Best of back-to-school laptops
Best of back-to-school laptops
3:23

Best of back-to-school laptops

Culture
^B00:00:00 >> It's back to school time, and what better way to start off the academic year than with a brand, spanking new laptop. We went out, and we rounded more than two-dozen laptops. The catch is they had to be relatively new, and they had to be the fixed configuration retail models you can actually find on store shelves. We cut them up into four categories, entry-level, budget, mainstream, and high-end, ran a bunch of tests on them, and picked our favorites. I'm Dan Ackerman, senior editor here at CNET.com, and we're about to show you the best back-to-school laptop. ^M00:00:28 [ Music ] ^M00:00:34 In the entry-level category -- that's laptops between six and seven hundred dollars -- you're gonna find older Intel dual-core CPUs, not the newer Core 2 Duos, and you're gonna find machines that are good for web surfing, working on academic papers, emailing. As long as you keep your expectations modest, they should do fine. We like Sony's Vaio NR 430. It came in at the top or close to it in all of our benchmark tests, including battery life. And it's got a pretty decent design for such an inexpensive system. And that helped it get a leg up on a virtually identical configured Dell 1525. So our entry-level choice, the Sony Vaio NR 430. In the budget category -- that's laptops between seven and eight hundred dollars, you're gonna move up to Intel's Core 2 Duo CPUs, maybe get same more RAM, some more hard drive space. Our pick there was the Gateway T6836. That's the only one in that category to have to four gigs of RAM and the 64-bit version of Vista. That helped this guy beat the competition in our benchmark tests. And it still had pretty decent battery life. So in the budget category, we like the Gateway T6836. Our next bunch of laptops were from 800 to 999. We're gonna call that the mainstream category. And we like the Dell Studio 1535. It's got some of the cool high-end design features of the more expensive Dell XPS laptops, but the price is closer to the low-end Dell Inspiron line. Now, all the Intel-based laptops we looked at in the mainstream range had a Core 2 Duo, T5750 CPU, and that's a perfectly fine processor. This was the only one that had a faster T8100, so that helped it come out at the top of the pack in terms of performance, and we got more than three hours out of the battery. That's why for the mainstream retail back to school group, we like the Dell Studio 1535. If you go a little bit north of a thousand dollars -- we're gonna call that the high-end category of our back-to-school round up -- you're gonna find a bunch of 16 and 17 inch laptops that are pretty packed with features, but they're better at sitting in your dorm room being entertainment centers than throwing in a backpack and taking from class to class. So in that category, we especially like Gateway's P7811-FX. A better deal in a desktop replacement you're not going to find. It's got a massive 19 by 12 screen resolution. It's got one of Intel's new Centrino 2 CPUs. And it's got NVIDIA's very latest gaming graphics chip, the G-Force 9800. Of course, if you're going to enjoy those blazingly fast gaming frame race, please make sure all your school work is done first. That is the Gateway P7811-FX. Now one model we haven't mentioned here is Apple's 13-inch MacBook. It's a very popular choice for students. We were trying to keep this round up restricted to fairly new retail models. The current MacBook configuration has been around for a while. We reviewed that, and we love it. But if that's not right for you, one of these guys probably is. I'm Dan Ackerman, and that's the best back-to-school laptops. ^M00:03:21 [ Music ]

Up Next

Here's why you'll want to gift the Apple iPad Air 2 this holiday season
ipadair2still.jpg

Up Next

Here's why you'll want to gift the Apple iPad Air 2 this holiday season

This giving season, consider the Apple iPhone 6
giftguide2014iphone6still2.jpg

This giving season, consider the Apple iPhone 6

The Asus RT-AC87U Wi-Fi router is a great gift for anyone
tgg14asusrouter.jpg

The Asus RT-AC87U Wi-Fi router is a great gift for anyone

The August Smart Lock secures our top pick for smart home and appliances
giftguideaugustsmartlock0.jpg

The August Smart Lock secures our top pick for smart home and appliances

UE Boom: Still a great portable Bluetooth speaker a year after its release
2014pslogtiechueboom.jpg

UE Boom: Still a great portable Bluetooth speaker a year after its release

Lenovo reinvents its flagship hybrid with the Yoga 3 Pro
productspotlightlenovoyoga3pro.jpg

Lenovo reinvents its flagship hybrid with the Yoga 3 Pro

Vizio TV a cheerful value for giver and receiver
productspotlightvizioe.jpg

Vizio TV a cheerful value for giver and receiver

GoPro's Hero4 Silver tops our list of camera picks
productspotlightgoprohero4silver.jpg

GoPro's Hero4 Silver tops our list of camera picks

Pebble Steel remains the best smartwatch, for several reasons
2014pspebblesteel.jpg

