Nowadays, laptops are indispensable equipment for college students. Well, I meant to say, they are as essential as the textbook. At present, from your class assignments to extracurricular activities, you need a laptop to complete everything perfectly.
So, if you are about to be admitted to a college. Get a laptop for yourself. But, before you buy your laptop you have to put your attention on some key factors that help you to own the best laptop.
Don’t be upset, after reading those heavy lines. As a tech expert, I will help you to pick the best laptop for your long college journey through the post.
So read it from top to bottom and know the perfect ways to buy a laptop for college.
Let’s begin the journey.
Things should Focus On (Buying Guide)
College is a universal place where you will get a chance to learn different things. So when you decide to buy a laptop, always concern yourself with some factors. If you get a brief acknowledgement on these key aspects then it will be easy for you to choose a laptop.
Before going to the laptop store first you have to be clear about your purpose, your budget for the laptop and of course choose a system. Most of the college students confused on this issue, as a result, return home with a laptop though don’t get the satisfaction.
Here are the 3 key aspects that you should focus before you purchase a laptop for college:
- Purpose
- Choose A OS
- Budget
Purpose
Everything in the world has a specific purpose. When you are at the point of buying a laptop, you need to be clear on this specific matter. What is the main reason for buying a laptop?
Once there was a time when only engineering students needed a laptop for their work purpose. Nowadays, students from every faculty need a laptop for doing their class assignment or communicating with one another. During the pandemic we learned the importance of laptops while there were online classes.
The purpose of your laptop also depends on the subject. If you are an engineering student, then you need a highly configured Laptop.
Because most of the time engineering students need to run some heavy software’s that needs a high data transfer rate and high end graphical support. So the engineering student should get a laptop by which they can run all their programs smoothly.
On the other hand, if you do some regular college work by using your laptop such as office tools, browsing, management software etc. then pick an updated mid-level configured one.
Choose an Operating System
This OS selection may create a bewildering circumstance. I mean, if you know about popular OS then you should notice every OS offers the best service.
Most of the time the OS give service based on configuration. Windows and Mac are familiar to most of the users. Though there are a lot of other OSes available yet most of the people don’t even know those OS’s names. Linux Can be a better option. But running Linux on a PC is not so easy and simple like mAC or Windows, you must hold some expertise on Linux.
During my college days, one of my roomies used React OS for making his programming stuff easy. Have you ever heard of this OS before?
Before choosing the Operating System, I suggest you do some research on the OS. Match your purposes with the System Config. If it matches perfectly then go for the chosen one.
Budget
When you finally match up with your purpose and OS then you should be concerned about your budget. Because there are tons of laptops which meet up to your requirements but are not able to reach the budget.
Most of the time mid-budget laptops accomplish all the requirements of a college student. Majority of those laptops are well configured, have the latest version of OS and contain a GPU that is able to do your college task smoothly.
But if money is not an issue for you, then go to the premium sections with a high budget. Laptops like Apple Mac book, Google Chrome book, MSI Summit, Microsoft Surface, Asus Zenbook etc. Later on, in the post I will describe the top 5 laptops for college.
So, fix your budget first. Then search for a good configured laptop that fits into your budget. But never go for an entry level budget laptop because they are not for a college student and never achieve the requirements of a college student.
Things the Laptop Must Hold
Once you take the massive decision of system, purpose and budget then you should focus on some key aspects that your Laptop must hold on it.
At this point, it may look so difficult for you. But It is so simple. You might have been aware about these things before. So, don’t be upset, be cool and read the points carefully and keep those on your head before going out towards the laptop store.
Here are the 7 key facts that you should focus before picking up a laptop for college:
Size
Size is the main focal point before buying a laptop for a college student. Because you have to carry the laptop to your classes on a regular basis and what can be more maddening than carrying an oversized heavy laptop regularly.
The perfect and usual size of a laptop is 11-14 inches. You may find laptops in 17 inches but that may not be necessary and those huge laptops always make a hassle while putting them into your college backpack and carrying them to the college.
Nowadays, laptops are manufactured with 2 in 1 functionality. I mean you can detach the keyboard from the laptop because it supports touch functions. Microsoft Surface is the best example of it.
Display & Resolution
Focus on the display and resolution of your laptop. Always care about Brightness, Color quality, refresh rate etc.
Here are main things to focus on laptop’s display:
- If you buy a 2in1 then check the quality of touch. Whether it’s smooth or not.
