When purchasing a laptop for school, it is important to consider several factors to ensure you get the right brand and model to suit your needs. This guide aims to help you with just that, so that you can then check the guide to the best laptops to find the perfect machine for you.
Find the right laptop and you can stay mobile while carrying with you all the power of a device potentially capable of letting you do whatever you need. This applies to both teachers and students. So, from word processing and presentations to image editing and gaming, the options are vast and there are many laptop options out there. This guide should help you narrow them down specifically for your needs.
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What is it for?
When purchasing a laptop for school, it is important to first consider what it will be used for. By knowing this, you'll be able to better determine which features you'll need to have and which ones are less important, so you don't waste money on specs you may never use.
So is this a laptop for students, teachers, or both? And will it be only for school use or also for personal use? In all cases, since you are considering a laptop, you will probably want it to be a mobile device, so considering how long the battery lasts will be an important part, as otherwise it may limit your mobility and freedom of movement.
If this is simply for word processing and some web browsing, then opting for a less powerful and more affordable option may suit you. But once you start considering uses like gaming, video and image editing, or heavy file manipulation, it might be worth investing more in processing power.
Consider the operating system as well, as one that works with your school could make life easier, whether it's Windows, Chrome OS, or macOS.
Show
Since everything on your laptop is viewed through the screen, display quality can be an important consideration. That said, if you're going to be constantly using output to a projector or interactive whiteboard display, then there may be little use for the laptop screen.
Since the screen can vary considerably in price, make sure you know what you need. A larger screen can make it easier to work on spreadsheets or multiple windows at once. But that also means spending more, often losing battery life, and costing you up front for that extra viewing space.
If you plan to use this for watching movies and/or gaming, you may want to consider higher resolutions, HDR support, and refresh rates as factors. Just expect to pay a lot more as these features are added to the setup.
Speed and storage
For the fastest response time, shortest loading waits, and best multitasking possible, you'll want more processing power and RAM. Simply put, the more these numbers go up, the more the price goes up. So be clear about what you really need.
Unless you're gaming or editing videos, a more basic setup might be fine. That means something like an Intel i3 or i5 processor combined with 8GB or 16GB of RAM should be enough.
If you are going to use this for gaming or intensive processing, you may also want to consider a graphics card. Smaller laptops and portable computers usually have integrated graphics processing, so this may be more than just a price increase, but also a size increase, in case you want to add that independent graphics processing unit as well.
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Connectivity
A laptop is great for keeping you portable, but if you can't connect to screens and other devices as needed, it can become less useful. That is why connectivity must be considered.
Mainly, you'll want to think about Wi-Fi, as it connects you to the Internet and any school network options. Wifi 6 and above should get you maximum speeds and the widest connectivity compatibility in most situations.
Bluetooth can also be useful as a way to connect wirelessly to external devices such as headphones, projectors, speakers, and more. Bluetooth 5.0 or newer will be more than enough to connect to almost any device and do so while keeping battery consumption to a minimum.
Also consider its ports, with output options via cables and flash drives to share files or connect to an external display, without the need for wireless connectivity. It's also worth thinking about the type of charger so you can assess whether you'll need to carry one with you or whether it will work with what the school already has available.
Prices
The cost of purchasing a laptop for school can vary greatly depending on what you need. Spending more can mean a laptop that lasts you longer as the processing power is greater and the brand is potentially more reliable than opting for a cheaper option. Therefore, it is also worth considering the distribution of that increased cost over a longer period.
Do you need a laptop or a 2-in-1 that can also be used as a touchscreen tablet? This can greatly affect the price, so if you don't need additional features, save that extra money to purely increase processing power.
You may also want to consider other costs beyond the laptop, including a laptop bag, a mouse and keyboard, and perhaps some headphones.
