How do you choose a student laptop?
Choose a student laptop
There are many types of laptops, but how do you choose the best student laptop that suits your studies and wishes? Ask yourself the following questions:
- What are you going to study?
- Which programs are you going to use?
- Do you mainly use your laptop in 1 spot or do you want to take it to class often?
- Which screen size do you want?
What laptop inch size do you need?
Which laptop size is the most suitable for you depends on a couple of things. Do you want to bring your laptop to class often? A 13 or 14-inch laptop is the best choice for you. You'll have enough screen space to see details. Do you often work in 1 spot and do you only bring your laptop with you occasionally? A 15 or 16-inch laptop is ideal for you. On these screens, you'll see many details. This is useful for graphic design.
Student laptop for light tasks
High school
If you write reports and make presentations, a Chromebook or affordable laptop is the ideal choice for you. You can easily work in the browser version of Google Docs or Word and watch a YouTube video at the same time. You don't need a powerful laptop for these daily tasks. A Chromebook lasts a working day before you have to recharge it. in addition, a Chromebook is less susceptible to viruses thanks to the built-in security. You can safely download programs via the Play Store.
Vocational studies
Are you going to do vocational studies such as services, sports, wellness, or hospitality? You'll mainly write reports, take notes, and work in light programs. You don't need a powerful laptop for this. If you choose a Windows laptop, go for an Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5 processor. Want a MacBook? An Apple M1 chip is powerful enough. Usually, 8GB RAM is enough to perform all your tasks.
Student laptop for medium demanding tasks
Social and cultural study
For social and cultural studies, a laptop with a simple processor is often enough. For Windows, a laptop with an Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5 processor with 8GB RAM is good enough. If you want a MacBook, choose at least an Apple M2 chip. This allows you to easily work in multiple tabs in your browser without the laptop slowing down. These laptops are idea if you write reports or make presentations in Office programs such as Microsoft Word or PowerPoint.
Economic study
Do you study for an economics degree? We recommend at least an Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5 processor with 16GB RAM or higher for a Windows laptop. For an Apple MacBook, choose at least an Apple M2 chip. This allows you to easily do research in your browser while you process all your information in your Microsoft Office programs. You can smoothly switch between Microsoft Excel, your browser, and various other programs without your laptop slowing down. This way, you can effortlessly finish all your reports.
Student laptop for demanding tasks
Creative studies
With creative studies, you often work on image editing. For photo editing, we recommend an Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5 processor with 16GB RAM for Windows. For video editing, we recommend an Intel Core i7 or AMD Ryzen 7 processor. For industrial design, you need a laptop with an RTX, RX, or Quadro video card. With MacBook models, an M2 chip is strong enough for light photo and video editing. For more demanding video files, choose the M2 Pro chip. For app development or 3D edits, you need the M2 Max chip.
Technical studies
You need a powerful laptop for game designs and 3D animations. That's why we recommend a laptop with at least an Intel Core i9 or AMD Ryzen 9 processor with 16GB RAM for Windows. You also need an RTX, Quadro, or RX video card. This allows you to easily work with demanding programs like AutoCAD without your laptop slowing down. Do you want to work with multiple demanding programs at the same time? Choose a laptop with 32GB RAM. If you want an Apple MacBook, choose an M2 Pro or M2 Max chip.
Using AI during your studies?
Want to get started with AI during your studies? It's important that your laptop has enough power to perform demanding AI tasks. You need many TOPS (trillions of operations per second), so your laptop doesn't slow down while you work with AI. You can create new images with Copilot+, such as photos and videos in Adobe Photoshop, or use AI to develop code. The AI laptop ensures a better division between the power of your processor and video card. This way, you can switch between multiple demanding tasks without slowing down.
