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davidraudalesuk · 5 years ago

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The best laptops for students

The best laptops for students

1. Honor MagicBook 14: Unbeatable value for money

Price: £550 | Buy now from Amazon

For a company making its debut in laptop production, Honor's first try is nothing short of remarkable. The all-metal MagicBook 14 is nigh-on as slim and lightweight as some of the most exotic laptops on the market yet it costs hundreds of pounds less.

Frankly, it's unbelievably good for the money. You get a Full HD 1080p display that's sharp and punchy. Performance is very impressive, courtesy of an AMD Ryzen 3500U CPU and 8GB of RAM. Storage is a generous 256GB and you get a speedy PCIe NVMe SSD, too. Even battery life is up to scratch: the MagicBook lasted as long in our tests as many of its pricier rivals.

The popup webcam isn't the best with its awkward up-your-nose camera angle but we're prepared to cut this laptop some slack when the rest is so darned impressive.

Read our Honor MagicBook 14 review for full details

Key specs - Processor: Quad-core 2.1GHz AMD Ryzen 3500U; RAM: 8GB; Storage: 256GB SSD; Screen resolution: 1,920 x 1,080; Weight: 1.38kg

2. Huawei MateBook D 15: Big screen, low price

Price: £599 | Buy now from Amazon

For this price, the MateBook D 15 (2020) is nothing short of stunning value for money. Built in the same factories as the Honor MagicBook 14, the MateBook D 15 offers similar levels of performance and build, with a bigger screen for the same amount of money.

It's powered, like the MagicBook, by a Ryzen 5 3500U CPU, ensuring speed beyond its price tag, and it comes with 8GB of RAM and a capacious 256GB hard disk.

It doesn't have a touchscreen and the image quality of its 15.6in IPS screen isn't the best we've ever seen but we've seen a lot worse at this price. It's a stunning laptop for any student who wants a little extra screen real estate.

Read our full Huawei MateBook D 15 (2020) review for details

Key specs – Processor: Quad-core 2.1GHz AMD Ryzen 5 3500U; RAM: 8GB; Storage: 256GB SSD; Screen resolution: 1,920 x 1,080; Weight: 1.5kg

3. Dell XPS 13 (2020): The best laptop for students with large budgets

Price: £1,499 | Buy now from Amazon

The Dell XPS 13 (2020) may be out of the price range of many students, but for those that can afford it, it's as good as ultraportable laptops get. Like its predecessors, the 2020 model boasts a stunning design, excellent display and top-notch battery life of over 10 hours.

We reviewed a model with a 10th-generation Intel Core i7-1065G7 processor and 16GB of RAM and it proved to be a speedy performer, with impressive read and write speeds in addition to decent graphical performance. Weighing just 1.2kg, the Dell XPS 13 is ludicrously light and its Full HD+ screen is a delight to work on. Brightness reaches a peak at 600cd/m², which is extremely bright by most standards, making it a great choice for putting the finishing touches to an essay while sitting in the garden.

If you're a student lucky enough to have £1,500 to spend on a laptop, you'll be hard pushed to find a more complete package than the Dell XPS 13 (2020).

Read our full Dell XPS 13 (2020) review for more details

Key specs - Processor: 1.3-3.9GHz quad-core Intel Core i7-1065G7; RAM: 16GB; Storage: 512GB; Screen resolution: 1,920 x 1,200; Weight: 1.2kg

4. Linx 12X64: The best budget touchscreen student laptop

Price: £225 l Buy now from Amazon

If you're looking for a budget option, Linx’s 2-in-1 laptop is a nippy little performer for £200. Initially reviewed at £280, the 12X64 can now be found for £200, making it a great bargain. It’s small and weighs just 0.93kg, too. Its 12.5in body can be detached from the bundled soft keyboard cover, which allows you to use it as a tablet.

The processor delivers rather underwhelming performance, but as long as you don’t expect it to blaze through Photoshop, you shouldn’t have any glaring issues with more basic everyday apps. Despite its smaller chassis, neither the keyboard nor touchpad feel cramped and are well suited for long typing sessions. Battery life isn’t too shabby at 7hrs and 10mins, although you might want to bring your charger with you in case you'll be at uni for the entire day.

Read our full Linx 12X64 review for more details

Key specs - Processor: Quad-core 1.44GHz Intel Atom x5-Z8350; RAM: 4GB; Storage: 64GB eMMC; Screen resolution: 1,920 x 1,080; Weight: 0.93kg

5. Honor MagicBook Pro: The most powerful sub-£1000 laptop

Price: £850 | Buy now from Honor

Like the Honor MagicBook 14 at the top of this list, Honor’s new 16in offering represents astonishing value, demonstrating power to match (and in many cases, outstrip) far more expensive laptops. Its aluminium chassis is well-made and looks smart, while its speakers deliver rich audio that belies the reasonable asking price. Colour accuracy is spot-on and although the 1080p display isn’t super sharp, it covers a very respectable 98% of the sRGB colour gamut.

