The phrase ‘skeletons in your closets’ takes a literal turn for biology students. Well, in our technologically advanced era, it is more about how many skeletons (read: features) a laptop offers you.
With so many possibilities available, deciding on the best laptop for a biology major can be tricky! There seem to be many laptops to pick from, however not all of them will cater to your needs.
This article will help you choose the laptop that will suit you best. From Apple MacBook Air M1 to Lenovo ThinkPad E15 G2, I have reviewed the ten best laptops for biology majors in the market. Let us get started, shall we?
Table of Contents
Best Laptops For Biology Students
We will look at some great laptops ranging from Microsoft Surface Laptop Go to ASUS ZenBook 14 UX425. Each of them offers some fantastic features that can be very helpful to you. So pay close attention to them all.
1. Apple MacBook Air M1
- Display: 13.3” Retina display
- CPU: Apple M1 Chip
- GPU: 8-core GPU
- RAM: 8 GB
- Storage: 512GB SSD
Are you a Mac admirer? Then this bargain-priced beast is my top recommendation for Mac-obsessed youngsters like you. Apple’s beautiful machine is an entirely perfect blend of performance and grace, weighing only 2.8 pounds.
Firstly, the laptop has an IPS,13.3-inch graded, LED-backlit display representing the always-edgy “Retina display technology.” It is further enhanced by the superior “True Tone” technology.
It also includes an 8-core GPU, which redefines how you perceive things on the screen. This Macbook Air’s lightweight and robust design make it convenient to carry along anywhere you go. It’s easy to use and worth every penny.
This laptop screams, “c’mon, load me up rashly, I don’t care,” thanks to its 8GB of efficient RAM, in-house Apple M1 Chip, and 256GB speedy SSD. And, yes, it boasts excellent battery life, with about 10+ hours of standby time on a single charge.
You may also have a look at the 512GB version. Moreover, the elegant backlit magic keyboard, as well as the 20% larger Force-touch trackpad, enhance your overall customer experience.
Furthermore, Touch ID allows you to unlock your iPhone with a single finger tap swiftly.
2. HP Envy x360
- Display: 13.3” 1080p
- CPU: Intel Core i7-1165G7
- GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
- RAM: 8 GB
- Storage: 512GB SSD
The HP Envy x360 13 Laptop would be on my wishlist if I still commuted by bus or rail daily. For students, of course, it is a blessing. It would be a great option if I were shopping for an older high school or uni kid.
It’s compact, sleek, and light, weighing around 3 pounds. Despite its small size, the battery lasts a long time. And the Core i7 processor is impressive.
When you throw in Bluetooth 5.0 and fast Wi-Fi 6, you’ve got yourself a swift little two-in-one. It is equipped for remote learning or WFH situations while also fitting into your backpack.
The Envy x360 is budget-friendly. The pricing is more than fair for what you receive.
However, the availability of the Envy x360 13 was the main issue I had faced. The Envy x360 13-ay0010nr I tested is out of stock regularly. However, it appears that HP has straightened out the supply issue. You can now order it with an AMD 4700U or 4500U processor.
The 15.6-inch model is more widely available, so you can go for it if you don’t have a problem with a bigger screen. If you’re not an AMD fanatic, it’s also available with Intel CPUs in both 15 or 13-inch versions.
With the Envy x360, HP went for a simple design, and I think they succeeded. The exterior, which is made of metal, is simple and understated. The lid opens smoothly, and the display is surrounded by a sleek bezel, even at the bottom.
So it is substantially smaller than the 2019 model. The touchpad and keyboard are shifted up, with the keyboard nearly reaching the edge of the screen.
3. Asus Zenbook 14
- Display: 14” 1080p
- CPU: Intel Core i5-1135G7
- GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
- RAM: 8 GB
- Storage: 512GB SSD
The ZenBook has a dark grey (“Pine Grey”) aluminum chassis that is sleek and compact. The back of the lid has a distinct brushed concentric surface along with the “Asus” label at the center.
On the other hand, the base unit sports a smooth, matte surface. The battery is built-in, and you will find no maintenance flap on the notebook. After lifting the bottom of the case, you may access the hardware.
There are no flaws in the quality of the 14-inch notebook. There are no material protrusions. Plus, the gap clearances are minimal. The laptop’s stability and rigidity are satisfactory. The image displayed doesn’t alter when you press on the rear of the lid.
The hinges keep the lid firmly in place. The display may be opened with one hand, wherein 135 degrees is the greatest opening angle.
It elevates the rear of the base unit toward you. Increased air moving beneath the device for conditioning is a favorable side effect. The ZenBook’s battery results, on the other hand, did not impress me.
