Best Laptop For Online School | 2021 Unrivaled Guide

You are a student and you often need to use the computer on the go, for various needs. For this reason, you have thought about buying a laptop , but you don’t know where to turn your gaze, how much to spend and which brand to direct yourself to. In short, you need advice on this and you have well thought of doing an online search to dispel your doubts. Did I guess? Well then I’d say you’ve come to the right place at the right time!

In today’s guide, in fact, I will explain in detail which are the best laptops for students . In particular, I will carry out an examination of all the main components found in a laptop (another term by which laptops are defined, that is, laptops), providing you with all the information you need to make your purchase wisely. In addition, there will be space for my advice on the models to buy, that is, the ones that I think are most valid for a student. On the other hand, I’ve been there too and I know how difficult the choice can be, given the quantity of models on the market.

What do you say? Are you ready to step into the world of student-friendly laptops? In my opinion, yes, since you’ve made it this far and you seem particularly motivated to make your choice. Come on then, all you have to do is take some time for yourself, get comfortable and follow the directions below, which will lead you directly to your goal. That said, there is nothing left for me to do but wish you good reading and good luck for your school career!

Best Laptop For Online School

Before pointing out what, in my opinion, are the best laptops for students , I think it might interest you to learn more about what are the main aspects to consider when buying a laptop. Below you will find all the relevant information

Best Laptop For Online School | Comparison Table 2021

Prices and images pulled from the Amazon Product Advertising API on:

Best Laptop For Online School | 2021 Products Overview And Guide

Laptop For Online School must have the following characteristics

Format

Even before the technical characteristics, it is worth taking a look at the format of the laptop you want to buy. Contrary to what one might think, this aspect is very important and can particularly affect the convenience offered by the laptop. It is not just a matter of size and weight , but also of experience of use . A traditional laptop can be powerful, but it may not offer the same convenience as a 2-in-1, which also allows it to be used as a tablet . It is therefore good to pay attention to this aspect: below you will find all the details on the main formats of laptops available on the market.

• notebook or laptop : the classic laptops, those with clamshell closure considered the standard by many people. There are myriads of very different models and the market offers solutions for all budgets. In the past, the difference between laptops and laptops was linked to size, since the former used to be indicated in this way because of their excellent portability, while the latter were called so as they are larger models. To date, no distinction is made between notebooks  and laptops , since these terms are used almost interchangeably.
• Ultrabook : their peculiar feature lies in the very small size . The body, however, has a form factor similar to that of traditional laptops, since there is a clamshell closure . The case clearly fails to contain the same components as a larger laptop. In some cases, low voltage processors are implemented to reduce power consumption and heat loss. Typically, these laptops use sophisticated materials , from aluminum alloys to magnesium. Generally speaking, the price to take home an ultrabook is higher than that of a traditional laptop.
• Detachable (2-in-1) : they are called in this way because they are a sort of middle ground between the world of laptops and that of tablets . They are in fact composed of two parts , that of the screen usually has all the components necessary for the operation of the computer, while that of the keyboard integrates all the USB ports for storage expansion and connection of external devices. The two parts can be combined and used like a traditional laptop, but the screen can be detached and used as if it were a tablet, thanks to the touch-screen display .
• Convertibles (2-in-1s) : laptops known for their flexibility . The screen can in fact rotate 360 degrees and is touch-screen . This means that you can store the keyboard in the back of the laptop and use the laptop as if it were a tablet . Obviously, this solution also guarantees the user other possibilities, such as the curtain mode used mainly for the reproduction of multimedia contents.
• MacBook : If you hear this term, it does not mean that you are talking about a laptop that is technically different from the others. We are simply talking  about Apple’s laptops , which have the proprietary macOS operating system  and not the classic Windows. For the rest, however, they do not have particular characteristics, neither for functionality nor for form factor, compared to laptops of other brands. The asking price to take these products home is high, but these are laptops designed down to the smallest detail and built with quality materials . The brand, now known all over the world, should not be underestimated.
• Chromebook : this term refers to laptops that use the Chrome OS operating system . The latter is in some ways closer to the world of mobile devices than to that of PCs, since it is mainly based on the range of services offered by Google and Android applications. Usually, Chromebooks are cheap and are aimed at those who have no special needs and maybe just browse the web and manage documents.

