As a student, I can definitely relate to the enormous challenge that comes with shopping for a laptop that can increase your productivity and enhance your learning experience while at the same time not breaking you bank. Moreover, different students use their laptops for different use cases.
Ideally, the perfect student laptop should offer the perfect balance of performance, battery life, durability, and most importantly value for money.
Here is my current top five list of the best budget student laptops. The list isn’t in any particular order.
1. ACER ASPIRE 5
The acer aspire 5 is one of the best, if not the best 14 inch budget laptop in the world. It come in a simple, fairly sturdy plastic chasis with an aluminium top.
The laptop features a 14 inch IPS LCD panel with 250 nits brightness and 45% NTSC color coverage. The screen will suffice for everyday tasks like streaming and browsing but might not be accurate enough for graphic design. Additionally, the laptops has some pretty chunky bezels.
The laptop also features a full-size keyboard with some texture on its keys and backlighting on some models.
Raw processing power is where the accer aspire 5 shines best. Powering the laptop is the latest Intel core i5 13th Gen 1335U processor which features 2 perfomance-cores and 8 Efficient-cores. The processor additionally has a total of 12 threads, 12MB cache, a 4.60 GHz Performance-core Max Turbo Frequency and 3.40 GHz Efficient-core Max Turbo Frequency. This makes the laptop very efficient in perfoming day to day taks. You can have multiple chrome tabs, microsoft tools and photoshop running at the same time and the laptop would’nt even flinch. Moreover, the core i5 13th Gen 1335U can handle programming and webdesign which makes it ideal for Computer Science students.
Intel core i5 13th Gen 1335U Cinebench r23 scores
For the GPU, the acer aspire 5 comes with the intel’s iris xe intergrated graphics and Nvidia GeForce RTX 2050 graphics. This provides the laptop with enough grunt to handle GPU intensive work load and moderate gaming.
Additionally, the laptop comes with 8GB RAM upgradable up to 40GB/48GB/64GB depending on the model and 512GB of internal storage also upgradable.
For connectivity, the laptop has USB 3.2 Gen 1(type a), USB Gen 1 (type c), HDMI, 3mm audio jack and SD card slot.
The acer aspre 5 ships with windows 11 from the box.
| ACER ASPIRE 5 SPECIFICATIONS | ||
|---|---|---|
| PRICE | Coming soon | |
| Launch Date | 29th May 2023 | |
| Series | Aspire | |
| BODY | Colours | Gray |
| Weight | 1.57 KG | |
| Material | Metal | |
| OPERATING SYSTEM | Windows 11 | |
| DISPLAY | Size | 14.00-inch |
| Resolution | 1900x1200 pixels | |
| Touch Screen | No | |
| Refresh Rate | 60Hz | |
| HARDWARE | Processor | Intel Core i5 13th Gen 1335U |
| GPU | Nvidia GeForce RTX 2050 | |
| RAM | 8GB | |
| RAM Slots | 2 | |
| STORAGE | 512GB | |
| CONNECTIVITY | Bluetooth version | 5.2 |
| INPUTS | Web Camera | Yes |
| Pointer Device | Touchpad | |
| Speakers | Stereo Speakers | |
| Backlit Keyboard | Yes | |
| PORTS AND SLOTS | Number of USB Ports | 4 |
| USB 3.2 Gen 1 (Type A) | 3 | |
| USB 3.2 Gen 2 (Type C) | 1 | |
| Thunderbolt 4 (Type C) | 1 | |
| HDMI Port | Yes |
2. ASUS VIVOBOOK 15
The Asus vivobook 15 is beautiful 15.6 Inch laptop and a close competitor to the aforementioned acer aspire 5 in the competitive budget laptop segment.
The laptop comes in sturdy minimalist plastic and aluminium chasis. Moreover, the laptop is just 19.9mm thick and weighs 1.6KG making it very portable.
The laptop rocks a 15.60-inch display with a (1920Px1080P) resolution. Additionally, its new frameless four-sided NanoEdge display boasts an ultraslim 5.7mm bezel, giving an amazing 88% screen-to-body ratio for supremely immersive visuals.
The laptop also comes with a full-size keyboard with back lighting in some models.
Powering the laptop is the Intel Core i3 8th Gen 8145U chip which features 2 cores, 4 threads, 4MB cache and a 3.90 GHz max turbo frequency. This enables the laptop to handles most day to day work load with ease.
Intel Core i3 8th Gen 8145U cinebench r23 scores
The Asus vivobook 15 also comes with 16GB RAM, 2 RAM slots and 1TB storage.
