For work or for play, these are the 5 best laptop deals for college students

Shopping for a new computer can be fun, but it can also be a headache given the plethora of options available today. The addition of touchscreen and 2-in-1 laptops doesn’t make it any easier to find the right laptop for you. It’s easy to get choice paralysis when shopping for a PC, even if you already have a fixed budget in mind, but we can make your life a little bit easier.

Whether you’re getting ready for a new school year, shopping for a student, or just need a new computer for work or play, we’ve got your back. Below are five of the best back-to-school laptop deals available online right now. Our picks offer something for just about everyone, from those who like the convenience of a touchscreen, to gamers and dedicated Apple fans. Best of all, each of these laptop deals offer deep discounts that can save you hundreds.

Dell Inspiron 15 5000 laptop – $441

For anyone looking for a workhorse Windows 10 laptop, the Dell Inspiron 15 series is a great place to start. The 5000 model sports an 8th-gen Intel Core i3-8130U CPU, plus 4GB of RAM that is boosted by 16GB of Intel Optane memory for snappier performance when multitasking. The 15.6-inch LED display has a crisp 1080p Full HD resolution, while the Intel UHD Graphics 620 integrated GPU provides enough power for light gaming. The large 1TB hard drive also offers plenty of room for all of your files and software.

The Inspiron 15 5000 is already pretty budget-friendly at its retail price of $630, but Dell’s ongoing back-to-school sales event slashes $189 off its price, bringing this laptop down to $441 for a limited time. If you came looking for the cheapest laptop deal on our roundup, this is the one.

$441 | Dell

HP Envy x360 13z 2-in-1 touch laptop – $600

PC makers are increasingly offering hybrid designs that combine the functionality of a laptop and portable convenience of a tablet. HP has been at the forefront of this trend with its excellent Envy series. The Envy x360 13z is the smaller member of this family with a 13.3-inch Full HD touch display. The lid’s hinge rotates so you can turn the display around and fold it flat, effectively turning the laptop into a tablet when you don’t need the keyboard and touchpad.

Under the hood, the Envy x360 13z runs on an AMD Ryzen 3 CPU and Radeon Vega 3 integrated GPU, along with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, which are solid specs for a laptop of this size. Through Saturday, August 18, the HP Envy x360 13z touchscreen laptop can be yours for just $600 after a $160 discount. When you buy an HP laptop, you can also score the compact and Wi-Fi-enabled HP DeskJet 3755 printer for just $20 ($50 off).

$600 | HP

Dell Inspiron 15 7567 gaming laptop – $739

While it used to be the case that gaming laptops lagged far behind desktop PCs in the hardware department, recent years have seen this gap shrink considerably with models, thanks to models like the Dell Inspiron 15 7567, which offers impressive specs for the price. An Intel Core i5-7300HQ processor, Nvidia GTX 1050 TI GPU, and 8GB of RAM easily tackle modern games, while the 256GB SSD offers plenty of storage and snappier performance than standard hard drives.

You’d normally expect to pay $2oo to $300 more for a gaming laptop with similar hardware to a desktop PC – a comparable desktop running an Nvidia GTX 1050 TI would set you back around $600 without any peripherals. Considering that laptops already have displays and keyboards, the Dell Inspiron 15 7567 is a great deal at $739 ($340 off) and is a solid laptop deal for anyone looking for a machine that can handle both work and play.

$739 | Amazon

Apple MacBook Air – $770

Apple deals can be fleeting, so events like back-to-school sales are the perfect opportunity to find Mac hardware at a discount. Although laptops keep getting slimmer and lighter and Apple is no longer the only game in town, the MacBook Air is still a great choice if you’re looking for a lightweight computer and aren’t a big fan of Windows. The MacBook Air MJVM2LL/A offers plenty of performance despite its size, with a 1.6 GHz Intel i5 CPU, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of speedy flash storage.

The 11.6-inch display boasts an HD resolution of 1,366 x 768 and the internal battery offers up to 9 hours of juice – plenty for a full day’s work – before needing to be topped off. A $129 discount knocks the MacBook Air down to $770 on Amazon for a limited time, making this the best Apple laptop deal in our roundup.

$770 | Amazon

Apple MacBook Pro plus free Beats headphones – $1,250

If the MacBook Air didn’t whet your appetite, then we’ve got another one for you: As part of its back-to-school promotion, Apple is offering big discounts on its line of MacBooks and iMacs, including the MacBook Pro. The entry-level Pro features a 7th-generation Intel Core i5 processor with Intel Turbo Boost and 8GB of DDR3 RAM, which combine to provide snappy performance for work, entertainment, and multitasking. Apple touches like a 128GB SSD, two Thunderbolt 3 ports, and a backlit keyboard complete the package.

A $250 sitewide discount brings the 13-inch MacBook Pro down to as low as $1,250, but Apple is sweetening the deal by throwing in a free pair of Beats headphones for students. You can choose from the Beats Solo3 wireless on-ear headphones, Powerbeats3 in-ear headphones, or BeatsX earbuds, with the Solo3 being the best value (and our recommendation) given their $300 price tag

$1,250 | Apple

Looking for more great stuff? Find laptop deals and more on our curated deals page, and be sure to follow us on Twitter for regular updates.

We strive to help our readers find the best deals on quality products and services, and choose what we cover carefully and independently. If you find a better price for a product listed here, or want to suggest one of your own, email us at dealsteam@digitaltrends.com.Digital Trends may earn commission on products purchased through our links, which supports the work we do for our readers.

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