The best back to school laptops in 2017
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Gaming laptop
The Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Gaming laptop, despite the 'gaming' tag, should still be considered a prime candidate for a college PC due to its strong specifications and high performance -- especially for students working in the STEM field who need a laptop capable of running applications with high demand.
Specs at a glance: 15-inch display | Intel i7 processor | Windows 10 Home | up to 16GB RAM and 32GB DDR4 memory support | up to 512GB SSD storage | NVIDIA GeForce graphics
Price: $749.99 (£899)
Apple MacBook Air
Apple's MacBook Air has remained a firm favorite for students for many years. The lightweight, durable 13-inch laptop is easily transported in a backpack and is reliable enough to last throughout a student's academic career.
Specs at a glance: 1.8GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor to 2.2GHz Intel Core i7 | Up to 512GB storage | 8GB RAM | Intel HD Graphics 6000 | Approximately 12 hours battery life
Price: $999+ (£949 to £1,099)
Dell 2-in-1 Education convertible Chromebook
The Dell Chromebook 3189 Education 2-in-1 is a contender for students who need a lightweight, portable PC with enough power for basic applications and for a reasonable budget.
Specs at a glance: 11.6-inch display | 4GB RAM | Google Apps | Touch screen | up to 64GB storage
Price: $579+ (£279+)
HP Spectre x360
The HP Spectre x360 13-ac002na is not cheap, but for students willing to invest in a high-performance laptop suitable for running resource-heavy applications and for gaming, this PC is worth considering.
Specs at a glance: 13.3-inch full HD touchscreen display | Windows 10 Home 64 | Intel Core i7-7500U processor | 8GB RAM | 512GB PCIe SSD storage | Up to 16 hours battery life
Price: $1,119 (£1,499)
Lenovo Yoga 900S
The Lenovo Yoga 900S is a slim, sleek convertible laptop suitable for both study and play.
Specs at a glance: 12.5-inch QHD touch display | Up to 6th Generation Intel Core i7 Processor | Windows 10 Home | Intel graphics | Up to 8 GB RAM | 720p webcam | Up to 512 GB Samsung PCIe SSD
Price: £749.99
Via: US alternative | UK
HP Pavilion x360
The HP Pavilion x360 range offers fair specifications for a mid-range price bracket. Likely to appeal to audiophiles, the laptop also comes with HP Audio Boost and B&O Play-inspired speakers.
Specs at a glance: 14-inch HD touchscreen edge-to-edge glass display | Windows 10 Home 64 | Intel Core i3-7100U processor | 8 GB RAM | 128 GB SSD storage | HD webcam
Price: $389+ (£529+)
Acer Aspire 5 Notebook
The Aspire 5 15.6-Inch notebook is a good mid-range laptop suitable for students who need to stay within budget, but also want a fair amount of memory and storage.
Specs at a glance: Windows 10 Home | Intel Core i3 processor | 8 GB RAM, DDR4 SDRAM | 128 GB SSD | Intel HD Graphics 520
Price: $529.99 (£499.99)
Samsung Notebook 9
The Samsung Notebook 9 is a modern, sleek and pretty laptop which packs some serious power. If students are fans of the company, this slimline laptop is a great bet for both work and play and would suit users who want a very light and portable model as it weighs in at only 1.8 pounds.
Specs at a glance: 13.3-inch LED display | 7th Gen Intel Core i7 Processor | 16GB RAM | Windows 10 Home | 256GB SSD storage
Price: $1,199.99
Via: US | UK alternative
Lenovo Yoga 300
For students who want a convertible laptop without breaking the bank, the Lenovo Yoga is an economic option while still providing enough power for college tasks and work. However, for the price, the sacrifice students will make is in battery life -- pinned at roughly five hours on a single charge.
Specs at a glance: 11.6-inch display | 2.16GHz Intel Celeron processor | Windows 10 Home 64-bit | Intel HD Graphics (processor only) | 4GB soldered RAM | webcam | 500GB storage
Price: £299.99
Via: US alternative | UK
Microsoft Surface Book
An option for students who want a versatile mobile PC that can also act as a tablet, the Microsoft Surface Book is a popular option. Investing in this device, however, can be pricey so it would be most suitable for those who need a lot of power and plan to use their device beyond university years.
Specs at a glance: 13.5-inch PixelSense Display touchscreen (detachable) | Up to 1TB storage | up to Intel Core i7 processor | up to 16GB RAM | optional NVIDIA GeForce dGPU | Windows 10 Pro | Surface Pen included
Price: $1,349+ (£1,299+)