For connectivity, the laptop features 2 USB 2.0, 1 USB 3.1 Gen 1 (Type A), 1 USB 3.1 Gen 1 (Type C), a micro SD card slot and a 3mm audio jack.
The Asus vivobook 15 additionally ships with windows 10 home from the box.
| ASUS VIVOBOOK 15 X512 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Launch Date | 11th June 2019 | |
| PRICE | Ksh 46500 | |
| BODY | Series | VivoBook |
| Weight | 1.6 KG | |
| Dimensions (mm) | 230.40 x 357.20 x 19.50 | |
| OPERATING SYSTEM | Windows 10 Home | |
| DISPLAY | Size | 15.60-inch |
| Resolution | 1920x1080 pixels | |
| HARDWARE | Processor | Intel Core i3 8th Gen 8145U |
| GPU | Intel UHD Graphics | |
| RAM | 16GB | |
| RAM Slots | 2 | |
| STORAGE | 1TB HDD | |
| INPUTS | Web Camera | Yes |
| Pointer Device | Touchpad | |
| Speakers | 2 Speakers | |
| PORTS AND SLOTS | USB Ports | 2 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 (Type A), 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 (Type C |
| HDMI Port | Standard | |
| Headphone and Mic Combo Jack | Yes | |
| Multi Card Slot | 1 Micro SD Card Reader |
3. LENOVO IDEAPAD 3
If I could summarize the lenovo ideapad 3 in a few word, it would be affordable, bold and powerfull. The lenovo ideapad 3 is beautifull a 15.6 inch budget laptop with a full plastic chasis.
The IdeaPad 3 comes with a compact 15.6-inch IPS display running at a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and 300 nits max brightness which holds up in normal daily tasks.
The laptop feature a full-sized keyboard with a number pad and offers a fairly good typing experience. Moreover, the keyboard has white backlighting and the keys on the keyboard are evenly spaced.
The track pad on the Lenovo ideapad 3 is large enough for comfortable use but its situated more to the left of the laptop rather than being straight at the center.
The Lenovo ideapad 3 is powered by the Intel Core i5 1135G7 which feature 4 core, 8 threads, 8MB cache memory and 4.20 GHz max turbo frequency. It’s designed to strike a balance between speed and energy efficiency, ensuring longer battery life for laptop users.
Intel Core i5 1135G7 cinebench r23 scores
Some nifty features that come with the laptop include a Webcam privacy shutter and fingerprint sensor that’s integrated into the power button.
The lenovo idea pad 3 comes with 8GB DDR4 RAM upgradable up to 12GB and 512GB SSD storage also upgradable.
Moreover, the laptop features high-definition stereo speakers by Dolby, Bluetooth 5.0 and WIFI 6.0.
The lenovo idea pad 3 ships with window 11 from the box.
| LENOVO IDEAPAD 3 CORE I5 11TH GEN | ||
|---|---|---|
| PRICE | Ksh. 68000 | |
| Launch Date | June 29, 2023 | |
| Series | IdeaPad | |
| BODY | Weight | 1.65 kg |
| OPERATING SYSTEM | Windows 11 | |
| DISPLAY | Size | 15.6 inches |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels | |
| HARDWARE | Processor | Intel Core i5 1135G7 |
| GPU | Integrated Intel Iris Xe | |
| RAM | 8GB DDR4 (Upgradable up to 12GB) | |
| RAM Slots | 2 | |
| STORAGE | 512 GB SSD M.2 PCIe NVMe | |
| CONNECTIVITY | Bluetooth version | Bluetooth 5.0 |
| WIFI | Intel Wi-Fi 6 (2x2/160) Gig+ | |
| INPUTS | Web Camera | 0.3 MP, with privacy shutter |
| Pointer Device | Touch Pad | |
| Speakers | High-definition stereo speakers by Dolby | |
| PORTS AND SLOTS | USB Ports | 1x USB 2.0; 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 |
| HDMI Port | Yes |
4. ACER CHROMEBOOK SPIN 514
The Acer Chromebook Spin 514 is a stunning 2 in 1 Chromebook with durable, premium design. The laptop’s chassis is built from Aluminium and it features very thin bezels which add to the already splendid aesthetics.
Coming at a weight of 1.55 kg the laptop is very portable and won’t cause any strain after carrying it for an entire day.
The laptop ships with an IPS touch screen panel that boasts 1920×1080 resolution with max 312 nits, which is plenty for day-to-day use indoors but inadequate when used outdoors.
