[00:02] important videos that we do each year. It is our annual best laptop for students. This year it is my pleasure to be counting down the top 10 student laptops. And the good news is that I think this year we've got something for
[00:14] everyone. But, if you want a wider selection, I got something cool for you. We just launched our student laptop section on our website. Over there, you you plan to do gaming or do content creation, and put in your budget. Bam!
[00:29] you. If you just want to skip the video and go straight to my top 10, links of course are down below the video. But, if you do go, you'll miss the giveaway. Let's start the countdown. Coming in at number 10 is the new Dell XPS 13. If you
[00:44] something with, you know, basic computing needs, and you're shopping on a tighter budget, this is a laptop to take a look at. The XPS is unusually premium for its price. It comes in around $800 for the model that we
[00:57] recommend with a student discount. It's a very similar laptop to the MacBook Neo, in that it's for someone who's prepared to sacrifice performance for a high-quality laptop. But, guys, we like the XPS better. The XPS, it can come
[01:10] recommend for most students. It is lighter than the Neo. It has a larger 13.4-in screen, even though they're physically around the same size. Its screen, the XPS's that is, is not only bright and high resolution, but it has a
[01:23] fast refresh rate, and it's a touchscreen, too. It's got a very you won't notice reflections as much on this laptop. Very helpful if you're out studying in a coffee store. The XPS's keyboard, it also has a backlight, so
[01:38] you can see it in the dark. Now, its main downsides are that its keyboard is low travel. It will get the job done, but it's not the most comfortable keyboard out there. And more importantly, its performance is poor.
[01:50] This laptop is only suitable for students studying non-technical courses, say, social sciences. Do not buy this laptop if you think you're going to different at school like say photo
[02:02] editing, making videos, that sort of thing. Guys, its performance will be something around the X specific price point, but you want a safer level of performance, our number nine pick is what you should look at. HP's OmniBook.
[02:16] These are the value kings of student laptops. That's when they're on sale and they're often on sale. The OmniBook 3 feels the cheapest of the bunch. It's a very no-frills laptop. The OmniBook 5 is a bit better with a better keyboard and
[02:28] trackpad. The OmniBook 7s and Xs, they look more modern and stylish and all their starting configs have decent processors. At the top of the range is the OmniBook Ultra, which is a big step up. It has a very premium feeling
[02:41] top-tier creature comforts like a haptic trackpad. If you see flipping an OmniBook's name, it means it can convert into a tablet, which I know a lot of equipped with a variety of different processors and screens. And
[02:55] understanding which to get can be really challenging. So, to make your life easy, on our website bestlaptop.deals, we classify all processors into four tiers. You got poor performing processors, decent, good, or max. Poor performing
[03:09] processors like the one in the Dell XPS 13 and some of the cheapest OmniBooks, they are very restrictive. As I said, they should only be purchased by rudimentary computing needs. Decent performing processors like the
[03:22] ones in most OmniBooks are good enough for the majority of students. If you're studying STEM, I'd actually look for a processor classified as good performing. The more expensive OmniBook Ultras, they all come with one of those. Now, whether
[03:35] a specific OmniBook is worth buying, it just really depends on its price and the config you're getting. So, on our website, we highlight when a laptop's current price makes it a good or great deal. But in general, I'd only buy an
[03:48] OmniBook 3 or 5 if they're around $500 or less that is and come with a decent processor. Omnibook 7s and Xs, they are more ideal for most students. I'd be willing to spend $800 to buy one of them. You get
[04:00] mentioned, but they're a little less premium. Now, Omnibook Ultras, they are fantastic, and I'd go as high as $1,500 to get one of them. Lastly, I do recommend you avoid buying a 16-in Omnibook with a 1920 by 1200 2K display.
