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00:00Okay, so it's back to school time and you're going to see a lot of videos on YouTube of
00:07these back to school laptop guides.
00:09Keep in mind that some of it is endorsed content, so just be aware of what you're watching.
00:13But also, if you're looking at stuff and you're seeing a recommendation of a back to school
00:17device and it's like a $3,000 or $4,000 gaming laptop, like, you know, something's wrong.
00:22So in front of me are more realistic options.
00:25These are all reasonably well priced.
00:27And before I get into the individual things, I want to talk about just two kind of important
00:32things to keep in mind when it comes to purchasing a back to school device.
00:36Number one, value is really important.
00:38Like, student debt is no joke.
00:40You want to keep these things as inexpensive as possible.
00:43And you're probably going to be looking at used or refurbished stuff for the best possible
00:48value.
00:49There's some new stuff here as well, but oftentimes you're going to get the best value when it
00:52comes to older devices.
00:55Secondly, are just the idea of gaming laptops.
00:58I cover a lot of gaming laptops on my channel.
01:00They're awesome.
01:01But for most people, they're not the best kind of back to school device.
01:04They're bigger, they're thicker, they're heavier, like, everything about them is...
01:10They're not meant for travel, like, especially for battery life.
01:12If you need to bring this thing to school and run between different classes before you
01:16bring it back home, you're going to bring the AC adapter with you.
01:19It's just a lot more weight than stuff that's designed for portability.
01:23Okay, I'm going to start with, like, the cheapest stuff and then work up from there.
01:27So the cheapest device I have here is this.
01:29This is the Acer Aspire 5.
01:31This is incredibly well valued for the price tag.
01:34There's a $300 AMD version and a $350 Intel version.
01:38These are both really good options for the money.
01:40You get a solid keyboard, you get a decent screen, good trackpad, like, the processing
01:44power and everything that you need in a kind of laptop package is done very well at this
01:50price point.
01:51It's not perfect, right?
01:53The screen isn't super bright.
01:54I wish it was a little bit brighter, but it's hard to complain about that for $300.
01:57This device is shockingly good for the money.
01:59It honestly makes me feel like they're making, like, $50 at most on each device.
02:03It's bizarre how cheap they can sell this thing for.
02:05Okay, secondly, or the next devices that I want to talk about are the $600 to $700 devices.
02:11Now, the biggest difference between these and the $300 Acer I just mentioned is mostly
02:16going to be durability and just build quality.
02:18These are just better made.
02:19The first one up is the XPS 13.
02:22This is the newest model, but the one I'd actually recommend is the 9350 from 2015 and
02:282016.
02:29Carbon fiber deck with a good keyboard, good trackpad, and it's just a really solid device
02:33overall.
02:34It's the reason why it's such a popular device over the years.
02:36You can get that thing on Amazon and eBay for around $600, $700.
02:40Pretty solid pickup.
02:42The other one that I like in this pile is the Acer Swift 3.
02:46This is a new device, and they did a great job with it.
02:48The one weakness I would say is actually the keyboard, and this would affect people
02:51that are buying stuff like this for back to school.
02:54The keyboard is a lot softer than I'd like.
02:57It's definitely something you can get used to.
02:58The layout's fine.
02:59It's just that the responsiveness of the keys is not as good as the other devices in this
03:03kind of price point, but good overall device.
03:07Next up, this is actually my favorite of the bunch.
03:08This is actually crazy that they're getting this at this price right now.
03:12This is the Surface Laptop, well, this is the Surface Laptop 2, but the one I'm talking
03:17about is the Surface Laptop 1.
03:18You can get that for $630 on Amazon right now, and it is such a good value at that price
03:23point.
03:24Fantastic keyboard, great screen, and for the people that want it, it has pen support,
03:29which is great for students.
03:30This is my favorite of the bunch at that price point.
03:32Like, when this thing launched, it was way more expensive than $630, so yeah, great device
03:39for the money.
03:40Last one is the Asus options.
03:42They have a ZenBook 13, ZenBook 14.
03:45I've reviewed both of those.
03:46I've reviewed all of these on my channel, so if you want details, I'll link them below,
03:49but this is also available for around $650.
03:52It is a really solid machine, and if you want, you can configure it with an MX150, which
03:56is a more powerful GPU.
03:58All four of these devices, though, are just really solid.
04:00I feel like you can't go wrong with any of them.
