What Laptop Should I Buy for College? (2012 Edition)

Welcome to our 2012 Edition of What Laptop Should I Buy for College!  Choosing the right laptop for school is an important decision, a lot of school work you do will be produced and submitted electronically so a laptop that helps you to work efficiently can make you more productive and successful in school.  Think of choosing the right laptop as choosing the right tool for the job, making the right decision can make the work a whole lot easier.  Several factors go into making a laptop well suited for students, budget is obviously a big concern but with the power of todays laptops you can get a lot of performance for a reasonable price, and there’s no need to spend $1,000.  Here’s a set of guidelines to follow in choosing a laptop that is well suited for college:

1. Screen Size and Weight – The most popular screen size laptop on the market is between 15 and 16-inches, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best size for the average college student.  An average 15-inch screen laptop weighs over 5lbs and combine that weight with a bag full of textbooks and you might as well pre-schedule an appointment with a chiropractor, your back will be hurting.  Add to that the fact lecture hall desks are often tiny and the footprint of a 15” laptop will not fit and you’ll see that a more prudent screen size laptop for on campus is between 11” and 14” — a nice portable size and big enough for comfortable screen viewing.
2. Long Battery Life – There’s a good chance you’ll have some lectures that last for 3 or more hours or have the need for a laptop to last you through back to back classes without the ability to plug in your laptop. If your laptop only has a couple of hours of battery life then you’ll be out of luck for taking notes or referencing material on your laptop when the battery conks out. It’s very important to get a laptop with at least 4 hours of battery life on a single charge, and if not make sure your laptop has a replaceable battery and take a spare battery with you.
3. Manufacturer Reliability and Support – When you buy a laptop you’re also buying into a brand so you should research what the support and warranty will be like from that company.  If you get unlucky and your laptop has problems it will be important to get help and have it fixed fast so that you don’t lose productivity.  A strong manufacturer warranty and a reputation of good support are important items to consider.
4. Durable Build Quality – It might be tempting to get a $300 laptop made entirely of plastic, but such laptops might not survive the rigors of campus.  Consider that the laptop will likely be smashed into a tightly packed bag, jostled around as you walk around campus and repeatedly pulled in and out of a bag and placed on desks and you can see how something built durably is a necessity.  Look for features such as metal casing or internal chassis that make a laptop more sturdy.
5. Cool running– The number one cause of laptop failure over time is heat buildup that leads to parts getting stressed and eventually breaking. Heat is bad for a laptop and also bad for your comfort if it’s sitting in your lap! Do your research and make sure to get a laptop that uses superior cooling techniques and components that use less power as that translates to less heat. A mid-range dual core mobile processor and integrated or switchable graphics are often good component choices. Don’t get the fastest processor and graphics card you can find, they generally create a lot more heat and use a lot more power.
6. Modern Dual Core Processor – Processor technology has come a long way in recent years and the latest laptop processors from Intel and AMD are great choices.  Look for either Intel Core i3, Core i5 or AMD VISION branded processors to know you’re getting the latest technology and something well suited for student needs.

These guidelines are all very nice, but it still leaves a sea of laptop choices to wade through.  So now we’ll offer some concrete choices of laptops in varying budget ranges that fit all of the guidelines we’ve laid forth.

$300 – $500 Recommended Student Laptops

HP dm1z 11.6-inch screen laptop  The HP Pavilion dm1z is a small laptop with an 11.6-inch screen, the price starts at $379.99 if you use an HP student discount that’s available. You can find a full review of the latest HP dm1z model here where the author concludes it is an excellent laptop for the price.   The new AMD Fusion processor provides good performance and supports battery life of up to 7-hours.  The light weight of under 4-lbs and thin form factor of around 1” make it very easy to tote around.  It also has desirable features such as an HDMI video out port if you like easily connect to an external monitor or LCD TV to view video or simply have more viewing space to do work.  It does not have an optical drive, so for those that like to be able to put a DVD or CD into a laptop for playback this could be a negative.

Lenovo ThinkPad X120e The ThinkPad X120e from Lenovo is almost exactly the same specs wise as the aforementioned HP dm1z.  The major difference is that the build quality of the ThinkPad is slightly better, making it more rugged for on campus use.  It also has a pointing stick on the keyboard that some people prefer over the traditional touchpad. The ThinkPad X120e starts at $449.99 on Lenovo.com.   The ThinkPad X120e is so close in features to the HP dm1 that you should just choose whichever design appeals to you best, the all black business oriented ThinkPad or slightly more stylish HP dm1.  All else aside these laptops are close competitors and generally sell for about the same amount unless there’s a big sale.

