6 Best Laptops For Medical Students 2023 [Reviews]

laptop for medical students

Are you looking for the best laptop for medical students? What are the best laptops for medical school? Whether you are a medical student or studying in a medical school, you need a laptop that suits your need. But Is there something specific that needs to be special about laptops to suit what Medical students, Doctors, paramedics, nurses, or any hospital staff member does?

In your case, as a medical student, you will need to prepare presentations, write reports and medical histories, read many medical journals, and study anatomical and histological images if you have your books in PDF.

Finding a laptop for medical students can be tricky, especially if you are not tech-savvy. Frankly, all those laptop specs sound good when you hear them named, but how would you know which is better?

I have prepared this list of the 6 best laptops for medical students that you will find in the market, based on their quality, price, brand, components, ratings, and opinions of users who have already tried these laptops.

In a Hurry! Then this is my Best Pick

This year’s best laptop for medical students is Surface Pro 7. Because of the 12.3 Touchscreen with pen input. You can use it as a laptop and tablet. It has a 10th Generation Intel Core i7 or i5 processor. It comes with 8 GB RAM 256 GB storage. Up to 10.5 hours of battery life.

It has all the essential features and is budget-friendly. That is why I selected this. If you don’t have much time, you can go with this. Please read more information about it below.

microsoft surface pro 7

Why medical students need a laptop

Here are some reasons for medical students to buy a laptop:

  • Collecting or storing lectures, tutorials, PDFs, books, etc.
  • Making notes and timetables, however, some prefer handwritten.
  • Using the internet, of course, for research and other things as well.
  • Watching Netflix and YouTube.
  • Attending online lectures or exams

How to choose the best laptop for medical students

Here I explain the factors you should consider when choosing the best laptop for medical students.

1. Portability or Weight

As medical students, you need to go to the library many times to study on your laptop. You also need to carry heavy textbooks along with a laptop. If you choose a heavy laptop, it won’t save your time.

So, choose a thin and lightweight laptop, which you won’t think twice about before taking it with you. Therefore, make sure you buy a good laptop that weighs approximately 3.5 pounds maximum.

2. Display & Resolution

It will depend a bit on your tastes, but in general, you will not want one that is too large that is tedious to transport, nor one that is too small that costs to read and write, between 13 inches to 15.6 inches, will be excellent. 12 inches is also a good option. If you want to comfortably use split screens and clearly distinguish details in histology images, then choose 1080p (FHD) or 900p resolution and above.

Also, keep in mind that the laptop creates a maximum brightness of 420 cd/m², enough to work outdoors.

3. Processor

The component performs the calculations and processes corresponding to an order given to the computer. Processor performance will determine how fast a laptop runs.

So a minimum of intel core i5 processor but i3 shouldn’t be too bad, but to be safe, I would recommend an excellent i5 core processor. If you choose i5 and upper would be fantastic.

4. RAM

I would recommend 4GB or upper because it’s going to allow you to have many documents open at the same time as you’re studying as you’re doing research, and so on. And more demanding software has to be installed than just Office and Internet.

5. Storage

I would recommend 128 GB or upper because that will help store all those essential documents, of course, bear in mind. Also, the laptop isn’t just for work, in most cases.

You will also need it for your tasks like watching movies, Netflix, music, and recreational material.

Many of those small details accumulate in a large amount of data. That is why you should buy a laptop with a minimum of 256 GB of SSD or HDD storage so that you don’t need to worry about cleaning it all the time.

6. Battery

As a medical student, you have to go to lectures, hospitals, and libraries. So that you don’t have to be carrying your charger everywhere you go constantly.

So what should you do? Well, buy a laptop with a minimum of 7 hours battery life.

7. Graphics

Graphics cards are useless unless you are a 3D Gamer or Designer. As medical students, the office tasks do not demand that these components be super powerful. It is up to you, but integrated graphics is enough for medical students.

8. Connectivity

Here I must mention the word ports. Since they are generally confusing for non-tech people, I avoided mentioning them in this list of the best laptops for medical students, but connectivity ports still have a good role.

