Laptops have become one of the most essential requirements of students today because all the classes are being conducted online after the global pandemic. This makes it necessary for you to be well versed with all parameters of the device before purchasing one. Let us see some of the best laptops available for buying online.
Table of Contents
What Are The Different Types of Laptops and Common Operating Systems Used in Them?
There are 3 types of laptops:
1. Mainstream Laptops:
- They are value-for-money devices, easily upgradable, and have a good balance of performance and features.
- Suitable for home, office, and students.
2. Thin and Light Laptops:
- They are easy to carry and suitable for businessmen and travelers, with good battery life.
3. Hybrid Models:
- These are compact, lightweight models with a touch screen and good battery life.
Different Operating Systems in Commonly Available Laptop Models are:
1. Windows Operating System (OS):
- Windows 10 is the most commonly available operating system in all laptops except Chrome books and MacBook. Its best part is Cortana digital assistant and that it has a switchable option between laptop and tablet mode.
2. Chrome Operating System (OS):
- Laptops with this OS are the most portable and has amazing battery life. Also, these models are more flexible than tablets. You can opt for the 2 in 1 model if you want to use Android apps in Chrome OS.
3. Mac Operating System (OS):
- This OS is found in Apple MacBooks and has Siri, just like Cortana in Windows OS. These laptops can be unlocked using Apple Watch.
7 Best Budget Laptops for Students in India
1. Lenovo Ideapad S340
This is a thin and lightweight laptop with 14″ screen, which is a perfect one when you want to experience powerful processing. It has a privacy shutter that lets you take the charge of your webcam for safety.
Features:
- Model: 81N700LXIN
- Display: 14 Inches
- Dimension: 32.3 x 22.8 x 1.8 cm
- Weight: 1.55 Kilograms
- Operating System (OS): Windows 10
- Processor: Intel Core i5 (8th Gen, 4 cores)
- RAM: 5 GB (DDR 4 SDRAM)
- Hard Drive Size: 512 GB (Flash Memory Solid State)
- Speaker: Dolby Audio
- Graphics Coprocessor: Integrated Graphics
- Ports: 2 USB 3.0, 1 USB 3.0, i.e Type C and 4 in 1 card reader
- Color: Platinum Grey
- Warranty: 1 year
Rating: 4.5 /5
2. HP Chromebook
This is a superfast laptop that is intuitive enough to bring millions of apps at your fingertips. You will love its modern look and design along with various features.
Features:
- Model: Chromebook
- Dimensions: 33.7 x 22.7 x 1.8 cm
- Weight: 1.5 Kilograms
- Screen Size: 14″ LED
- RAM Size: 4 GB (DDR4)
- Hard Disk: 256 GB (Flash Memory Solid State)
- Operating System (OS): Chrome OS
- Processor: Intel Celeron
- Graphics Coprocessor: Intel HD Graphics 500
- Wireless Type: 802.11b, 802.11g
- Color: Chalkboard
- Warranty: 1 year
Rating: 4/5
3. ASUS VivoBook 14
This is a compact laptop that is very lightweight and helps you to easily carry it anywhere. The aluminum chassis is quite an eye-catching with a very durable quality of military-grade (MIL-STD-810G standard for durability).
Features:
- Dimensions: 20.8 x 32.3 x 1.7 cm
- Weight: 1.35 Kilograms
- Processor: Intel Core i5 (8th Gen)
- RAM Size: 8 GB LPDDR3
- Hard Disk Capacity: 512 GB Flash Memory Solid State
- Operating System (OS): Windows 10
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.2 (Dual band) 2*2, Wi-Fi 5(802.11ac)
- Graphics Coprocessor: Intel UHD Graphics 620
- Color: Silver and Blue
- Warranty: 1 year
Rating: 4.2/5
4. Lenovo Legion
It is a sleek 15.6″ laptop which has a great gaming performance. It is optimized thermally for silent operation without getting heated.
Features:
- Model: Legion Y540
- Dimensions: 36 x 26.7 x 2.4 cm
- Weight: 2.3 Kilograms
- RAM: 8 GM DDR4
- Hard Drive: 512 GB Flash Memory Solid State
- Operating System (OS): Windows 10 Home
- Processor: Intel Core i5 (9th GEN)
- Graphics Coprocessor: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
- Rear Ports: AC adapter, USB-C, Kensington lock slot, USB C, USB 3.1 Gen 1, Mini DisplayPort, HDMI, Ethernet
- Side Ports: USB 3.1 Gen 1, USB 3.1 Gen 1,Headphone/mic combo.
- Color: Black
- Warranty: 1 Year
Rating: 4.3/5
5. Acer Aspire 3
This model with 15.6″ screen, has a premium feel with its elegant design. It has a good build quality along with fairly impressive audio. It has a great processing speed with its Nvidia graphics.
