Top 10 Laptops for College Students

8 min readJun 17, 2020

Having a number of choices in front of you seems to be a big confusion, right? Today’s laptop industry will put you in a dilemma with your choice regarding the laptop you will buy for your college.

The question of buying WHICH laptop is like the multiple-choice question you need to be sure about (Sometimes you will feel like “All of the above” or sometimes “None of the Above”). Our blog “Laptop Guide for College Students” will help you know which specs you will need for your laptop. But there are some of the laptops which make their way to our “Top 10” list for college students.

The list comprises of two types (Gaming and Non- Gaming), their specs, along with their pros and cons. This will help you in making a better choice for the laptop with the best performance and put your money in the piece what you want. Make your choice wisely and not regret…. So here it goes…….. https://www.thecollegebros.site/2020/06/top-10-laptops-for-college-students.html

1. Lenovo Legion Y540 (Gaming)

CPU: 9th Gen i7–9750H / 9th Gen i5–9300H Intel Core Processors with 4.5 GHz max speed, 6 cores & 12 threads
RAM : 8 GB / 16 GB (may have higher costs) DDR4
Storage : 512 GB / 1TB SSD
GPU: 4 GB NVIDIA GTX 1650
Display: 15.6-inch FHD IPS Display with Anti-Glare technology; 60Hz refresh rate; 250 Nits Brightness
Cooling: Legion Coldfront with a dual-channel thermal system for GPU as well as CPU for cooler keyboard and airflow
Operating System: Windows 10 Home OS, along with MS Office 19
Keyboard: Full panel size white backlit keyboard with anti-ghosting (you can press many keys at a time with all of them recognized).
Battery: Up to 5 hours

6 Core CPU
Reduced System Noise
Pre-installed software like antivirus, office, etc
Rear port Connectivity
Good layout for the keyboard
Slim gaming laptop
144 Hz panel with fast response times
Not so premium design
Heavy (2.3 kg)
High price for the higher-spec model
Camera at bottom
Grooves in the lid are prone to debris and hard to clean

Link: Lenovo Legion Y540 | Amazon

2. Dell G3 15 3590 (2020) (Gaming)

CPU : 9th Gen 4.1 GHz i7–9750H / 9th Gen 2.4 GHz i5–9300H Quadcore Intel Core Processors
RAM : 8 GB (2x4 GB) DDR4
Storage : 512 GB / 128 GB SSD & 1 TB HDD
GPU: 6 GB GDDR6 NVIDEA GTX 1650
Display : 15.6 inch (1920 x 1080 ) FHD with Anti-Glare technology
Cooling: Dual-fan cooling system
Operating System : Windows 10 Home OS, along with MS Office
Keyboard : Optional 4-zone RBG backlit keyboard with WASD
Battery : Up to 10 hours ( maybe less)

Longer Battery Life
Good Cooling System
Better Service by DELL
Easy access to inner equipments
Hybrid Storage Choices
Heavy (2.5 kg)
Keyboard difficult to read without back-light
Display Color could be better

Link: Dell G3 15 3590 | Amazon3. Acer Nitro 5 (Gaming

CPU : AMD Ryzen 7 3750H / Intel Core i7–9750H (6 cores) upto 4.5 GHz turboboost
RAM : 8 GB DDR4 (upgradable to 32 GB)
Storage : 256 SSD + 1 TB HDD
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4 GB Graphics / AMD Radeon RX 560X with 4 GB memory
Display : 15.6" display with IPS technology, Full HD (1920 x 1080), Acer ComfyViewTM LED-backlit TFT LCD, supporting 144 Hz
Cooling : Twin fans with Acer CoolBoost™ technology and quad exhaust port design
Operating System : Windows 10 Home OS
Keyboard : Backlit Keyboard (mostly red / 4 Zone RGB)
Battery : Up to 4.5 hours ( maybe less)

Good Build Quality
Lesser Noise by fans
Budget Gaming Laptop
Fairly comfortable input devices
Both AMD & Intel models available
Hybrid Storage Choices
Heavy (2.2 kg)
Single color backlit keyboard
Display not good enough

Link: Acer Nitro 5 | Amazon

4. MSI GP63 (Gaming)

CPU: Intel Core i7–8750H (2.2 GHz)
RAM: 16GB DDR4, expandable up to 36GB
Storage: 1TB HDD + 256GB SSD
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (6GB DDR5)
Display: 15.6-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS / Wide view, 120 Hz
Operating System: Windows 10
Weight: 2.2Kg
Battery life: 4–5 hours
Keyboard: Backlit keyboard (Full Color)

RGB Lighting Keyboard
High-Quality Speakers
Reasonable Pricing
SSD Storage present (256 GB)
120 Hz display Panel
No heating issues
Heavy (2.2 kg)
not compact enough for carrying

