Exciting times, you’re off to uni! But now the decisions begin, what do you take with you? Are you taking your teddies? Are you going to take every single book on your shelf just in case? And what laptop is best for your time at uni? For each course your priorities are different, if you are studying art, obviously your priority is less on the laptop and more on a sketchpad and all your supplies.
But for the majority of cases, you need a laptop. I know you think right now you’d prefer to write in notepads, and I was like you, but when you are writing your assignments you need a good quality laptop because the university computers are not always reliable or available. So what laptop do you get? It depends on how much you are willing to spend and what is best for your course. Whether you need more memory, a better design system or a better workspace for inputting data. I have tried to include a laptop that covers all areas, hopefully, you find one to your liking.
First up is the ZenBook, a small laptop but with plenty of power, meaning it can easily run all the programs you need for your course. You can use this laptop to work on any creative projects as well as finalising business documents. An all-rounder. As you can see on the touchpad, the table of numbers allows for a quick switch from your normal keyboard to a numeric one, allowing for quick data entry. It takes some getting used to but once you have, it saves you a lot of time if you work with excel or data a lot.
There is plenty of storage for your coursework and other files as well with 512 GB, however, it is also the most expensive at £1249.00 on Curry’s website right now. Due to its petite size and lightweight, I feel like this is worth the money for a uni laptop as the backache you can get from carrying around big laptops isn’t worth it. Especially after sitting for all that time at a desk as well.
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No, I understand that this model is 2 years old and you may be wondering why I’m suggesting the older model. But Apple Macs are unnecessarily expensive, and this model is nearly identical to the latest now; so save yourself a few bucks and get this Macbook instead at £999 instead of £1299-1799. As long as you care for the laptop the way you should, it will last for years.
When I bought my Mac Book I was told by the man in the shop that it could last for around 10 years if I looked after it. Which I was achieving very well until my water bottle spilled in my bag on my way to uni and flooded my laptop. Fair to say I never kept my water bottle in my bag again after my laptop was fixed. Take this as a warning to you all, get a protective case to keep your laptop in while it’s in your bag, it could be the best decision you ever make. Because if your laptop breaks, you lose all your assignments, so invest in a case and Dropbox! Back up all your work!
Anyway… the other good thing about apple products is that it comes with built-in virus protection so you don’t have to worry about them as much. If you got a normal laptop you’d need to invest in Mcafee or other virus protection products.
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This laptop isn’t just a laptop, it is also a tablet. Very cool, no?! Its’ 360-degree hinge allows for you to flip between laptop and tablet meaning it can work for any type of student. Its custom-tuned speakers and improved screen give a cinematic experience meaning it is also great for the downtime of a student. Get Netflix on and relax for a bit.
Another feature it has is Windows Hello, this allows you to log on with just your face. So when you set up for laptop in a lecture or seminar you don’t have to waste time typing in a password, you can just get straight into it, which is great if you’ve arrived late. This laptop retails at £929.97 at Curry’s and has 512 GB storage, meaning you get the same storage as the ZenBook for a cheaper price. So are you more tempted by a tablet or by a numeric keypad?
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This laptop’s battery can last for over 16 hours, so if you are going to be away from your house for long hours or just know you are forgetful about charging things, perhaps this is the laptop for you. It is also very fast and good value for its specifications. It is a bit bigger than the other laptops, but if you prefer bigger over a smaller then go for it.
However it does have less memory than the HP or the ASUS at only 256 GB, and at £949 I start to wonder is the price worth just paying for a longer life battery. But it just depends on what type of university lifestyle you will be living, you’ll know what you need. And additional storage can always be bought in external hard drives.
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Last up is a very sleek laptop, its slim and easy to carry around uni. The cool feature with this laptop is that it is a touchscreen! Meaning it is a great laptop for those more creative courses. It also is very powerful, allowing for multiple programmes to be running at the same time and it handling it fine. So if you are someone who likes to have multiple tabs open then no worries, the Microsoft laptop can handle it. Like the Mac Book, it has 128 GB so it is on the lower side of the list, but like I said external storage can be bought. And if looked after correctly it can last for 4-5 years.
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All 5 laptops can easily cater to all general uses, but keep in mind that some will help with certain courses more than the others. For these reasons, if you were doing art or photography style courses then I would recommend one with a touch screen function as it would give you more precision on your work. However, if you require a laptop for essays or even gaming, then I would recommend the HP Pavilion.
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