Best College Laptops

College Laptops Under 500 Dollars

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As a student at a junior college, I will be the first person to admit that many of us are strapped for cash. In addition to unit and material costs, many college courses today are difficult to excel in without a decent laptop or notebook. And not just any notebook will do; it has to conform to a huge list of requirements, such as wireless internet access, easy portability, and lots of disk space. It can be difficult and troubling to spend hours searching online for a laptop that will both meet your needs and not bleed your wallet dry.

Here are what I believe to be the two best value laptops under 500 for college students.

#1. The Dell Inspiron Mini (base model) – $300
Another goodie brought to you by Dell, this mini notebook easily took it’s spot at my list of top college laptops. In addition to being the only one of these laptops that I’ve personally owned, it beats all the others that I have tested that are in the same price range.

The Good: The most basic version of this laptop has everything the average college student needs; a decent processor, twenty-four hours of battery life, a built-in 160GB hard drive and the best portability of any notebook on the market (under three pounds) . At approximately ten inches by seven inches, this laptop fits easily in any backpack and even inside many purses, and has the capacity for your daily needs, such as Word processing, emailing, social networking. The base model comes with Windows XP, and not Windows 7, but if you are looking for functionality, this is an amazing laptop. The more expensive versions have Windows 7, increased processor speed, and are even a little bit smaller. However, these upgrades can run up to $300 more than the base model.

The not-so-good: I’m never going to say anything about this laptop is bad. However, it is not a laptop for, say, a video production student, because it doesn’t have enough ram or processor power for the more intense applications, nor does it have the large screen that most people are used to expecting. The only other down side is that it doesn’t have a built-in CD drive; but with more than enough USB ports, it’s not too difficult to plug in an external drive.

#2. Acer Aspire Laptop with AMD Athlon Single-Core Processor - $400
The Acer Aspire is another amazing college buy. If you are looking for a laptop with a larger screen and keyboard than those of the mini notebooks while not spending a huge amount of money, this is the laptop for you. However, with greater size comes a greater footprint, and this laptop is approximately ten inches by fifteen inches and weighs a good six pounds. Nonetheless, it offers everything a college student needs.

The Good: This laptop comes stock with Windows 7. It can support up to 4GB of ram, and comes installed with 3GB. It also comes with a CD/DVD read-write drive. Oh, and did I mention? It starts at only $370. As with all other computers, you can upgrade it, but it’s going to cost more money.

The not-so-good: It’s size can be a concern. Whereas one can slip the mini-notebook into a small compartment in a backpack or purse and not even notice the weight, cramming this laptop into a backpack along with books and binders can be a hassle. And again, as with most budget to mid-range college laptops, you aren’t going to be using this laptop to edit a movie anytime soon.

If you are a college student looking for a laptop that will meet your basic needs, either of these laptops is an excellent choice. The Dell Inspiron Mini is the best mini-notebook on the market and offers premium portability, while the Acer Aspire has a good-sized screen and can do everything the mini notebook can. Whichever laptop you choose, I’m sure you will not be disappointed.

Inexpensive Laptops For College

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There are many things to consider when looking for the best laptops for college. One of the main things to consider is your budget. There are many laptops out there for those who are looking for the cheapest laptop that will get them by. There are also many people out there who are willing to spend much more to get all of the extras.

When sorting through the many options available, you will find that there are many different sizes to choose from. There are netbooks that have 10.1” screens. This may be convenient to carry around, but the keyboards are typically much smaller and may make typing more difficult for those who are used to typing on a regular keyboard. You can also choose the other extreme and purchase a laptop with a screen that is 18.4”. This may be good for watching movies and playing video games, but having a laptop that big will be difficult to carry around. Choosing a laptop in the middle of the size range may be the best option for you. Top college laptops with a screen size of 14” or 15.6” tend to give you the best of both worlds. You still get the portability that you do with a smaller laptop, but you get a decent size screen to go along with it.

If you are looking for the cheapest thing to get you buy, you may beinterested in a 10” Coby NBPC1023XP. This has an N480 processor, 1GB of memory, and a 160GB hard drive. This netbook is meant for those on a very limited budget, who are looking for the bare minimum to get them by. You can get this netbook for around $250.00.

Another option for those on a budget is the 15.6” HP G56-129WM. This laptop will run you approximately $375.00, but is worth the extra money if you can afford it. This comes with an Intel Celeron 900 processor. It also has 3GB of memory and a 250GB hard drive.

For $450.00, you can get an Acer Aspire A55736Z-4016. This has an Intel Pentium Processor T4500. It also comes with 4GB of memory and a 320GB hard drive. This also has a 15.6” screen. This would be my pick for the best laptop for college students.

If you are looking to spend a little more money, you can choose a Toshiba Satellite. The L655-S5100 has a 15.6” screen. It comes with an Intel Pentium P6100 Processor, 4GB of memory, and a 500GB hard drive. The Toshiba Satellite Helios L655D-S5110WH comes with the AMD Phenom II Quad Core P940 Processor. It has 4 GB of memory and a 500 GB hardrive.

When buying a laptop, there are many additional things you can add on. You can add features for gaming, music, and music. These features aren’t a must, but would be appreciated by most college students. So when you are out looking for a new laptop for college, just remember to use every penny of your budget wisely. Choose the features that are best for you and your needs.