Display

It is well known that a student needs to write and read a lot, as well as to watch graphics, videos and many other  multimedia contents. For this reason, choosing a laptop with a good display  and also having the right size for your needs is of fundamental importance. Speaking of resolution , it is usually good to stick to Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels), which is a cross between simple HD (1366 x 768 pixels or 1280 x 720 pixels) and Ultra HD 4K (3840 x 2160 pixels) . The first is not enough to see how multimedia contents should be, while the second is often exaggerated for the uses that a student can make of it. As for the screen size, ranging from around 10 inches to as high as 18 inches , it’s all a matter of preference.

Some may prefer a large screen to better watch videos and manage operations that require more precision, while others may want to bet everything on portability. It is usually best not to go beyond 15 inches , as a student often needs to put the laptop in the backpack anyway . Another thing: do not make the mistake of thinking that size and resolution are always linked: this is not true and you may find laptops with large screens at low resolution. In short, be careful and evaluate all the options well . Below you will find the classic screen sizes offered by the laptop market.

• From 10 to 12 inches : these are often convertible or detachable , laptops that are usually referred to with the term 2-in-1 , as they can be used both as a laptop and as a tablet. We are talking about easily transportable models , which often have a low weight and can be easily stored in the backpack . Put simply, we are talking about hybrid laptops that usually have Windows. The performances, in general, are not the best, but surely this solution can be very useful for that type of student who does not need to carry out particularly expensive actions in terms of resources.
• From 13 to 14 inches : many believe they are the right compromise between portability and performance . A cross between 10 or 12-inch convertible / detachable and traditional 15-inch laptops. They are not too difficult to carry and often have technical characteristics that are close to those offered by 15-inch laptops.
• 15 inches : the classic laptops, or the ones we usually see around. They are the most popular on the market and are considered the standard by many people, as the size of the screen allows you to easily carry out all the necessary activities, from document management to gaming. All this, however, is not too difficult to transport. Usually this solution is chosen because it is also the one that offers more possibilities, since there are 15-inch laptops for all budgets.
• From 17 to 18 inches : although they are usually not very suitable for a student due to their poor portability, it is still good to talk about the existence of these laptops defined as “desktop replacement” . As the name suggests, the models involved are able to replace a traditional desktop PC thanks to their high performance and are mainly aimed at those who want to focus on gaming or have special needs related to operations that do not allow compromises. They can hardly be transported and often have a considerable weight, but it could still be an interesting solution in certain contexts.

Hardware components

The data sheet is obviously an aspect of fundamental importance to judge the goodness of a laptop. Although a student does not often have the needs of a professional and can therefore also be satisfied with medium / low range solutions , it is still good to understand what are the solutions offered by the market to be able to aim for the best laptop possible . On the other hand, the speed of execution of the apps , the available ports , the presence of the webcam and the autonomy depend on the internal components., just to name a few of the parameters a student should consider when buying a laptop. Below you will find all the information about the components to be taken into consideration.

