STACK #243 January 2025

TECH FEATURE

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LAPTOPS Laptops are an essential tool to succeed in the new school year, and whether it’s essays, creative arts, or a bit of fun when the homework is all done, there’s no shortage of options for all grades and needs. Words Michael Irving

T ech is an important part of modern education. Not only are the classic subjects like English and maths taught electronically, computer skills are also just as crucial as things like handwriting nowadays.

Laptops are as vital as stationery, and many schools will require them from a young age. Some schools will provide specific models, while others might give broader Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) guidelines that will outline the minimum specs needed.

Future-proofing your laptop Budget concerns are something we all grapple with at the moment, and with so many options it’s tempting to pick the cheapest laptop. But that’s not always the best way to go about it – cheaper devices will run slower, which can hinder your child during class, and they tend to become obsolete faster. In the long run, you might find yourself having to upgrade devices more often and end up spending more than you would have with a higher upfront investment. Finding that balance between budget and needs is key, and the ideal specs may depend on the school level of your child.

Checking the specs: What to look for in a laptop

Resolution A display’s level of detail is described in numbers of pixels (e.g. 1920 x 1080), or shorthand such as FHD. You won’t find laptops under HD (1280 x 720) nowadays, which is fine for many students, while higher-end devices can stretch up to 4K (3840 x 2160).

Processor Most laptops run Intel processors, which are the brains of the device. Their names tell you which generation they belong to (currently 13th or 14th) and their class (i3, i5 or i7), with higher classes able to handle more tasks concurrently. Clock speeds are measured in GHz, while RAM, which also helps to speed up processing, is measured in GB – in both cases, higher equals faster.

Storage How much the device can store is measured in GB or TB (1TB equals 1,000GB). Most laptops now use SSD, which is faster and more stable than HDD.

10 JANUARY 2025

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