How to choose a laptop for students for the new school year in 2021. Laptops for new students need to have a configuration suitable for learning purposes, flexible design, convenient to carry in many places and battery life should be prioritized.
If in a high school environment, students may not need the support of a laptop to still be able to ensure a good study, then in a university environment it is completely opposite. For students, more or less, there must be a laptop to support looking up documents, contacting teachers, updating learning information as well as registering for subjects. Therefore, at the present time, those who are preparing to go to college should prepare themselves with a laptop good enough for their needs.
The following advice will help students make the best choice for a laptop that is sufficient and affordable.
Don’t focus too much on configuration
The configuration will of course be one of the prerequisites for you to choose a laptop. However, you do not always focus on the configuration and ignore your needs.
You must determine what your needs are when you go to college. For example, if you need to use only basic office applications, web browsing, and basic entertainment, you should not choose a laptop that is too powerful, this will cause redundancy when you do not use it to the high-end configuration.
After determining the need to use, this time you focus on the configuration to determine which laptop to buy. 10th generation Intel Core i3 CPU or higher, at least 8GB of RAM, at least 256GB of memory is the basic configuration level to have a good laptop for basic needs. Usually, laptops with this configuration cost less than $600. Currently, on the market, there is Acer Aspire 5 model with the same configuration and price as the above proposal.
For laptop models for technical people
You will need a higher configuration such as the latest generation Intel Core i7 chip, with a powerful discrete graphics card like GTX 1060, hard drive up to 512GB or 1TB to storage. From the above basic configuration level, you can upgrade to your needs. Of course, when buying a laptop in addition to configuration, there will also be many other factors such as design, duration of use or durability and weight, etc.
Reputable manufacturers such as Toshiba, Dell, ASUS, Sony, Acer, HP, etc. are all pre-installed on their products with SATA hard drives with a capacity of 320GB or 500GB, of which 500GB is popular. 500GB is a huge number, so you can store a lot of data on your hard drive. 320GB is enough for most students and students. Depending on your needs, you can choose one of the two capacity levels.
The next issue we should pay attention to is the amount of RAM of the machine
Most widely available laptops use DDR3 RAM, so you don’t have to wonder about the type of RAM. More than 50% of laptops on the market have pre-installed RAM at 2GB, clocked at 1066MHz or 1333MHz. Actually, 2GB is more than enough for general needs.
However, for those who study graphics, design, or have to program, manage databases and run many virtual machines, they should choose machines with 4GB or 8GB RAM. If you don’t have a favorite model, you can buy more external RAM and plug it in, costing anywhere from $30 to $50for a stick of DDR3 4GB RAM clocked at 1333MHz. Many promotions for free extra RAM from the store or from the manufacturer are appearing a lot during this time. Don’t miss them!
Size of laptop
When going to buy a laptop, we definitely have to choose an appropriate screen size. Machines with a 14″ screen are often chosen by many people because of the combination of convenience when traveling but still provide a large viewing area, can work for a long time without eye strain. Moreover, the 13″ machines are usually ultra-portable or business lines, so the price is higher. 15.6″ will be more suitable for students who specialize in images (design, media, editing) because the resolution is usually higher and you will have more space to work.
Today’s laptops all use LED backlight LCD screens, so they save energy, but the quality of each brand will be different, even within the same brand. Different models have different display qualities. So, when you go to buy a machine, go to the place to see the color. The viewing angle of the screen, and then decide to buy it. The resolution of the screen is usually between 1366×768 and 1600×900, wide enough and sharp enough for the needs of students.
Design of laptop
Currently, mid-range laptop models are all focused on a design by manufacturers to suit younger users. As a student, often on the go, you should choose for yourself a laptop with a lightweight and durable design. It is better to choose a laptop with a shell made of aluminum because the aluminum shell will make the laptop lighter, more durable, and especially look quite luxurious. The weight of a moderate laptop will be 1.5kg, which is reasonable for carrying too many places.
Young people pay great attention to this issue
The design and appearance of the device partly reflect the personality of its owner, so you should choose models with beautiful designs, suitable for personal preferences. Because you have to often carry it every day to school. You need to choose a machine that is as light as possible. Of course, we can’t get ultralight models. Made of carbon fiber or “genuine” alloys (their prices are usually not less than $900). But how much light you can help your shoulders and so much my knee joint. A machine between 1.5 kg and 2.2 kg is suitable.
If you like youthfulness, you can choose for yourself more personality colors. You should not stick the laptop too much because it may limit the laptop’s ability to dissipate heat. Currently, the new Acer Aspire 5 has a Magic Purple color version that switches between dark blue and purple. For those who like simplicity, you can choose laptops with monochrome colors.
Hinge is also one of the factors you need to consider when choosing to buy a laptop. If you can find a laptop with a 180-degree opening hinge. It will be very good, not only helping you to open a wider angle for the screen. But also avoiding the situation when you are over-handed when opening the laptop.
Usage time and cost of the laptop
Most machines on the market can be used continuously for 3-4 hours, slightly higher if you apply energy-saving measures. Check the laptop configuration or ask the seller about the average battery life of the model you are planning to buy. Models that only use about 2 hours of battery life will definitely make you uncomfortable while studying in the middle, and the device says “Low Battery”.
Prioritizing the Core I Sandy Bridge CPU will help you have a longer battery life
Graphics cards using NVIDIA Optimus. AMD Dynamic Switchable Graphics technology will automatically switch between the discrete. Integrated cards depending on the requirements of the application. So you will have longer battery life.
The standard usage time for a laptop will fall into the range of 7-11 hours of continuous operation. In fact, when using the time will vary depending on the needs. But you can refer to the usage time according to the parameters given by the manufacturer.
In terms of price, a laptop that is too cheap will ensure your pocket. But it will be difficult to meet your needs, on average for basic needs. You should spend about 600-800 USD. It is also a reasonable price for an office laptop. The higher cost will be gaming laptop models with powerful configurations for technical people.
Read More: 5 Positive Lifestyle Habits Determining Students’ Success