The wide keyboard layout on the Acer Chromebook Spin 514 allows for easy location of keys. Moreover, the keys feel is excellent with deep travel and a firm tactile bottom action that ends with a light but satisfying click.
The laptop is powered by AMD Ryzen 3 series chips which are designed for a high-performance computing experience. The Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core AM4 Processor from AMD has a base clock speed of 3.5 GHz and a maximum turbo frequency of 3.7 GHz.
The laptop also comes with AMD Radeon Vega 9 graphics which can modarately handle GPU intensive tasks.
Additionally, the laptop ships with 16GB RAM, 256GB storage and features wifi 6, bluetooth 5, 1 USB 3.0 (Type A), 2 USB 3.1 Gen 1 (Type C), 2 USB 3.1 Gen 2 (Type C), HDMI and a micro SD card slot.
| ACER CHROMEBOOK SPIN 514 | ||
|---|---|---|
| PRICE | Coming soon | |
| Launch Date | 8th January 2021 | |
| Weight | 1.55 kg | |
| Material | Aluminium | |
| OPERATING SYSTEM | Chrome OS | |
| DISPLAY | Size | 14.00-inch |
| Resolution | 1080x1920 pixels | |
| Touch Screen | Yes | |
| HARDWARE | Processor | AMD Ryzen 3 |
| GPU | AMD Radeon Vega 9 | |
| RAM | 16GB | |
| STORAGE | 256GB | |
| CONNECTIVITY | Bluetooth version | 5 |
| WIFI | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac | |
| INPUTS | Web Camera | Yes |
| Pointer Device | Touchpad | |
| Speakers | Stereo Speakers | |
| Backlit Keyboard | Yes | |
| PORTS AND SLOTS | USB Ports | 1 x USB 3.0 (Type A), 2 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 (Type C), 2 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 (Type C) |
| HDMI Port | Standard | |
| Micro SD Card Slot | Yes |
5. DELL INSPIRON 15 3510
The Dell Inspiron 15 3510 is a simple yet powerful laptop. It features a sturdy well-built all plastic chassis.The laptops comes in a matt textured design which delivers a firm grip and makes fingerprints less noticeable.
The Dell Inspiron 15 3510 has a weight of 1.85 kg and thickness of about 18.90 mm (0.74 inches).
The laptops comes with a 15.6-inch FHD Touch/ Non-touchscreen TN (Twisted Nematic) panel with (1366Px 768P) resolution, 60HZ refresh rate an max 212 nits brightness which serves wel indoors but is not ideal for outdoor use.
The Dell Inspiron 15 3510 is powered by Intel Pentium N5030/ Intel Celeron N4020. Both CPU’s provide satisfactory performance for the routine home and office computing tasks.
Intel Pentium N5030 cenebench r23 scores.
Intel Celeron N4020 cenebench r23 scores.
Additionally, the laptop comes with Intel UHD Graphics 600 which allows for light wight gaming and video editing.
The Dell Inspiron 15 3510 also ships with 8GB RAM and up to 1TB of storage.
Other features include 3 USB 3.2 Gen 1 (Type A) ports, HDMI 1.4, bluetooth 5 and WIFI 5.
The laptop additionally ships with Windows 10/ Windows 11 straight from the box.
| DELL INSPIRON 15 3510 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Launch Date | January 2021 | |
| PRICE | about KES 55,000 | |
| BODY | Colours | Black, Silver |
| Weight | 1.85 kg (4.08 lbs) | |
| Material | Plastic | |
| OPERATING SYSTEM | Windows 10/ Windows 11 | |
| DISPLAY | Size | 15.6 incheS |
| Resolution | 1366 x 768 pixels | |
| Refresh Rate | 60 Hz | |
| HARDWARE | Processor | Intel Pentium N5030/ Intel Celeron N4020 |
| GPU | Intel UHD Graphics 600 | |
| RAM | 8 GB | |
| STORAGE | Ranges From 128GB-1TB | |
| CONNECTIVITY | Bluetooth version | v5 |
| WIFI | v5 | |
| INPUTS | Web Camera | Yes |
| Pointer Device | Touch Pad | |
| Speakers | 2 | |
| PORTS AND SLOTS | Number of USB Ports | 3 |
| USB 3.2 Gen 1 (Type A) | 3x USB 3.2 | |
| USB 3.2 Gen 2 (Type C) | No | |
| Thunderbolt 4 (Type C) | No | |
| HDMI Port | HDMI 1.4 |