- Check the brightness. Usually 250 nits is comfortable for laptop brightness.
- Focus on the Color quality.
- Check the screen quality. OLED or IPS is most preferable.
- Never forget to inspect the refresh rate.
Choose your laptop resolution wisely. Standard resolution for a college student is 1920 x 1080 pixels. Not pick a laptop under this resolution. If you don’t have any budget issue then go higher from this resolution. Nowadays 4k laptops are also available.
Weight
Recent laptops are getting thinner and lighter day by day and easy to carry except some heavy gaming laptops. Forget about those, because you don’t need to pick up a heavy laptop to college often.
Always choose a thinner laptop. The 1 kg to 1.5 kg range is most preferable. Nowadays it is a frequent weight for a laptop.
If you are planning to get a 2 in 1 laptop then you have a chance to reduce the laptop weight by keeping the laptop keyboard in your house.
Processor
Processor is the main component of a laptop. It settles the performance of the laptop. So you should be careful about selecting the processor of your laptop.
Most often users commit a mistake prompt by the store man that select a high end processor
But from an old gen. actually this decision makes no sense.
Always choose a processor with the latest generation. I prefer at least Core i5 with the latest gen because it is capable of doing your college task perfectly. Go for a higher processor like i9 or i7 if you have enough money and get the beast performance.
Battery Life
Most of the college classrooms except labs do not have charging capabilities of 40-60 laptops at the same time. So it’s essential to buy a laptop that at least has a battery backup that helps you to complete your task without connecting to the charging port.
Nowadays most mid-level laptops have 12 hours of battery backups. Some have more, some hold less. You should confirm battery backup time before pickup one for you.
RAM
In this fast forward world why you become so behind than others. A slow RAM can be the reason. Slow RAM can slow down the PC, as a result, you cannot keep the same pace alongside your friends.
So, be watchful when choosing RAM. Pick the latest generation and size and always check the compatibility with your motherboard and processor. Currently, DDR4 RAM with the size of 12-16 GB is the best RAM option for college tasks at a flashy speed.
Not connected with RAM but i give it as a bonus tips, choose a laptop that contains a SSD. That also fastens your laptop.
Connectivity
Always check the connectivity of your laptop. Check how quick laptops, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi are connected and how they serve. Nowadays these connections have improved outstandingly.
Read some reviews and analysis about the connectivity of your chosen laptop before buying one with your precious earning money.
Also look at the cable connectivity such as Keyboard, Mouse, Data cable, HDMI cable ports are available on the laptop.
Top 5 best laptop for a College Student
To make it easy for you I pick the top five laptops for college students after a vast research and analysis.
Here is the list of top 5 laptops that you can choose for your College life:
MacBook Pro M2 13-inch
CPU: 8 core Apple M2 chip
GPU: 10 Core Apple M2 GPU
RAM: 8GB unified memory (configurable to 24 GB)
Storage: 256 GB SSD (Support up to 1TB)
Display: Retina Display
Size: 13.3 inch
Weight: 1.36 kg
Battery Life: 20 Hours
Microsoft Surface pro 8
CPU: Intel Core i7 (11th GEN)
GPU: Intel iris Graphics
RAM: 8/16/32 GB
Storage: LPDDR4x RAM
Display: Pixel Sense Flow Display
Size: 13 inch
Weight: 891g
Battery Life: 16 Hours
MSI Modern 14
CPU: Intel Core i7 (10th Gen)
GPU: GeForce MX350
RAM: 32GB DDR4
Storage: M.2 NVME SSD Slot
Display: IPS Level FHD4
Size: 14 inch
Weight: 1.3 kg
Battery Life: 10 Hours
Asus VivoBook 17 M712
CPU: Core i7 (1oth Gen)
GPU: Intel HD610 integrated Graphics
RAM: 16 GB DDR4 RAM
Storage: 1TB PCLe SSD
Display: HD+
Size: 17.3 inch
Weight: 2.2 kg
Battery Life: 12 Hours
HP Pavilion Aero
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5
GPU: AMD Radeon Graphics
RAM: 8GB
Storage: 256GB-1TB NVME M.2
Display: IPS micro edge Display
Size: 13.3 inch
Weight: 0.98 kg
Battery Life: 12 Hours
Summary
In this digital era laptop is an essential element for a college student to keep up to date with his regular tasks.
Through the whole post, I will try to express my experience on key points for choosing a best laptop for your entire college life.
Hope you read the whole post and pick up one for your college tasks.