Now that external docking ports are familiar, you don’t have to worry much. It’s just that sometimes we don’t want to spend more money, or we don’t like cables and detachable external devices that stick to our solid devices. So, take a quick look at the device you will buy before paying and make sure you have the ports you need.

You have read the essential factors to consider when buying a laptop for medical students.

I listed the best laptop for medical students based on these 8 factors. You can also find FAQs at the end of this article.

6 Best Laptop For Medical Students 2023 – At a Glance

#Products
1Microsoft Surface Pro 7View on Amazon
2Google Pixelbook Go i5View on Amazon
3ASUS VivoBook S15View on Amazon
4Apple MacBook ProView on Amazon
5ASUS ZenBook 13View on Amazon
6Lenovo Ideapad 3View on Amazon

Now, let’s see the detailed review of these laptops along with their features, display, processor, RAM, performance, and pros and cons. I hope this may help you to choose a laptop.

So, let’s get into it.

See our other reviews and buying guides for laptops:

1. Microsoft Surface Pro 7

microsoft surface pro 7

Display: 12.3 inches | Resolution: 2736*1824 | Processor: 10th Gen Intel Core i5 | RAM: 8 GB | Storage Capacity: 256 GB SSD | Battery: Up to 10 hours | Graphics: Intel Iris Plus Graphics | Weight: 1.70 lbs

Design and Finish

The design and construction of the Surface Pro 7 are traced to those of the Surface Pro 6. This convertible laptop has a very successful design, although it is not a perfect laptop, with a first division construction.

Again, the fold-out stands on the back with the eye-catching Microsoft logo. Available in matte black, black, and platinum. Besides, it has high rigidity and excellent shock absorption capacity.

The volume rockers and the on / off switch offer a solid pressure point. Only the relatively wide frame around the display no longer looks very contemporary.

The front camera is enclosed, and the main camera is located precisely on the opposite side. A magnesium housing is used on the rear of the materials. Its low weight (800g) and high stability meet medical students’ needs.

Display

One of the most vital features of the Surface Pro 7 is the excellent touch display with a diagonal of 12.3 inches in a 3: 2 format. It offers very high color fidelity, good contrasts, and razor-sharp image sharpness thanks to the high resolution of 2,736×1,824 pixels. This ensures a more than adequate pixel density of almost 270 PPI – pixels are practically invisible at a normal working distance from the eye to the screen.

The screen creates a maximum brightness of 420 cd / m². That’s more than enough to work with the Surface outdoors. Indirect sunlight, on the other hand, could be scarce. The touchscreen reacts very quickly to touch inputs with the hand and the Surface Pen.

Performance

This convertible laptop comes with Windows 10 Home, but you can switch to Windows Pro or Business. It comes with 2 different variants with Intel processors Core i3, i5, or i7, RAM with 8 or 16 GB LPDDR4x, and an SSD size of 128, 256, 512 GB.

The format of the SSD is unusual, however. It is significantly smaller than conventional ultrabooks with a 22 x 30 millimeters size, where 22 x 80 millimeters are standard. This makes it easier to upgrade the storage capacity at a later date.

The Surface Pro 7 relies on current standards for wireless connections: WLAN with 802.11ax and Bluetooth in version 5. An LTE module is used for mobile use. As with the previous model, the connection options are manageable.

It has two USB ports, each as type A and types C ports supporting USB 3.1. There is no protocol for Thunderbolt. An HDMI connection or mini display port is also missing. The special Surface Connect connection is available for the power supply unit. After all, there is also a 3.5-millimeter jack plug for headphones on board.

Features include Intel Iris Plus Graphics for i7 and i5 processors and Intel UHD Graphics for i3 processors. If we talk about its battery life, then I must say you will need over 10 hours to empty the battery to 20 percent. So this laptop is best for medical and college students.

