It’s a new year and it’s time for a new laptop. With so many great new laptops coming out in the past year, it can be hard to pick one. From basic functionality to top-notch gaming and design machines, here are the top five laptops to fit your needs.

Apple MacBook Pro 13-Inch ($1299)

Best for: film, graphic design, audio engineering, being mainstream

This computer dominates every lecture hall at Syracuse University. The MacBook Pro shares Apple’s mantra of high-price inventory, costing more than $1000 in most configurations. But it isn’t just an expensive toy. The MacBook Pro is a powerhouse of a laptop, boasting a retina screen display with the brightest and crispest picture on a MacBook to date and processing speeds up to 3.3 GHz that can handle almost any task.

Bottom line: Beautiful design and functionality at a not-so-beautiful price, but expect to see a lot of these around campus. 

Microsoft Surface Pro 4 ($799)

Best for: illustration, graphic design, handwritten functions

To be honest, this is a bit of an overpriced laptop. We’ve all seen the commercials, so I won’t waste time discussing the incredible portability of this device. However, portability comes at the cost of accessories such as a keyboard, mouse and stylus, which you’ll have to buy separately.

Yet even with these compromises, the Surface proves to be an incredibly valuable tool for artists and those who just love handwritten notes. Like with the MacBook Pro, if you can afford the Surface, you definitely won’t be disappointed.

Bottom line: The Surface offers the best of a laptop in a tablet format, but get ready to pay for all those accessories. 

Acer Aspire E 15 ($349.99)

Best for: business, arts and sciences, your wallet

After years of clunky, buggy “bang-for-your-buck” laptops, Acer threw the industry a curveball with an incredible value in the Aspire E 15. For just $350, Acer offers a seventh-generation Intel i3 processor with remarkable speeds of up to 2.4 GHz, a 1TB hard drive — not a typo — and a bright 15.6 inch Full HD display. Although it cuts a few corners in build quality to reach its budget price, it still has a 12-hour battery life and is portable enough to carry around campus. If you’re a business or arts and sciences student who doesn’t need to run high-end computer programs, the Aspire E 15 may be right for you.

Bottom line: This affordable yet powerful computer can handle any basic task you throw at it and is the perfect budget-beater for any student.

Dell XPS 13 ($799.99)

Best for: film, graphic design, business, portability

This is arguably the best laptop currently running Windows. Despite its large price tag, this laptop compromises nothing and provides one of the best Windows 10 experiences on any computer. With an incredibly portable frame; available 4K display; and powerhouse specs including an i7 Processor, 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM, the Dell XPS 13 is up to any task a student can throw at it. For comparison, the MacBook Pro is equally priced yet has a lower resolution display and less powerful processor.

Bottom line: A beautifully crafted laptop that can perform highly even while being pushed with some of the toughest editing programs.

HP Spectre x360 ($1,199)

Best for: portability, touchscreen capabilities, photo or film editing

The HP Spectre x360 is another pristine Windows laptop, and is arguably the most beautiful device on this list. If you’re looking for a portable, high-power convertible laptop with touch screen functionalities such as drawing and editing, this is the laptop for you. While it may seem similar to most convertible laptops, the x360’s long battery life and gorgeous design really set it apart.

Bottom line: If you’re looking for a convertible laptop with the power of the Surface Pro 4 but don’t want to buy all those accessories, here’s your pick.

David Fox is a junior information management and technology major. His column appears biweekly. He can be reached at djfox100@syr.edu.

Published on August 27, 2017 at 10:43 pm