Is It Worth Buying A Gaming Laptop For College?

NOTE: This post might contain affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something, we may earn a commission. It helps support the blog. Thanks!

The majority of students ask the same question, and the answer isn’t always an easy one. A gaming laptop can be a good choice for some students, but it can also be the worst choice for others. The answer to this question depends on a number of factors, and we will definitely discuss those in this article.

Should you buy a gaming laptop or a regular laptop for college

Well, as a college student you should definitely go for a regular laptop unless you are a pro. Yes, you read it right. Because before buying any laptop you must be sure about the output you want?

Basically, gaming laptops are for highly intensive tasks. Obviously for gaming, but if you have a YouTube Channel and you do video editing or design animated characters, or you use Android Studio for app development, and use other 3D designing software then you must go for a gaming laptop, as gaming laptops are not only for gaming, they are just best in every field.

On the other hand, regular laptops in 2021 are not that dumb. They can handle most things pretty well. But when it comes to multitasking with heavy 3D rendering or intensive gaming it will definitely disappoint you.

So, plan accordingly. There is no need to rush for things, and buying a laptop under peer pressure is not a smart decision.

Before going further, let’s discuss the Pros & Cons of having a gaming laptop as a college student.

Pros of having gaming laptop as a college student

Well, there are so many pros of having a gaming laptop as a student as they are not just for gaming. You can do anything on that with the best performance. Buy a gaming laptop and you will never regret having one.

• High Performance: High performance means faster processing, and faster processing means completing tasks in less time. The best advantage of having a gaming laptop is you’ll never have to see that typicall round circular symbol of waiting(lol).
  You can play any game, you can do any editing, or even multitasking. You will never feel any lags. Higher RAM, faster CPU and stronger GPU can handle everything from powerpoint presentation to high-end games very easily.
  
  
• Work + Gaming: If you have a gaming laptop you need not to compromise for anything. Whenever you feel like you may play games, and during exam time you may use it as a regular laptop for your assignments. You can do multitasking very easily which will help you to complete your tasks more quickly and efficentily.
  
  
• Wow Factor: The biggest factor. Everyone wants to impress their friends or even other mates by showing off their gaming beast. Many teenager buy these gaming laptops under peer pressure as their friend is also having a Alienware.
  

Cons of having gaming laptop as a college student

These are no such cons but you need to consider these factors before buying one.

• Budget: As you know that gaming laptops aren’t cheap. You should have a good amount of money. Usually, gaming laptops starts from $800 to $3000. The more you spend the better machine you’ll get.
  But the thing is being a student you don’t have such budget. As you are already spending a huge amount on your education affording an expensive laptop isn’t easy.
  So, you need manage your finances properly, or you should start hustling for passive income. This way you can have your favourite gaming laptop.
  
  
• Concentration: Gaming laptops may be a great distraction while you are preparing for your exams, or completing your assignments. One call from your friends and you’ll hold console in your hands rather then having a pen to complete your assignment.
  So, you also need to put this thing in your mind that is it really important to have a gaming laptop or a regular laptop is sufficient while you complete your course.
  
  
• Bulky: You might be aware of this fact. Usually they weigh around 2-3 kgs, which might be an issue with some of the students to carry such a bulky laptop all the time. Being a student you need to move a lot having a bag on your sholders.
  Carrying such a heavy laptop combined with books and other stuff will make you uncomfortable in long run.
  
  
• Noisy: Concider a senario, you are sitting in a library and suddenly fans of your laptop ramps upto 5000 rpm. Wouldn’t that be annoying to you? Everyone will start staring at you. The noise issue might put you in diffucult situation at times.
  
  
• Looks: Gaming laptops are known for their looks too. Beast looking design with LEDs looks super cool, but it may appear very unprofessional when you’ll be in a meeting. At professional places it may look unprofessional.
  *[Look for Razer Blade laptops to avoid this]
  
  
• Lifespan: Being a college student you plan to have things that last long, and gaming laptops are not one of them. Yeah, you might say that they usually last for around 3-4 years and your college also lasts for almost same duration. But the thing is, having a laptop just to play games in your “college life” is not a right decision (in my opinion).
  
  
• Battery Life: As you all know that gaming laptops are power hungry. You need to keep them connected most of the time. Being a student that might not be possible all the time. You need such laptops those can give you battery backup of atleast 6-7 hours on necessary usage. So, again you need to consider this factor befre rushing to buy one.
  
