Every student needs a laptop. Whether you’re taking care of business, jotting down notes during class, writing a paper or crunching numbers in a spreadsheet, or taking a break, watching YouTube videos or listening to music, your laptop is a fundamental tool.
College, university and high school students on a budget can now pick up an entry-level laptop for $200 to $400. But we think it’s worthwhile to spend at least a few hundred more to get a machine with long battery life, a substantial hard drive, and better performance and graphics. This list of the best laptops for students is based on our own hands-on use and benchmark testing.
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Note that most of our top laptops cost $500 or more. If you’re looking for something less expensive, or if you’re interested in an alternative to Microsoft Windows and Apple’s macOS, we recommend checking out our list of the best Chromebooks for students. Most are considerably less expensive but are still powerful enough to handle student-life basics such as email, getting on the internet, creating documents or working with spreadsheets — especially for those already working on Google’s apps. And the average Chromebook’s battery life is excellent.
Best MacBook for students
Apple MacBook Air (2019)
The Apple MacBook Air (2019) is not only back as Apple’s most affordable and most portable MacBook. On top of boasting Apple’s vaunted design and excellent build quality, it’s also more powerful than ever.
When it’s on sale for under $1,000, and it usually is, somewhere, we’d recommend the 2019 Apple MacBook Air to anyone. Having refreshed its most affordable laptop a couple of times over the past year, the current-generation model has some modern touches, including Apple’s beautiful Retina display, USB Type-C ports, and Touch ID, though its Intel processor is older than what you’ll find on comparably priced Windows machines.
Read more: The persistence of Chaos: World’s deadliest laptop sells for $1.3 million
Still, with a winning combination of design, performance and battery life, the Apple MacBook Air remains one of our evergreen student favorites.
- It features the latest Intel Core i5 Processor
- 8GB RAM for Fast Processing
- Spacious 128GB PCle-Based SSD
The price of MacBook Air in Pakistan is Rs. 127,500.
Best all-purpose Windows laptop for students
Dell XPS 13
If you’re committed to the Windows operating system and want a balance of portability, power, and price, it’s hard to find a better 13-inch laptop than the XPS 13. Dell has been making incremental improvements to this machine for so long that it’s hard to find a flaw. The design and components are top-notch, which is reflected in its great battery life and performance.
| Generation | 10th Generation |
|---|---|
| Processor Type | 10th Generation Core i7-10510U QuadCore Processor (4 Cores – 8 Threads) |
| Installed RAM | 16GB |
| Hard drive size | 512 GB SSD |
| SSD | 512 GB SSD |
| Screen size | 13.3” FHD (1920 x 1080) InfinityEdge Display |
| Screen resolution | 1920×1080 |
| Fingerprint Reader | Yes |
| Backlit keyboard | Full size, backlit chiclet keyboard; 1.3mm travel |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Wireless/Wifi | Yes |
| USB | Yes |
| Camera | Yes |
| Operating system (Primary) | Genuine Windows 10 Home |
Dell XPS 13 can be yours in Rs 137,999.
Best Windows 2-in-1 for students
Microsoft Surface Pro 7
The Surface Pro remains the standard-bearer for Windows devices that work as both laptop and tablet, though they’re better tablets than they are laptops. In addition to the typical great performance and battery life you can expect, the seventh edition finally gets a USB-C port.
Read more: RedmiBook 13 goes official in China along with Redmi K30!
Though the company still sells the Surface Pro without its essential Type Cover keyboard and Surface Pen included, it can frequently be found on sale, sometimes with one or both accessories.
- Processor: Intel 10th Generation Core i5
- Ram: 8GB
- Hard Drive: 256GB
- Hard Drive: 256GB
- Display: 12.3 inches
- Graphics: Intel Iris Plus Graphics
- Operating System: Windows 10 Home
The price of this machine is Rs. 122,000.
Best entry-level gaming laptop for students
Dell G5 15
Dell’s G-series deliver a smart balance of build quality, battery life, and performance, with plenty of power to play the latest AAA games. The slim, compact design masks its gaming pedigree and because it’s no longer brand-new, you’re getting a ninth-gen Intel Core processor, there are plenty of bargains to be found. This machine currently starts at around Rs131,808, and we’ve found some pretty powerful configurations on sale for around Rs155,068.
| Generation | 8th Generation |
|---|---|
| Processor Type | 8th Generation Core i7-8750H HexaCore Processor (6 Cores – 12 Threads) |
| Installed RAM | 08 GB to 32 GB |
| Hard drive size | 1 TeraByte HDD + 128GB SSD to 1TB SSD |
| SSD | 128 GB SSD |
| Dedicated graphics | Yes |
| Graphics memory | NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050 Ti with 4GB GDDR5 graphics memory |
| Type of graphics memory | Dedicated |
| Switchable graphics | Yes |
| Graphics processor | Intel |
| Backlight | LED |
| Screen size | 15.6-inch Full HD 1080p IPS Anti-Glare LED-Backlit Display |
| Screen resolution | 1920×1080 |
| Touchscreen | No |
| Fingerprint Reader | No |
| Bluetooth | Yes |
| Wireless/Wifi | Yes |
Dell G5 15 is priced at Rs. 158,000.
Most powerful gaming laptop on a student budget
Asus ROG Zephyrus S
Zephyrus S in 2018 and loved its 15.6-inch HD screen size and backlit keyboard. If you’re looking for a more serious gaming machine on a student budget, this one brings together some potent components for the price.
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB GDDR5 (Base 1395 MHz Boost 1560 MHz TDP 50W)
- Latest 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9750H Hexa-core Processor (Turbo up to 4.5GHz)
- 15.6” Full HD 1920×1080 IPS Type Display
- 8GB DDR4 2666MHz RAM | 512GB PCIe SSD | Windows 10 | Gigabit Wave 2 Wi-Fi 5
- ROG Intelligent Cooling thermal system
- Dual 12V fans, anti-dust technology, and adjustable fan modes
- ROG Aura Sync System with RGB Keyboard, Logo, and Light Bar
This gaming beast is priced around Rs. 161,500.