Getting your first laptop is an exciting time, but it can also be overwhelming. You’re making an investment in yourself and the only way to make sure it’s the right investment is to research what you’re getting into. To help you with that, we’ve put together a list of considerations to take into account when buying a laptop for a computer science student.
Do you need a new laptop for your student or will their old one do?
When it comes to buying a laptop for school, it can be confusing to know whether you need a new laptop or if your student’s old one will do. A lot of students want to buy the latest and greatest, but it’s important to consider a few things before you make a purchase.
They may come in handy the next time you’re trying to get your student to bring you a coffee, but you can endeavor to purchase a smart and cost-effective laptop on the cheap. This is basically the same kind of list that we have when it comes to deciding which tablet or laptop to choose before going to college. However, with regard to your student-buy it yourself situation, when presented with the options, hopefully, your student understands why their laptop choice is important and will at least consider bringing you coffee.
Laptop Size
The primary concern for laptop purchases for professionals is whether or not they will need additional accessories while trying to bring a laptop to class. Generally, laptops come in either 3.5″ (flat panel) or 7″ (with a built-in stand and keyboard tray) screens, but larger laptops are becoming more and more popular and they can seriously help students focus. Personally, I see 3.5″ laptops as a dealbreaker for students because they tend to have lower-quality screens, smaller size keyboards (due to the shorter screen), and maybe more sensitive to laptop crunching.
Without further adieu, seven-inch laptops and replaceable screens: win. Of course, we are all in love with our shiny, ultra-fast machines, but with regard to laptops for students, size seems to be a major consideration. Note: We do not have a quantifiable number for laptop price-to-screen ratio, but you can read more about this in our guide.
What kind of laptop do they need and what is the right size.
I always used to recommend 13″ laptops but I now recommend 15″ laptops. Laptops are a lot better now than they used to be and they’re more powerful. You can do almost anything on a 15″ laptop that you can do on a 13″ laptop, but you’ll have a bigger screen. So I’m going to focus on the 11″–13″ laptops top of the line. At the bottom of this list, you’ll find the main features that you need to consider when choosing your laptop to develop on. These include a processor, RAM, hard drive space, screen size, and more.
If you’re buying more than one laptop, you’ll want to compare all of these features. If you’re going to be using Linux, all of the laptops on this list will work with the official versions of Ubuntu as well as some other distributions. Personally, I’ve always preferred the official version of Ubuntu because it works with the touchscreen and laptops fit more easily into my backpack. It’s also very beginner-friendly. You can install Ubuntu from a USB drive or CD, so you’re not much extra work on that front.
I hope this helps you to narrow down your search to the right laptop — here are our picks for the best laptop for computer science student
– Asus EeePC Chromebook Flip HP X1 ChromeOS 14″ 4 GB DDR4 500 GB HDD + 128 GB Solid State Drive $349.00 Buy from Amazon For a little extra money you can upgrade to the 11″ version, saving $142.00 (depending on the specs you get).
– The Asus EeePC is fairly new and is a luxurious Chromebook that has a keyboard that feels like cotton candy and makes typing a joy. It looks like a paperback romance novel and spends the first few minutes looking rather nice. The screen is absolutely gorgeous, and it’s a joy to work on. My favorite part is that it has Amazon Analytics and Browser Helper enabled, so I have full access to all of the data Chrome has to offer
What operating system should your student’s laptop have?
First, make sure your student’s laptop has an operating system that’s easy to use. Windows is the most popular operating system in the world, so if you’re looking for a laptop that will be compatible with the widest range of software, then it’s a good option.
Windows 10 is currently installed on over 90% of all laptops, so there’s a good chance that it’s what you’ll be using for your student friend. However, you’ll also want to ensure that the operating system can handle some computing-heavy tasks efficiently. On an Intel Celeron (or Intel Core i3) laptop,
for example, it’s common to have games render at 60 frames per second or have online gaming capability activated. If you find that your student’s laptop isn’t up to the task, you can always look to a desktop or even an android tablet for a cheaper alternative. This will also ensure that the operating system can handle its fans properly.
