With the fall semester just around the corner, it’s easy to get washed up in the mad dash to get ready. Clothes, tuition, textbooks and… uh oh, a new laptop. But what should you look for in a new portable companion (if you are indeed looking to upgrade)? Some courses may recommend certain specifications, but most just tell you that you need a laptop of modest capability.
If you’re involved in business, English, or any other word processor heavy courses, you don’t need to splurge on an expensive laptop. Something within the price range of $300 to $600 is more than adequate; most of what you pay for at this point is battery life. Some laptops like the Acer Aspire 3 or Dell Inspiron series have been mainstays in good workhorse laptops on a budget. What they lack in the bells and whistles department, they generally make up for in their longevity.
For those who hit the harder sciences, engineering, media arts, or even software development, you may need something with some extra grunt. For the most part that usually means something with a dedicated graphics card, like the NVIDIA RTX 20XX to 40XX line of cards. These can be found anywhere from $900 and above. If you do end up needing to invest in such a beast, I would suggest staying away from Alienware and ROG series laptops. They have the hardware, but generally the “RGB/Gamer Tax” is applied (for those who are wondering, many gaming-focused laptops have a higher price tag and lower life expectancy. It’s the price you pay for high power and flashy accouterments). The downside to all this power is, well, a lack of battery life. You’ll on average see about four hours maximum, and that’s with all the battery saving technologies turned on. Incidentally, workstation laptops like the higher-end Dell Inspiron or even their Precision series lines would be more than adequate, and they usually go on sale or have discounts for students.
This is just a very generalized recommendation, and you may have noticed I left out Apple — this isn’t for any malicious reason, but more of a budgetary one. Apple makes a fine product, but much like the ASUS ROG, Dell Alienware, and MSI Cyborg lines of gamer-focused laptops, there’s a tax of sorts involved. Not to mention a rather locked-down ecosystem that makes it difficult to work outside of Apple’s sandbox (meaning their hardware and software ecosystem). That being said, if you don’t require any kind of engineering design software or play AAA games, Apple is a fine choice if it’s within your budget. They are capable machines, and with the newest technologies involved, they are getting very competitive. But again, price is a major stopping block in my opinion.
There are plenty of new laptops coming out with AI embedded within the system, such as the new line of “Copilot+” laptops being released by many Windows based manufacturers. These are again fine machines on paper, but they are built on the Advanced RISC Machine (ARM) platform of processors (similar to Apple’s M series and what you find in most Android cellphones). At the moment I would recommend these for any student that will be focused on more word processing and perhaps light media arts work. As the technology matures this could change, but if you are unsure of having AI constantly working behind the scenes while you use the laptop, maybe sidestep these for now.
Hopefully this helps when picking a new computer. The best rule is to think about what you want to use it for. If you just browse the Internet, answer emails, and complete writing assignments, you don’t need the latest and greatest technology. If you plan to make something in 3D, run simulations or games with your laptop, then you may want to invest in something with more power. Always try to compare specifications and prices to get the best bang for your hard-earned buck.
