Laptops for college students should be light in weight, have good performance and Internet access to help them research online. Below are some important specifications checklist and some tips on buying laptops. Also recommended below are some of the best laptops for students and some affordable models too.
Computer Specification
One should buy a laptop for a college student keeping in mind the below specifications. Make sure you buy a powerful machine so that you do not have to get it upgraded every few months.
Size:
Laptop computers for college students should have a display monitor of 13 to 15 inches. The size should not be too big, because it might increase the weight of the laptop. A college student laptop should not be too heavy, as a student needs to carry it around the campus.
Graphics Card:
A college student laptop should be able to do some basic photo editing. NVIDIA is well-known for its graphics card.
RAM and Hard Disk:
A college student laptop should have a RAM of minimum 2GB, and a hard disk with a capacity of 160GB. A 2GB RAM will give good speed and performance. Also, a college student will require a laptop which will work well for at least the three years of his/her graduation. Today, everybody stores a lot of data on their computers. A 160GB hard drive will provide enough storage space for documents, e-books, music, movies, etc.
Looks:
When computer shopping, choose a good looking laptop, as this is an important aspect for college students. There are many different colors and designs available in laptops.
Important Things to Keep in Mind When Buying Student Laptops
Laptop for students should have features like Wi-Fi and bluetooth technology.
Students laptops should have a decent battery life of around 3 hours.
Before buying a student laptop, check if the laptop has got a sufficient number of ports.
It is advisable to fit an anti-theft device in the laptop.
Check for the upgrade-capacity of the RAM and graphics card, as newer versions of software and operating systems are heavier than their previous ones. These new versions eat up the RAM and hamper processing speed. So, you might need to upgrade your laptop in the future.
Look for a laptop with minimum 1 year warranty.
Also, check if you are getting any freebies with the laptop.
Best Laptops Choices
If you are a student studying computer graphics, then you will need a powerful RAM and a better graphics card. If you are studying business, then avoid a fancy, bright looking laptop. For engineering students a laptop which has a powerful RAM and large hard disk is necessary.
Apple MacBook Pro MC700LL
4 GB memory
Battery life around 7 hours
320 GB hard drive
13.3-inch screen
Dell XPS 15z
8GB RAM
2 GB Nvidia GeForce graphics card
Hard drive of 750 GB
Alienware M15x
4GB memory
320 GB hard drive
Widescreen of 15.6 inches
NVDIA GeForce GTX260M graphics card
Toshiba Satellite C655-S5118
3GB RAM upgradeable to 8GB15.6 inch display
320 GB hard drive
Battery life around 4 hours
Samsung Q430 14-Inch HD LED Laptop
4 GB memory
500 GB hard drive
Attractive aluminum display enclosure
Island style keyboard
Acer Aspire TimelineX AS4820T-7633
320 GB hard drive
4 GB memory
Intel HD Graphics
14 inch screen
Around 8 hours battery life
Lenovo G560 Series 067999U Laptop
4GB RAM
320 hard drive
15.6 inch screen
ASUS Eee PC 1001p
1 GB RAM, upgradeable to 2 GB
Integrated graphics controller
160 GB hard drive
8 hours battery life
Dell, Toshiba, and Samsung laptops have good performance and reliability, but they are not as good looking as compared to Mac.