A normal home or office laptop might be fine for a student, but students like to have their own space, and will almost certainly install more software on their laptop than you might think. Having software installed on the computer itself reduces the amount of space your student needs, so choosing a minimal operating system that doesn’t clog up your hard drive is always a good idea.
Ubuntu represents a good choice for a few reasons. Firstly, Ubuntu offers a “desktop mode” that doesn’t cut anything out of the operating system, allowing your student to install almost any software they want on the device. The system is simple, intuitive, and if they don’t use it, there’s nothing stopping them from installing a full desktop operating system later on.
Modern versions of Ubuntu, specifically Ubuntu 16.04 and Ubuntu 17.04, can be installed on all kinds of hardware. It’s even possible to install Both of Ubuntu’s main desktops like Unity and XFCE — a feat that would be next to impossible if you tried to use Linux on a Chromebook.
How much RAM and what kind of processor does a computer science student need?
To do computer programming, you need a computer with enough memory to run a programming language and enough processing power to run the computer programs you want to create. It’s a good idea to have a computer with at least 8 GB of RAM if you’re planning to install multiple programs or you’re going to be doing a lot of multitasking.
Some people argue that having 4 GB of RAM is enough. I disagree. Consider the main computer in your house — is it well organized and well organized for a four-year-old? Probably not. If you let your kids mess with toxic amounts of apps, register new by typing “create a fake email,” or run unsanitized scripts, they’ll start to corrupt your hard drive. At the very least, when you just want to look something up, having 30 GB of RAM is a lot more manageable
Your budget, however, plays an important role here. Our college budget was approximately $400 per year. I can’t afford to invest that kind of money in a laptop, so I bought the lowest-end laptop that I could get my hands on, a Lenovo X1 Carbon. This computer only has 4 GB of RAM, but it is enough for my needs
For the same price, you could also take a look at a Dell Inspiron but they don’t make very many laptops anymore. You’re paying more money for little RAM, but you get more power because it has more processing power.
Another consideration you need to make when buying a laptop is the screen. You need a laptop with a screen that is at least 1440 x 900 or higher resolution. You’re also going to want to pick a screen that is made for education. Currently, most laptops are manufactured with a resolution of 1366 x 768.
If you plan on displaying your school’s curriculum, that resolution is fine, but if you want to have something not just like your computer but more aesthetically pleasing as well, get a laptop with a full HD display, 1920 x 1080, or higher resolution. Size is important as well.
Should you buy a Mac or PC for your computer science student?
Technically, Macs are more expensive than PCs. But if you’re buying a new computer for a student to do homework and projects, you’re better off buying a Mac. They’re easier to use, are designed to be less distracting, and they’re more secure from cyber attacks than PCs.
While buying a laptop is fairly straightforward, especially when you compare them to a PC, you still need to keep these four points in mind to make sure you get the best out of your investment: Performance, battery life, port selection, and size.
If you’re primarily using your computer to hack away on your college projects, you might be better off saving your money and simply buying a PC. They’re much less expensive than Macs, and they’re more resilient: They can take some pretty brutal abuse.
On the other hand, if you’re using your laptop as your main gaming or development workstation, you may want to look into getting a Mac. Macs can handle extreme workloads more efficiently, and they’re generally smaller and lighter than PCs.
If you’re going to be streaming videos constantly from Youtube, Instagram, or any other third-party application, you’ve probably heard people recommending a dedicated GPU (a type of chip that handles graphics work) for your laptop. You wouldn’t want this on a PC, which would cause the laptop to slow down and stop functioning altogether.
This is why laptop makers and PC hardware resellers offer dedicated graphics cards. Not all laptops come with any kind of dedicated graphics card — but if you rent one from “Big Sandy” (the name of a brand sold by Lenovo), you’re probably going to have a better experience than if you bought one on your own.
If you’d rather not go the GPU route, there’s plenty you can do with the computer without it. As we’ve mentioned above, there are plenty of really cheap integrated graphics that you can install on a laptop without any kind of dedicated GPU. M1s — Apple’s ARM-based processors — are a popular choice.