Pros

  • USB Type-C port
  • Good battery life
  • Sharp display
  • Kickstand
  • Solid performance
  • Convertible laptop

Cons

  • No thunderbolt support
  • Only two ports

2. Google Pixelbook Go i5

google pixel go i5

Display: 13.3 inches FHD Touch Screen | Resolution: 3840*2160 | Processor: 8th Gen Intel Core i5 | RAM: 8 GB | Storage Capacity: 128 GB SSD | Battery: Up to 12 hours | Graphics: Intel UHD 615 | Weight: 2.33 lbs

Design and Finish

As you would expect from most laptops, the Just Black painted matte magnesium lid on the Pixelbook Go is smooth. It is also available in Not Pink, similar to the Google Pixel 3. In general, the finish is identical to the finish of a MacBook Pro.

Rather than being smooth and flat, the underside of the Pixelbook Go looks like a modern washboard. Google calls it a “wavy background.” It is a rough texture that is visually unique and easy to grip.

The Pixelbook Go is also thin and light at just 2 pounds and 13mm thick. However, it is still a bit off the Pixelbook.

Google didn’t go for rough or square corners, and in general, the Pixelbook Go is more accessible to hold than most clams, like the Microsoft Surface Laptop 3.

Get ready to prepare your dongles. The Pixelbook Go has a USB-C and headphone jack on the left and a USB-C on the right. That’s two USB-C and a headphone jack in total.

It also features a backlit keyboard which might not be necessary, but it makes typing more accessible, especially in a dark room.

Display

Another thing worth noting is the display. I was handy with the standard FHD model, but Google also offers a 4K molecular touchscreen option. Google tells me that the standard Full HD screen reaches 400 nits of brightness, typical for most laptops. However, that made the screen difficult to see in bright light.

If you want the 4K touchscreen, you can choose Pixelbook Go i7. The 4K display will be paired with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. But

Thanks to its 16: 9 aspect ratio. I tested this by opening some spreadsheets and web pages. I quickly navigated and worked my way through everyday tasks at my desk.

Performance

Screen quality and build mean nothing if a laptop isn’t powerful. Fortunately, Google understands. It offers the Intel Core m3, i5 or i7 processors, with 8GB or 16GB of RAM and 64GB to 256GB of storage.

Intel Core m3 is not good at performance, but the Core i5 series is sufficient for basic tasks and photographic edits.

Google also says that the battery that powers the Pixelbook Go is 15% larger than the previous Pixelbook. It should last 12 hours, although you can get two hours of battery life from just 20 minutes of charging.

The Pixelbook Go, of course, runs Chrome OS. Like Windows 10 and macOS, Chrome OS has reached a point where the changes are minor and do not drastically alter the operating system. The latest update added the Google Assistant and virtual desktops.

Pros

  • Sleek design
  • Long battery life
  • Lightweight design
  • Great keyboard
  • Good performance

Cons

  • No USB-A port
  • Limited colors

3. ASUS VivoBook S15

asus vivobook s51

Display: 15.6 inches Full HD display | Resolution: 1920*1080 | Processor: 8th Gen Intel Core i7 | RAM: 16 GB | Storage Capacity: 256 GB PCIE SSD + 1 TB SATA HDD | Battery: Up to 12 hours | Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce MX250 | Weight: 3.50 lbs

Design and Finish

The Vivobook S15 (S512) is a very slim design along with a 15.6″ FHD (1920*1080) laptop. We could say very thin for this product category. It is not the most compact and lightest 15-inch laptop globally, but they are very appreciable considering the price range.

The backlight helps in this regard, but it doesn’t work great. A more contrasting color scheme would have been preferable, as we’ve already written about other Asus models.

In terms of ports and connectors, it is a complete laptop. On the right, we find a standard format HDMI port, a USB-C port, a USB-3.1, and 2.0 port, and the jack connector.

Display

The colors are relatively accurate but a bit faded. For work and study, it is fine, but if you use it to watch Netflix or the like, the images may be a bit off. 

The Tru2Life feature included in the MyAsus software is not particularly useful. We did not notice any difference when playing HDR content from Netflix or Amazon Prime Video.

The screen brightness is adequate for working in an environment with “normal” lighting, such as a home, office, or classroom. However, the maximum value is not very high, and this, together with the limited contrast, makes the screen a bit difficult to read in bright light.

It’s a “good” screen, but we would have preferred something better in this price range.