• CPU (processor) : If I had to use a few words to describe this component, I would say that it is the brain of the computer . Its activities are in fact those related to calculations and data processing through the calculation units called core . The laptops on the market usually integrate a multi-core processor, often Quad-Core (therefore an SoC that has 4 computing units available). However, there are also other solutions on the market, from Octa-Core to Six-Core . Calculation units usually operate at equal frequencies , expressed in GHz. It can also happen, however, that there are CPUs that have computing units operating at different frequencies. In any case, what interests us is that these frequencies represent the raw power of each individual processor unit. Furthermore, the higher the number of cores , the greater the ability to operate with multiple tasks at the same time . The processor market has long been essentially in the hands of two companies, Intel and AMD. Below you will find the main CPU families.
  • Intel Core i3 / i5 and AMD Series A : These are the processors most used by mid – range laptops . They are seen as an excellent compress, thanks to their good relationship between performance and consumption. To find your way around these CPUs, you also need to know that Intel Core i3 processors are cheaper than Core i5, but the latter guarantee higher performance.
  • Intel Core i7 / i9 and AMD Ryzen : designed for those who really want to aim for the top , these processors are the high-end of the market and guarantee the user everything he is looking for in terms of performance. Difficult to give you a golden rule to choose between these processors, but you should know that Intel processors are usually praised for performance and consumption, while AMD SoCs are appreciated above all for their low cost.
  • Intel Celeron / Pentium and AMD E Series : Made to meet the needs of those who can’t afford too much for a laptop, these CPUs come with laptops that don’t cost too much and often offer below-average performance . However, the processors are still “calibrated” to be able to carry out the most common operations , from simply surfing the Web to running the least demanding programs in terms of resources.
  • Intel Atom or AMD Micro : If you need a certain kind of autonomy , you should take a look at the laptops that are equipped with these processors. In fact, their focus is on energy saving and usually they are interesting solutions for those who often do not have a power outlet available during the day.
  • Intel Core m : a compromise between performance and autonomy , a sort of middle ground between the Intel Atom and the Intel Core. They consume little and have overall good performance. Laptops with these processors can certainly be of interest to a student.
  • ARM: ARM architecture is not a new reality for electronics and information technology. In this case, however, only in recent years have the most important brands decided to use this family of microprocessors not only in smartphones or tablets, but also in laptops. Their characteristic is to perform all functions (even with high performance) with low power consumption. An advantage that makes them suitable for use on ultra-thin laptops (in some cases even without a cooling system without fans) but also in desktop computers. To most sensationally implement these chips in its computers was Apple, with its Apple Silicon chips (eg M1), capable of providing superior performance to many Intel and AMD processors with significantly lower consumption. ARM SoCs are however also present in some products with Windows and are destined to be increasingly protagonists of the market. But beware that they require dedicated software, programs written for X86-X64 processors run in emulation, therefore with potential drops in terms of performance.
• GPU : defined as a visual processor , this is the component that is used to complete all the graphics processing . In many laptops the GPUs are integrated in the same package as the processor, but if you have particular needs, especially in terms of gaming, 3D modeling, video editing or high-level photo editing, you should aim for a dedicated video card (with its own RAM memory ). The integrated solutions are good in many cases, since they are economical and consume less, but the integrated cards guarantee more power and are able to run heavier applications. The main manufacturers of dedicated video cards are AMD and Nvidia .
• RAM : is the volatile memory where data is temporarily “stored” to be used by the computer when it is needed. Generally speaking, a laptop with more RAM is able to open multiple applications at the same time without performance problems. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you just need a lot of memory of this type to have a powerful laptop, but you still need to have a CPU that can handle the workload. A standard value that can be fine is 8GB , but if you have particular budget restrictions and don’t have to make advanced uses of the laptop, you might be satisfied with 4GB as well .
• Storage : non-volatile storage devices , i.e. memories in which the computer saves all that data that remains accessible even after restarting the laptop . Below you will find all the relevant information on the different types of storage.
  • SSD : the fastest memories . A solid state drive can make your laptop load programs and operating system faster. The improvements over a common hard drive often make themselves felt, since many use SSDs to “revitalize” old PCs. We are also talking about silent units and able to withstand more shocks . Clearly the price is higher, with the same capacity, compared to that of common hard drives. The existence of various types of SSDs should not be underestimated. The PCIe (often formed M.2 ) are generally faster, while SATA III they are slower, although their performance is still excellent.
  • eMMC : these are flash memories , or those that we have come to know mainly with USB sticks and SD cards. They are mainly used in entry-level laptops , in those inexpensive models that are purchased by those who do not have a large budget. The performances are configured in the medium / low range and are lower than those offered by SSDs. Despite this, the low cost usually makes this memory an attractive solution.
  • Hard disk : the good old traditional mechanical disks , better known as “hard disks”. They can’t quite keep up with solid state drives in terms of speed, but they often come at a low cost that might still make them attractive. The main aspect to watch out for in this case is the rotational speed of the disks , which typically ranges from around 5400 to 7200 rpm . Trivially, the higher this value, the higher the read and write speeds . To give you a concrete example, program uploads with a 7200 rpm hard drive they may be faster than those guaranteed by a 5400 rpm hard drive.
• Battery : The component that allows you to use the laptop even when it is not connected to the power outlet . The classification is carried out taking into consideration the number of milliampere hours (mAh) and the number of cells available . It is important to note that the autonomy also depends a lot on the laptop, since there are countless hardware components on the market and often it is also the software optimization that makes the difference. Put simply, don’t think that the same battery lasts the same time in all laptops. However, generalizing, we can say that the higher the mAh number, the longer the durationof a system. In some, the specifications of the battery may be indicated in Wh and V . To find the mAh , you must then divide the Wh by the Volts and multiply the result by 1000 .
• Ports : Speaking of connectivity, laptops on the market can have a myriad of different configurations. Generally, the ports that are almost always present are the USB ones , which are found in the classic format (USB A, that of the keys) or in other more compact ones (microUSB, miniUSB or USB Type-C , which you have probably heard about in smartphone field). There are also standards related to the maximum data transfer speed . To give you a concrete example, the USB 3.1 ports of the second generation are able to transfer data up to 1250 MB / sec , while those USB 2.0 go up to60MB / sec . As you can guess, the difference is clear and it is therefore worth taking a careful look at these specifications as well. For the rest, laptops often have Ethernet ports (100 Mbps Fast Ethernet or 1 Gbps Gigabit Ethernet) to connect the laptop to a cable network , and HDMI and / or DisplayPort, which are used to connect to a external monitor. As for wireless connectivity, therefore connecting to a wireless network, pay attention to the fact that the laptop supports Wi-Fi 802.11 (no ac, even dual band with support for 2.5 and 5GHz frequencies) and Bluetooth . Some high-end laptops, such as Apple’s MacBooks, have Thunderbolt 3  ports which have the classic form of USB-C but can be used for the most varied purposes: to recharge the computer, to connect external memory units and transfer data at very high speed, to connect the computer to external displays and more.
• Other components : Unlike a desktop PC, a laptop is a “360 degree” device. For this reason, it is very important to pay attention to the keyboard as well , since the latter can have island , mechanical (mainly suitable for gaming) or membrane keys and may or may not have backlighting . Do not underestimate the presence of the webcam (useful, for example, to make video calls), an optical drive and a card reader for reading and writing SD cards .
• Materials : Build solidity is very important and is a factor to take into consideration if you want to buy a durable laptop. On the other hand, a student’s laptop can encounter unpleasant inconveniences and it is therefore good to take the necessary precautions. In particular, you should know that laptops can use different materials for the casing and the display shell . Usually, the less expensive models make use of polycarbonate. The latter is a less resistant and unpleasant to the touch material compared to aluminum or metal alloys that are instead found in higher-end laptop .

