A secondary device can help address any portability issues. If you seldom take your laptop to class, it is highly recommended. If you need a well-performing laptop that fits your budget, the 15-inch laptop is a tried and tested size that will serve you well. Additional USB ports, Ethernet, and SD card slots are also present.
You can add or upgrade 2.5-inch, M.2 drives and the memory in most 15-inch laptops. The extra space inside the laptop makes them super-upgradeable. They also last much longer and are easy to charge from a power bank. This reduces the need to carry your laptop to class every day.
Instead of sticking with a smaller laptop, a good alternative is to use an iPad or Android tablet to take notes during class. During lectures, finding a power outlet and monitoring your battery can get pretty annoying. Power management on many 15-inch laptops is also poor as the larger screen, and higher-powered internals will drain the battery constantly and require the laptop to be plugged in frequently. They are heavy enough to become a burden to carry daily and take up considerable space, which can be an issue in some classrooms. But with the arrival of 14-inch laptops, are these laptops too big for college, or are they still a great choice today?Ī downside with most 15-inch laptops is their weight and size.
Large screens, an included number pad, and outstanding performance at a low price are what you get from most laptops of this size. We have already done the groundwork and listed down the best 14-inch laptops with recommendations for which major they are best suited for:ġ5-inch laptops offer the best performance for the price and have a big enough screen for most tasksġ5-inch laptops are a popular choice for the college crowd. The perfect compromise for a student, there are many great options for you to choose from different budgets. Take a 14-inch laptop if your degree demands a powerful laptop but needs something portable. Packing power in a small footprint, they are a great midpoint between portability and performance and are a solid recommendation for STEM, Arts, and finance students.
Powerful enough to handle most academic programs and PC gaming titles, pairing a 14-inch laptop with a decent gaming monitor and external keyboard should deal with the smaller screen and keyboard. Gaming laptops of this size feature decent graphics and processors like the RTX 3060 and Ryzen 7. Leading manufacturers have already begun updating their 13-inch lineups to the newer form factor. Retaining the small form factor of a 13-inch while offering a larger display, 14-inch laptops have surged in popularity.
To help you decide which of these is a good choice for your major, we’ve compiled a list of the most popular 13-inch laptops for different budgets:ġ4-inch laptops pack a ton of power while still managing to be portable These laptops are not exactly bad for gaming as their integrated graphics can handle lightweight PC games, but don’t expect anything more. Those considering this format for high-performance applications and gaming will need to wait till more efficient technology develops. Such setups typically feature a laptop that can pair with an external GPU but suffer from thermal issues that force components to be underclocked, throttling performance in the process.Ī larger laptop is recommended over these as it costs much less and offers similar performance. The ROG Flow X13 from Asus is one example, featuring an Nvidia RTX 3050Ti GPU and Ryzen 9 processor, with the option of adding an external mobile dock with an RTX 3080 via a special USB-C port to unlock more performance.
Still, some manufacturers have tried to pack in high-performance components. Still, the low-powered internals helps these laptops last on battery for long, and you can usually charge the battery over a USB-C charger or power bank. The limited space restricts the cooling capacity of 13-inch laptops, and most are not cut for heavy workloads that require powerful processors and graphics cards. Ultrabooks are available as standalone tablets, 2-in-1 convertibles, and traditional clamshells, spanning different budgets, so many options are available. They fit nicely into backpacks and weigh less enough that carrying them across campus should be a breeze. Often termed ultrabooks and ultraportables, they are well known for their lightweight and slim designs. 13-inch laptops are portable and can last you throughout your day.ġ3-inch laptops are the smallest size on the market.