Performance

Asus VivoBook S512 S15 comes with Intel i7-10510U processors, ensuring excellent performance and decent battery life and 16GB of RAM and 256 GB SSD + 1TB HDD storage. Other variants are available, with less storage, 8GB and 4GB of RAM, and a less powerful Intel i5 processor with 512 GB SSD (solid-state drive) storage, so you can also go with less storage and ram.

An interesting touch is the discreet Nvidia GeForce MX250 GPU. It is a basic model and less powerful than standard GeForce GTX or RTX models, so high-end graphics don’t need medical students. However, it is still much better than the integrated graphics for basic photo editing, games, and watching movies or NetFlix. Ideal for medical students.

It is featured with stereo speakers, microphones, and an HD infrared webcam for facial authentication. There is also Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 4.2. It also has a backlit keyboard and fingerprint scanner.

Pros

  • Great performance
  • Long battery life
  • Great features
  • 4-way nano edge display
  • Sleek and sophisticated design

Cons

  • Only 1080 resolution
  • Little bulky laptop

4. Apple MacBook Pro

macbook pro

Display: 13.3 inches | Resolution: 2560*1600 | Processor: Intel Core i7 | RAM: 16 GB | Storage Capacity: 512 GB SSD | Battery: Up to 10 hours | Graphics: Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645 | Weight: 3.1 lbs

Design and Finish

The 13-inch ″ MacBook Pro has been one of the most popular notebooks for programmers and medical students. It is a very well-made mobile, fast, and has long battery life.

The basic design of the MacBook Pro 13 remains unchanged from its predecessors. The macOS community speculated in advance about a 14-inch model with a narrower screen frame.

Nevertheless, the aluminum unibody of the Pro series can still be convinced years later. In our opinion, the build quality and feel continue to lead the first league of premium notebooks, even if Windows competitors like the Dell XPS 13 come very close. The same applies to the bright and sharp retina display with 2560 x 1600 pixels and large P3 color space.

For many Apple users, The change to the “new” keyboard with a classic scissor mechanism should be enough to switch to the 2020 model of the MacBook Pro 13. The keyboard could also convince us to use longer and softer strokes in the test.

Above all, the separated Esc key and the remote power switch, including the fingerprint sensor (Touch ID), show that they had been missed more than initially assumed. The improved keyboard is a blessing for prolific writers, who now play along with the large “Force Touch” trackpad again at a first-class level.

Display

As with an iPhone or an iPad of the latest generation, high-resolution displays with optimal brightness are used. You can see the difference between an Apple MacBook Pro 13 inch “with Retina display and its counterpart, including the Apple MacBook Air with 13″ and all other models with 16”. 

The displays are also convincing in terms of screen resolution. Apple MacBook Pro has a true tone technology feature that measures ambient light color and brightness.

One disadvantage, however, should not go unmentioned: Retina displays show weaknesses when it comes to displaying pure black tones.

Performance

Apple MacBook Pro uses new processors from Intel’s latest series 10th generation. A Core i5-1038G7 as standard, presumably a Core i7-1068G7 for a surcharge.

The standard Core i5 has four cores that run at 2.0 GHz—the Core i7 processor (four cores with a 2.3 GHz clock rate). On top of that, there is twice as much RAM: 16 GB as standard, 32 GB for an extra charge.

The Core i5-1038G7 provided a decent performance boost in the test, especially with performance-hungry software such as Adobe Photoshop CC or Phase One Capture One Pro. The MacBook Pro (2020) outperforms the 2019 predecessor and the MacBook Air (2020).

The difference is smaller with Office programs. The graphics unit in the processor is also faster: in the test, it calculated 27 frames per second with a reduced resolution (1366×768 pixels) and 24 frames per second in Full HD (1920×1080 pixels). However, it is not enough for a smooth rendering of games.

Rendering 4K videos in Adobe Premiere was also possible without any problems. The battery lasts around nine hours with the normal use of the device. It is also ideal for college students.

