Best laptops for college students available 2014
Computing power to increase brain power: best notebooks for college students
Notebook PCs can be capable music-making platforms, gaming machines and the ideal traveling companion. They are also essential gear for any college student in this day and age. Picking up a laptop for school calls for a machine that’s durable, functional, and not ridiculously expensive. Today BattAussie recommend the best laptops for college students available today.
Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro
Toward the top of the price range is the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro. It might be worth spending a little extra cash on this laptop for several reasons. First, it has a top-of-the-line 4th generation Intel Core processor for improved battery life. It also has a great keyboard for typing all those papers.
Perhaps most importantly, it has a cool backward-folding hinge that makes the touchscreen more usable. For example, the Yoga 13 can fold over like a tablet or be propped up like a tent. That could be great for hauling to lectures. It runs Windows 8.1, which isn’t a perfect tablet OS, but it’s better than any other full desktop environment when it comes to touch.
This Lenovo ultrabook weighs 3.1 lbs and is just 0.61-inches thick. It’s not as light as some more pricey ultrabooks, but this computer offers about 9 hours of battery life. The 13.3-inch touchscreen also has a great 3200×1800 QHD+ LCD panel — far better than most other laptops you can get.
Sony Vaio Pro 11
The Sony Vaio Pro 11 offers a compelling combination of size and power that can be great for getting work done. This laptop scales down the 13-inch ultrabook form factor to just 11.6-inches, but keeps most of the epecs intact, including a 1080p touchscreen and a 4th generation Intel Core processor.
If you thought the Chromebook was light, get ready for this — the Vaio Pro 11 is only 1.92 pounds and 0.68-inches thick. Sony decided to make this computer out of carbon fiber to conserve weight. It still packs in a fair amount of Sony Vgp-bps22a Laptop Battery Life at 7 hours. It’s not ideal for long periods of time away from the charger, but it’s easy to toss in a bag and haul around throughout the day.
Samsung ATIV Book 7
Most of Samsung’s laptop lineup has a premium design, and the mid-range ATIV Book 7 is no exception. This laptop has a lovely brushed metal frame and a nice chiclet-style keyboard. It’s a bit more durable than many Windows 8.1 ultrabooks, but it’s heavier (3.6 pounds) and thicker (0.74-inches ) too.
The ATIV Book 7 came out shortly before Intel’s Haswell series CPUs, so the Core i5 in this computer is not as power efficient as the 4th generation parts. It still manages six hours of usage, though. Not bad for a computer with a very bright 13.3-inch 1080p touchscreen.
You will pay a little more for the Samsung name and build quality, but it’s not obscene at roughly $950. That includes a 128GB SSD and 4GB of RAM, as do most basic ultrabooks these days.
HP Chromebook 11
Depending on what sort of coursework needs doing, a more basic computing experience could be sufficient. A Chromebook doesn’t run regular desktop software but it can do all the basics like documents, email, and light photo editing without spending a lot of money. The HP Chromebook 11 also comes with the added benefit of being really great looking.
Chrome OS is a completely cloud-based experience, so this computer will be very limited when it’s not connected. Luckily, virtually every school has high-speed Wi-Fi now. It’s a mere 2.6 pounds and only 0.69 inches thick, making it one of the lightest laptops on this list. Even with that small frame it packs enough juice to run for 6 hours on a charge.
The HP Chromebook 11 is so efficient because of its processor architecture. This laptop runs on a Samsung Exynos 5250 ARM chip instead of a more power-hungry Intel CPU. The 11.6-inch screen is only 1366×768 too. So you are making some sacrifices with this computer, but the HP Chromebook 11 is only $279.
MacBook Air (13-inch)
Apple’s newest generation of ultra-thin computers is a slightly pricey, but still popular choice for students. The MacBook Air runs atop the latest generation of Intel Core processors (codenamed Haswell), which allows this machine to run for an amazing 12 hours on a single charge. This system also gets closer to the advertised battery life claims than most laptops.
The MacBook Air has a 1440×900 non-touch LCD panel, which is a step down from many Windows laptops in this generation. It’s a necessary tradeoff for getting that stellar battery life and keeping the MacBook Air so thin and light. It weighs just 2.96 pounds and is 0.68 inches thick at the widest point.
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[…] Computing power to increase brain power: best notebooks for college students Notebook PCs can be capable music-making platforms, gaming machines and the ideal traveling companion. They are also essential gear for any college student in this day and age. Picking up a laptop for school calls for a machine that’s durable, functional, and not ridiculously expensive. … […]