Getting the best laptops for law students can, at times, get confusing. At the end of it all, a law student must comply with their school’s laptop requirements.
Generally, at law school, you will be required to take notes during lectures, conducts research, and take exams on your laptop. Therefore, getting the best laptop that won’t overwhelm or frustrate; you can be a daunting task.
Most importantly, you need to realize that as a student of law, you don’t need a device from the top cadre in the market.
All the same, you need to get a device that has the reputation of being among the best laptop for law school.
Therefore, let us look at what you should look for in an ideal laptop.
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Factors to Consider when Purchasing Best Laptops for Law Students
Every university has its variations on the basic specifications for the best laptop for law school students. Therefore, the one crucial part when buying a laptop for use in a school of law is waiting until you are sure which college you will be joining.
All the same, some specifications are acceptable in almost all law schools. These are the specs we will focus on to help you one of the best devices for your needs.
As we had earlier noted, you are not likely to use your laptop to play video games or design graphics. Therefore, you need to make sure that you get a device that will serve your needs.
Here are some of the specs to help you get the best law student’s laptop; please read on.
Processor
Picking a processor for the best laptops for college students shouldn’t be a hard task, especially for those in law school. First, you need to appreciate that you will not need the most powerful one that is out there in the market.
If anything, you need to avoid them at all costs. The so powerful devices will drain your battery in no time.
All you need is a processor that will not freeze in the middle of a lecture or exam. Also, you don’t want one that will generate unnecessary heat.
Therefore, you should go for a Core i3 or i5 processor with the “U” sign, which stands for Ultra Low Voltage. Also, any AMD processor that doesn’t have the “Ryzen” label will serve you well.
Operating System
The other important aspect to consider when getting one of the best laptops for law students is the device’s operating system.
The main contestants here are Windows and Macintosh. Actually, when it comes to which is better than the other for law students, the answer is simply none. Both have their equal share of faults, and when it comes to running exam software, they equally suck.
Whichever you go for, make sure it is either the latest or among the latest. Some OS have become obsolete with time.
You should consider going for windows 8 and above for PC and anything from MacOS 10.10 Yosemite for Macintosh.
Display
Without a doubt, you will be spending long hours working on the laptop. So, any display less than 13” happens to be too small for you. So, so a screen between 13” and 17” will be a great investment.
Also, go for a screen with a Full HD resolution. For you to protect your eyes from glares, a matte screen will be the best choice in the long run.
Since you will most likely use the laptop for more than the 3 years you spend in college, choose a device that will serve you well even after graduation.
Battery life
One of the most important aspects to consider for the best laptop for students is how long the battery can last. As a student of law, you need a laptop that will withstand long hours of use.
Imagine a laptop that runs out of power in the middle of an exam! That could be disastrous.
Basically, the best laptops for law students should last for a minimum of 6 hours. To achieve these levels on a single charge, you need to be careful in choosing your CPU. The quad cores will often drain your battery fast.
An i3 processor will give you the desired efficiency and save a lot on your battery. Also, devices that use SSDs instead of HDDs happen to be power efficient.
RAM and Storage
If there is one crucial part that colleges are keen about on the best Laptops for students is the amount of RAM installed. Basically, 4GB would work, but that could be a bit slow. Therefore, most law schools set the minimum requirement at 6GB.
All the same, to safely load multiple apps at the same time without the machine getting sluggish, you can go for 8GB up to 16GB of RAM. Anything beyond this would not harm your computer, but it would not be of any significance for a law student.
If you have a laptop that has less than 6GB RAM, you should consider expanding it.
Storage isn’t much of a concern for law students. Therefore, any device with over 100GB works well, but you have to follow your institution’s guidelines on digital storage capacity.
Portability
As a student, you will have to carry your laptop to and from classes for the next three or so years. Therefore, the best laptop for students should be as light in weight as it is practically possible.
Although thin laptops come at relatively high prices, you shouldn’t use that as an excuse to spend three years lugging a heavy load in the name of an affordable laptop.
In that case, the best law student’s laptop shouldn’t weigh more than 3 Pounds.
Best Laptops for Law Students Reviews
A laptop is one of the best investments you will make as a law student. It will save you money in the long run and will make your life a lot easier in the short run.
