Best College Laptops

Best Laptop Buys For College

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There are many things a college student such as yourself worries about these days. Money, relationships, parents, and homework all can cause massive headaches. One thing that I believe a you shouldn’t have to stress about is finding the best value laptops for your budget.

When you buy a laptop for college, I would look at three things: price, size/weight, and RAM/Processor speed. Higher RAM lets you run more programs at once. A faster processor makes your laptop run faster.

If you are someone who is very mobile and doesn’t play video games or use Photoshop, a netbook is best for you. They usually cost about $200-500, include 1 gigabyte of RAM, and have an 10 inch screen. They usually weigh about 2 pounds, have about 5 hours of battery life, and have a smaller keyboard than normal laptops, which can be uncomfortable for long periods of typing. I would recommend testing a netbook in a store before buying it to make sure its keyboard and screen size are right for you. A netbook is best for people who only run a few programs at once and spend most of their time on the Internet and typing up homework and is one of the best laptop buys for someone who doesn’t have a lot of money to spend.

If you need some more power or a bigger screen but don’t want to lug around a giant laptop everywhere, I would recommend a laptop with a 13 inch screen. Their prices vary widely, but an average one will cost you from $200-700. They usually include 2-4 gigabytes of RAM and are about 4 pounds. Their battery usually lasts 4-5 hours. They have enough power to play most games and run many programs at once, but are also portable enough to bring with you wherever you go. These are among the top college laptops available on the market.

If you are a hardcore gamer or use video editing or graphics editing programs, you’ll need a laptop with more power. I recommend a laptop with a 15 inch or 17 inch screen. They cost from $400-1500 and include 4 gigabytes of RAM. They usually weigh around 6 pounds and offer about 3 hours of battery life. I would not recommend these laptops unless you need the computing power that they give you.

Buying a laptop may sound daunting, but it is easy if you know what you are doing. Before you buy one, do some research on the Internet. Read customer and expert reviews, go to the product’s website, and see what other people say about a laptop. Ask your friends what laptops they have. With enough information, you’ll do fine buying a laptop.

More tips for saving money on a laptop:
• Buy programs like Microsoft Office from your college’s store. They offer deep discounts!
• I know this sounds counterintuitive, but get the service contract/extended warranty. Computers get viruses, overheat, and get dropped.
• Go to sourceforge.org or search the Internet for open source software. It’s free and can be just as good as paid programs!

My Choice For The Five Best College Laptops Of 2010

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To be successful in college you will need a few basic things, a planner to keep you organized, plenty of notebooks and office supplies, and a good computer. These days computers are needed for everything in college. From planning your schedules to turning in homework a good computer will take you a long way. However, given the current market, one can feel overwhelmed when choosing a computer, especially laptops. This is my list of the 5 top college laptops.

1. The Apple MacBook is a sleek, sexy looking number with many features. It comes with a built in webcam, dvd player, and Apple’s iLife suite of applications. This computer is for the creative person on the go as iLife helps your inner musician or artist come to life. With a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor and a 250 GB hard drive, this computer has the speed you need and the space to store your work. However, the hefty $999 price tag is a big turn off.

2. The Sony VAIO E Series computers are good 15.5″ sized computers. With 3GB of DDR3 memory and an AMD Athlon II Dual-Core P340 2.2G processor its got the speed to compete with the MacBook. This model comes with a 320 GB hard drive and windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit edition. At $599.99 this seems like a bargain over the MacBook, but it doesn’t come with the MacBook’s software suite.

3. HP comes out swinging with the Pavilion dv6-3143us notebook. Its loaded Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit and comes with more than enough power to play games on. The screen is a tad bit bigger at 15.6″ and the hard drive is twice as large as the MacBook’s at 500 GB. The HP comes with an Intel Core i3 processor running at 2.4GHz. Its sleek and powerful, and it costs $799.

4. Netbooks are a popular item among college students. They are a bit less powerful, but what they miss in power, they make up for in portability. This is a definite for the student who has to trek across campus everyday. The Acer Aspire One A0821-3574 is a neat little netbook. It comes with with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit preloaded. Its powered by an AMD Athlon II Neo processor at 1.70GHz. It has 2GB of memory and a 250 GB hard drive to store all of your homework. The 5 hour battery life span is a must for the college student on the go. The $409.99 pricetag won’t break the bank either. These are the best value laptops on the market.

5. The DELL Inspiron 15R is a full size powerhouse of a laptop. This one is looking to bridge the gap between desktop and laptop. It comes with an Intel Core i5-460M processor running at 2.53GHz, 6 GB of DDR3 RAM, and a 640GB hard drive. This computer is a beast! It comes with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit edition preloaded. This computer is a bit expensive, coming in at $869.99, however, the price is a good tradeoff for the the power this computer has. For the college student on the go, I would have to choose the Acer Aspire One A0821-3574 as the best laptop for college students. The price, along with the portability and great battery life will be great for a college student on the go.

College is a fast paced, but overall fun part of anyone’s life. A good laptop is a must if you want to succeed and graduate.

This post continues our Best College Laptops 2010 series.