The laptop market does not stand still. The models change every year. At the same time, the need for a new computer arises infrequently, and when X hour comes, a potential buyer sees unknown models and brands that are completely unfamiliar to him. “Rossiyskaya Gazeta” found out what to look for when buying a laptop for school, college and university.
Content
Screen size and resolutionRAM memoryProcessorVideo cardStorageWhich laptop to buy: new or used?Special opinionBest brands and models of laptops for study
Screen size and resolution
Most of the experts interviewed by “RG” called the optimal purchase of a laptop with a 15.6-inch diagonal screen and Full HD (1920×1080) pixel resolution. Devices with 13.3-inch and 14-inch screens, in his opinion, are designed primarily for travel and are too small to serve as the main home computer.
Please note that the diagonal of 15.6 is the minimum size that allows you to comfortably work with two windows open.
Why are laptops with even larger screens, 16 and 17.3 inches, less preferred? First of all, they are bulkier and heavier. And if this is not very important for schoolchildren, then for students who often take their laptops to the university, weight and size do matter. Second, these laptops are more expensive. The 16-inch and 17.3-inch displays are considered more premium by vendors and manufacturers. As a result, analogues of models for 30-35 thousand rubles, but with a larger screen, are already sold for 45-50 thousand rubles. So the 15.6 screen is the golden mean in terms of ease of use and price/quality ratio.
It is worth paying attention to the technology of manufacturing screens. It is usually also indicated in the technical specifications. It is advisable to purchase a laptop with an IPS matrix. In the price segment up to 60 thousand rubles, in addition to IPS screens, there are also devices with TFT TN matrices that dim and invert colors with the slightest deviation from the laptop lid, which is very uncomfortable for users. eyes.
RAM
“For searching information on the Internet, working in office applications and talking on Zoom, 8 GB is enough (if necessary, you can add another 8 GB memory stick later). 16 GB will be useful for students to work with serious programs. for example, for architectural design “, – says the editor of “M.Click” (media brand M.Video) Nikita Kharchevnikov.
CPU
“Laptops with low-end AMD and Intel Pentium processors are only good 10% of the time out of 100%, if they are models based on Intel U300/N300/N200, Pentium 8505/8500 or AMD Athlon Gold 7220/ Silver 7120U “But these are the newer models and there are few for sale. In other cases, the brand “Pentium / Celeron / Athlon” is a sign that it is undesirable to buy a laptop”, – Evgeny Kharitonov, editor-in-chief of the Ferra.ru portal, sure.
According to the expert, models with 10th and 11th generation Intel processors are suitable for study (processors starting with numbers 10 and 11 and the letter G in the index. For example, Core i5-1135G7). Newer 12th and 13th generation Intel processors (processors starting with numbers 12 and 13. For example, Intel Core i3-1215U) will also work. There are fewer and fewer laptops with AMD processors and it is easier to choose them. Suitable Ryzen 3 4000 series models and above (5000, 6000, 7000). Battery life in budget laptops with modern processors is also about the same – from 4.5 to 6.5 hours.
Nikita Kharchevnikov notes that for school reports, essays, diplomas and simple research activities, the initial line of processors – AMD Ryzen 3 or Intel Core i3 – is sufficient. But Ryzen 5 and Core i5 are suitable for working on serious applications (ArchiCAD, AutoCAD, Photoshop).
For school reports, essays, diplomas and simple research activities, the initial line of processors is sufficient
graphics card
According to Harchevnikov, you don’t really need a video card for studying, unless it’s about display and rendering. ArchiCAD, AutoCAD, 3Ds Max and other similar applications require a graphics card, while text editors and web browsing require a graphics chip integrated into the processor. Laptops with video cards may only be needed by students of universities and colleges working with special professional programs.
Storage device
Experts believe that the drive is the least significant and easily replaceable part of a laptop. Usually a 256 GB or 512 GB SSD is enough for studying. You should not buy laptops with a hard drive as the main drive, as Windows 10 and 11 are not designed to work with hard drives and the laptop will slow down a lot.
new or used
Technological progress in laptops is not moving as fast as in smartphones, but there is little point in buying a used laptop. Used laptops tend to be overpriced, and advances in processors have meant that the new budget laptop with the Core i3-1215U is almost equal in processing power to the older Core i7-8750H for gaming. Also, a used laptop can have many hidden flaws such as sticky keys, cooling system degradation, etc.
special opinion
Ozon market experts note that if you are supposed to take a laptop to school, then in this case, models with a diagonal of 14 inches are preferable, since it will be difficult for a child to carry devices larger than 15, 6 inches. The optimal configuration, on which, in his opinion, it will be possible to carry out the bulk of school tasks, will be a laptop with a 14-inch screen, Core i3 or Ryzen 3 processor, 512 SSD disk and 8 GB of RAM. .
His general recommendation is to focus on modern components. First of all, this concerns the processors (it is now Intel 13th generation and Ryzen 7th generation) and video cards. They also note that the vast majority of modern processors have an integrated graphics core, which allows you to work with all office-level applications and even play undemanding games.
makes and models
“In the budget segment (30-40 thousand rubles), quite attractive prices are found in Russian retail on Lenovo IdeaPad 3 and Acer Aspire 3 A315. In the price segment of 40-60 thousand rubles, Asus laptops , Huawei and Honor deserve attention In more expensive games “With few exceptions, modern MSI laptops remain the most cost-effective option. But mid-range Dell, HP and Lenovo laptops are overpriced due to the difficulties of parallel imports,” Kharitonov said.
The expert also pointed to new brands on the laptop market, in particular Tecno: “They are, on average, 7-10 thousand rubles more affordable than similar laptops of more famous brands without any quality problems. Realme laptops already they are sold without dumping, and therefore, and have a price on a par with the well-known Asus brands, but they usually have some kind of nuance that distinguishes them (metal casing at the price of plastic from the competition, fingerprint reader, etc. ).
In Maibenben laptops, younger models with the M index (M547, M555, M565) are of great interest – these are quite profitable laptops for work and study. Older models with X and P ratings seem less competitive.
“Xiaomi laptops and laptops from Haier subsidiaries (Machenike, Thunderobot) also deserve attention, but they are rarely sold at prices below 50 thousand rubles, and in parallel, imports look less attractive against the background of Techno , Realme, Huawei, Honor and Asus. The peak of “attractiveness” the Chinese Maibenben, Machenike and Thunderobot already represent gaming laptops costing 65,000 rubles or more,” notes the editor-in-chief of Ferra.ru.
The experts interviewed by RG recommend against experimenting with laptops from little-known brands due to their unpredictable quality. Among these manufacturers, there are also worthy models, but without a few days of studying user reviews and reviews in the media and on YouTube, there is a risk of spending money literally on “junk” with a dull screen, a slow operating system and low autonomy.
