‘Isolation was actually fun’: Five students review five different laptops and here’s what they found

‘The graphics were so good, I felt like I was in the Love Island villa’

3 years ago

Sara Les | Brands

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Being a university student is about a lot of things – nights out, making mates, Netflix and surviving on very little sleep. However, the most defining part of being a student is how much time we spend on our laptops. Whether it’s catching up on our favourite series, building a new family on Sims or (rarely) doing uni work – if you’re ever in close proximity to a uni student, their laptop will always be within at least a one metre radius.

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Because of this unbreakable bond between student and device, it’s important that the laptops we’re using are doing their job – ie: no buffering and no beach balls of doom. We sent five different laptops, powered by the Intel Evo platform (All Evo laptops have to meet a set number of design and performance criteria – more info here), to five different students across the country who study five different degrees. We asked them to play around with the laptops for a few weeks, using them for any uni-related software, as well as Spotify, Netflix, video games, YouTube, etc. After the three weeks were up, here’s what they had to say:

Eloise, Biology student – HP Spectre

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“The first thing I noticed when I opened the shiny package holding my new HP Spectre laptop, powered by the Intel Evo platform, was the shape. The power button and charger cable are on the cut-off back corners, so the screen can be in any position without knocking the charger, and you can’t press the power button accidentally (something I do too often when it’s part of the keyboard).

“Then I noticed the touchscreen and the screen’s ability to bend back, turning into a tablet. The keyboard also conveniently turns itself off for this, and there’s the option to turn on “touch mode” which makes it easier to use without a mouse. The tablet mode was especially good for watching Netflix, and for doing something quickly when I wasn’t at a desk. The auto-rotate and on-screen keyboard makes it feel even more like a tablet, and the keyboard has loads of size and layout options.

“My degree is all about writing and researching on my laptop. I really liked this computer’s speed, which wasn’t affected by the number of documents and tabs I had open at once. I noticed the processing power much more when programming statistics and generating graphs, and especially when running simulations of biological systems, as I was able to have a simulation with good graphics and lots of moving parts working at once without crashing it.

“The screen rotation came in handy again when I was using it as a tablet because I could have multiple windows on the screen at once. The touchscreen was useful as I sometimes draw diagrams digitally, but if I was going to draw on this laptop long-term I would definitely buy a stylus to make this easier, and possibly use that for note-taking in lectures as well.”

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Emily, Computer Science student – Asus ZenBook

“If I had to describe the Asus ZenBook, powered by the Intel Evo platform, in one word it would simply be – stunning. The design of it won my heart immediately. The black and rose gold colour scheme, paired with the slim and lightweight design is a real eye catcher. Sometimes I just stare at the laptop, thinking how pretty it is. The graphics are also incredible – I feel like I’m sat in the Love Island villa every night with how clear the image is.

“The laptop has no trouble dealing with any programming I’m doing or software that I use for uni or at work. Having a crisp and well-lit screen has also made a real difference to the amount of headaches I get when I’m sat staring at a screen all day. Obviously doesn’t solve the issue completely but that’s my own fault for not giving my eyes a rest as regularly as I should but I think we’re all a little bit guilty of that.

“The facial recognition feature impressed me a lot, especially as it picked up my face when I opened it up in the dark at 3am one morning. I’m not going to sit here and pretend like I get my eight hours sleep every night instead of scrolling through random websites. And what makes this random scrolling easier? The fact the laptop is touchscreen. I find this feature a little unusual since most laptops with a touchscreen you can fold the keyboard away but this isn’t the case. I don’t really have any complaints about it though because I like being able to use the touchscreen when it is 3am and not have to strain my eyes to see the keyboard.”

Katie, Journalism student – Galaxy Book Pro

“This week I tested positive for COVID and started the dreaded self-isolation period. After spending so much time out and about in Leeds, coming home to 10 days of quarantine sounded even worse than ever before. As I wondered what on earth I was supposed to do with myself, the postman brought me a pressie – a Galaxy Book Pro, powered by the Intel Evo platform. Self-isolation had arrived at the perfect time to have a play around with all the features on my brand new laptop.