I used roughly a dozen Chrome tabs, copying, uploading, and downloading files. In addition, I also used Google Sheets, Zoom conversations, and other office tasks too. I put the machine through its paces on the Better Battery profile at approximately 200 nits of brightness.
The laptop demonstrated a battery life of seven hours and twenty minutes. That’s the same as the Dell XPS 13. The charging speed was adequate but not exceptional.
It needed 58 minutes and 40 seconds to reach 60 percent charge (during light use).
4. Lenovo ThinkPad E15 gen 2
- Display: 15.6” 1080p
- CPU: Intel Core i5-1135G7
- GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
- RAM: 16 GB
- Storage: 1TB SSD
If you’re searching for the perfect workstations for science majors, Lenovo is a fantastic place to start. Given Lenovo’s bold presentation of its products, you can rest assured that this PC will fully react to your scientific activities.
It will provide you with hours of entertainment when you want a breather from your exams. I can assure you that this laptop works to provide. The ThinkPad is currently the most lightweight laptop available.
It is the finest computer for students who travel and don’t need bulky workstations. It boasts of a 14-inch display screen with excellent visual quality – the ThinkPad laptop will not fail you in any aspect.
You will observe everything, right from the integrated tissue and bone nuances on 4D and 3D compasses of the patients. They can be studied using X-rays, MRI, pet scanners, bone yields, and other tools.
The device is 2.49 pounds in weight, making it one of the most useful workstations for scientific organizations. This device is equipped with all of the necessary ports for correspondence.
Finger impressions, a control center, and a concealed camera make it a seamless experience.
5. Dell Inspiron 15
- Display: 15.6” 1080p
- CPU: Intel Core i7-1165G7
- GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
- RAM: 8 GB
- Storage: 512GB SSD
The Dell Inspiron 15 is equipped with an Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor and Intel Iris Xe Graphics. These components work together to offer a stunning performance that can meet all of your requirements as a science graduate student.
With eight cores that run at a 5GHz frequency, this giant of a CPU has a clock speed that is around 300-500 MHz higher than its 10th-generation counterpart. The AI acceleration logic supports high-end software faster.
This laptop promises exceptional performance and speedy file loading times with an 8GB DDR4 RAM” running at a blistering 3200MHz and a 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD.
As a university student, the high-speed PCIe NVMe SSD guarantees a much faster boot time for the laptop. Moreover, it significantly decreases processing times on any productivity and modeling software.
The fingerprint sensor ensures that only you have accessibility to your material. Thus, you don’t have to worry about your classmates submitting the same assignment as you.
So I’d say that this laptop’s excellent performance is ideal for handling all of your high-end software requirements. You may keep doing work even if the lights in your dorm room go out, thanks to the backlit keyboard.
This laptop has a fantastic 15.6-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) anti-glare LED backlight screen. There is a small border to make the most of your physique. When used with the “Intel Iris Xe Graphics,” you get a vivid, wide spectrum of colors.
Moreover, you get a reasonable frame rate. It maintains a constant refresh rate even when editing videos or using other image-processing tools to produce the ideal presentation.
It has an impressive set of specifications. So if you students are seeking a holistic performance built into the current architecture and a stylish body, the Dell Inspiron 15 5000 is a terrific pick. Whether it’s producing a basic spreadsheet or studying genomes, this laptop has your back.
6. Microsoft Surface Laptop Go
- Display: 12.4″ (1536x1024p)
- CPU: Intel Core i5-1035G1
- GPU: Intel UHD Graphics
- RAM: 8 GB
- Storage: 256GB SSD
I feel that Surface Laptop Go’s appearance is one of the features that will place it on everyone’s must-have laptop lists. It’s incredibly lightweight and compact, with a 12.4-inch PixelSense touchscreen display that works well.
However, we’ll return to the display in a moment. The aluminum chassis feels solid, and the cost is justified. The lightweight design, as previously said, makes it an excellent travel companion. We should also mention that the Surface Laptop Go has a very competitive price.
The keyboard is one of the best features. Despite the laptop’s modest 12.4-inch PixelSense display, it comes with a full-size 1.3mm key travel keyboard for precise and pleasant typing.
We believe that Surface Laptop Go has one of the greatest keyboards in the market. I find it comfier to type on than the new MacBook Air that comes with an M1 processor.
During testing, Surface Laptop Go also came with a decent-sized trackpad that provided reasonable precision. Microsoft has ensured that customers would have a pleasant experience while using the software on a daily basis.
