Take on the new term with the best student laptops 2024

As the end of summer rolls around, many students have one thing on their minds – getting prepped for the new term. A good multi-purpose laptop is an important feature of student life, whether you’re writing essays, cramming at the library or playing games with your friends. 

When choosing the best laptop for your college journey, there’s a lot to consider. Long battery life will help you take notes in back-to-back lectures, while a lightweight structure is great for portability and for studying on the go. High RAM is perfect for multitasking, while high-grade speakers make for brilliant parties and chilled-out movie nights. To help you make the right choice, I’ve ranked some of the best student laptop deals available on Back Market to help kickstart the school year.

What to look for? The essential criteria

Choosing a student laptop can be a pain, especially if you don't know much about it. However, don't worry as this guide will be your north star for getting ready to go back to school! The first step is obviously to identify your needs because there are a multitude of devices for different uses:

For a student, your needs are quite simple: a student laptop must allow you to take notes, carry out research online and store notes and the necessary applications to submit work, while remaining portable. Here is a summarised list on the priorities for a student laptop:

• Bet on a screen that is between 11 and 16 inches, and full HD if it exceeds 12 inches.

• Should have great battery life to last at least a whole day.

• Choose one with a pleasant keyboard as you will spend a lot of time with it. 

• Large enough memory of at least 4-8 GB of RAM. This is the main memory that is used to handle all running processes. The higher the number, the more processes the device can handle simultaneously.

• A CPU (Central Processing Unit) of at least a 2-core processor (Intel Core i3). This is the main processor, which is the heart of the computer and is therefore the most important component. The more units (cores) the main processor has, the more powerful it is.

• Low to medium size graphics card. This receives the information directly from a processor and converts the data into images. For everyday school use, you don't have to rely on a special graphics card

• Should come with a webcam and video recording capability. Both should be included for students to interact with their teachers and classmates if lessons are to be taken remotely.

• Finally, if you have the budget, a faster SSD type hard drive like 128 GB or 256 GB. This is the type of storage most laptops use.

The best student laptop deals for every type of learner

Having the right laptop can really help you get into the swing of a new uni term and make sure you’ve got plenty of entertainment options for those all-important rest days. Even if you don’t have a lot of slack in your budget, you can find great deals on refurbished laptops on Back Market that won’t break the bank. These student discount laptops are ranked based on factors like cost, quality and unique features to help you get a better idea of what you need.

Best student laptop for those on the go: Microsoft Surface Laptop SE 11-inch (2021)

As a student, you spend a lot of time on the go, whether you’re running between classes, travelling home for the weekend or squeezing in some essay time on your break at work. Having a lightweight laptop that still has plenty of processing power will make studying on the move a lot easier without compromising your user experience. The Microsoft Surface Laptop SE 11-inch (Verified Refurbished from *£199) is slim and lightweight – weighing in at 1,112g – but still packs a punch in terms of storage and functionality.

This laptop works best for busy students who want a highly portable laptop that offers great value for money. 128GB of storage gives you ample space for saving essays and notes in Word documents, while 8GB of RAM is ideal for streaming movies and TV and for browsing the web.

The LCD screen gives you a high-resolution display and crisp image quality for enjoying your favourite shows. Meanwhile, the 720p HD camera and high-quality mic are perfect for participating in online classes or for video calls with family and friends.

If you’re concerned about getting value for money, the refurbished Microsoft Surface Laptop SE 11-inch (2021) is a great choice, offering a comprehensive user experience at a highly competitive cost, with prices from £185–£264. However, if you’re into gaming and want to play new games with high-level graphics, the 1.1 GHz will be a drawback. Slightly lower-than-average storage space also means this laptop isn’t ideal for downloading large files or rendering images.

Best student laptop for the creative ones: MacBook Pro Retina 16-inch (2019)

The MacBook Pro Retina 16-inch (2019) (Verified Refurbished from *£519) offers a great balance between high-speed CPU capabilities and a slightly lower cost than more up-to-date Apple products. The 2.6 GHz processor speed offers high-level efficiency for HD video editing, image rendering and any other performance-intensive tasks. 

16GB of memory allow you to seamlessly switch between multiple programs, making this one of the best student laptops for undertaking creative degrees requiring frequent use of Photoshop, Affinity or Adobe Illustrator. You’ll also get 512GB of storage, meaning you can easily download and save large files. 

The MacBook Pro Retina has a thin, reasonably lightweight design, making it good for portable use. It also offers extensive battery life, meaning you can take it out and about without always worrying about hovering near a plug socket. The high-quality six-speaker sound system also makes this a great choice for music lovers, while the high-density pixel Retina design gives you a sharp, crisp display.

Again, this is not one of the best student laptops for gaming, the MacBook 2019 may struggle with demanding frame rates in newer, more complex games. The price tag is also on the higher side at £514–£639, although, when compared with other products in the same price range, this model is an excellent deal in terms of storage capability.

Best student laptops for gamers: ASUS TUF Gaming F15

Student life can have its ups and downs, and finding time to unwind is super important. If you’re a serious gamer and love to explore virtual worlds in your downtime, the ASUS TUF Gaming F15 (Verified Refurbished from *£1,209.99) is one of the best gaming laptops available and also provides excellent functionality as a study device.

