As a new school year begins, so does the desire to buy new things. New clothes, new bag, and of course, new stationary items. One other thing that we can add to that list is a laptop.
Laptops are an essential item for the college student. They are small enough to carry around from class to class, but powerful enough to run any college related programs.
Getting a laptop is the easy part. Choosing which laptops to get is the hard part. In this guide, we are going to walk you through several points you need to consider when choosing a laptop for college. Check Custom Essay Meister here.
- What are you studying?
You need to ask yourself what courses you are taking. Different courses will pose various loads on your laptop.
For example, let us say you are doing engineering or graphics design. You’ll probably be using 3D modelling software or something like Adobe Photoshop.
With these intensive applications, you’ll need a laptop that has more beefier specs. Think of a quad core processor with at least 8 GB of ram. An SSD card and discrete graphics card would also be a wise decision.
It’s the discrete graphics card that pushes the price of these laptops up. You’d be looking at somewhere around the $800 mark or more. Mind you, at this price range, you’ll also be able to use your laptop for some light gaming (and what college student doesn’t game a little bit?)
On the other hand, if you need a laptop only for note taking, then something much more basic will be sufficient. A laptop that can run the Microsoft Suite tools such as Excel and Word will serve you well. You don’t need any dedicated graphics either. Integrated graphics is sufficient.
Isaac from https://www.yourbestpicks.com/ has reviewed laptops that fall into this category and it’s worth a look. You shouldn’t have to spend any more than $500.
- Check Your College
It’s a good idea to check with your college if they have any recommended laptops or software. Even more importantly, they may recommend a specific operating system as some are not capable of running certain programs.
Some schools also offer discounted laptops for students that come equipped with the relevant software. They also tend to have warranty that covers your entire tuition. On top of this, the college might also offer free repairs or upgrades for your laptop if you purchase it through them.
- Portability is Key
You’re going to be bringing this laptop to all your classes, right? Preferably in a back-pack we’d imagine so. Well then, the size of the laptop is key.
If it’s too big and heavy, you’re going to have trouble lugging it around. Look for a laptop that is no larger than 15.6” and weighs 3 – 5 lbs. That way you can fit it in a back-pack and won’t have back pain towards the end of the day.
- And So Is Battery Life
Just as important as the size of a laptop, is the battery life. A laptops battery life is influenced by several things – the internal components power consumption and the type of programs you are running.
It’ll be a wise decision to choose a laptop that has 8 hours of battery life or mor. This will cover you for most of the day.
Here’s a quick tip: Make sure to turn off the laptop when you are not using it! Also, switch it to battery saver mode.
When the charge does get low, be sure to be close to an outlet. If not, you can always opt to get an external battery pack.
- Software Packages
Most laptops you buy today come with a host of their own software options. At the very least you’ll need Microsoft Word and probably Excel for note taking. Look for laptops that come with Microsoft office already part of the deal.
If that’s not an option, you can purchase these software suites at affordable prices if you are a student:
- There is free Office 365 for students with a school email address.
- If you are doing something along the lines of graphics design, Adobe offer their creative cloud for students at a significant discount.
On top of this, many applications you use at college will be offered free (or at a discount) by the college itself, especially if they have their own computers.
- Don’t Base Your Decision on Storage
For most college students, you do not need a super powerful laptop. Something that can load up quickly and run basic applications is enough. In this similar vein, you do not need to choose a laptop based on storage requirements.
After all, most applications you will use and the files you will be saving are likely not to take up too much space (like word or excel files). You’re better of getting a laptop with a fast 256 GB SSD storage then a bulkier and slower traditional hard drive.
Furthermore, there are online storage solutions you can use like Google Drive that can significantly extend your laptops storage capacity.
- Do you even need a laptop?
You have to ask yourself if a laptop is even necessary. If you already have a desktop or mostly stationary laptop at home, you might not need to purchase a laptop. Your college might also offer you a laptop or provide computers during the classes. Everything can be stored online nowadays so having your own device is not always necessary.
You may even decide that a tablet with a detachable keyboard (or a 2-in-1 laptop) is a better option, especially if you only want to use it for taking notes.
The Microsoft Surface Go 2 is a great example of this and can be used as a laptop or tablet. Chromebooks using Google’s optimised Chrome OS are extremely portable and consume little power.