Link: MSI GP63 | Amazon

5. Macbook Air (2017)

CPU; Dual-Core Intel core i5 (1.8GHz), turbo boost up to 2.9GHz
GPU: Intel HD graphics 6000
Storage: 128GB SSD
RAM: 8GB DDR4
Weight: 1.35 Kg
Battery Life: up to 12 hours
Operating System: Mac OS Mojave, upgradeable to Catalina
Display: 13.3 inch LED Backlit widescreen display (1440 x 900)
Keyboard: Backlit chiclet styled

Lightweight
Excellent trackpad
Reasonable Pricing
SSD Storage present (128 GB)
Very optimized software
Very thin and compact
Excellent battery life
Magsafe Magnetic charger
Very less Storage option
Not fit for gaming
average display quality
Old processor

Link: Macbook Air (2017) | Amazon

6. Asus TUF A15 (Gaming)

CPU : AMD Ryzen 7 4800H Processor 2.9 GHz (8MB Cache, up to 4.2 GHz, 8 Cores, 16 Threads)
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti GDDR6 4GB
Storage: 512GB SSD + empty 1x 2.5-inch SATA Slot for Storage Expansion.
RAM: 8GB DDR4 3200MHz (Upgradeable up to 32 GB)
Weight: 2.3 Kg
Cooling: Dual-fan design ; Self-Cleaning Cooling
Battery Life: up to 8.7 hours of web browsing and 12.3 hours of video playback (maybe less for gaming )
Operating System: Windows 10 Home
Display: 15.6-inch LED-backlit FHD (1920x1080) 144Hz Refresh Rate, Anti-Glare IPS-level Panel with Adaptive Sync Technology ( helps to dynamically adjust the refresh rate to the frame rate)
Keyboard: Backlit RGB single coloured keyboard

Well Controlled Thermals
Budget Gaming Laptop
Empty slot for storage expansion
Good Design quality
Appreciable battery life
Better reliability (based on tests)
Display accuracy not too good
Most of AMD models
Lid has too much flex

Link: ASUS TUF A15 | Amazon

7. Lenovo YOGA C740

CPU : 10th Generation Intel Core i7–10510U Processor (1.80 GHz, up to 4.90 GHz with Turbo Boost, 4 Cores, 8 Threads, 8 MB Cache)
GPU: Integrated Intel UHD Graphics
Storage: 1 TB SSD
RAM: 16 GB DDR4 2666MHz
Weight: 1.4 Kg
Battery Life: up to 13 hours
Operating System: Windows 10 Home
Display: 14.0 inch FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS; Touchscreen ; Anti-glare with Dolby Vision
Keyboard: Backlit White keyboard

Stylish Design
2-in-1 laptop
Dolby Atmos speakers on side of keyboard
Smooth transitions while flipping
Fingerprint Unlock
Camera Privacy Switch
No pen provided
No RAM Upgrade is possible
No Thunderbolt 3, HDMI or SD card Reader
Display could be better

Link: Lenovo YOGA C740 | Lenovo India

8. HP Spectre x360

CPU : Intel Core i7–1065G7 (1.3 GHz base frequency, up to 3.9 GHz with Intel Turbo Boost Technology, 8 MB cache, 4 cores) / Core i5–1035G4
GPU: Intel Iris Plus Graphics
Storage: 512 TB SSD (upgradeable) ; 32 GB Intel Optane Memory for storage acceleration
RAM: 16 GB DDR4
Weight: 1.2 Kg
Battery Life: up to 13 hours
Operating System: Windows 10 Home 64
Display: 13.3" diagonal 4K UWVA BrightView micro-edge AMOLED multitouch-enabled edge-to-edge glass with anti-reflection Corning Gorilla Glass
Keyboard: Backlit white keyboard

Stylish Premium Design ( especially the black & gold colour)
2-in-1 convertible laptop
Stylus available
Camera privacy switch
Fingerprint Unlock
Brilliant Screen quality
Good Selection of ports
Costly high spec laptop
Bottom of laptop gets very warm
Top bezel is big
Lower GPU

Link: HP Spectre x360 | Amazon or HP Official

9. Microsoft Surface Pro 6

CPU: 8th Gen Intel core i5/ core i7
GPU:
Storage: SSD 128GB/256GB/512GB/1TB
RAM: 8GB/16GB
Battery Life: 9 hours
Operating system: Windows 10
Display: 12.3 inches (2736 x 1824)
Keyboard: attachable keyboard (not included with the tablet)

Fast quad-core performance
portable
2 in 1 laptop
silky smooth pen output
rear and front cameras
No USB C / thunderbolt port
256 GB SSD is sluggish
Keyboard and pen not included
Not fit for video editing

Link: Microsoft Surface Pro 6 | Amazon

10. Lenovo IdeaPad C340

CPU: 10th Gen Intel Core i5–8265U / core i7–8565U; 4 cores (You may also get the AMD model)
GPU: NVIDIA GEFORCE MX230 GDDR5 2G
Storage: SSD 512GB/1TB
RAM: 8GB/16GB DDR4
Battery Life: 8 hours
Operating system: Windows 10 Home/ Pro
Display: 14 inch FHD (1920 x 1080) Touchscreen ; IPS
Keyboard: Backlit White Keyboard