The ASUS TUF is on the more expensive side when it comes to student laptop deals. Prices for a refurbished model start at around £900, so this is definitely one for gamers who know that they’ll get use out of the TUF’s superior GPU function.

Level up with the best gaming laptops of 2024

An extensive 512GB of storage means this model can handle multiple large file downloads, making it ideal for storing the latest games. The 8GB RAM is slightly limited for an intensive gaming laptop, although perfectly passable for casual games and everyday use. The design is moderately lightweight, giving the ASUS TUF marks for portability and making it one of the best student laptops for moving between school and home.

Best student laptops for high-level performance: Dell XPS 7590 15-inch

When it comes to high-level performance and running multiple software programs at the same time, the Dell XPS 7590 15-inch (Verified Refurbished from £1,291) is one of the best student laptop deals, offering a robust 32GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. This refurbished model is ideal for students who want to download or run complex software programs, for instance, students specialising in engineering, architecture or computer programming degrees.

With speedy 2.3GHz processing, these laptops are sturdy all-rounders. They have great potential for both study and recreational gaming, as well as all other standard media applications, such as streaming and browsing. Priced at around £1,295 second-hand, the Dell XPS 15 is a good investment for long-term educational goals or a short course before moving into a professional setting. 

Weighing in at 1,900g, the Dell 15 is portable but somewhat on the heavier side. The Dell XPS 13-inch is a lighter and slightly cheaper model but lacks the additional RAM that makes the XPS 15 a good choice for multitaskers.

Why is a refurbished laptop better than a new laptop?

Choosing a refurbished laptop gets you the best deals on price without compromising on quality. Back Market ensures that all laptops are 100% fully functional at the time of purchase, so you can make the most of your new device. Buying refurbished laptops is also great for the environment, cutting back on technological waste and extending the life of products by several years.

Make the most of Back Market’s student discount on laptops 

Get the best deals on refurbished tech with Back Market’s student discount on laptops and other electronics. Students enrolled in UK higher education can log on to their Back Market account and complete the student form to receive a £20 discount code. This code can be used on items over the value of £250, and the offer is available once per year for each customer; perfect for your back-to-school itinerary.

Laptop, PC or tablet?

The advantage of the laptop is that the screen and the keyboard are already included. Nonetheless, it's worth investing in some extra gear if you're going to be sitting in front of the laptop for a long time. 

What is the advantage of a laptop for a student? 

• Due to its size, the laptop can be taken to school and used in different places at home. This flexibility speaks in favour of a laptop, especially in small student dorms and apartments where there might be no fixed place for the computer.

What is the benefit of a desktop PC for a student? 

• The advantage lies in the longevity of the desktop PC, since its components can be modified - unlike a laptop. So you can keep a state-of-the-art PC for a long time for little money. 

What is the advantage of a tablet?

• They're unbeatable when it comes to portability, as they slip into your backpack, tote bag, or hand bag like a textbook.

• Long battery life that is comparable to laptops.

Disadvantages of a tablet for students are:

• Tablets work with applications that cannot always be fully compared with desktop software.

• Operation via the touchscreen can sometimes make it difficult to work smoothly with the tablet, especially when working with different programs at the same time. For example when creating a Powerpoint presentation, it is not so easy to write, research and create the presentation with the tablet when compared to a laptop.

We recommend a tablet for younger students as the apps make it easier to use, or as an additional tool to support your workflow on the laptop or desktop computer.

What equipment do I need for a PC?

If you choose a desktop PC, you shouldn't forget to buy the right equipment: 

• Monitor: Ensure a display resolution of 1280 x 1024 pixels and a minimum screen size of 14 inches.

• Mouse and keyboard: must be purchased separately

There are also all-in-one desktop computers, such as the iMac, but you still need to buy a mouse and keyboard to use them. There is also the possibility to buy a refurbished keyboard here, because nowadays everything can be refurbished :) 

With a laptop, everything is more or less included. However, if you are looking for more comfort, you can also buy a separate monitor, keyboard and mouse for greater productivity. The investment is always worthwhile, especially if you spend intensive hours on the laptop. 

An important point that is often forgotten is the purchase of productivity software such as Windows Office, which includes programs such as Excel, Word or Powerpoint. This aspect is particularly important for all students. The operating system (whether Mac iOs or Windows) is usually included in the price.

Last word on student laptops

Finding the right computer for a student isn't always easy, but with the basic knowledge we've covered here, plus our recommendations for 2024, you're now well prepared for the challenge. If you take these three points into account, then nothing stands in the way of purchasing your next student laptop:

• Make sure the computer possesses the right performance to help you carry out your daily student needs. 

• Consider buying a refurbished PC to not only do something good for nature, but also for your wallet.

• Remember that you may still have to buy accessories such as a mouse, keyboard or software.

Methodology:

These student laptops are ranked according to a range of factors, such as cost, processing power and storage. I’ve compiled a list of the best laptops that excel in different areas, such as great graphics quality for gamers, RAM capacity for heavy-duty software programs and high storage for creative types, all while trying to get you the best deals on tech and keep it student-budget-friendly.

*Prices updated at date of publication