But without doubt, the standout feature is the performance of its AMD Ryzen 5 processor. The CPU – backed up by 16GB RAM – left the likes of the Dell XPS 15, 17in Razer Blade Pro and LG Gram 17 in its dust during our 4K media benchmark tests. The 512GB SSD proved extremely nippy too, achieving quicker read and write speeds than any laptop we’ve tested over the past year with the exception of the £2,479 Apple MacBook Pro (2019).

If you’re after premium laptop levels of performance at an affordable price, then look no further than the Honor MagicBook Pro.

Read our hands-on Honor MagicBook Pro review for details

Key specs - Processor: Hexa-core 3GHz AMD Ryzen 5 4600H; RAM: 16GB; Storage: 512GB PCIe SSD; Screen resolution: 1,920 x 1,080px; Weight: 1.7kg

Buy now from Honor

6. Microsoft Surface Go 2: A pint-sized premium 2-in-1 laptop

Price: From £399 | Buy now from Amazon

The Microsoft Surface Go 2 is a gorgeous tablet capable of functioning as an ultraportable laptop when paired with Microsoft's Type Cover keyboard, which sadly needs to be bought separately. Cheaper configurations house an Intel Pentium 4425Y processor while the pricier models house an Intel Core M3-8100Y CPU. We tested the latter, backed up by 8GB RAM, and it proved a noticeable step up in performance from the original Surface Go, handling simple tasks effectively, although it still lacks the power to tackle arduous operations.

The FHD display, on the other hand, has no such limitations. It's half an inch larger than its predecessor, is bright enough to comfortably work outside, covers over 97% of the sRGB colour gamut and sports exceptional colour accuracy. The in-built webcam is equally impressive, with exceptional image quality, highly effective auto-exposure and the ability to record video in 1080p at 30fps. On top of the great screen and webcam, microphone and speaker quality are top-notch, too. All of these smaller details make the Surface Go 2 ideal for attending virtual lectures and seminars or simply catching up with your family over Zoom while away at uni.

Read our full Microsoft Surface Go 2 review for details

Key specs – Processor: Intel Pentium 4425Y/Intel Core M3-8100Y; RAM: 4GB/8GB; Storage: 64GB eMMC/128GB SSD; Screen resolution: 1,920 x 1,080p; Weight: 540g

7. Bmax X14: The Chinese laptop for students

Price: £248 | Buy from AliExpress

Low-cost Chinese laptops are the biggest hidden secret in the laptop business. There are loads of them around and often include specifications that make you wonder how the big manufacturers charge so much.

The Bmax X14 is one of these. It isn't as cheap as the Chuwi HeroBook but, for the extra cash, it delivers far higher quality and still doesn't cost much more than an iPad.

All the essentials are here. It runs Windows 10 Home, comes with 256GB of SSD storage and 8GB RAM. The 14in Full HD touchscreen isn't the brightest but image quality is decent. The X14 also has a metal chassis that's light (1.32kg) and feels robust. the model we reviewed is run by a 1.1GHz quad-core Intel Celeron N4100 CPU, but there's a newer version powered by the slightly newer N4120, which offers a slightly higher boost clock speed.

It's hard to fault what the Bmax X14 offers for the price. It's the best cheap Chinese laptop we’ve come across; indeed, it’s among the best budget laptops around right now, and a great choice for your studies.

Read our full Bmax 14 review for full details

Key specs - Processor: Quad-core 1.1GHz Intel Celeron N4100; RAM: 8GB; Storage: 256GB SSD; Screen resolution: 1,920 x 1,080; Weight: 1.56kg

Buy from AliExpress

8. Apple MacBook Air: The iconic student laptop

Price: £999 | Buy now from Amazon

After years in the wilderness, the quintessential student laptop made its much-desired return in 2018. Prior to that redesign of the MacBook Air, Apple's fan favourite notebook had not seen any major changes since 2015 and had become outdated compared to the MacBook Pro line, as well as an increasing number of Windows alternatives.

The model we reviewed in late 2018 came with an 8th-Gen Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD storage, Retina display and TouchID all packaged in a sleek design. That model still performs well as a student laptop and but you're only likely to find it sold as refurbished these days.

However, Apple now has new 2020 models available that are similarly designed but incorporate 10th-gen Intel processors. We're yet to test them out so can't comment on how well they perform but they certainly look impressive on paper. The basic 10th-gen Intel Core i3 model houses 8GB RAM and 512GB storage, though there are various other configurations available.

