With the start of university just weeks away, parents UK-wide will be filling online baskets as this year’s freshers work their way through an ever-growing shopping list. Pots, pans, posters, a year’s supply of baked beans and a never-to-be-washed duvet will all feature – as will the latest tech.
Tackling university life without a quality laptop is unthinkable. While most university departments publish a checklist of recommendations, these are only “minimum requirements”. They don’t tend to consider the student behind the screen: the subject they’re studying, their budget or how they’ll be using the laptop from one day to the next.
The good news is that electrical retailer AO offers reliable laptops that can handle everything student life throws at you – from late-night deadlines to maybe a little gaming too. They don’t need to break the bank either …
Don’t always settle for the university’s minimum requirements
Those dry-looking suggestions on the university’s website are only a guide to what works, rather than what works best.
By all means take these recommendations seriously. If your course is built around Windows software, buying a Chromebook, for example, could limit your access to essential apps or mean trudging down to the library to use the campus computers. Many uni checklists include student discounts too.
Try viewing your laptop as a long-term investment. You’ll probably be at university for three, maybe even five years. As your degree progresses, software requirements will often become more demanding. Spending a little more upfront on a higher-spec device makes more financial sense than splashing on a second laptop halfway through your course.
Many universities suggest a model with 8GB of RAM, 256GB SSD and six to eight hours of battery life. A good rule of thumb is to double this. A computer with 16GB of RAM, 512GB SSD and eight to 12 hours of battery life will make a notable difference. A performance-focused laptop such as the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5 OLED ticks lots of these boxes.
The laptop features students need the most
A device with a decent amount of RAM is essential. RAM is the short-term memory that keeps your laptop running smoothly. Having 37 browser tabs open at once while simultaneously streaming a lecture on Teams, writing an essay in Google Docs, listening to Spotify and asking ChatGPT to make sense of Nietzsche might make you feel like a superhuman multitasker, but these are the things that typically slow down student devices. Again, a 16GB laptop will make everyday tasks feel quicker and easier than the 8GB university baseline.
Storage matters too. Nobody wants their screen freezing at 3am the night before a dissertation is due because the drive is full. While 256GB might be enough, 512GB offers more breathing room.
Portability is another priority. A large display allows you to watch The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives in comfort, but lugging it between lectures is less appealing. Instead, opt for a smaller model (maybe with a 14-inch screen) that neatly fits into your backpack. And a battery life of eight to 12 hours won’t see you jostling with other students for the last plug socket in the campus cafe or students’ union bar.
While RAM, SSD storage and battery life aren’t glam-sounding words, they’re far more important to students than lightning-fast processors, graphics processing units.
Good laptops don’t have to cost the earth
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5 OLED makes a great-value laptop for university life. With a 14-inch OLED screen and sleek contours, your multi-year study companion will be as chic as it is capable. Thanks to its take-anywhere lightness, you won’t end up with back pain carrying it around campus. There are multiple ways to pay through AO, which should hopefully mean you won’t need to stay in every night to save money and/or find part-time work as a guinea pig for cold and flu cures.
Buy the right laptop for your degree subject, not just your budget
Before comparing specs, think about what your course demands.
Creative degrees such as graphic design, photography and architecture often rely on RAM-sapping software for image editing, video production or 3D modelling. An Asus ProArt P16 is worth the considerable investment, thanks to its 16-inch OLED screen, FHD IR camera, plus a colossal 64GB RAM and 2TB SSD storage.
A cutting-edge GPU will be a waste of money for business, finance and humanities students. Given that you’re more likely to be toggling between spreadsheets or Word docs and presentation slides, a laptop with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD should stop screens from stalling.
Studying maths? Then look at laptops with numeric keyboards such as the Asus Vivobook 15, which will make those trigonometry and data-heavy calculations far less fiddly.
The accessories that make student life easier
The type of accessories you’ll need as a student depend on what you’ll be using them for. An external monitor is useful for research-intensive subjects, helping you keep research papers open on one screen, while making notes on another. AO offers affordable options such as the MSI Pro MP223 E2 or the MSI Pro MP271, which is great for gamers.
If your course involves an endless stream of essay writing or coding assignments, a wireless keyboard allows you to type more naturally. When paired with a stand, it’ll raise your screen to a posture-improving eye level too. Meanwhile, a wireless mouse often offers greater precision and control than a laptop trackpad. To keep costs down, look for all-in-one bundles such as HP 720 or, to save even more, a wired version, HP 150.
If you’re sharing a house or living in halls (spoiler alert: student accommodation isn’t known for its peace and quiet), a pair of noise-cancelling headphones such as Sony’s WHULT900 wireless noise-cancelling over-ear headphones will prevent unnecessary spats. They’ll also prove invaluable when working from cafes and restaurants and enable you to enjoy your “cram jam” playlists in pin-sharp fidelity.
Finally, as you will want to back up that 4,000-word coursework you’re chuffed about, an external SSD or hard drive also makes sense. But everybody knows that, right?
Shop laptops at ao.com
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