There are so many laptops out there to choose from, and you are probably wondering how you will ever be able to narrow it down to a good laptop for law school.
Well, I have reviewed all of the current laptops on the market and these are my top three recommendations.
Apple 13” MacBook Air Core i5 CPU, 8GB RAM
Are you a Mac enthusiast? Well, this is for you. Mac has been producing some of the best laptops for students, and this one happens to be one of them.
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Features
This Apple Macbook Air comes with a 13” Full HD display. Therefore, you will enjoy the best presentation of your work at all times.
The laptop also features 8GB of RAM, which happens to be enough for any law student. In addition, the device has a storage capacity of 128GB in the form of an SSD, making this MacBook incredibly fast.
Talking of speed, we can’t fail to mention the machine’s Intel Core i5 processor, which has a speed of up to 2.9GHz. Therefore, processing and saving data will not be much of a hassle. It also gives you 8-10 hours of battery life.
For wireless connectivity, the device connects through Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. In addition, the laptop has two 3.0 USB ports, two Thunderbolt ports, and an SDXC card slot.
Did someone mention that MacBooks are heavy? Just wait.
The MacBook Air only weighs 2.96 pounds. That makes it an ideal laptop for students who have to carry the device day in and day out.
Pros
- The device is stylishly small
- Has multiple ways of charging and expansion
- Only weighs 2.96 lbs
- Features fast SSD storage.
Cons
- The price is relatively high
- The 13” display is a bit small
Acer Chromebook 14, Aluminum, 14-inch Full HD
The Acer Chromebook happens to be another of the best laptops for law students, especially for those who mainly want to take notes and conduct some online research. Above all, the device features a metal chassis that makes it quite hardy.
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If you want a laptop that with not frustrate you with power failures when taking notes, then you need to get this device for yourself.
As one of the best laptops for law school students, this device runs on an Intel Celeron quad-core processor that can reach speeds of up to 2.24GHz. The processor, combined with the Google Chrome OS, makes this device one of the best power-conserving laptops. In fact, it does almost 12 hours on a single battery full charge.
It also comes with a Full HD 14” display that gives the best view of your work.
Notably, the laptop has 4GB RAM, which works well without much multitasking. The only shortcoming of this Chrome book is that it only comes with 64GB of digital storage.
For connectivity, the best laptop for law students uses Bluetooth and Wi-FI. It also has two USB 3.0 ports and one HDMI port.
Pros
- The battery lasts for 12 hours
- It has a 100% metallic chassis
- The Display is Full HD
- Has a fast processing speed
- Comes with additional 100GB of Google Drive storage
Cons
- Impossible to install Software and Programs
ASUS VivoBook F510UA 15.6” Full HD Nanoedge Laptop
For those who prefer going Windows way, you are not left out at all. Here is one of the best laptops you can consider is you are a law student.
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Features
First, the ASUS VivoBook is wittingly lightweight and exceptionally quiet. The device happens to be one of the thinnest laptops (0.8 inches) that can serve law students well.
In addition, the laptop features an 8th generation Intel Core i5-8250U processor. If you can recall what we had said earlier, any quad-core processor with a “U” is power efficient. The processor can reach speeds of up to 3.4 GHz on turbo.
The best laptop for law students has an expansive Full HD anti-glare display that measures 15.6”. As such, you will have a clear wide view of your work without getting fatigued so easily.
At the same time, the machine features 3 USB ports, an HDMI port, and a fast 802.111AC Wi-Fi that keeps you connected at all times during lessons.
On memory and storage, this device is more than you ever ask for in a student of law. It comes with 8GB RAM and 1TB of HDD. This gives you more than enough space to store stuff and multitask without hitches.
Pros
- Comes with a wide FHD display
- The processor is power efficient
- Ultra-thin
- Has a fingerprint sensor
- Features a 1000GB HDD
Cons
- It weighs more than 3lbs.
Final Word
When looking for the best laptop for law school students, you don’t need to go looking for an extremely powerful device. Actually, you may never have to run heavy programs on your gadget.
Most importantly, you need to adhere to your college specifications for the ideal laptop for law students.
Ideally, the main things to consider include battery life, portability, and display quality.
So, if you had some confusing information, now you have some clarification. Go ahead and purchase one that fits your needs and budget.