Guide to Your New Laptop

Heading for your first year at college? A resident 4th year maybe? Wherever you may be on your road to a higher education you'll need the right tools to back you up. Nearly anyone can tell you that having a computer for college is vital. With so many options on the market it can be a bit intimidating narrowing down your choices. Start with a few of our recommendations and you'll know you've made a great choice.


1.) Best Value

Acer Chromebook 14 - $349.99

• CPU: 1.6 GHz Intel Celeron N3160 processor (quad-core, 2MB cache, up to 2.24GHz)
• Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 400.
• RAM: 4GB LPDDR3.
• Screen: 14-inch 1,920 x 1,080 display.
• Storage: 32GB solid state drive.
• Ports: 2 x USB 3.0, HDMI, headphone jack.

Coming in at $350 this is the best bang for your buck no compromise laptop you can buy. At 14" and weighing at 3.42 pounds you can fit this thing anywhere and the 14 hour battery life can keep up with even the most hardcore power user. For a student on a limited budget this bad boy can handle any day to day usage you can throw at it.


2.)  Best Windows

Dell XPS 13 - $959.99

• CPU: 2.3GHz Intel Core i5-6200U (dual-core, 3MB cache, up to 2.8 GHz with Turbo Boost)
• Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 520
• RAM: 8GB LPDDR3 (1,866MHz)
• Screen: 13.3-inch QHD+ (3,200 x 1,800) InfinityEdge touch display
• Storage: 256GB PCIe SSD

If money is no object and you're looking for the very best of the windows world then look no further than the Dell XPS 13. Priced at just under $1000 this beauty represents power in a small frame. Packing anIntel Core i5-6200u, this laptop can take anything you dish out and then some. Build quality and fit/finish rival its apple counterpart for a much lower price. 

3.) Best Apple

Apple Macbook 2016 - $1,549

• CPU: 1.1GHz dual-core Intel Core m3 (Turbo Boost up to 2.2GHz) with 4MB shared L3 cache
• Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 6000
• RAM: 8GB 1866MHz LPDDR3
• Screen: 12-inch, LED-backlit display with IPS technology (2304-1440 Resolution)
• Storage: 256GB PCIe-based flash storage

Lo and behold the creme de la crop of MacBooks. New for 2016 with a throwback to its original namesake is the MacBook. Made of aluminum and at just 0.5 inches at its thickets point, this makes for a razor thin laptop. While not as powerful as its rivals in the same price range, the MacBook makes up for it in its seamless design and layout and its user intuitive Os. Overall the new MacBook is an extremely compelling laptop and if you must have apple then this will be your go to.

Life as a student can be tough. You never know what college is going to throw at you. Pick one of our recommendations and your career as a student just got a hell of alot easier.

Disagree with what we chose or have any recommendations of your own? Leave a comment down below!