Pebble Steel remains the best smartwatch, for several reasons

Here's why we love the PlayStation 4
2014psps4.jpg

Here's why we love the PlayStation 4

Tech Shows

The Apple Core
apple-core-w

The Apple Core

Alphabet City
alphabet-city-w

Alphabet City

CNET Top 5
cnet-top-5-w

CNET Top 5

The Daily Charge
dc-site-1color-logo.png

The Daily Charge

What the Future
what-the-future-w

What the Future

Tech Today
tech-today-w

Tech Today

Latest News All latest news

Hands-On with Ford's Free Tesla Charging Adapter
pic3

Hands-On with Ford's Free Tesla Charging Adapter

Apple and Meta Are Competing for Your Memories
screenshot-2024-03-22-at-17-41-16.png

Apple and Meta Are Competing for Your Memories

Nvidia's Project GR00T vs. Tesla Optimus: Competing Robot Strategies
240321-site-nvidia-project-groot-vs-tesla-optimus-v1

Nvidia's Project GR00T vs. Tesla Optimus: Competing Robot Strategies

What Google Gemini AI on the iPhone Could Look Like
240321-site-apple-and-gemini-ai

What Google Gemini AI on the iPhone Could Look Like

DOJ Sues Apple: Everything to Know About the Antitrust Suit
240321-site-doj-sues-apple-for-antitrust-on-iphone-v2

DOJ Sues Apple: Everything to Know About the Antitrust Suit

Microsoft Surface Pro 10, Surface Laptop 6 Are Here
240320-site-microsoft-surface-pros-first-look-v2

Microsoft Surface Pro 10, Surface Laptop 6 Are Here

Most Popular All most popular

First Look at TSA's Self-Screening Tech (in VR!)
innovation

First Look at TSA's Self-Screening Tech (in VR!)

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: More AI at a Higher Cost
240123-site-samsung-galaxy-s24-ultra-review-4

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: More AI at a Higher Cost

'Circle to Search' Lets Users Google From Any Screen
circlesearchpic

'Circle to Search' Lets Users Google From Any Screen

Asus Put Two 14-inch OLEDs in a Laptop, Unleashes First OLED ROG Gaming Laptop
asus-preces-00-00-25-11-still003

Asus Put Two 14-inch OLEDs in a Laptop, Unleashes First OLED ROG Gaming Laptop

Samsung Galaxy Ring: First Impressions
samsung-galaxy-ring-clean

Samsung Galaxy Ring: First Impressions

Best of Show: The Coolest Gadgets of CES 2024
240111-site-best-of-ces-2024-1

Best of Show: The Coolest Gadgets of CES 2024

Latest Products All latest products

Hands-On with Ford's Free Tesla Charging Adapter
pic3

Hands-On with Ford's Free Tesla Charging Adapter

Nuro R3 is an Adorable Self-Driving Snack Bar
240320-site-nuro-r3-first-look-v1

Nuro R3 is an Adorable Self-Driving Snack Bar

First Look: The $349 Nothing Phone 2A Aims to Brighten Your Day
240304-site-nothing-phone-2-first-look-v3

First Look: The $349 Nothing Phone 2A Aims to Brighten Your Day

Best of MWC 2024: Bendable Screens, AI Wearables and More
240229-site-best-of-show-at-mwc

Best of MWC 2024: Bendable Screens, AI Wearables and More

This Concept Laptop from Lenovo Has a Transparent Display
240225-site-lenovo-translucent-laptop-concept-v3

This Concept Laptop from Lenovo Has a Transparent Display

Motorola's Rollable Concept Phone Wraps on Your Wrist
240225-site-motorola-rollable-concept

Motorola's Rollable Concept Phone Wraps on Your Wrist

Latest How To All how to videos

Windows 11 Tips and Hidden Features
240311-site-windows-11-hidden-tips-and-tricks-v2

Windows 11 Tips and Hidden Features

Vision Pro App Walkthrough -- VisionOS 1.0.3
VisionOS 1.0.3

Vision Pro App Walkthrough -- VisionOS 1.0.3

Tips and Tricks for the Galaxy S24 Ultra
240216-site-galaxy-s24-ultra-tips-and-hidden-features-2

Tips and Tricks for the Galaxy S24 Ultra

TikTok Is Now on the Apple Vision Pro
tiktok-on-vision-pro-clean

TikTok Is Now on the Apple Vision Pro

Get Your TV Ready for the Big Game: Super Bowl Setup Tips
superbowl-tv-settings-thumb1

Get Your TV Ready for the Big Game: Super Bowl Setup Tips

How to Use a Quest 3 Like the Vision Pro
240202-site-spatial-computing-on-meta-quest-3

How to Use a Quest 3 Like the Vision Pro