Best College Laptops

Affordable Laptops For College Students

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In the current market there are so many laptops to choose from that it can sometimes become overwhelming. Hopefully, this will help your search for the best laptop for you. The five best affordable laptops for college students, in my opinion, are explained in the following article.

Number 5 on the list is the Apple MacBook. The downside is the price, but for under $1000 you can have a smooth sleek machine that will last for years to come. Apple also offers an incredible service plan that I would recommend to any college student. The MacBook can easily keep up with the fast paced lifestyle of college and still look professional in any setting with its super slim design. The battery life is exceptional as well, and can last through the many hours of papers and internet surfing you are sure to do at all the coffee shops on campus.

Number 4 on the list is the Dell Vostro 3500 with a 2.26 GHz processor, 2 gigs of ram and a 250 GB hard drive you would expect to pay around $550. This laptop allows college students to easily create all the necessary documents throughout the day on a single charge with the correct power settings. The size and weight can comfortably ft into any backpack, but for the price I would like to see a little more performance.

The HP G62-340 squeezes into the number 3 position on the list by sporting a 2.20 GHz processor and 320 GB hard drive and 3GB of RAM standard, all for about the same price as the number 4 laptop. The HP G series laptops are built very well and can accommodate just about anything that the average college student can, I mean will, throw at it. It can create word documents and spreadsheets or help you wind down with a movie after a hard day of classes. This laptop can be found for $550 or less.

Holding the number 2 position is the Gigabyte TouchNote. This laptop contains a 1.66 GHz Processor, enough for any task a college student might need it for, accompanied by versatility. The laptop is able to become a tablet pc; this allows for notes to be “written” on the screen or typed and makes navigation with the computer a lot easier. The battery life is good and this laptop relly has all the extras that college students yearn for, all with a price tage that comes in under $500.

The number 1 position belongs to the HP Mini 110-3130nr, a small netbook that can easily surf the web, type all of your college papers or watch your favorite video between classes. The built in camera allows you to keep in contact with everyone from home or record the pesky roommate who’s sneaking into your secret stash. The keypad is about 92% the size of the average keyboard but after a few sentences you don’t even realize that it’s any different. Its compact size allows college students to carry it anywhere without the bulk and weight of a laptop in your bag. The battery life is great as well, even with the standard battery, but if you want more time the optional extended battery allows hours of useful life without a plug-in. the best news for college students is that you can pick one up for under $300. In my opinion this tough, compact laptop is the best college laptop.

While no laptop is necessarily better than another for a person, its use must truly be considered and any of these five laptops will accommodate the needs of a college student. I hope that these recommendations help in your search for a laptop.

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.