When it comes to other advantages of Surface Laptop Go, the webcam deserves special attention. During video conversations, the 720p HD webcam provided good clarity without any pixelation.
7. HP Pavilion x360
- Display: 14″ 1080p
- CPU: Intel Core i5-1135G7
- GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
- RAM: 8 GB
- Storage: 256GB SSD
The HP Pavilion x360 is powered by an 11th Gen Intel Core i5 processor that could be overclocked to 4.1 GHz. It does not deliver unrivaled performance but ensures that the battery is not abused.
You can expect a faster performance and lag-free multitasking. It is better than a regular hard drive thanks to the upgradable 256GB PCIe SSD SSD and 8GB DDR4 memory. The laptop is ideal for academia as well as casual gaming on the side.
You can enjoy brilliant colors and excellent graphics with the Intel Iris Xe graphics. This laptop can run software for “genetic code analysis” in bioinformatics and office applications such as Powerpoint and Excel.
It comes with a stunning 14-inch Full HD multitouch screen along with a 1920 x 1080 resolution for excellent color and clarity. The IPS touchscreen interface makes working on it a breeze for students.
With the fantastic quality screen digitizer that offers minimal latency delay, you can glide, tap, and touch from any angle and have your task done accurately.
Any science or biology major student would appreciate the HP Pavilion X360’s revolutionary laptop-tablet 360-degree flip and fold design coupled with its stunning performance.
The HP Pavilion X360 is a terrific choice to make if you’re searching for a career computer that can offer you the best of all worlds.
8. Asus Vivobook 15
- Display: 15.6” 1080p
- CPU: Intel Core i5-1135G7
- GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
- RAM: 8 GB
- Storage: 512GB SSD
With excellent connectivity, incredible performance, and a high-resolution screen, the Asus Vivobook is one of the finest laptops. These are among the most important characteristics to consider before choosing a laptop.
This laptop has a 15.6-inch screen with a resolution of 1920 x 1080. Its innovative frameless “four-sided NanoEdge” display has a super-thin 5.7mm bezel, allowing for an incredible 88 percent screen-to-body ratio for truly immersive images.
The Asus Vivobook includes an ultra-slim bezel and an up-to-date HD camera in addition to the bezel for video chatting with families and friends. The Asus Vivobook 15 comes in a variety of colors and finishes to match your taste.
Transparent Silver or Slate Grey offer a sleek and stylish design, with the latter delivering a more subtle look. It allows biology students to check their work in greater detail and with more vivid images.
The Vivobook 15 is equipped with a cutting-edge 11th Gen Intel Core i5 processor, dual storage drives, and Intel Iris Xe Graphics. It boasts of 8GB memory and 512GB SSD. Thus, it is quite fast.
You can engage in more casual gaming, multimedia editing, productive multitasking. Most significantly, you can operate and deal with your biological program on it.
Download biological applications on SSD for lightning-fast response and Petal loading times. You can also get large files on HDD, such as movies, educational software, professional software, audiobooks.
It offers a high-speed internet connection with dual-band Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) up to 867 megabits a second. The reversible USB type C port p3 on the Vivobook 15 makes connecting devices as simple as possible.
It also offers up to ten times quicker data transmission speeds than the previous USB 2.0 connections. It has a USB 2.0 port and USB 3.1 HDMI output, and a Micro SD card reader. They effortlessly connect all your gadgets to this area and projectors with zero fuss.
Any form of data relating to your academic reports can be shared from one device to another. You’ll require a laptop that isn’t too heavy. Vivobook 15 features small, portable dimensions and is exceptionally light, weighing only 3.6 pounds.
9. Acer Swift 3
- Display: 14” 1080p
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 4700U
- GPU: AMD Radeon Graphics
- RAM: 8 GB
- Storage: 512GB SSD
Acer is renowned for producing high-quality laptops with cutting-edge technology and dependable technical specifications. The 14-inch Acer Swift 3 contains all of the functionality that any student might want.
Thanks to the latest Ryzen 7 and AMD Ryzen 5 processors, this is a fantastic college laptop for straightforward tasks such as word processing, email, and much more. This low-cost laptop also includes a USB Type-C port, fingerprint reader, and a backlit keyboard.
The Acer Swift 3 is also a very light laptop, weighing under 3 pounds at an attractive pricing. It also includes multiple connectivity options. Thus, the performance is something to boast about. It has amazing battery life.
I also like the Acer Aspire 5, a bigger 15.6-inch display, complementing this Acer Swift. The Acer Aspire 5 comes in various configurations. From discrete graphics for content creation to basic gaming, it can cover all.
