Find the best device for the job
Choosing the right computer to match your needs and budget can be overwhelming, writes
Good news for students (and parents) facing the inevitable computer upgrade: there’s never been a better time to buy one.
There more options than ever before – in size and shape, brand, and specifications (‘‘specs’’) – and there are attractive back-to-school deals to take advantage of. But choosing the right device to match your needs and budget can be an overwhelming task.
The first important step is to ask if the school has any preference so you don’t end up buying a tablet if a laptop is required.
The following should help you decide what’s best for the student in your home, divided into various ages.
Primary school
While not as popular as laptops, a fixed desktop computer might still be best for younger students. Not only do they cost less, on average, but they could be kept in a hightrafficked location in the home, such as a kitchen or family room, so mum and dad can keep an eye on where kids are going online.
Because they’re not designed for on-the-go use, desktops are also less prone to damage; they sit in one place and can’t be banged up or dropped as easily as laptops. The larger (and perhaps curved) keyboards and external mice are also more ‘‘ergonomic’’ than a laptop keyboard and trackpad, and better for smaller hands.
There are two main kinds of desktop PCs: a tower that connects to a monitor, and an ‘‘all-in-one’’ computer, where the guts of the machine is built in behind the monitor instead of a separate tower.
The advantage to the former is you can easily upgrade components, over time, such as adding a bigger monitor, more storage or memory, or a better graphics card (something computer gamers often like to do). All-in-one machines, however, take up less space and have no cables exposed but aren’t as easy to upgrade.
High school
Teens spend more time out of the home, and so portability is more important than for younger children.
As such, laptops are perhaps more suitable for this age group. Decide on what screen size makes the most sense. The 13-inch screen seems to be popular ‘‘sweet spot’’ between a display that’s too small (harder to multitask) and something too big (and thus heavier, and with poorer battery life, generally).
When it comes to operating systems, you have three main choices: Windows is the most popular platform (and has the most selection in devices); macOS, costs more but is very well built; and Chrome OS, which is the least expensive, but doesn’t support as many programs or have a lot of local storage (most applications require an Internet connection).
Some parents buy their kids a tablet and pair it with a wireless keyboard, but a true laptop is a better option for a couple of reasons.
A laptop gives you more screen real estate to work with your programs and multitask between them.
Laptops tend to have a lot more storage, and they have USB and SD card ports to easily get files on and off the computer. And a laptop’s clamshell design helps protect the screen when not in use.
Another option, however, is a ‘‘2-in-1’’ computer, which is a laptop when you need it and a tablet when you want it. Depending on the model, the screen bends back 360 degrees when you no longer need the keyboard, so you can use your fingertips (or stylus pen) on the screen like a tablet. In other cases, the screen detaches from the laptop altogether, which you can bring with you to swipe through games, movies, TV shows, music, photos and ebooks. 2-in-1s are usually Windows 10-based computers.
Tertiary
Mobility and power are important qualities to have in a computer built for those in university.
Today’s laptops and 2-in-1s can last as long as 15 hours, which is considerably longer than laptops that debuted even just a few years ago.
This is because of better processors (like 7th Gen Intel Core processors) and operating systems that sip rather than gulp power, solid state drive (SSD) storage instead of a hard disk drive (HDD), which is better on the battery (as there are no moving parts), and better battery technology, too.
It’s incredibly important for university students to first assess their needs.
Depending on what curriculum they’re in, it could require more horsepower than an entry-level computer – such as studying animation, video-editing, or video game programming – or the course might require a Mac over a PC, depending on the software required.
In other words, do your homework before you buy.
Also, when budgeting for a college computer, try to buy a PC or Mac that could last all three or four years of your qualification. If budget permits, stretch yourself a bit to buy one with better specs, which might cost more up front but means you won’t likely need to buy a new computer a year or two later.
In short, buying a computer for school is like buying kids’ clothes: go a little bigger than you need today, so you can grow into it for longer-term savings. –