  
• Maintainance: These laptops need proper care. The better you maintain the longer and effective they work. Turn off the charging when you are doing gaming, clean the vents with proper vacuume cleaner, use coolpad to avoid over heating. All these factors play crucial role in the lifespan and performance of your laptop.

Best 5 laptops any student can have

Alright, if your decision is rigid to buy a gaming laptop by keeping in mind all the pros & cons, here I am about to share 5 top and best laptops you should consider. These laptops will be under your budget but no compromise in performance. I’ll try to choose the best laptops for you at the best price, these all are in increasing order of price as well as performance.

1. Acer Nitro 5 Gaming Laptop: This is the best laptop that everyone can afford, but that doesn’t mean you have to settle for less. It has a Full HD 15.6″ display with 144Hz refresh rate, Intel Core i5-10300H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop GPU, 8GB DDR4, 256GB NVMe SSD.
   With such specifications you’ll be able to play “amost” everygame you want. At this price point($900) this is the best I could find for you. Available ($1349) on Amazon.
   
   
2. Lenovo Legion 5 Gaming Laptop: The 15.6″ FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS display on this Legion 5 gaming laptop delivers speed and color clarity for full-fidelity gaming. Escalate your game with up to 8 high-performance cores in the AMD Ryzen 7 5800H processor, 16GB DDR4 RAM, and 512GB NVMe SSD storage.
   With NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti graphics behind you, you can enjoy the depth and visual fidelity of real-time ray-tracing.
   This won’t stop you to play any game with your friends. Available ($1049) on Amazon
   
   
3. MSI Stealth 15M Gaming Laptop: MSI have a good reputation in the field of gaming laptops. Here is MSI stealth 15M gaming laptop with 15.6″ 144Hz FHD 1080p Display, Intel Core i7-11375H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060, 16GB, 512GB SSD.
   With this configuration I don’t think so that you have to compromise in any game with anything. 11th gen i7 processor combined with RTX 3060 is the best combo till now in the market with this kind build quality. The built of MSI is just perfectly stronger than other ones in the competition. Available ($1349) on Amazon.
   
   
4. Alienware m17 R3: Now, your favrouite gaming laptop Alienware. Alienware m17 R3 comes with 17.3 inch Full HD Gaming Laptop (Luna Light) with the fresh rate of 300 Hz. It means you’ll be able to enjoy every bit of frames on your screen. This laptop comes the best displays.
   Other specifications are like Intel Core i7-10750H 10th Gen, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB SSD, Nvidia Geforce RTX 2070 8GB GDDR6. This laptop is best in this segment. The looks, the performance even the heat management in this one is significantly well then other laptops. Available ($2399) on Amazon.
   
   
5. Razer Blade Gaming Laptop: And here comes the beast of the gaming industry, Razer Blade. This laptop comes with next level display. 165Hz QHD display for the best of both worlds in fast gaming and ultra clear display. Built on NVIDIA’s award-winning 2nd-gen RTX architecture, these GPUs provide the most realistic ray-traced graphics and cutting-edge AI features for the most powerful graphics in a gaming laptop.
   AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX 8 Core, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, 14″ QHD 165Hz, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD. This is the ultimate gaming laptop you can ever have. Razer Blade mainly focuses on its performance and cooling system. Most efficient cooling mechanism makes it long lasting laptop then others.
   The laptop quietly and efficiently dissipates heat through the evaporation and condensation of an internal fluid, keeping it running smoothly and coolly even under intense loads.
   Available ($2799) on Amazon.

Final thoughts

So, I hope you might have made your decision till now. In my personal opinion, I think having a gaming laptop or not as a college student, totally depends on how you wanna use it.

It’s totally on your intentions, if you want to play games, and want to create your career in gaming or designing animations, videos, graphics, etc then buy a gaming laptop without a second thought. But in case you just wanna do basic stuff, like managing documents, coding, basic image editing, and all basic and less power-hungry tasks, then go for a regular laptop. Our main motto is to guide you to make the best decision so that you need not disappoint later on.

If still, you are facing issues in deciding what to buy, read once more, till then take care and see you guys in the next one. Cheers:)

Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe to our push notifications for latest updates & news on everything gaming! 🔔