Today, digital technologies are entering more and more deeply into the educational process, including multimedia training programs, webinars, and distance learning. A laptop in this case is convenient because of its mobility – you can use it both at home and university or in practice.
Choice of notebook for work or study in 2022
The abundance of equipment in computer stores gives good opportunities for choice, and can even confuse the inexperienced buyer. The laptop can be selected not only by price but also by purpose (for example, for someone with educational issues will be important to be able to use the laptop for gaming). Along with the well-established brands on the market – Dell, Acer, Asus, Hewlett-Packard, the new players – Haier, Digma, Prestigio – have their share. They also offer interesting models, including in the budget category.
How to choose a laptop for a student
Choosing the right model, you should understand that in many ways laptops are not produced for any particular social category (students, employees, etc.), but for specific tasks. In this case, depending on the department where the student studies, he may need completely different configurations. For example:
- a philology student who only needs to type texts and watch tutorials on the Internet, a simple budget model will do;
- a student studying to be a designer or architect will need a powerful laptop to work with graphics packages.If the laptop will be weak and will not able to run a number of necessary programs, then you will have to go to the write essay for me service.
What criteria should be used to make a decision?
There are not many basic characteristics that are important when choosing a model. This makes it easy to compare the different models and choose the one that is right for you.
Memory capacity
The optimal size is 4 GB. At the same time, even two times less will easily cope with the work of office applications for typing, demonstrating presentations, etc., but when viewing videos from the Internet there may be delays.
RAM of more than 4 GB (for example, 8 or 16 GB) is useful when processing large amounts of video images, complex 3D modeling, or running modern computer games, but this use of the laptop is beyond the educational needs of the student.
Monitor diagonal
The optimal size is 15-15,6″. Smaller size, though it would make your laptop more compact and cheaper, it will not be comfortable for productive learning activities – will have to constantly stare to see the fine details of interactive presentations, etc., which will quickly lead to visual impairment. Monitor larger than 15″, though will be more convenient for reading e-books or studying online courses, in general, will be quite bulky, and constantly carrying it with you to lectures or the library will be problematic.
Storage capacity and type
The following types of storage devices are currently available on the market:
- EMMS – flash memory for low-cost models. The most common sizes are 32 and 64 GB, rarely 128 GB. At the same time, the operating system leaves about 27 GB, ie the 32-gigabyte drive is free only 5 GB, which is very small. This type of memory is characterized by a low exchange rate. Another feature is that it is soldered onto the motherboard, which means that unlike the other two types of drives, its eMMC cannot be replaced with a larger capacity version;
- SSD is a solid-state drive, with a standard capacity of 32-512 GB. It is characterized by high transfer rates, and low power consumption and is the most expensive of the three types;
- HD – hard magnetic disk drive. Due to the peculiarities of the design, a notebook with HD requires careful handling. Thus, the model with SSD cannot be switched off and put in a bag and transported, if the same is done with a laptop, where there is an HD drive, then with a high probability, the surface of the drive will be scratched read head and need to go to repair.
The optimal storage capacity of an internal drive is 500 GB. This is enough to have on the “hard drive” an extensive collection of books and videos, installed programs, and work files, necessary for studies. Ideally, you should aim at 1TB, especially as a doubling of the hard drive capacity would not affect the total cost of the model.
Extras
A modern laptop’s default configuration includes:
- Webcam – allows you to participate in webinars and similar online events.
- Bluetooth module – with its help you can easily connect wireless devices: headphones, mouse, and keyboard.
- Communications via wi-fi – allows you to use a third-party connection to the Internet.
Budget laptops for students
Given the configuration, you should buy such models only as a last resort (for example, if you need a device only for recording lectures and web surfing). It should be understood that the configuration of such a laptop does not meet modern requirements and it will be difficult to install modern software.
ASUS E203
This is the cheapest model in the review. Despite this, the laptop has 4 GB of RAM and a quad-core processor Intel Pentium Silver N5000 – not a bad option for the budget segment. But at the same time, in the minimum configuration, the user gets only 32 GB on the built-in flash drive (in general, the line has models with a capacity of up to 500 GB).
