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Best back-to-school laptop deals and sales for 2021

Jennifer Allen
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The back-to-school laptop deals are here and there are all kinds of great offers going on right now. If you’re in the market for a new laptop for school or college, this is the ideal time to check out the back to school laptop sales and save yourself plenty of cash by snapping up a great bargain. With so many options out there, it can feel confusing to know where to begin. Luckily, we’re here to track down all the best back-to-school laptop deals so you don’t have to worry about a thing. Even better, we also have all the best buying advice so if you’re trying to figure out how best to choose a new laptop for school, we’ve got you covered no matter what your plans may be.

Today’s best back to school laptop deals

How to choose a laptop for school or college

The back-to-school laptop deals are a great place to get more for your money for less cash. There are plenty of different retailers who are keen to entice you into a purchase as well as plenty of the best laptop brands to consider. Overall, we’re big fans of Dell as the best laptop brand out there. The retailer also tends to offer some fantastic back-to-school laptop sales provided that you’re fast enough to snatch them up. However, that doesn’t mean you should ignore everyone else.

Granted, the absolute best laptop out there right now is a Dell laptop — the Dell XPS 13. If you’re looking for a solid productivity-focused machine, you can’t go wrong with this one. Topping our best laptops list for good reason, it looks fantastic, it’s powerful, and it’s really lightweight to carry between class, too. It’s easily one of the best choices when checking out the back-to-school laptop deals, or more specifically the best Dell XPS deals, going on right now.

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However, if you’re on a budget, it’s worth checking out our look at the best budget laptops, too. Here, you’ll find some really cheap laptops that should inspire you when looking at the back-to-school laptop sales. Alternatively, if you want to splash out, the best 4K laptops are a great place to look and if portability is a concern then the best 13-inch laptops are a good port of call too.

All of these guides will help you figure out specifics but what if you just need some general advice before embarking on the back to school laptop sales?

As always, think about your budget. There’s no use in lusting after a $2,000 powerhouse on sale if you can only afford $500, after all. Once you know what you can afford, have a think about if you want a Windows or Mac-based system. Mac systems are more expensive but the best MacBooks will last you many years. If you already own an iPhone or iPad, they sync up brilliantly, too, which can save you a lot of effort if you need to move files between systems, and there’s no shortage of fantastic MacBook deals out there for students to shop.

It’s also important to know a little about processors and other specifications. If you’re just looking for one of the best Chromebooks, this won’t be much of an issue as everything is stored on the cloud, but for everything else, you want the fastest processor you can afford, at least 8GB of memory, plus plenty of storage space. And again, you’ll have plenty of cut-price models to choose from as we’re drowning in incredible Chromebook deals right now.

Don’t worry about the graphics card unless you plan on playing games on your laptop. For school and college, you won’t need a powerful graphics card although if the option is affordable thanks to great back-to-school laptop deals, we won’t blame you if you’re tempted.

The back-to-school laptop deals are a key opportunity to get more for your money so don’t be afraid to compare a few different laptops to find what works best for you.

Look out for the screen size, too. A 13.3-inch display is ideal if you plan on taking it to class frequently and don’t want to be weighed down by something heavy. Alternatively, if you need a laptop for your dorm room, something with a 17-inch screen could be useful so you can enjoy the extra room for multitasking, and the back-to-school laptop deals are a reliable way of getting more for less. It’s no use if you plan on carrying it around all the time though.

Also, look out for battery life. Laptops offer very different battery life lengths. Some may only last a couple of hours which is no use when rushing between classes, while others will last all day. Again, this might not matter if you plan on keeping it in your dorm a lot of the time so temper your expectations accordingly.

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Jennifer Allen
Jennifer Allen
Deals Writer
Jennifer Allen is a technology writer with over 10 years of experience. She primarily writes about the best deals coverage…
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