“On unboxing, I was surprised at how thin the computer is. They weren’t wrong when they called it a Galaxy BOOK – it’s literally as thin as, if not thinner than, my notebook. I wondered if it could really pack a punch like a big PC. So, of course, after a swift set up with a nice clicky keyboard (an important factor if you ask me), I downloaded the most exhausting application for a laptop to put up with – The Sims.

“Okay but look how good those graphics are. The colours are beautiful and bright, and the game runs super smoothly. The fan is so quiet which means the laptop doesn’t sound like it’s about to take off in the middle of gameplay, something I’ve gotten so used to with other devices. And I still can’t get over how intense the colours are on the screen.

“Of course, what’s isolation without an obscene amount of Netflix? (Despite TikTok already warning me my screen time was too high). My house has notoriously crap WiFi though – luckily this laptop runs data and can be loaded up with a sim card. No more buffering for me. I can’t help but think how this would have been so helpful for my Journalism degree and on trains home or when Eduroam was kicked down in halls last year.”

Liam, Film student – LG Gram 16

“When DHL dropped off the parcel that was supposed to contain my new laptop, I was very concerned that someone had forgot to pack it. The box was so light, it could have easily been empty for all I knew. Thankfully, after opening the box I was relieved to find a sleek, black device inside. Now, after about a week since I got my hands on the LG Gram 16 powered by the Intel Evo platform, I’ve been pretty surprised by how much I like this thing.

“The first thing that struck me was the exceptional performance – despite the lack of discrete graphics. The Intel Iris Xe integrated graphics is a big boost in terms of graphical performance considering the lack of a dedicated GPU, and photo editing in Lightroom and Photoshop felt responsive and quick.

“The 16-inch IPS panel produces a near-enough QHD image, and although choppy at times, video editing in Premiere Pro was impressive – especially for the size and weight of the device (only 1.2 kg). Aptly named the Gram, as that’s how heavy it feels in my lap as I type, 16GB of DDR4 RAM coupled up with 1TB of NVMe SSD storage made accessing and using large files a breeze – and I was able to render a 10-minute 1080p video in just under 25 minutes.

“Another impressive thing for me was the wake-from-sleep time – the laptop is consistently waking ready for use in under one second, and the discretely hidden fingerprint sensor (located in the power button) uses Windows Hello to speed up access to your laptop, whilst remaining extra secure.

“I was able to switch from working at my desk to outside in the garden thanks to the addition of USB-C and Thunderbolt 4 ports – but what really blew me away whilst working there was the battery life. Even after a full day procrastinating on YouTube and Prime Video (clearing five episodes of Mr. Robot in the process), there was still another three hours of charge left in the battery, and in truth I didn’t charge it until the next morning.”

Claire Baillie, Engineering student – Lenova Yoga

“As someone who has a busy lifestyle, I was in dire need of a laptop that accommodates my job, university work for my Engineering degree and overall daily tasks. I especially needed a laptop that works smoothly enough to run code-heavy programs like Unreal Engine 4 and Adobe software for my uni projects.

“The Lenovo Yoga, powered by the Intel Evo platform does a particularly good job at running programs such as Photoshop and Premier Pro, and there was no delay when booting them up. I have had some trouble before with previous laptops being unable to withstand the software required for my university course which has made completing tasks very difficult and time consuming. Finally finding a laptop that has such a good battery life and runs so smoothly with the programs I require is a godsend.

“Another feature of the laptop that works well with my lifestyle is how easy it is to transport. It’s slim and lightweight, which makes it easy to carry around in various bags without being a hassle. The outside design of the laptop is also really cool as it is stylish and matches my aesthetic, making it a great feature when working at the office or in café’s.

“When I’m not rinsing my laptop for work or university tasks, I use it (as all students do) for Netflix or the occasional computer game. The screen of this laptop is so clear and colourful, it made the experience of movie nights even more immersive and detailed. All in all, this laptop is an ideal fit for any other students needing function, style and speed.”

Sara Les | Brands