(Getty)
It’s pretty much impossible to have a successful college career without a reliable computer. Whether you’re heading off for your first semester, or looking for a replacement for the laptop you used last year, a solid computer can help you turn in assignments on time. Here are five of the best laptops for college students.
1. MacBook Air
(Apple)
There’s a lot about the MacBook Air that’s ideal for students. It’s extremely lightweight, making it great for students who need to lug an already-heavy backpack all over campus. It also has some great productivity tools that can help you make stunning presentations for your courses. On top of all that, it’s reliable. It might be expensive for some student budgets, but it’s worth investing a little more upfront to have a reliable laptop.
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2. ASUS Transformer Book 2-in-1 Touchscreen Laptop
(ASUS)
Can’t decide between a tablet and a laptop? With this ASUS Transformer Book, you can have both. This 2-in-1 design is ideal for working on collaborative projects, or for those days when you need to pack light before trekking into campus. This laptop works great for students, business, or just personal use around the house. For such a light device, it has surprisingly great battery life (up to 11 hours).
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3. Alienware 17
(Alienware)
If you’re planning on starting an MMORPG guild with your dorm friends this year, a gaming laptop might be quite appealing. This 17-incher’s best feature is its built-in Killer Gigabit Ethernet NIC, which prioritizes your games over other applications. Additionally, the Visual Bandwidth Control center helps you to visualize how your bandwidth is being divvied up. If you have a light course load this semester, an Alienware laptop will help you make the most of your down time.
Note: this item is no longer available. Click the link below to see a comparable Alienware model.
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4. Samsung Chromebook Notebook Exynos 5250
(Samsung)
Looking for a simple Chromebook? One model that is worth considering is this attractive unit from Samsung. Boasting a screen that’s nearly a foot wide, this big laptop feels expansive, despite some of the limitations that come with relying on ChromeOS. While it has just a 16 GB solid state drive and 2GB RAM, you can get more storage through Google Drive.
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5. Acer Aspire 13.3-Inch Touchscreen Ultrabook
(Acer)
For the college student who is taking a heavy course load and trying to graduate early, the Acer Aspire Ultrabook is a great laptop. It boasts a great blend of zippy performance and vast onboard storage. The graphics card is nothing to sniff at either, which means you can use your laptop during your downtime. The multi-touch support is a nice addition to the computer, and will definitely come in handy after an all-nighter when your brain is a little bit slow.
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