Laptop choosing guide for students!
I know it can be overwhelming to try and pick one laptop from the sea of choices you have, so here’s a guide to make it a little easier!
GENERAL USE/ESSENTIAL SPECS:
This is the bare minimum you want to have in your laptop so it doesn’t die halfway through a semester:
Memory: 4GB
Storage: 500GB HDD
Processor: Intel i3
Display: 1366x786
Screen size: 13.5″
Good for: Surfing, playing videos, typing, data storage. Just a decent consumer laptop will last a few years.
Price point: $250-$500
Examples: ASUS chromebook, Intel premium, HP 15
ULTRAPORTABLE LAPTOPS:
These are a good idea if you only plan to use your laptop for light notetaking, or if you need a backpack-friendly machine to supplement your bigger one at home. These usually tend to run smaller, and heat up more easily.
$375 Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga
Intel Core i5 processor, 4gb ram, 128gb SSD, HD 5000 graphics
720p touchscreen display, 3.5 lbs, 11 hr battery life
Heats up easily, but good thinkpad build
$550 Asus Zenbook
Intel i3 processor, 8GB of ram, 256 GB SSD, HD 515 graphics
1080p IPS touchscreen, 3.0 lbs, 12 hr battery life
Generally good laptop, value for money
$700 - Asus Zenbook UX330
Kaby lake i5 processor, 8GB of ram, 256GB SSD, HD 520 graphics
1080p IPS display, 2.6lbs, 12 hour battery
Sleek, scratch resistant body
$1000 - Microsoft Surface Book
Skylake i5 processor, 8GB of ram, 128GB SSD, Intel HD 520 graphics
4K IPS display, 3.5lbs, up to 16 hours battery life
Arguably one of the better 2-in-1s on the market, great build quality and battery life.
$1400 - 2017 Macbook Pro 13" - 13.3"
Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB ram, 256GB SSD, Intel Iris plus 640 graphics
1440p IPS retina display, 3.0 lbs, 10 hr battery
Good build, trackpad, and battery life. I mean it’s a Macbook xD
$1700 - ASUS UX490 - 14”
Specs include Intel Kaby lake i7 processor, 16GB ram, 512GB SSD, Intel HD Graphics
1080p IPS display, 2.4 lbs, 9 hour battery life
Comes with a finger print scanner, has a spill proof keyboard, and is virtually indestructible
HEAVY DUTY/GAMING LAPTOPS:
$350 - Acer E15 - 15.6''
Kaby Lake i3 processor, 4gb of ram, 1TB HDD, HD 620 graphics
1080p display (TN), 5.3 lbs, 12 hr advertised battery
Works for light gaming, can handle DOTA/WoW, but the fan will go crazy
$710 - Dell Inspiron 7567 - 15.6''
Core i5-6300HQ processor, 8GB of ram, 256gb SSD, GTX 960M
1080p IPS display, 5.7 lbs, 10 hour battery life
Again, prone to overheating but has up gradable RAM to help with the speed
$870 - Asus FX502VM - 15.6''
Quad core i5-6300HQ processor, 16gb of ram, 1TB HDD, GTX 1060 dGPU
1080p TN display, 4.9 lbs, 5 hr battery life
Bad TN display, but otherwise incredible at given price point. Upgradable to IPS
$1050 - Acer Predator Helios 300 - 15.6"
Kaby Lake i7-7700HQ processor, 16gb ram, 256gb SSD, GTX 1060 dGPU
1080p IPS display, 5.6 lbs, 6 hr advertised battery life
Great value for money
$2500 - Alienware AW17Rr - 17.3''
Kaby Lake i7-7820HK processor, 32gb ram, 256gb SSD + 1TB HDD, GTX 1080
120Hz 1440p IPS display, 9.7 lbs, 3 hour battery life
Amazing display, great CPU/GPU build quality
$4000 - Razer Blade Pro - 17.3''
Specs include Quad core i7-7820 HQ processor, 32gb ram, 1TB SSD, GTX 1080 dGPU
4k IPS display, 7.7 lbs, 3 hr advertised battery life
Extremely well reviewed, extremely high end gaming laptop. Very sleek, very powerful
I hope this helped. If you’d like a more specific recommendation then fill out the following form, and I’ll try to help:
Budget
2-in-1?
Battery life?
How important is portability/weight?
Gaming? Video editing?
Any other specs you’d be willing to pay extra for?