Dell Inspiron 14R – The Dell Inspiron 14R is a portable budget laptop that definitely fits the mold for a student laptop.  It sports the latest Intel Core i3 and Core i5 processor technology, has 4-hour battery life, four color options, bright HD 720p display and of course the latest Windows 7 operating system.  Dell allows you to configure the Inspiron 14R to your hearts content on their site, but simply taking the base level specs will provide for a laptop that is powerful enough for your computing needs and have all of the necessary ports.  You can find a student perspective review of the Dell Inspiron 14R here.

Best $500 – $700 Laptops for 2011 Student Laptop

ThinkPad Edge E420  The ThinkPad Edge E420 starts at $549.99 on Lenovo.com right now with a Core i3 configuration and the Core i5 starts at $649.  The Edge E420 is a 14” screen laptop, a great size for students as it is portable at a starting weight of 4.5lbs, but still has a generous sized screen.  The ThinkPad Edge E420 features a professional looking design with the iconic all black ThinkPad case and red nub pointing stick but has some consumer style touches such as a chiclet style keyboard and red light on the lid.  Unlike some other enterprise focused ThinkPads the E420 does come with an HDMI port so you can easily hook up the laptop to an LCD TV.  The port selection also includes 3 USB 2.0 ports, 1 eSata port, Ethernet port, VGA port and media card reader.   The battery life is around 4 hours with the standard battery, not bad for this sized laptop.   It has a user removable battery so you can easily carry a spare if necessary.  The screen has a matte finish which is great as it makes it non-reflective.  You can read a review of the ThinkPad Edge E420 here.

Asus U31SD-XAH31 The Asus U31SD is a 13.3” screen laptop powered by the Intel Core i3-2330m 2.2GHz processor and featuring the Nvidia 520m graphics card.  Asus claims up to 9 hours of battery life with this sporty little laptop, enough to keep you going on campus all day long.  The 3.7 pounds of weight won’t weigh you down on campus and since it’s about 1-inch thin it should slip into your backpack nicely.  The overall specs are impressive for the laptops size, you get 4GB of RAM, 500GB hard drive, media card reader, Bluetooth built-in, web camera built-in and all important HDMI output port.  The U31sd also has a sleek brushed aluminum design for an understated professional look.

HP Pavilion dm4t  The HP Pavilion dm4t 14-inch laptop features the 2nd generation of Intel Core i5 processors and has a starting price of $532 with the HP Academic discount. The dm4t weighs in at 4.3lbs and has 5 – 6 hours of battery life depending on usage so it’s a fairly portable laptop. The dm4t is constructed using a durable aluminum chassis and has an attractive brush metal finish with either umber brown or silver color finish. All of the necessary ports are included such as HDMI, 2 USB 3.0 ports, Ethernet and VGA port. The base level specs are good, you get an Intel Core i3 2.3GHz processor, 6GB RAM, and 640GB hard drive.  There are also lots of nice upgrade options such as a higher resolution 1600 x 900 screen, AMD HD 7470m graphics card and a backlit keyboard options.  Other things such as up to Core i7 faster processor, RAM or even SSD storage are options for upgrades.

Best $700 – $900 Laptops for 2011 Student Laptop

Sony VAIO SB  The Sony 14” screen VAIO SB starts at $799.  It’s a great laptop in terms of design and build quality, you can get it in four different colors of black, blue, pink or white.  Sony also allows for custom engraving free of charge on the VAIO SB if you like something a little unique.  The overall look of the VAIO SB is professional and clean so it would be well suited for engineering or business major types.   Outside of the design aspect, the specs on the Sony VAIO SB are very good. It offers the latest Intel Core i5 2nd generation processor, has built-in AMD Radeon graphics, and is highly mobile at only 4lbs and a 1-inch thin design.   For a slightly higher price you can get the Sony VAIO SA model that starts at $999 and has a higher resolution 1600 x 900 screen and slightly better build quality.  We recently wrote a review of the Sony VAIO SA and found it to be a great choice as a student laptop.

Lenovo ThinkPad T420 The base level ThinkPad T420 starts at $764 on Lenovo.com which is an amazing price for an enterprise durably built laptop.  While the on paper tech specs for the T420 are not amazing compared to similar priced laptops, the build quality of the T420 is superior.  It’s a very rugged laptop with strong hinges, case and internal skeleton to protect internal components if a laptop is dropped.  There are a lot of nice upgrade options on the T420, such as a higher resolution screen, fast Intel Core i7 processor and SSD storage.  However, the upgrades will cost you extra and quickly put you over the $900 price point if you go crazy.   Even without any upgrades the T420 is well equipped for student needs and is sure to last you 4-years of campus rigor.  You can see a our review of the ThinkPad T420 to find out more.

