Students: find the right laptop at the right price

For small budgets: a notebook

Between 300 and 500 euros, these minimalist computers are intended for current uses: internet consultation and social networks, office automation, videoconference, for ten hours of autonomy."Because they are compact and light, you have to make concessions, especially on the processor, entry -level, and on the screen, rather small (13 to 14 inches, about 35 cm diagonal)", notesMathieu Platret, editorial manager of the site and community application of good dealabs.

As for their storage capacity, the least expensive include 32 GB of space, that is to say as much as a basic smartphone, which can quickly be filled.

In this family are the Chromebook, computers at low prices, from 250 euros, which rely on the Google Chrome operating system.

Advantage: holders of an Android smartphone will find their Google services (Gmail, Drive, Youtube, etc.) and office tools that can be used out of connection.Some have a detachable keyboard to transform into a tablet (see our selection).

Disadvantage: you must accept to share your personal data with Google, whose economic model is based on their exploitation for advertising purposes.

Our advice: flee the models using EMMC technology and prefer a faster and solid hard drive of the SSD type of at least 64 GB. "Watch out for their RAM (RAM), advises Mathieu Grau, publisher at Dealabs.Table on 6 to 8 GB to perform several tasks simultaneously.»»

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For versatile use: a "laptop"

These classic laptops are aimed at users who favor performance rather than a studied design or featherweight.

Their asset lies in their price."You can find an excellent laptop between 500 and 700 euros," says Mathieu Grau.

Make a first sorting by the quality of the screen, the size of which is between 15.6 inches (39.6 cm diagonal) and 17 inches."Select at least a Full HD screen with an IPS panel rather than TN, advises Mathieu Platret.Without a reflection, with beautiful brightness and marked contrasts, visual comfort to work or watch videos will only be better.»»

Then focus on the processor, the brain of the machine.To ensure the fluidity of your regular activities (work, games, streaming, photo assembly, etc.), favor an Intel i5 processor or an AMD Ryzen 5, all supported by at least 8 GB of RAM.

Choose an SSD storage disk of at least 256 GB, 512 GB ideal, to strengthen the reactivity of the machine (immediate ignition, instant launch of the programs, etc.) and store a large amount of files, photos.But it can be less (128 GB) if the machine also incorporates a classic HDD hard drive.

Our advice: check that the PC has several USB 3 ports (for an external hard drive, a printer, etc.) as well as an HDMI socket to connect it to an independent screen, such as a television.

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For demanding nomads: an ultrabook

More expensive, from around 800 to 1500 euros, these light devices (from 1 to 1.5 kg) and compacts combine performance and design.The materials used are of much better quality, the assembly is very neat and the finishes impeccable.

Their screens are almost on board, but smaller than on a classic portable PC (14 inches, 35.6 cm diagonal, a little less on Apple MacBook, see our selection).

They have very successful configurations: their processors are powerful (Intel i5 and i7 or AMD Ryzen 5 or 7) and latest generation, the SSD hard drive is often good (256 GB are a minimum).

However, they suffer from some faults.Not all are equipped with a real graphics card and rely on the specific processor chip.The precision and fluidity of the graphics, during a video game game or for image editing, will not always be at the top."In addition, according to brands and models, some also tend to heat a lot and quickly lose autonomy during prolonged intensive use," said Mathieu Platret.Hence the importance of consulting the opinions of other buyers on the Internet to determine if the battery capacity and the cooling system are effective.»»

Our advice: in the same family, think of hybrid devices.These super-tablets with a clipable or retractable keyboard can be found in some manufacturers: yoga in Lenovo, surfaces at Microsoft or some Zenbook at Asus.

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For creation and video games: a muscular laptop

Heavier, more imposing and also more expensive (from 800 to ... 5000 euros), the recommended laptops to students who use image management software or 3D (architecture, video creation, animation) are power monsters.Also intended for "gamers" to run heavy video games, their very solid configurations also induce a substantial weight: up to 4 kilos!They therefore have it under the hood.

First, they have large screens (from 15 to 17 inches) whose speed of display of images is at least twice as fast as that of classic PCs, with refreshed images 120 times per second, even much more!

Then, they house overpowered processors (Intel i5, i7 and i9, Ryzen 5, 7 and 9), bright memories ranging from 16 to 32 GB and one or more SSD discs with a large storage capacity (512 GB, 1TO).

Finally, they integrate graphics maps whose quality is decisive in the price of these monsters.In this area, the Nvidia specialist reigns."The most efficient, and therefore the most sought after, are the GeForce RTX in the 3000 series (3050, 3060, 3070, 3080) and their" Ti ", more powerful, specifications, specifies Mathieu Platret.They equip computers from 1000 euros, and the most efficient can equip models with 1500 euros in promotion, in particular new devices of previous generations.»»

Our advice: watch for promotional, sales, Black Friday (third Friday in November) or French Days (end of April and September)."The brands also organize delayed reimbursement offers (up to 200 euros), reported by merchants or on their sites," says Mathieu Gray.Some also offer exclusive prices for students.Among them, Dell, Lenovo and Acer.

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