So, are you looking for a new laptop for study? Luckily, modern models are characterized by mobility and compactness, but there are other details to pay attention to. In this article, we’ve rounded up the specs a college laptop should have, as well as a few high-quality budget models.

Ergonomics

It’s best to choose a device that is small, lightweight, but not fragile. In addition, take notice of the length of the charging cable since your desk will not always be near the plug. In fact, many students use the study laptop to complete assignments from internships or work, so they carry it to the office as well. 

Productive learners who combine college and job are admirable; yet, they often suffer from a lack of energy and time. A huge load becomes a problem, but luckily, there is a way to solve it, namely, to search for help. 

So, next time you ask yourself: “Can I pay someone to write my paper?”, be sure that you’ll quickly find a reliable college assistance platform. With the help of an experienced professional, your paper will be handed in on time, and you’ll complete all the tasks on your to-do list way faster. 

Another tool to manage everything in these stressful times is to buy a decent laptop. First, you will choose a device with amazing performance, so all programs will start quickly. Second, with a lightweight and relatively small laptop, it will be easy for you to move anywhere, so you will surely become more mobile.

“Silent” Keyboard

Sometimes, the sound of a clicking keyboard becomes annoying, so many students turn to “quiet” rubber or membrane keyboards. At first, you need to get used to them, but the main thing is that they aren’t noisy.

Performance and Speed of Launching

At college, we are constantly in a hurry: we need to find a classroom, take a seat and launch a desktop. It is crucial that the laptop runs as quickly as possible. Much depends on the operating system. Thus, you can either buy a laptop with a solid-state drive (SSD) – they load much faster, or you can install a lightweight Linux operating system.

Interface

Certainly, you’ll use your laptop to make presentations and show the results of your term papers and theses to the audience. The essential set of laptop interfaces for college includes USB 3.0, 3.5mm slot, Bluetooth, and DVI/HDMI to connect to a projector in the classroom. 

Screen

The best diagonal size is from 13.3 to 17.3 inches, depending on the desired compactness. There are also glossy and matte screens, but we recommend choosing the latter.

If you plan to take the device to all the lectures and prepare for seminars in the class, then it will be better to buy a compact laptop. However, if you don’t plan to be so mobile, why not take a closer look at laptops with a standard diagonal?

CPU

In modern laptops, there are mainly Intel and AMD processors. The former are more popular, as they are considered more optimal in terms of the heating/capacity. 

The main characteristics are the number of cores, threads, and frequency: the higher these indicators, the more powerful the laptop. You’ll need such a device to work with complex programs (related to video processing, for example) or play games. But in case you need a laptop for rather easy tasks, choose a simpler device.

Main Memory

Here is the amount of memory required by various tasks:

• from 4 GB for simple programs, media/audio, surfing the net;
• from 8 GB for video games;
• from 16 GB to work in complex technical programs.

By the way, you can buy additional memory sticks, if anything. The main thing is that the laptop has a free slot for adding memory, so be sure to check it in advance.

Hard Drive or SSD Drive

A hard drive is the built-in memory of your laptop – this is where you save photos, videos, term papers, etc. And this is where the operating system, programs, and more are located. Basically, HDDs are slower than SSDs; thus, better pay attention to models with them.

Case

Now, let’s talk about external features. The size of the case depends on the display’s diagonal. A very powerful device will be a priori in a thick casing, as it requires a good cooling system. Alternatively, we recommend you buy a cooling pad separately – it doesn’t cost a lot of money, but it will greatly help your laptop.

Most often, the laptop case is made of plastic. In practice, a high-quality plastic case is not inferior to metal ones when it comes to strength. As for the outer part of the laptop lid, it can be glossy or matte. The choice is solely your aesthetic preferences, but keep in mind that fingerprints are better visible on the glossy lid.

Battery Capacity

The battery life of modern laptops varies a lot. Manufacturers usually indicate the capacity directly on the battery, so don’t forget to check it. Please note that its viability will decrease over time anyway. Moreover, battery wear occurs even if the laptop is not used for a long time.

Which Characteristics Are Not Worth Overpaying For?

First and foremost, there’s no need to overpay for a brand. Let’s consider MacBook laptops, for instance. They are perfect for work and study as they are light and don’t take up much space, but they are similar to more powerful competitors in terms of cost.

Second, if your laptop lacks any slot, don’t refuse to purchase it right away. Just check if there is an appropriate adapter – maybe it will solve the problem.

Third, don’t consider a metal case as a laptop with it is heavier in weight but not much stronger. A plastic case is more convenient for a student laptop, especially if you carry it around.

To Sum It Up

We’d like to list the proven models, and we hope that it will help you make the right choice:

• HP Pavilion 15;
• HP Stream 11-ak0002ur;
• Asus VivoBook 15;
• Acer Aspire 3;
• Acer Swift 3;
• Lenovo V14 IIL;
• Lenovo IdeaPad S340-15IIL 81VW00FNRE.