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Jul 16, 2023

Best back

Whether you’re thrilled to bits about it or lack any enthusiasm whatsoever, back-to-school season is here and ready to roll. And with the arrival of back-to-school season comes a lot of awesome deals.

Whether you’re thrilled to bits about it or lack any enthusiasm whatsoever, back-to-school season is here and ready to roll. And with the arrival of back-to-school season comes a lot of awesome deals. If I had to guess, the top item on your list is likely going to be a laptop, especially if you’re a high school student or incoming college freshman. So, if you’re in the market for one, there’s no better time than now to take the plunge. Ah, but where to begin?

Fortunately for you, Dell is holding its annual back-to-school sale right now. And, if you happen to buy an eligible laptop, the manufacturer will donate to UNICEF, which helps schools get onto the world wide web. Pretty cool, right? Dell laptops are also known for being well-priced, durable, and luxurious (especially the XPS line). I’ve been a fan of Dell laptops for years and I find that the customer support is top-notch, too. If you have no idea where to begin, don’t worry, from lightweight 2-in-1s to powerful gaming machines, I’ve assembled a diverse list for you.

If you’re on the hunt for the best-rated laptops, be sure to check out PCWorld’s carefully curated roundup of laptops spanning all purposes and prices points.

Sometimes all you need is a basic machine for writing papers and doing research on. If that’s what you’re looking for, you should check out the bulleted list below. I’ve included a number of different machines with both AMD and Intel processors.

The Inspiron 15 Laptop offers a good amount of processing power for the price. The AMD Ryzen 7 5700U CPU inside of this machine has a max boost clock of up to 4.3GHz, 16 threads, and eight cores. Having more cores and threads is always preferable in a CPU.

If you need a little extra firepower in the graphics department, you should consider picking up a gaming laptop. The options below are souped-up with powerful hardware as well as spacious high refresh-rate screens. This is important, especially when you’re in the middle of an intensive match in which every second matters.

If you’re after the ultimate gaming experience, then the Alienware x16 Gaming Laptop is worth considering. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU is powerful enough to run most modern games on the High or Ultra graphics preset. The display’s 165Hz refresh rate should also help produce smooth visuals.

If portability is at the top of your priority list, 2-in-1 laptops are the way to go. They’re generally more lightweight than traditional clamshell laptops and you can swing the screen around 360 degrees. That means you can use it like a tablet or prop it up like a tent for sharing information.

The XPS 13 2-in-1 Laptop is very lightweight at under two pounds. It’s the perfect traveling companion, especially if you plan on taking it to class with you. It also has a beautiful 1920p touch display with active pen support. According to the manufacturer, the display has a maximum brightness of 500 nits. If that number holds true, then you’re in for a truly vibrant picture.

Calling all graphics design students! If you’ve been shopping around for an ultra-powerful machine, you best stick around. The picks below are absolute beasts in the power department. They’ve also got gorgeous 4K displays, which is perfect for getting those tiny details just right.

The XPS 17 Laptop is more on the expensive side, that’s for sure, but it’s about as premium as you can get. You’re getting an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU as well as 1TB of PCIe NVMe SSD storage, which you’ll need for offloading files. Plus, the 17-inch 2400p display is both spacious and sharp.

Dell’s sale is happening right now! There are many laptops that are on sale for up to $400 off. If you can wait, you may want to check back in mid-August. Discounts may drop even lower the closer we get to the beginning of the school year.

I don’t have an official end date as of right now, but I suspect the deals will start dropping off sometime in September when the school year begins. Most people are buying their school supplies now, so you might as well strike now while the iron’s hot.

Ashley is a professional writer and editor with a strong background in tech and pop culture. She has written for high traffic websites such as Polygon, Kotaku, StarWars.com, and Nerdist. In her off time, she enjoys playing video games, reading science fiction novels, and hanging out with her rescue greyhound.