Features:
- Model: A315-55G
- Dimensions: 25.1 x 36.3 x 1.9 cm
- Weight: 1.9 Kilograms
- RAM: 8GB DDR4 RAM
- Hard Drive: 1TB Mechanical Hard Drive
- Processor: Intel Core i7( 8th GEN)
- Graphics Coprocessor: NVIDIA GeForce MX230
- Operating System (OS): Windows 10 64 Bit operating system
- Color: Charcoal Black
- Warranty: 1 year
Rating: 4/5
6. LG Gram
It is a sleek and lightweight laptop that is easy to carry. The nano-carbon magnesium body material is quite sturdy that has been tested to pass 7 military standards test. It comes with Kensington Slot and fingerprint for security purposes.
Features:
- Model: Gram
- Dimensions: 21.2 x 32.3 x 1.7 cm
- Weight: 995 Grams
- RAM: 8 GB DDR4 (8th GEN)
- Hard Drive: 256 GB SSD
- Graphics Coprocessor: Intel UHD Graphics 620
- Operating System (OS): Windows 10 Home
- Color: Dark Silver
- Warranty: 3 Years
Rating: 3.9/5
7. Apple MacBook Air
This is an elegant, compact, and portable laptop made with 100% recyclable aluminum. There is no specific side in which you need to insert a charger as the Thunderbolt 3 port is reversible. Unlocking the laptop is easy because of the fingerprint system for instant authentication.
Features:
- Model: MRE92HN/A
- Screen Size: 13.3 inch
- Weight: 1.25 kg
- RAM: 8 GM
- Storage: 256 GB
- Processor: Intel Core i5 dual-core
- Operating System (OS): Mac OS
- Graphics Support: Intel UHD Graphics 617
- Wireless Support: 802.11ac Wi-Fi wireless networking
- Color: Space Grey
Rating: 4.5/5
Laptops Buying Guide – How to Buy the Right Laptops Online India?
Some important points that must be kept in mind while purchasing a laptop are as follows:
1. Screen Size:
Portable laptops have 13-14 inch screen with 1.8-2 kg weight.
If portability is not your requirement, go for 17-18 inch laptops that generally come with better processing power and suitable for functioning as workstations and playing games.
2. Keypad and Touch Pad:
If you want a heavy-duty laptop, see if it has a solid keyboard, with keys traveling at least 1-2 mm with enough space in between them.
Laptops with individual keys are better than those with a single console, so that replacement of a key in case of an issue becomes easy and inexpensive.
If you are more into gaming, go for keyboards with a robust WASD and arrow keys.
Check if the pinch to zoom functions are available in the touchpad, which should preferably be at the center for convenience.
3. Processor:
Always opt for the latest generation processors.
i. Intel Pentium/ Celeron:
This is fit for activities such as web surfing.
ii. Intel Core M/ i5/ i7/ i7/i9 Y series:
The Core i5 processors ending with U can be commonly seen and are better than those ending with Y. For example Core i5 7200U, Core i5-8250U, and others. For gaming and workstation, those with HQ suffix are suitable.
Core i7 processors come with 4 core, have K or HQ as suffixes, and use more power. They have great performance and are perfect for gaming.
Core i9 processors are the fastest processors and found in the latest models, suitable for heavy-duty functions.
iii. AMD A, E, FX Series:
They are cheaper and have decent performance but not suitable for heavy-duty activities and gaming.
iv. AMD Ryzen:
They bear resemblance with Core i5 or Core i7 CPUs.
v. Intel Xeon:
These processors are the most powerful and help in 3D modeling or video editing functions. You can find these processors in the gaming laptops. Power consumption is high in this case.
4. RAM Capacity:
For light usage 2 GB or 4GB RAM is enough but if you use a laptop for heavy-duty, go for models that have 8 GB or 16 GB RAM for a better experience.
5. Storage:
i. SSD:
If you prioritize performance over storage capacity, opt for SSD rather than HDDs as it will help your laptop boot quickly and handle larger files easily. The data transfer rate is also faster in this case. It consumes low power but is expensive compared to HDD.
ii. HDD:
It has higher storage capacity and data is stored on magnetic disks.
6. Display:
1366 x 786p is the screen resolution in budget laptops
1920 x 1080 p is the ideal screen resolution you should look for.
Those with higher screen resolution are expensive and also drain the battery quickly.
7. Graphics Card:
Prefer AMD or NVidia graphics processor for a better experience.
Some low-end chips are NVidia GTX 1050. Similarly, GTX 1050 Ti or GTX 1060, are mid-range graphic cards and RTX 2070 or 2080 are high-end graphics cards.
8. Ports for Connectivity:
You can find HDMI and USB 3.0 ports on almost all laptops today. In advanced models, Thunderbolt 3 or USB Type-C is available for connecting to universal chargers and docks.
9. Battery Backup:
It is quite important when you do not have a charging port nearby and you need to operate your device when you need it urgently, So go for a model that has a better battery backup such as 7-8 hours after a single charge.
We strongly recommend you to follow our buying guide as well as the reviews before making the buying decision.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
These ports ensure quick transfer of data when you connect an external storage device to it, so they are recommended.
It is not an extremely important necessity but if you often have the habit of studying at night, these are recommended for better visibility in low light areas.
This is an open-source OS that is generally beneficial for coders and programmers. But students can load this OS into their laptops if they want. Ubuntu is one such Linux-based OS that has a graphical user interface.
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