Buying the best student laptop can be a tricky purchase, because it's highly dependent on the needs of the individual. Some students will look for portability, so that they can take their laptop to the library or to lectures, and this means buying something lightweight.
Anything less than 2.5kg should be fine to carry around all day, and this isn't a hugely difficult target.
However, living the student life means that others will be looking for a big screen and decent performance for watching DVDs, instead of having a separate TV. This is great for the cramped conditions of student halls of residence, but portability and media performance are normally polar opposites.
We've found the best student laptops to suit most needs, but before you buy, think about what it's going to be used for so you can make the right decision.??
1. Acer Aspire 1410-742G25N – £299
Performance isn't this laptop's strong point, but it isn't meant to be – instead it offers superb portability. At only 1.4kg, it's a pleasure to carry around and the small form factor makes it very easy to fit into almost any bag, which makes it great for lectures, although not so great for movies and entertainment.
The 11.6-inch screen is bright, crisp and clear, and the screen is LED-backlit, which is resource-light on the battery. The Acer Aspire 1410-74G25n sets a very high bar, and the excellent battery life will be a clincher for many buyers.??
Read our full Acer Aspire 1410-742G25N review??
2. Acer Aspire 5551-P32G32Mn – £385
Another budget offering, the Aspire 5551-P32G32Mn is built around a 15.6-inch screen, and despite being large enough to watch movies comfortably, the 2.6kg chassis is nice and light for its size.
While its 207-minute battery life is easily bettered, it provides adequate mobility for commuting or use in student digs.?? Offering impressive performance, great usability, a stunning screen and cutting-edge connectivity, the Aspire 5551-P32G32Mn is perfect for first-time buyers. Add its surprisingly generous software package and you've got a fantastic bargain on your hands.????
Read our full Acer Aspire 5551-P32G32Mn review??
3. Samsung R530 – £387
Not only is the Samsung R530 a nice looking laptop, it also boasts great usability, performance and portability – and all at a very competitive price. What's more, the line-up has been recently updated to include a Core i3 processor, which makes it an extremely attractive proposition.??
The more we used the Samsung R530, the more we liked it. Performance is above average and the design and usability of the machine really endeared it to us, making it a perfect study companion.
Read our full Samsung R530 review??
4. Acer Aspire 5741-333G32Mn – £419
The Acer Aspire 5741-333G32Mn is a budget laptop that combines strong performance and mobility with a solid and highly usable chassis. At 2.5kg, the chassis is a little heavier than many in our round up, but it's still light enough to carry in your bag all day.?
The Intel Core i3-330M chip offers more than enough power to comfortably multitask with fairly demanding office software, making this a successful budget entry in Acer's portfolio. Performance is assured by the Intel Core i3 processor and the strong build makes for a robust and highly usable laptop.
Read our full Acer Aspire 5741-333G32Mn review
5. HP G62-a45SA – £477
An Intel Core i3 processor provides ample performance for office tasks. The Core i3-350M chip includes integrated graphics, so while there's not enough power for running complex multimedia applications or playing the latest games, watching high-definition movies and basic photo and video editing is fine.??
Overall the G62-a45SA is a good machine that offers strong Intel Core i3 performance at a reasonable price and features such as LightScribe disc burning support and a fast hard drive are a welcome bonus.???
Read our full HP G62-a45SA review??
6. Packard Bell EasyNote NM86 – £499
With a weight of 2.3kg and thickness of 34mm, this is a compact and portable laptop. The 303-minute battery life is a great result and means you can leave the charger at home and work at university without too much worry.
With excellent build quality and a sharp and vibrant screen, not to mention strong performance for the price, the EasyNote NM86-GN-010UK offers fantastic value for money. Granted, the limited storage is a let-down, but is forgivable considering the many strengths on offer.???
Read our full Packard Bell EasyNote NM86 review
7. Samsung R730 – £515
Over the past few years, Samsung has impressed us time and again by releasing a range of high-quality laptops at staggeringly low prices. The R730 is an entry-level, big-screen model and proves to be a fantastic home media centre for students who don't want a TV and DVD player.??
Offering bags of style, great usability and stunning big-screen entertainment, the R730 is a fantastic laptop for students looking for a work and entertainment tool for their bedroom. While it's not at the top of the range in terms of power and features of the Acer, this is still one of the best entry-level laptops you can buy at this price and comes highly recommended.
Read our full Samsung R730 review
8. Asus K52F-SX065V – £579
The Asus K52F-SX065V is a 15.6-inch laptop that packs a cutting-edge Intel Core i3-350M processor and manages to greatly impress with a long-lasting battery and high-quality build.
The Core i3 processor is designed to provide impressive performance at a budget price and the results are stunning, no doubt helped by the 4GB of system memory.
?The Asus K52F-SX065V is a great performing laptop at a truly budget price – and it all comes at no cost to battery life. The solid build may be a little heavy for long days on campus, but it offers good protection and great usability.??
Read our full Asus K52F-SX065V review??
9. Apple MacBook 13-inch – £849
The Macbook can easily be bettered by many PCs in terms of performance and value, but design students and those conscious of looking good on campus, will find the £849 price tag worth the premium.
The mid-2010 refresh was useful update for the MacBook and the incremental processor boost and a significantly better graphics chipset makes it good value for money.
The Nvidia GeForce 320M is a lot more energy efficient than its predecessor, giving the new MacBook a battery life of up to 10 hours on a single charge, which is enough for an entire day at uni, with plenty of juice yet for burning the midnight oil, or listening to tunes late at night.???
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Click to see the code!
To insert emoticon you must added at least one space before the code.