Best laptop for college 2021 – CNET [CNET]

The main academic tool most college students will need — and one of the biggest investments they’ll make — is a laptop. While it’s possible to find a passable entry-level laptop for less than $300, a few hundred more will give you options with better performance, longer battery life and a bigger and faster solid-state drive, all of which are well worth the extra money.

You might think between chip shortages and people continuing to work from home or remote learning, a good budget-friendly laptop for school might be tough to find. Luckily, you can still find laptops and two-in-ones with the latest processors from Intel and AMD. The only PCs you might have to wait for are those featuring the new powerful 11th-gen Intel Core processors that promise to increase performance in laptops for gamers, creatives and creators. You won’t find models on this list with those processors just yet, but they are expected to be available later this spring and into summer — just in time for your fall semester. 

Note that most of our choices for the best laptops for college run between $500 and $1,000. If you’re looking for a less expensive college laptop — or if you’re open to an alternative to Microsoft Windows and Apple’s MacOS — we recommend checking out the best Chromebooks for students. 

Read more: Best laptop under $500 for 2021

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