
- Acer Chromebook 15
- Dell Inspiron 15 Gaming
- Apple MacBook Pro (13-inch)
- Asus ZenBook UX310UA
- Surface Laptop
A student laptop is designed keeping in mind the requirements a student would have in school or University. Some laptops provide you with the option of expanding its storage and memory space. All you need to do is understand your requirements first and do a little research about the chosen laptop before deciding to buy it.