04:02My personal favorite is that Surface Laptop, just because I feel like for students, with
04:05that really nice battery life and keyboard, it hits all the things that I would want as
04:10a student.
04:11Alright, once you get past that $700 price point, you start getting closer to $1,000,
04:15and once you're at like $900-$1,000, you can get some really good stuff.
04:20The first thing, if you're interested, if you're someone that really wants a MacBook,
04:24the MacBook that I would recommend right now for students is, without a doubt, the MacBook
04:27Air.
04:28The only other option that you might be considering is the MacBook Pro 13, which is around, I
04:33don't know, $200 more than the MacBook Air, but the biggest thing you're getting with
04:35the Pro is just stronger processing power.
04:38Most people don't need it.
04:39If you're a developer, and you're, you know, that's the stream you're going in, then sure,
04:43absolutely get the MacBook Pro because the processor is more capable for development,
04:47but for most people, MacBook Air is the option if you want to go with Apple's MacBooks.
04:53Okay, another device in that $1,000 price point right now is the XPS 9560.
05:00This is probably my favorite of all the devices I've mentioned in this video.
05:05This thing retailed for like $1,500-$1,600 a couple years ago.
05:08It's now available for $950 on Amazon.
05:11This has a huge battery, 97 watt-hours, a very powerful system, upgradable RAM, SSD.
05:16The whole package is really solid.
05:18It's got a nice screen, carbon fiber deck, solid keyboard.
05:21If you're looking for a more premium laptop at a fairly reasonable price, I would definitely
05:25check this thing out.
05:26It's, again, a refurb option, but it's got the whole Amazon refurb thing so you can send
05:30it back for 90 days or something like that.
05:32It's a solid option.
05:34Okay, I have not mentioned many 2-in-1 devices, any 2-in-1 devices until now, so I personally
05:40don't enjoy using 2-in-1 devices all that much.
05:44But if I had to pick one as just like a universal recommendation, it would definitely be the
05:49Surface Pro devices.
05:50These feel so much better to me than any other manufacturer's attempt at some kind of hybrid
05:55or 2-in-1 device.
05:56There's something about just the way these things feel in your hand, like they just feel
06:00like actual functional tablets.
06:02Any of the screens that flip onto the back side of it, like they just don't feel nearly
06:06as enjoyable and as inviting to use.
06:09So the Surface Pro has my top pick.
06:11There's another variant, the cheaper Surface Go, which has a much smaller screen.
06:15I feel like a 10-inch screen for like a daily, kind of everyday school device is probably
06:21not the best option, but it's definitely usable as like a secondary device.
06:24Okay, let's talk about gaming laptops to wrap this up.
06:27Now, I said before, unless you can actually use the processing power or the graphical
06:32power of these devices, I would stray away from them just because you're just, you know,
06:37you're paying more for stuff that doesn't really cater well to traveling and stuff like
06:42that.
06:43Alright, there's two devices that stick out to me as being the best value on the market
06:47right now when it comes to kind of sub-$1,000 price point.
06:51First is the Legion Y530 or Y540, I've done reviews for both of those.
06:56These are the Lenovo entry-level gaming laptop, very solid, and there's also the Acer Nitro
07:025.
07:03So this is around, I think these start at $600 if you look at last year's model, but
07:07the current version is around $900.
07:09These are both solid.
07:11I would say in terms of just raw value, Nitro 5 is better, but because of how just plain
07:16the Legion devices are, I much prefer the design aesthetic, like if you're pulling this
07:19out in class, I don't know, there's something about the Nitro 5's red that just pops out
07:24a little bit more, but the Legion, it looks pretty clean.
07:29Now, if your budget allows for it, and if you can somehow trick your parents into buying
07:33a gaming laptop that's a little bit more expensive, the Predator Helios 300 from 2019
07:39is a great value, but it's still a very expensive machine.
07:43So that basically wraps up this video.
07:45Now I didn't go into detail on every single one of these, I've done reviews for every
07:49single one of these devices, so if you find one that's interesting to you, you can check
07:52out the links below, but keep in mind that some of them are of limited quantity, so if
07:55you're interested in something, you probably want to pick it up sooner than later.
07:58But that basically wraps up this video, I hope you guys enjoyed it, I hope you guys
08:02do well in school, good luck in your school year, I hope you guys picked up some kind
08:05of device that is of an appropriate price, and yeah, thumbs if you liked it, subs if
08:10you loved it, see you guys next time.