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The best laptops for computer science students are an important step in succeeding through your courses, as you’ll need a solid machine that can handle Visual Studio, Python, CLion, and more.

Our number one pick for computer science students is none other than the Asus TUF Gaming A14, and while you might not think a gaming laptop can suit your needs insofar for computer science courses, think again! This laptop exceeds all expectations with a thin and light chassis featuring MIL-STD-810 certification, meaning it’s durable and portable, alongside more than 10 hours of battery life. It’s also built with an AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card, meaning it boasts more than enough power to take you through your courses for $1,399.

However, a discrete GPU is not necessary for computer science majors, so if you’d rather grab something similarly fantastic but without the extra cost of being a gaming laptop, we highly recommend the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED (Q425M). It’s powered by an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor, Intel Arc integrated graphics, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of SSD storage all packed into a 14-inch chassis with an FHD OLED touchscreen. The laptop starts at $799 (with the model we reviewed coming in at $1,049), and features nearly 16 hours of battery life, alongside a light 3-pound chassis and a 0.6-inch thickness, making it perfectly lithe.

The quick list

Best overall laptop for computer science students

Recommend a gaming laptop as our number one pick for computer science students might seem a tad odd, but the Asus TUF Gaming A14 accomplishes things that the best productivity laptops can, all while having a solid RTX 4060 powering it for those who decide they might want to do more than just stick to what your courses ask for, whether that’s gaming, graphical modeling, or parallel computing.

So why is a gaming laptop our number one pick? Because it does the impossible: It’s light, thin, sturdy, and has long-lasting battery life, all while staying affordable with a discrete GPU. It’s a miracle product, coming in at $1,399 (for the model we reviewed) with an AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card, 16GB of RAM, 1TB of SSD storage, and a 2,560 x 1,600-pixel resolution IPS display at 165Hz refresh rate.

It measures at 12.2 x  8.9 x 0.7~0.8-inches alongside its light 3.2 pound weight, yet even with that thinness and lightness, it features MIL-STD-810H certification. This is the case for all TUF laptops, which means it passed tests involving drops, vibrations, humidity, high and low temperatures, and more.

We were also staggered by its longevity, as its battery life is some of the best we’ve ever seen on a gaming laptop. blown away. On the Laptop Mag battery life test, which involves continuous web surfing over wifi at 150 nits, the Asus TUF Gaming A14 lasted 10 hours and 4 minutes. The average for gaming laptops is 5 hours and 3 minutes, which is practically half as long.

It’s also the longest lasting gaming laptop we’ve tested in over four years, with the previous one being the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 back in 2020. This is the primary caveat in why we would never, under normal circumstances, recommend a gaming laptop to a student. Since you’ll be traveling between classes, likely without an outlet nearby, you don’t want something that’s going to run out of juice after only a few hours. Unlike other laptops, this machine has you more than covered.

See our full Asus TUF Gaming A14 (2024) review.

Best affordable laptop for computer science students

Before I begin singing the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED’s praises, let’s get this out of the way: You should not purchase this machine if you’re in need of a computer science laptop with a discrete GPU. 

While discrete GPUs aren’t necessary for computer science majors, it can be helpful along the way. For example, Grand Canyon University‘s website claims you won’t need one for computer science classes, but it’s useful for intensive graphics modeling, and “If you are learning parallel computing, then the GPU and CPU running side by side would speed up the program execution time.”

If that’s fine with you, the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED (Q425M) is an absolute beast for the price, with solid specs including an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor, Intel Arc integrated graphics, 16GB of RAM, 1TB of SSD storage, and a 14-inch FHD OLED touchscreen. 

Best of all, it will easily survive your daily runs through class, with longevity that lasted 15 hours and 52 minutes on the Laptop Mag battery life test, which involves continuous web surfing over wifi at 150 nits.

And if you’re someone who wants to enjoy streaming content alongside your computer science work, this OLED screen is stunning, covering 79.8% of the DCI-P3 color gamut. Unfortunately, it’s not very bright, clocking in only 339 nits of brightness, which is nowhere near enough to see clearly when direct sunlight is being shone on it. However, it’s more than bright enough to handle well-lit rooms.

Alongside this, it features incredible built-in audio that had our reviewer banging her head, alongside a comfortable keyboard that will keep you energized throughout your day, with 1.4mm key travel and a pleasant click-to-pressure ratio.

But let us not forget about portability: Getting your laptop to class is as important as what’s inside it, and it is exceptionally light at only 3 pounds, with a thickness of 0.6-inches, keeping it thin enough to squeeze into most backpacks without issue.

See our full Asus Zenbook 14 OLED (Q425M) review.

Best high-end laptop for computer science students

Under normal circumstances, those who want the best laptop for computer science out there will have to pay an absurd amount of cash to get what they need. For example, a laptop like the HP ZBook Studio 16 G10, which we reviewed at $8,905, is an option with its Nvidia RTX 4000 Ada GPU with 20GB of vRAM and 64GB of RAM is undeniably luxurious.

But it’s also unnecessary. Computer science majors do not need a machine that powerful, and even if you decide you’d prefer something high-end, you can hone in on other products that fulfill your needs better. 

Enter the Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 7, a workstation that maintains the high-end moniker without costing as much as a solid used car. While we reviewed it at $4,584, Lenovo already has the series dropped down in price significantly, with the model we reviewed now available for $2,532.

We’re not pretending that’s necessarily cheap, but if you want a powerful workstation built with an Intel Core Ultra 7 165H, Nvidia RTX 1000 Ada GPU (with 8GB of vRAM), 32GB of RAM, 1TB of SSD storage, and a 16-inch 1,920 x 1,200-pixel resolution IPS display, this pulls out all the stops in other avenues, too.