10. Acer Aspire 5
- Display: 15.6” 1080p
- CPU: Intel Core i5-1135G7
- GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
- RAM: 8 GB
- Storage: 512GB SSD
Slip it into your backpack for on-the-go computing.
The Acer Aspire 5 includes a high-resolution screen, a strong Windows CPU, and a vast storage space that allows users to store and retrieve their academic and educational data when they want.
The Acer Aspire 5 boasts of a 15.6-inch full HD display featuring 1920 x 1080 pixels. Millions of pixels provide additional detail to all characters on screen, resulting in a bright, colorful, and clear picture.
It will significantly assist you in enhancing the appeal and professionalism of your presentations and projects. The graphics controller model features Intel Iris Xe graphics, incorporating a backlight LED technology to improve graphics clarity.
The 11th Gen Intel Core i5-1135G7 Quad Core processor in Acer Aspire 5 is incredible, with a speed of 2.40 gigahertz. Your processing will be boosted, and the boot-up procedure will be sped up as well.
It features 512GB of storage and 8GB of RAM, giving you plenty of room to put massive data, such as advanced biological software relevant to your career or school. Your system will load programs faster. It will provide you with the greatest multiprogramming and multitasking experience possible.
With a weight of 3.65 pounds, you may effortlessly transport Acer Aspire 5 to your school or uni to work on biological tasks or projects with your team. It contains a USB type C, 1 USB 3.1 generation 1 port, and an HDMI USB 2.0 port 1 USB 3.0 port that allows you to connect the system to the laptop and share data with other devices.
How Do I Choose a Laptop for Biology Work?
There are certain factors you need to consider before getting your dream laptop. Let us discuss some of these in brief.
Keep It Light
Not every student might agree with this, but a big-screen notebook may not be the best choice based on how far you’ll be carrying it daily.
It’s lovely to have a tiny home theatre in your college dorm or play the new games in 1080p magnificence on a vast screen. Yet lugging a 5-pound laptop with a big screen around campus while rushing between classes will be a pain.
You’re better off with something compact. If screen size is less important to you than portability, a super-thin ultraportable could be the best. A top 14 or 13-inch widescreen panel is appropriate for students.
It will free up space in your bag and reduce the weight load. A small display may work based on your tolerance level if you recognize that productivity apps and complete web pages require more scrolling. Plus, fonts will look smaller than on larger screens.
Of course, there should be the same zoom level and the same resolution. If you choose to get a smaller, cheaper laptop, you should consider purchasing a standalone keyboard. You can keep it at home or in your dorm for times when you have to type a lot.
A desktop monitor connected through HDMI could also be a good addition.
The Power Requirement
Laptops come with a variety of CPUs to suit a variety of prices and use cases. You may pick one that prioritizes performance or battery life. Alternatively, you might choose one that caters to both these points.
The 11th Generation “Tiger Lake” Core CPUs from Intel, provides both battery efficiency and power gains. AMD’s Ryzen mobile processors are less popular. However, they’re becoming a viable option for ultraportable laptops.
If you need all-day battery life and practically spend most of your time on a web browser, well, a Chromebook might be the way to go. These are often powered by low-power processors (mostly Pentium chips and Intel Celeron).
However, these are sufficient for the types of everyday internet chores that Chromebooks thrive at. If performance is important to you, I have some suggestions. A Windows 10 or macOS machine that offers an Intel Core i7 or Intel Core i5 will deliver the best results.
Storage
With the rise of web apps and cloud storage, having a lot of local storage space isn’t as important as it once was. However, you should still ensure your laptop can handle your needs.
You’ll require 500GB of space or more if you wish to download many programs or store a lot of large media files. You can live with a laptop with less capacity if you don’t anticipate needing all that local storage. Plus, if you are happy leaving a lot of your work online, go for less storage.
Battery Life
On a day full of extracurriculars and classes, a large battery can be your best buddy. Some laptops designed for school come with numerous battery choices. Most people, on the other hand, just have one — and it isn’t removable.
Determine where battery life falls in the larger scheme of things in such a scenario if detachable batteries are accessible (which they usually aren’t) — getting a second one or a larger “extended” one, if available, would be a smart idea.
All other things being equal, the greater the number of “cells” a battery includes within a specific model line, the longer the battery life.
Wrap Up
Laptops contribute to a considerable part of your schoolwork. As biology students, the need intensifies more. Thus, you should make a good and informed choice. A good starting point is this article about the best laptops for biology majors. It is a significant investment, and thus, take your time. Think through what factors matter the most. Finally, read a lot, work hard and make the best of the excellent laptop you get. Happy studying!
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