[04:17] isn't going to look crisp on such a large panel with so few pixels. You really aren't going to see more than you would have on a 14-in screen, so why lug around the extra weight? I think it makes more sense to just get a monitor
[04:30] for your dorm room. I'll link some of the ones we like down below. Now, coming in at number eight are Lenovo's Yoga 7s. The Yoga 7s are just a step up in more comfortable keyboards, and they're more rigid. They're just a little bit
[04:44] better built. The Yoga Slim 7i Ultra, that's even a step up in quality over built, but it's lighter and more The Yogas, they all have powerful enough processors for most students. If you do
[04:57] traditional clamshell laptop. If it doesn't have Slim, it's a two-in-one, and you can convert it into a tablet. variants of the Yoga 7s, but they all share the same basic chassis. The Yoga
[05:10] 7is come with an Intel chip, and the 7is come with AMD. Both Intel and AMD application compatibility. Everything's going to run on them, which is what you want as a student. If you are picking between them, Intel Core Ultra Series 3
[05:24] is currently better than what AMD has. So, I'd pay an extra $100 or $200 to go with Intel. The Yoga Slim 7X has a Qualcomm processor, and it's more of a situational choice. Qualcomm chips, they
[05:36] actually faster than comparable Intel or AMD ones, and they are more power efficient. So, you get longer battery life. Well, why did I say buying a Qualcomm laptop is situational? It's because they just have
[05:48] compatibility issues. Not all Windows applications and accessories work with these laptops. I personally own the Slim 7x and I love it. No fan noise, no heat, long battery life. However, my Thunderbolt dock doesn't work with it.
[06:02] League of Legends won't run on it. For my use case of just using it when I'm out and about for basic office application and web browsing, totally fine. But as a student, I'd only buy a Qualcomm laptop if your course is only
[06:15] office, web browsing, and collaboration tools. Okay, rounding out the Yogas, do not have a headphone mic jack, Bluetooth only. Also, just like Omnibooks, be very careful of buying one with a 16-in screen with a 2K, you know,
[06:30] 1920 by 1200 resolution. Again, it's a bait. You won't really see that much more information on it. All right, what happens if you want more performance? engineering where you plan to use CAD, or you want a dedicated GPU for gaming
[06:45] or content creation. Well, coming in at number seven is a secret gem of a number seven is a secret gem of a laptop. It's Gigabyte's Aero 16. It has consistently been one of the best value laptops. Coming in around $1,200 on a
[06:58] decent sale, you're getting a very lightweight 16-in laptop with a good enough screen. It is a fast refresh rate panel and it has a resolution of 2560 by 1600, which is enough to make small text look sharp. It's a matte display, so
[07:12] environments. It has a decent Ryzen 7 processor and a solid discrete GPU, an RTX 5060 or 5070. There are a couple of gotchas to be aware of though. Firstly, the Aero's GPU is not fed full power, so it will
[07:27] underperform those same GPUs in larger laptops. The Aero also feels just like a bit of a cheaper laptop. It's keyboard deck does have a bit of flex, which makes typing on it just feel a little bit mushy. And its screen, it isn't
[07:40] color work, so it's not the most ideal laptop for content creation. On that note, in this category of value for money, thin and light 16-in laptops that do have a dedicated GPU, I prefer Lenovo's IdeaPad Pro 5. The only reason
[07:56] because it's now very expensive and just hard to find. I'll place a link to it down below. If you have a choice, get the IdeaPad Pro 5 as it is a more premium laptop. The Aero needs to be $200 cheaper to warrant buying it over
[08:10] the IdeaPad Pro 5. Now, coming in at number six is our first true performance laptop. It's HP's Omen 16. It's a full-fat gaming laptop, ideal for performance but don't want to break the bank. I particularly like the HyperX
[08:25] edition. It comes in this stylish dark color. You can get it with a very powerful HX processor, a full-power GPU up to an RTX 5070 12 gig, and it has upgradeable memory. The Omen is going to have enough performance for anything you
[08:39] will be able to play the latest AAA titles and edit videos on it. But what really elevates the Omen over other full-fat gaming laptops is HP's pricing. HP really is the king of value. I've seen the Omen with an RTX 5060 and 1920
[08:55] by 1200 screen for around $1,000. Now, I don't normally recommend laptops with such a resolution on a 16-in panel. Small text, as I've said, it just doesn't look as crisp. But if you are primarily gaming and you're buying a
[09:08] laptop with a mid-range discrete GPU like this one, it can make sense. A lower resolution screen is easier for the GPU to drive as there are less pixels to render. So, you get more frames and you can up the game's quality
[09:20] settings. But if you do want a higher resolution panel, I've seen the Omen HyperX edition with a stunning 2560 by 1600 OLED display for around $1,400, also a great price. And I've seen the more premium Omen Max 16 with an RTX
[09:36] more premium Omen Max 16 with an RTX 5080 and 32 gig of memory for 2,300. Also a very good price. Look, the Omen's just really reinforce the importance of doing your research. You want to know what laptops are the good ones to get
[09:49] and what price is worth jumping in on. We have a crazy deal section on our sales. In fact, that's where I found these ones. Now, the Omen, it does have a downside. It is a large and heavy laptop. It does support USBC charging,
[10:04] brick at home and bring a smaller charger with you. But if you want Omen Slim. I wouldn't call it a true slim laptop, but it is slimmer than the regular Omen and it still has upgradeable memory.
