Who should buy the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED?

The Asus Zenbook 14 OLED is our top pick because it just gets a lot of stuff right. It’s powerful, easy to carry around, and it offers solid battery life. The AMD Ryzen 7 chip inside (eight cores and 16 threads, by the way) can handle heavy stuff like CAD without slowing down, even if you’ve got a bunch of tabs open. The 14-inch 1920×1200 OLED touchscreen also looks fantastic and will make your diagrams and projects really stand out.

The battery life is a big win, too. It lasted over 16 hours in our standard battery test, so that means you can get through a full day of classes and not worry about scrambling for an outlet. The audio is also quite good and it should offer you good volume and clarity during remote lectures.

Asus Zenbook 14 OLED: Further considerations

The build quality is very good, especially for the price ($850 at the time of this writing). It’s also thin (0.59 inches) and light (2.82 pounds), by no means back-breaking. While the keyboard isn’t the best we’ve ever used due to the undersized keys, it’s totally fine for daily tasks.

Who should buy the Acer Aspire Go 15?

If you’re on a strict budget and need a straightforward laptop for note taking and running light coding software, the Acer Aspire Go 15 is a fantastic choice. The Intel Core i3-N305 processor can easily run basic tasks like research, basic coding, and video streaming. Battery life is also pretty darn good–it reached up to 12 hours on a single charge. The port selection is pretty generous as well, offering USB-A, USB-C, and HDMI.

Acer Aspire Go 15: Further considerations

This Acer Aspire Go 15 laptop is made of all plastic, so it may feel a bit flimsy to some. There’s no backlit keyboard or fingerprint reader, either (if that matters to you). That said, for students doing just general coursework, this laptop will get the job done very affordably.

Who should buy the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 10 Aura Edition?

If you need a laptop that just won’t quit, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 is an excellent choice with its incredible battery life–PCWorld recorded up to 25 hours on a single charge. That means you can power through long study sessions without constantly searching for an outlet.

Weighing just under 3 pounds, it’s actually pretty portable for a 2-in-1 device. The switch between laptop and tablet modes is truly seamless. This is great if you’re sketching out engineering diagrams or taking notes with the included Lenovo Yoga Pen.

The keyboard is comfortable to use, and you’ve got the classic ThinkPad TrackPoint there if precision is your thing. The 14-inch 1920×1200 IPS touchscreen is also bright (500 nits) and has an anti-reflective coating, making it easy to see even when you’re outside in the elements.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 10 Aura Edition: Further considerations

This laptop is a premium business machine and the price definitely reflects that ($2,336). But keep in mind that you’re paying for good build quality and a battery life that only a select few can match right now. 

Who should buy the Acer Nitro V 16?

If you want something that can handle school and gaming without fuss, the Acer Nitro V 16 is a pretty sweet pick. It’s got a Ryzen 7 CPU and an RTX 4060 GPU, so most modern games run smooth on medium to high settings. Plus, if you’re into 3D modeling or any heavy graphics work, the GPU has got your back. The 16-inch 1920×1200 screen with a 165Hz refresh rate also makes faster paced games look super smooth too.

Acer Nitro V 16: Further considerations

Design-wise, it leans into a gamer aesthetic with its orange backlit keys and noticeable branding but it’s not overly flashy. Still, it might not suit everyone’s taste. Battery life is obviously limited (I mean, it’s a gaming laptop) to about four hours and the keys feel somewhat mushy.

Who should buy the Microsoft Surface Pro (2025)?

If you’re an engineering student with a jam-packed schedule, often needing to run from class to class, the Surface Pro 2025 is so lightweight (just a little over a pound) you’ll hardly notice its presence. Inside this laptop you’ll find a Snapdragon X Plus chip and Intel Arc 130V graphics, so you can expect it to deliver a quiet, fanless experience (perfect for working in libraries and lecture halls) and it should handle basic coding and homework just fine.

The 12-inch 2196×1464 screen offers sharp colors and touchscreen capabilities, allowing you to draw and take notes with the (optical) Slim Pen.

Microsoft Surface Pro (2025): Further considerations

Though we really vibe with the high-resolution display, it’s a bit small if you’re the kind of person that has many windows open at once. Battery life is also all over the place, ranging from two to three hours under heavy loads to 19 hours with light usage. You’re also limited to just two USB-C ports, so you’ll probably want to pick up a dock or hub.