Read our full review of the Apple MacBook Air (2018)

Key specs - Processor: Dual-core 1.6GHz Intel Core i5-8210Y; RAM: 8GB ; Storage: 128GB SSD; Screen resolution: 2,560 x 1,600; Weight: 1.25kg

9. Samsung Galaxy Book S: Best student laptop with Windows for ARM

Price: £999 | Buy now from Samsung

The Samsung Galaxy Book S is a beautifully designed Windows laptop that’s ideal for students seeking portability and internet connectivity wherever they are. We tested the model powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8cx ARM processor, which proved capable of handling everyday student tasks effectively and has an outstanding battery life of over 14 hours. There’s also an Intel Core i5 version available, which is likely to be a bit snappier but won’t have the same staying power.

Both include a 4G modem, weigh less than 1kg and are available in two attractive colour schemes: “earthy gold” and “mercury grey”. The 13.3in FHD touchscreen display is sharp, bright and vivid and covers a very respectable 94% of the sRGB colour gamut. Also impressive are the speakers, which are particularly well-suited to voice and video calls.

If you’re after exceptional battery life, the ARM version of the Samsung Galaxy Book S can’t be beaten for the price. If you’re not quite ready to convert to Windows on ARM but, like us, love the design of the Galaxy Book S, then you’ll want to check out the Intel Core i5 model instead.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Book S review for details

Key specs - Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx; RAM: 8GB; Storage: 256GB SSD; Screen resolution: 1,920 x 1,080;Weight: 0.96kg

Buy now from Samsung

10. Acer Swift 3 SF314-57 (2020): Portable, speedy and keenly priced

Price: £850 | Buy now from Amazon

The Acer Swift 3 (2020) is a sensible choice for students wanting an affordable laptop that strikes a nice balance between power and portability. With an Intel Core i7 processor backed up by 8GB of RAM, the Swift 3 performed snappily during day-to-day use, powering on quickly and handling numerous Chrome tabs being open with aplomb. it's also capable of playing older games with relative ease thanks to its Iris Plus Graphics GPU.

Build quality is excellent given the Swift 3's price, as is its FHD IPS display. The screen covers a highly respectable 93.7% of the sRGB colour gamut and is colour accurate, too, with a Delta E score of 1.74 (Delta E 1 is the smallest colour difference the human eye is able to perceive).

The Swift 3 isn't without its drawbacks: battery life clocked in at just over six hours during our in-house test, so you'll need to make sure you bring your charger with you if you're planning a long haul in the library. If you can look past that and the odd humming noise the laptop emits, you'll be getting a very competent, well-made machine for a competitive price.

Read our full Acer Swift 3 (2020) review for details

Key specs - Processor: 1.3-3.9GHz quad-core Intel Core i7-1065G7; RAM: 8GB; Storage: 512GB; Screen resolution: 1,920 x 1,080; Weight: 1.19kg

11. Microsoft Surface Pro 7: The best all-around Windows hybrid

Price: From £799 | Buy now from Amazon

Students that enjoy portability and versatility will find the compact form factor of the Surface Pro 7 very appealing. Like the Surface Go 2 above, this impressive tablet doubles up as a laptop when paired with Microsoft's Type Cover keyboard.

There are a number of different configurations available ranging from the £699 base model, which houses a 10th-generation Intel Core i3 processor, 4GB RAM and 128GB storage, to the £2000 model packing an Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB RAM and 1TB storage. All now include a USB-C port, which is a long-overdue addition to the Surface Pro package, and retain the integrated kickstand allows you to position the Surface Pro 7 at any angle you wish.

The Surface Pro 7's 3:2 aspect ratio 12.3in display is perfect for working on - more so than the 16:9 displays featured on most flagship ultraportables - and the graphical performance of the Core i7 model we reviewed proved far more capable than its predecessor, which will please those students that want to a bit of gaming once deadlines have been met.

Read our full Microsoft Surface Pro 7 review for more details

Key specs – Processor: Quad-core 1.3GHz Intel Core i7-1065G7; RAM: 16GB; Storage: 256GB; Screen resolution: 2,736 x 1,824; Weight: 775g

How to choose the best laptop for school, college or universityCan’t I just use any old laptop for studying?

There are a couple of pitfalls to be wary of before heading to the shops and buying the cheapest laptop you can find. First, bargain laptops on sale might look like the perfect solution, but they’re often discounted for a reason. Those laptops may simply have not been very popular, whether that's due to poor reviews or being left on the shelf in favour of better-specified rivals. Make sure to take a close look at the more recent models: they may offer more up-to-date, faster processors, more RAM or larger hard disks for similar amounts of money. It pays to check the specifications carefully before buying that online or in-store bargain.

Do I need a fast processor and loads of RAM?

Processors and RAM aren’t too important if you just want a laptop for working on �� after all, even a £200 Chromebook is good enough for Google Docs and searching the internet. However, if your course requires you to use more demanding software for photo or video editing, 3D design, or crunching databases, it’s worth putting money towards a beefier Core i5 or Core i7 CPU. More RAM – upwards of 4GB, for instance – is a good choice, too, as it means you can leave more applications and browser tabs open before your laptop

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