Such avenues include its staggering 17 hours and 23 minutes of battery life on the Laptop Mag battery test, which involves continous web surfing over wifi at 150 nits. We typically set 8 hours as our bare minimum for productivity laptops, and we consider anything over 10 hours to be good.

But keep in mind, this is in regards to laptops without discrete GPUs. The ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 manages over 17 hours of battery life with a discrete GPU, making it one of the longest lasting laptops we’ve seen, and absolutely the greatest battery life we’ve seen on a laptop with a discrete GPU. 

Our reviewer, Madeline Ricchiuto, claimed “There really isn’t much the ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 can’t do. If you’re in the market for a workstation, this is definitely the laptop I’d recommend.”

And if you’re concerned about performance, you don’t need to be: The ThinkPad P1’s Intel Core Ultra 7 165H transcoded a 4K video to 1080p in just 4 minutes and 22 seconds, which surpasses other workstations like the HP ZBook Studio 16 G10 (4:37) and HP ZBook Fury 16 G9 (4:29).

It’s also thin and light, coming in at 4.3 pounds and measuring 14 x 9.5 x 0.7 inches, with ports like 1 x USB Type-A (5Gbps), 1 x USB Type-C (10Gbps), 2 x Thunderbolt 4 Type-C (40Gbps, DP Alt mode 2.1), 1 x HDMI 2.1 (up to 4K @ 60Hz), 1 x SD card reader (SD Express 7.0), and 1 x 3.5mm audio combo jack.

See our full Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 review.

How to choose the best laptop for computer science students

Computer science majors, like most technology-focused curriculums, should check if recommendations for laptop specs are on the website of the college you’re attending. Following those requirements is the best way to guarantee your machine meets the expectations of your courses. Otherwise, many college websites offer detailed specs on what you’d need for a computer science laptop.

Gonzaga University in Washington‘s 2024 system requirements for a computer science laptop, which are also shared with the best laptops for engineering students, begin with a Windows operating system, at least 16GB of RAM, 500GB of storage space (SSD recommended), an “advanced graphics card” (like Nvidia Quadro FX), a minimum i7 processor, and a USB-C port.

Univerity of Colorado Denver‘s breakdown is a bit more specific, with the specs focusing on its ability to run programs such as Visual Studio, Python, or CLION. The minimum requirements are a 4-core 3.0 GHz processor, 16GB of RAM, 500GB of SSD storage, integrated graphics, Windows 10, and a USB 2.0 or 3.0 port, alongside a microphone and camera.

The “better” requirements upgrade the RAM to 32GB and ask for a discrete Nvidia graphics card with at least 4GB of vRAM. The “best” requirements bump the processor up to a 6-core 3.0 GHz CPU and the SSD storage to 1TB.

A discrete GPU is not a necessity for a computer science laptop, but if you want a stronger machine, you can survive with a lower-end GPU.

How we test laptops for computer science students

We put each laptop through extensive benchmark testing — both synthetic and real-world — before we send it to our reviewers. We evaluate each aspect of the laptop, including its performance, battery life, display, speakers, and heat management.

In our benchmark testing, we use a Klein K10 colorimeter to detect the brightness and the sRGB and DCI-P3 color gamut of the laptop’s display. For performance testing, we run the laptop through a gauntlet of benchmarks, including Geekbench 6 and 3DMark professional graphics tests. To determine real-world performance, we task the laptop with converting a 4K video to 1080p resolution and duplicate a 4.97GB multimedia file. 

Because laptops for computer science don’t necessarily need a discrete GPU to perform optimally, we run synthetic benchmarks like 3DMark Firestrike and 3DMark Time Spy to analyze the performance of integrated graphics. Then, we play Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm with medium settings at 1080p and 4K resolution.

However, if the laptop does have discrete graphics (assuming it’s not a workstation GPU), we will test series of games at 1080p and their native resolutions, including titles like Red Dead Redemption 2, Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Far Cry 6, Cyberpunk 2077, and more. If it’s a workstation GPU (like NVIDIA Ada Lovelace Architecture graphics cards), we stick to synthetic benchmarks.

We also run heat tests by playing a 15-minute full-screen video and measuring temperatures in different areas of the laptop. Last but not least, our battery test consists of continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness. Gaming laptops and workstations that can stay powered longer than 5 hours deserve praise.

These tests are complemented with extensive hands-on testing from our reviewers who critique everything from the laptop’s materials to the feel of its touchpad.

Why trust Laptop Mag

Laptop Mag reviews over a hundred laptops yearly, from paperweight ultralights to everyday workhorses to lumbering gaming notebooks that scorch the frame rates of even the hottest AAA games. We’re not just experts in the laptop field, as we go one step further by meticulously testing smartphones, tablets, headphones, PC accessories, software, and even the latest in gaming. 

We are 100 percent independent and have decades of experience to help you buy with confidence. Laptop Mag has been testing and reviewing products for three decades and continues to deliver trustworthy reviews you can rely on. 

Our experienced team of writers and editors scour the available information about the laptop and put it through its paces to determine which is best for you. But before they start, the testing team subjects each system to a rigorous regimen of synthetic and real-world tests to see how a system handles the type of work and games you’re most likely to throw at it. 

Future Publishing, one of the world’s largest technology publishers, enforces our editorial trustworthiness. As a company, we have unrivaled experience across every tech sector — and we’re the group’s specialist for all things mobile tech.

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