[10:18] Just be aware it doesn't feed its GPU as much power. More than the Gigabyte Aero feeds its GPU, but less than the regular Omen. All right, now we're going to transition into the true best of the best student laptops. If you want a
[10:31] really portable 16-in laptop that gives you similar performance to the Omen, 7. In 2026, Lenovo shrunk the Legion 7 by removing the stadium out the back. So, it now fits in a regular laptop sleeve.
[10:46] Just like the Yogas, there is a 7i with AMD, which is the one we have, and a 7i later in the year. The Legion 7 delivers fantastic performance for its size, yet it is significantly lighter than the Omen and
[11:00] even the Omen Slim. It has a great display that is crisp and bright and a very comfortable keyboard. This is an ideal laptop for a student doing computer science, engineering, or who wants to play games. If you want
[11:13] though, pay close attention to the Legion 5i. We've seen some great deals on those. Ethan here bought one for himself. It is a little chunkier and heavier than the 7 and it has a smaller display, but it's still a full power
[11:27] gaming laptop and it is more compact than the Omen. Number four is the quintessential student laptop, the MacBook Air. If you've ever walked around a campus, you'll see a ton of these and for good reason. The Air is a
[11:40] laptop you buy you just don't have to worry about. It has a premium build. It battery life, nice enough screen, excellent trackpad, and it's very light and portable. You just don't see this combination in a Windows laptop at this
[11:55] price point, even after Apple raised their prices. Now, on that note, this is an important time to mention older laptops. Many laptops, like the Legions Airs, they haven't improved that much from last year. So, if you can snap up
[12:10] last year's version for say $200 cheaper, just get that. Overall, the Air, whether M4 or M5, it's ideal for most students, as long as your software runs on macOS, which is most of you, and you don't need an Nvidia GPU.
[12:24] All right, the best Windows laptop for most students is our number three pick, the ThinkPad X95. What do students fundamentally want in a laptop? They want a high-quality screen that's large enough to get real work
[12:36] done. They want reliability, including broad application compatibility and performance they can count on. They want long battery life. Guys, this laptop ticks all the boxes. It has a stunning 15.3-in OLED display. It is compact and
[12:51] portable given its screen size, and it is really well-built. There are two variants, the regular X95, which gives you decent performance, and there is the 15P, which is the performance version. That one has a beefier cooling solution,
[13:05] processor, either an Intel Panther Lake H or X chip. Both the H and X chips, performance in the same class as Apple's M5. Now, expert tip, normally the X
[13:17] chips, they're the ones with a powerful integrated GPU, but this specific Ultra 5 H chip, it has one, too. So, you might want want save some money and just get that version. Either configuration of the 15p will be enough for low-end
[13:30] gaming and basic content creation. And regardless of which ThinkPad X1 15 you get, they all have exceptional battery life. The only reason I don't personally keyboard just isn't quite as comfortable as some other laptops on this list like
[13:44] the Yogas and the Legions. The X1 does have 1.35 mm of key travel, but typing on it actually feels a little low travel like typing on a MacBook's keyboard. And on that note, the best laptop for most students is our number two pick, the
[13:59] MacBook Pro 14. It is portable, it is powerful, and everything about it is premium. Like the Air, this is a laptop you buy and you don't need to worry about, but the Pro even more so. The M5 processor runs better in it because it's
[14:12] fed more power, and this laptop has a fan to keep it cool. The base MacBook Pro 14 with that M5 chip totally good enough for anything you're going to be studying. Now, if you can afford it, I really like the M5 Pro 15 cool. It is
[14:25] significantly more powerful. It comes with more memory as standard, 24 gig. I think it is the ideal configuration for someone studying software development or production, video editing, or audio engineering.
