Cheap, High-Quality Laptops for Students to Consider

 

When it comes to laptops, students have a harder time going about which ones to buy. On the one hand, they are at an age when video games and media content are among the priority considerations for a computer, necessitating sufficiently powerful laptop components. On the other hand, they are also at that point in their lives where they are more often than not financially severely limited.

If you count yourself among them, below are some under-$600 portable PCs with fairly brawny laptop parts to help you get started. 

1.       HP Pavilion dv6z Quad Edition

The 15-inch HP Pavilion dv6z Quad Edition is one hefty laptop indeed, and I’m not just talking about its size. The laptop is powered by an AMD Fusion APU which grants it more graphical power than the average chipset with an integrated GPU.

For added oomph, there’s also the optional Radeon HD 7690M dedicated video card which you can get for just an additional $75. Granted, it puts the total price of the unit at $25 beyond the desired $600 price point (the base price of the laptop is $549); but if you really think about it, that’s still a couple of hundred dollars cheaper than other laptops with comparable graphics capabilities.

  

2.       Dell Inspiron 14z

If you’re not that big a fan of video games, the Dell Inspiron 14z may be your ticket. It is powered by an Intel Core i3 processor which is more than enough to run most current programs without a hitch. Also, the laptop is still able to run some of the more recent games if you are so inclined, although you’ll have to make do with lowered graphical settings.

It’s 14 inch, 4 pound chassis makes the Inspiron 14z one of the lightest and thinnest laptops around. It’s available in both Fire Red and Mocha Black variants, and its battery can last you as much as six hours.

3.       Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E420

Like the Dell Inspiron 14z, the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E420’s internal laptop parts include the Core i3 CPU, 4 GB of RAM, and a hard drive with 320 GB of storage space. Furthermore, it even costs just as much as Dell’s machine.

The laptop components and the $549 price tag are where the similarities end, though. Whereas the Inspiron 14z has greater battery life and a lighter weight, the Edge E420 seems to be a bit lacking in those departments.

Still, it makes up for those shortcomings with its excellent control inputs; hardly a surprise considering this is, after all, a Lenovo computer. The keyboard’s keys are very comfortable to use, the touchpad is highly responsive, and the trackpointer gives a great alternative to pointer movement controls.

  

4.       ASUS U31 

What’s great about this laptop is that, at $600, the laptop components installed in it make it sound like you’re getting a great deal (which you are). The Intel Core i3 CPU and the GeForce GT 520M graphics card should be able to run most current 3D games at mid to lower-high settings. Moreover, the battery can last up to eight hours of continued use.

Compared to the Pavilion dv6z, though, the screen is smaller, measuring only 13.3 inches. Still, if you can live with that in exchange for a price tag $25 cheaper, then the ASUS U31 is for you.

5 Easily Overlooked Things That Can Damage Your Laptop

Laptops are among the most breakable things around. They aren’t breakable because they are fragile, though. If anything, laptop manufacturers make sure that laptop parts are encased in some of the hardiest computer chassis ever.

No; laptops are breakable because of their portable nature. After all, the more mobile something is, the more susceptible it is to outside forces. Often times, these outside forces even include user mishandling.

Below are five easily overlooked things that can surprisingly do a lot of damage to your laptop components. 

1.       Not providing adequate ventilation conditions

Laptop parts are housed in chassis that, if current trends continue, seem to be getting smaller and smaller. To counter this, said laptop parts are designed to be more efficient with their power-to-heat-generation ratio.

That said, heat is still generated. To that end, adequate ventilation has to be maintained, and this entails clearing the pathways for air to flow through, i.e. the laptops’ air vents.

 

The problem comes in when people place their laptops on collapsible “surfaces” (such as they are) like blankets. These tend to fold over and cover the vents, forcing the heat to accumulate inside the laptops and making them overheat.

2.       Too much shaking

While solid state drives are slowly but surely becoming the norm for laptops, many current ones are still equipped with hard drives. These HDs contain a lot of moving mechanical parts. When a laptop with an HD is shaken for prolonged periods, there is a very real danger of the HD’s parts moving too much, possibly leading to corrupted data; or worse, the HD itself being broken.

  

3.       Using the screen half of the laptop like a handle

Some people are just so irresponsible that they handle their stuff with less care than one would like them to. Some of them are just too filthy rich to care (although that doesn’t necessarily mean I condone their actions); but others are just unforgivably unaware.

And it doesn’t even stop at laptop screens. Some grab their laptops by one side of the chassis (increasing the chances for violent shaking, which leads to Item #2); while others shockingly dangle theirs via opened optical drives.

The only proper way to carry a laptop is with both hands, balancing the computer by carrying both its sides. Any other way is just asking for trouble.

  

4.       Cord-mangling

As many people whose “OC senses” tingle at the sight of tangled cords, there are probably just as many who couldn’t care less.

They should, though, because tangled cords do have a breaking point, after which they just become mangled. This is worse if the break occurs inside the wire and not out, since it could be a while before users can come to the conclusion that their laptops’ problems probably lie in severed connections.

  

5.       Foregoing a laptop bag

Finally, some people take laptop bags for granted, deeming them as mere accessories that most can do without. However, the fact of the matter is that laptops are meant to be taken outside; and when out, sufficient protection is an absolute necessity.