Toshiba Portege R830 / R835 The Toshiba Portege R830 is a 13.3” screen notebook that comes packed with just about every technology you’ll need for an amazing $799 starting price tag.   You can also get the Toshiba R835 which is simply a pre-configured model of the R830.   The Portege R835 weighs only 3.3lbs and is only 1.1” thin, so it’s highly portable.  The battery life comes in at up to 9 hours if you’re conservative with usage, but 6 – 7 hours under more normal usage.  Some outstanding features to mention are it has both USB 3.0 and eSata ports for your choice of fast transfer technology ports.  Also included is a DVD burner, quite rare for a 13” laptop these days, and especially at this low weight.  The $799 version has the latest Intel Core i3 processor while slightly more expensive versions have an Intel Core i5.  You get 4GB of RAM and a 640GB hard drive, plenty for most people.  Add to that an outstanding design, built-in web camera, embedded 4G WiMax capability, durable magnesium alloy casing, media card reader and spill resistant keyboard and the $799 price tag seems all the more incredible.  You can find our review of the Toshiba R830 here.

Best $900 – $1,200 Student Laptops for 2011

Apple MacBook Pro 13.3” Apple has been a big name in education since the company started back in the 1980’s and to this day you still see a huge number of Mac computers being used on campus. The MacBook Pro 13-inch laptop is well suited for campus due to its portable form factor, stable and user friendly Mac OS and of course its simply beautiful looks and quality design.  The latest MacBook Pro has the new Sandy Bridge family Intel Core i5 processors and a Thunderbolt port for fast data transfer with peripherals.  The built-in camera is HD quality for amazing video chat capabilities.  The base level 13.3” MacBook Pro starts at $1,199 but if you go through the Apple Education store, open to any higher level learning student, you can get 10% off the pricing.  An extra feature that I just love on the MacBook Pro is the backlit keyboard, it’s just so nice in rooms with poor lighting to have illuminated keys – plus it looks very cool.

Dell XPS 15 (L502) Though not suited to lugging around campus, if you just need a powerful laptop for your desk at home the XPS 15 is a strong option thanks to its highly capable Nvidia 540m graphics option, Intel Core i7 processor, and high quality hi-resolution screen option.  You can also get high end options such as a 256GB SSD, Blu-Ray Writer and Full High-def 15.6” B+RGLED 1920×1080 display – one of the best notebook displays on the consumer laptop market.   When you add all the bells and whistles the XPS 15 can become a very expensive and very impressive machine.  Configuring something in the $1,000 range will get you a very capable multimedia  and gaming machine that’ll also of course have no problems blazing through any school related work you can throw at it.

Lenovo ThinkPad X220 If you’re going to be taking a laptop all around campus and need something that’s ultraportable and well built then look no further than the 12” screen ThinkPad X220.  The ThinkPad X220 is an enterprise class laptop from Lenovo targeted at business buyers, but if you want one laptop that can work for you both at home and on campus and take school seriously then  you need something reliable as much as a business person does.  The ThinkPad X220 comes with the latest Intel Core i3 or i5 processor so it’s a fully powered laptop, no sacrifices with performance despite its ultraportable status.  Best of all the weight is only 3lbs and battery life is over 7-hours with a standard battery and up to 13 hours with the 9-cell extended life battery.  If you want a high-end IPS display, same as the Apple iPad 2 has, you can also make that upgrade on the X220.  Pricing for the X220 starts at $899.

Student Discounts on Laptops

Before you hit the buy button at any online retailer for computers it’s good to check if they offer a student discount.  Many of the major manufacturers for computers do, so here’s a quick list of how to access the student discount portal:

• Dell University – offers around 5 – 10% discount on Dell computers
• HP Academy – offers around 8% discount on most HP computers
• Lenovo Student Discount – Lenovo gives a 5% discount to students on most products
• Apple Student Discount – Apple offers around 10% off Mac products to students
• Sony Education Store – Get up to 10% off Sony VAIO laptops

Conclusion

College can be hard, choosing the right laptop shouldn’t be, but with all the choices out there in 2012 and the stiff competition among manufacturers choosing a laptop can become overwhelming.  Hopefully this guide serves to help you narrow those choices down, any of the laptops highlighted will serve you well throughout college.  And if you find another laptop not mentioned here that meets the guidelines we set forth then you should feel comfortable knowing you’re making a good decision.