[14:38] One thing I do want to call out that's special about the MacBook Pro is that you'll be able to see more content on its 14.2-in display than on other similar-sized Windows laptops. This is because of its extremely high-quality
[14:50] panel and the way macOS renders fonts. You see, small text just looks sharper. This allows you to set your display scaling zoom out and see more The more you can see, the more productive you are. I found I could see
[15:05] slightly more lines of code on my MacBook Pro 14 than a 16-in Windows laptop with a high-resolution screen. On top of this, the MacBook Pro's displays get very bright, and they have an effective anti-reflective coating.
[15:17] But, if you want to use your MacBook Pro outdoors, well, you can upgrade it to a nano-texture display, which cuts them out almost completely. So, if the MacBook Pro 14 is the best laptop for most students, why isn't it number one?
[15:31] Well, it's because of exactly that. It's the best for most, but not all. There are students who a MacBook just isn't good for, like engineers or students who want to play the latest AAA games. Well, there is one laptop that is very good
[15:45] for all students, but it does make the MacBook Pro look affordable. Just like the MacBook, it is very premium. It is very compact and portable. It has the broadest application compatibility because it has
[15:57] an Intel processor and an Nvidia GPU. And on that note, it is the only small laptop that comes with Nvidia's highest-end GPUs. Well, its name is the Zephyrus G14, and we recommend the configuration with a 5070 TI. It's going
[16:13] to have plenty of performance to not only play the latest AAA games, but play them at decent settings. Last year, the G14 wasn't even on my list. It just got too warm, even in light use. That's normally what happens when you shove so
[16:27] much powerful hardware inside a tiny metal chassis. But this year's G14, it's kind of a miracle device. It's so much improved. Because of its efficient Intel much cooler to the touch and has significantly longer battery life. It
[16:42] also has a brighter screen than last year's and a full-sized SD card reader. Guys, this is one of the few laptops that I recommend you do shell out for one, as I said, it was basically unusable. It just got too warm to the
[16:56] If you're studying programming, engineering, or you want to run local AI anything that requires a lot of performance, the G14, it's the end of the line for a student laptop. All right, that's the list. I want to end
[17:11] with the most important message of this entire video. Buy responsibly. As a student, you're already likely to be taking on a good amount of debt, and I do not want you to take on any additional risk. You do not need to buy
[17:24] one of the super expensive laptops that I covered today. As you saw, there are a range of laptops that are very good for a lot less. Plus, as I said, you can save a lot of money if you buy one from last year. To help you out, below this
[17:36] video, I've actually posted links to our best laptops for student guides from last year and the year before, so you know which specific laptops were good back then. Guys, at this channel, we actually earn
[17:48] money when you buy laptops. If you buy expensive ones that you can't afford, we earn more. So, the fact I'm telling you not to do this shows you how important this message is. Please, share this video and let me know with a comment
[18:01] below what you've done to help spread this message. And one of you, one of you will be winning this Omnibook X14. Full giveaway details will be down below this video, and guys, if you have specific questions on laptop buying, post them in
[18:14] our community section on our website. Till next time, best of luck with your Till next time, best of luck with your studies, and I will catch you later.