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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.
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How do you know what are the best laptops for college? What do college students think the best laptop they have owned is? First is best to look at what type of feature is most important to you. Speaking as a college student, there are a couple of main categories that you want to look at. These include: price, size and portability (convenience), amount of memory and programs it is packaged with, and the type of operating system.
Usually most important for college students, is price. College students don’t have a lot of money to throw around and though a laptop is essential to college life, you cannot sell a limb to get it. The price needs to be low. Most of the time, the best laptop for college students can be found for under $1,000. A laptop is a big investment and a solid laptop usually ranges anywhere from $500-$1000. As a final note on price, the best laptop is one that is one sale. Stores know the season when college students are heading off, and thus give great deals that cater to students. Look for them and you will not regret the savings.
The second most important aspect is the size and portability of a laptop. In general, the smaller the laptop the better it will be for college students. Many times this laptop will go into a backpack, be carried around the shoulder in a pack, or be carried in-hand. College students already have a lot of books, papers, and notebooks to carry around so adding a few extra pounds is never good! Always strive for a laptop that makes an effort to be more portable by weight and size. Screen size also determines the main bulk of the laptop. Usually, while 13” is a little small for some of the fun activities college students do like watching TV, movies or playing games 17” is too large to carry. Thus, 15” is usually the perfect middle ground.
The third most important aspect is the amount of memory and programs a laptop is packaged with. These I will combine to form “packaged features”. Memory is always important for a college student to store their documents and anything else they may need later on their laptop. A good laptop has at least 250GB of memory on the hard drive. This will help college students store everything they may need. Regarding programs, it is always best to look for a laptop packaged with Microsoft office. Most importantly, Microsoft word, excel, and powerpoint. These are the programs are the most common ones college student will use.
The last deciding factor is operating system. Namely, Macintosh or Windows. The trend has lately been to go for the more hip Macintosh that is more user-friendly. However, many students may need to use programs in classes that run on Windows only. It is best for students majoring in technical things like engineering and computer science to go for a Windows computer. Ultimately, it is up to the customer to weight the individual criteria listed above. For some people, one aspect may be much more important than another. If one sticks out, make that one the most important and look for one that meets all the other criteria but excels in that specific category.
The top 5 laptops that meet much of these criteria are:
1. Sony Vaio EA Series $599.99 640GB hard drive 14.2” screen, 5.2 pounds Windows 7 Professional
2. MacBook $999.00 250 GB hard drive 13” screen, 1.08” thick and 4.7 pounds Macintosh operating system.
3.Dell XPS 15 $799.99 500GB hard drive 15.6” screen, 6.1 pounds Windows 7 Home Premium
4. Toshiba A215-S4807 $779 160GB hard drive 15.4” screen, 6.3 pounds Windows XP
5. Samsung R780 $849 500GB hard drive 17.3” screen, 6.4 pounds Windows 7 Home Premium
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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.
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