Operating system

The operating system is the software that interfaces with the hardware to make everything work as it should . This is one of the most important parameters on which to base your choice in terms of laptops. In fact, a student needs to use programs which are often standard for all schools. This means that you can hardly get away from laptops that have Windows or at most macOS . Count that a good percentage of the user experience depends on the OS, as the hardware could essentially act as a paperweight without it. Just to give you a concrete example, in the midst of the myriad of tasks performed by the operating system, thedriver management to exploit peripherals is done by the OS itself. The operating systems on the market have important differences , from compatible programs to the interface . Of course, there are obviously some common aspects, such as support for “standard” files (for example JPGs for photos or AVI for videos), but you have to keep in mind that the differences are several. Below you will find all the details about the operating systems on the market.

• Windows : the most popular solution on the market. A student is on the safe side with Microsoft’s operating system, as it implements all the functionality a user of this type needs. The most popular applications are compatible, and Windows 10 is now pre-installed on most laptops. Pay attention to the S Mode edition of Microsoft’s operating system, as it only allows you to install applications downloaded from the Microsoft Store and could therefore limit you from this point of view.
• macOS : only available on MacBooks , is Apple’s official operating system . It offers almost everything you might need “out-of-the-box”, is compatible with many popular applications (eg Office and the Adobe suite), but some specific software available for Windows may not be available (forcing the ‘user to virtualization or dual boot installation of the Microsoft operating system). It is appreciated by students who love ease of use and have a certain budget to be able to buy laptops from the Cupertino company.
• ChromeOS : The operating system found on Chromebooks . Its focus is mainly on the cloud and the main applications available are the classic ones offered by Google . We could say that it is an OS that is in some ways closer to the world of mobile devices rather than that of computers, placing itself in the middle between the two types of products. I recommend that you find out about the possibilities offered by ChromeOS before buying a laptop with this operating system.
• Android : known mainly for its use in the smartphone field, the operating system of the green robot has now landed on a myriad of devices, including laptops. On the other hand, it is a very customizable OS and some manufacturers have therefore thought of using it also in this market. The main compatible applications are those available on the Google Play Store , just like with mobile devices. Before proceeding with the purchase, I therefore recommend that you take a look at the software park . In many cases, Android applications can also be installed on ChromeOS.

Those mentioned are the main solutions on the market, but you may also find yourself facing laptops that say FreeDOS . Well, this occurrence is quite rare, but suffice it to say that the laptops that are indicated in this way do not have any pre-installed operating system . This means that you have to proceed manually in the choice and configuration of the OS. These are therefore products intended for expert users who may have already carried out these operations in the past. Usually with these products you can save money, but I recommend that you only consider this option if you are really sure of what you are doing.