Back To School Special - Students Unite! The Best Laptop for Every Student
- Avichai Elimelech
- Aug 5, 2017
- 4 min read
Academic year is coming! Every student I know has been struggling with the question: "what laptop to buy for the coming years?" and I can honestly say - there is more than one answer for that. There are people who are looking for portability, others - performance, and a small bunch - gaming on the go! I will do a quick overview on the ones worth checking out.
Now, my personal philosophy on choosing your next laptop isn't a popular one - but there is a reason for that. Most of the options you'll find later on are 800$ plus options - yes, there are other cheaper options, but the options you'll find here were found to be the most reliable and popular among many.
From my experience - the laptop you'll buy will be with you at least 4 years if not more, so I suggest you don't buy cheap just to regret it a year from now because its battery doesn't hold up to the expectation or because the performance keeps you more frustrated than satisfied.
Lightweight and Basic Actions (Office & Web)
LG gram 13.3
What Screen Size? 13.3".
How Heavy? Weights 940 grams!
How Long? Long battery life of 8 plus hours with moderate use.
Preferred specs? Choose the one with Core i5 CPU, 8gb of RAM and 256gb SSD for the best future proofing.
The Good? Great battery life, extremely lightweight and thin profile.
The Bad? Bad web camera placement, feels flimsy.
Macbook 12
What Screen Size? 12".
How Heavy? Weights 920 grams!
How Long? Long battery life of 8 plus hours with moderate use.
Preferred specs? Choose the one with Core i5 CPU, 8gb of RAM and 256gb SSD for the best future proofing.
The Good? Nice speakers, good battery life,
The Bad? If you're coming from a PC - Apple macOS operating system needs some time to get used to, web camera isn't good, expensive, NO PORTS! single USB-C port for charging and everything else.
HP Spectre 13
What Screen Size? 13.3".
How Heavy? Weights 1.1 Kg.
How Long? Mediocre battery life of 6 plus hours with moderate use.
Preferred specs? Choose the one with Core i5 CPU, 8gb of RAM and 256gb SSD for the best future proofing.
The Good? Thin and light, good performance.
The Bad? The design is a required taste with gold trimming, below average battery life, mediocre keyboard and trackpad, noisy fan.
Lightweight and High Specs
Macbook Pro 13 (No touch bar)
What Screen Size? 13.3".
How Heavy? Weights 1.4 Kilograms.
How Long? Long battery life of 8 plus hours with moderate use.
Preferred specs? Choose the one with Core i5 CPU, 16gb of RAM and 256gb SSD for the best future proofing.
The Good? Great display, long battery life, great performance.
The Bad? If you're coming from a PC - Apple macOS operating system needs some time to get used to, web camera isn't good, expensive, not a lot of ports - 2 USB-C ports for charging and everything else.
Lenovo YOGA 910
What Screen Size? 13.9".
How Heavy? Weights 1.4 Kilograms.
How Long? Short battery life of 5 plus hours with moderate use.
Preferred specs? Choose the one with Core i5 CPU, 16gb of RAM and 256gb SSD for the best future proofing.
The Good? Touch screen and flexible hinges for tablet use, good performance.
The Bad? Expensive, mediocre battery life, large lower bezels.
Dell XPS 13 (Not the 4k screen)
What Screen Size? 13.3".
How Heavy? Weights 1.2 Kilograms.
How Long? Short battery life of 5 plus hours with moderate use.
Preferred specs? Choose the one with Core i5 CPU, 16gb of RAM and 256gb SSD for the best future proofing.
The Good? Great design with small bezels, good performance, light weight and great battery life.
The Bad? Expensive, 4k option takes battery life, bad web camera position.
Bigger Screen and High Specs
LG gram 15
What Screen Size? 15.6".
How Heavy? Weights 1 Kg!
How Long? Long battery life of 12 plus hours with moderate use.
Preferred specs? Choose the one with Core i7 CPU, 16gb of RAM and 256gb SSD for the best future proofing.
The Good? Exceptional battery life, extremely lightweight and thin profile.
The Bad? Bad web camera placement, feels flimsy, no keyboard backlight.
Dell XPS 15
What Screen Size? 15.6".
How Heavy? Weights 1.8 Kg.
How Long? Long battery life of 8 plus hours with moderate use.
Preferred specs? Choose the one with Core i7 CPU, 16gb of RAM and 256gb SSD for the best future proofing.
The Good? Good battery life, great design with no bezels screen and thin profile.
The Bad? Bad web camera placement, expensive.
Light Gaming
Lenovo Legion Y720
What Screen Size? 15.6".
How Heavy? Weights 3.2 Kg.
How Long? Short battery life of 4 plus hours with moderate use.
Preferred specs? Choose the one with Core i7 CPU, 16gb of RAM and 256gb SSD for the best future proofing.
The Good? Great performance at a reasonable price, good performance graphic card (NVIDIA 1060).
The Bad? Heavy, mediocre battery life for a laptop, large screen bezels.
The New Razor Blade
What Screen Size? 14".
How Heavy? Weights 1.9 Kg.
How Long? Long battery life of 7 plus hours with moderate use.
Preferred specs? Choose the one with Core i7 CPU, 16gb of RAM and 256gb SSD for the best future proofing.
The Good? Great performance at a reasonable price, good performance graphic card (NVIDIA 1060), long battery life and nice screen (the 14" version).
The Bad? Large screen bezels, can be expensive once upgrading specs.
ASUS ROG GL502VS
What Screen Size? 15.6".
How Heavy? Weights 2.4 Kg.
How Long? Short battery life of 3 plus hours with moderate use.
Preferred specs? Choose the one with Core i7 CPU, 16gb of RAM and 256gb SSD for the best future proofing.
The Good? Great performance at a reasonable price, good performance graphic card (NVIDIA 1070).
The Bad? Short battery life for a laptop, large screen bezels, bad trackpad.
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