The screen is 11.6″, so it is more correct to call this model a netbook. The manufacturer declares that the battery provides performance for up to 10 hours (according to user reviews – about 6 hours), which further increases the functionality of this laptop.
Haier A914
This laptop has a diagonal monitor – 13,3″, which is larger than in the previous model, the color rendering here is very clear. The model has a Celeron N3350 processor and 4 GB of RAM, which is enough for both office applications and for watching educational videos. The capacity of the internal EMC drive is limited to 64 GB, which severely limits the ability to install applications (but there is a free slot for an SSD). Battery life is about 6-7 hours.
HP 14s-fq0020ur
With the price increases, the parameters of the laptop improve – here is already a 14″ monitor with anti-glare coating and good viewing angles. The SSD drives 128 GB, and 4 GB of RAM, and the processor is AMD Athlon 3020e (1200 MHz). In their reviews on the Internet, among the disadvantages of this model, users note the sagging touchpad and the noise that the coolers make, but most likely these are the peculiarities of specific instances. But all note the high performance of this laptop.
Laptops in the middle-price category
Choosing a laptop in this category must be understood that a large 17″ monitor will not only lead to a decrease in other important characteristics (internal storage capacity, etc.) but also will increase the weight of the laptop, which will significantly reduce its mobility. From this point of view 15″ are the optimal size – and looks solid, is easy to watch videos, and can be carried in a backpack.
Acer Extensa EX215-22-A2DW
This model is interesting to compare with the HP 14s-fq0020ur from the budget category. It has the same AMD Athlon 3020e processor at 1200 MHz, and 4 GB of RAM, while the monitor has a diagonal of 15″ and 256 GB on an SSD drive, which makes the purchase of such a laptop more attractive.
Lenovo IdeaPad S145-15AS
This laptop monitor size – is 15″, but compared to the previous model have improved the parameters of the processor (AMD A6-9225, 2600 MHz) and RAM (8 GB with the ability to increase up to 12 GB). There is 256 GB of memory on the internal SB storage. In principle, on the price/quality ratio, this could be one of the best models for students.
Acer ASPIRE 3 A315-34
With the price increases, the technical indicators become better. For example, this model has a diagonal monitor of 15.6″, and the amount of RAM and internal storage has not changed compared to the previous version (8 GB and SSD of 256 GB, respectively). Because of the increase in monitor size, the weight has also increased, and now this indicator counts – the Acer ASPIRE 3 A315-34 has 2.1 kg.
Lenovo IdeaPad 3 14ARE05
Another model with a diagonal of 15.6″. The highest configuration here has a 3,100GB processor, the amount of RAM can reach 16GB, and the SDD drive – 512GB. At the same time, the notebook also weighs a lot – 2.2 kg.
Prestige models
In fact, the tasks solved by these devices are beyond the limits of education, but if the user has the financial ability and desire to buy a reliable modern laptop – he should look out for these very options.
Acer Extensa 15 EX215-22G
With a 15.6″ diagonal monitor and up to 16 GB of RAM with a total capacity of SDD drive of up to 1 TB – this notebook can easily compete with a desktop computer. At the same weight is less than the above analogs with the same monitor – 1.9 kg.
HP ProBook 455 G7 2D235EA
The model has a 6-core MD Ryzen 5 4500U processor, but in many characteristics, it loses to its predecessor. There is 8 GB of RAM and an SDD capacity of 256 GB, but the same 15.6-inch screen. The high cost of the model is explained by the aluminum casing, which makes the laptop more durable.
ASUS ZenBook 15 UX534FTC-AA196T
The higher the price, the more difficult it is to pick up the features in ascending order. The limit has been reached in previous models, and the manufacturer tries to stand out with other characteristics. ASUS ZenBook 15 UX534FTC-AA196T has a body made of aluminum alloy, so the weight is 1.65 kg, given that there is a 15.6″ monitor. The other technical specifications are quite modest for this price category (8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of SDD), except for a powerful battery that provides up to 16 hours of battery life.