Pros

  • Great performance
  • Premium display
  • Very quiet
  • Great keyboard
  • Fantastic trackpad
  • Long battery life
  • Touch ID

Cons

  • Not upgradable
  • No Face ID

5. ASUS ZenBook 13

asus zenbook 13

Display: 13.3 inches | Resolution: 1920*1080 | Processor: 8th Gen Intel Core i5 | RAM: 8 GB | Storage Capacity: 512GB PCIe M.2 SSD | Battery: Up to 10 hours | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620 | Weight: 2.5 lbs

Design and Finish

The ASUS Zenbook 13 impresses its outstanding performance values, elegant design, and aluminum body. In addition, the manufacturer Asus has managed to keep the overall height of the case very narrow: With the display closed, the device is only 0.5 inches thick at its thickest point. Overall, the dimensions are 12.2 inches in width and around 8.5 inches in depth. The thin notebook has a total weight of just 2.50 lbs.

A large multi-touchpad reacts pleasantly quickly and supports all common finger gestures. The keyboard delivers good quality. The essential travel is more than sufficient and creates an extremely pleasant resistance to get excellent key feedback. The keyboard is perfect for writing longer texts.

Display

The screen shows documents and websites in Full HD (1920×1080 pixels). This is sufficient for a sharp display because the 2,073,600 pixels jostle on a 13-inch display with a screen diagonal of 33.5 centimeters.

The checkerboard contrast of 188: 1 is also average at best. In return, the viewing angle stability is okay. However, the Asus is not that precise regarding color reproduction: The color accuracy was 80.9 percent in the test.

The excellent playback only interferes with editing photos in everyday life – not when working with Office and Internet programs. The display is eye care technology and hardly annoying with reflections.

Performance

Asus Zenbook 13 is a powerful laptop and Intel Core i5-8265U 8th generation. This four-core processor was specially developed for notebooks and ultrabooks and provided sufficient power and long battery life. The processor works at 1.6 GHz in standard mode, and in turbo mode, it clocks up to 3.9 GHz.

The Intel UHD Graphics 620 integrated with the processor is used as the graphics solution. You can choose Nvidia Geforce MX 150 for more complex tasks. This graphics card solution offers more performance than the internal Intel UHD 620, but you can only play games like Battlefield 5, GTA V, or The Witcher 3 to a limited extent it.

However, this additional performance positively affects image processing, among other things. The UHD Graphics 620 from Intel, on the other hand, does not have its own graphics memory but taps into the 8 GB of RAM if necessary. Unfortunately, this cannot be extended.

Asus treats you to an SSD (solid-state drive) with a storage volume of 512 GB for the data. This should be sufficient for most applications and offers enough speed when booting the Windows system.

You will find two USB 3.0 Type-A and one USB-C 3.0 port at the USB ports. You will also look in vain for a separate Gigabit LAN connection. However, this can be retrofitted to an RJ45 connector using the USB 3.0 adapter provided. The device offers the 802.11ac standard for WLAN connections.

Pros

  • Sleek and lightweight
  • Powerful performance
  • Long battery life
  • Comfortable keyboard

Cons

  • No headphone jack

6. Lenovo Ideapad 3

lenovo ideapad 3

Display: 15.6 inches Touch Screen | Resolution: 1366*768 | Processor: 10th Gen Intel Core i5 | RAM: 12 GB | Storage Capacity: 256GB PCIe M.2 SSD | Battery: Up to 7 hours | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics | Weight: 4 lbs

Design and Finish

The simple look is only interrupted by a subtle Lenovo lettering on the top. The laptop’s Surface feels cool as metal and hides fingerprints quite well.

The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 has a full-size island-style keyboard with a numeric keypad, nothing to complain about with the IdeaPad 3.

The pressure points are okay, but not the best either. The multi-touch capable trackpad is always precise. It offers enough space with a 9.98 x 14.26 x 0.78 inches size, and the Surface is pleasantly soft. However, Lenovo does not come close to the level of competition from Huawei or HP.

Display

The 15.6-inch FHD LED-backlit anti-glare display is razor-sharp with a native 1366*768 resolution. With an average of 260 cd / m², the brightness is ideal for indoor use, but it gets complicated with a little bit of sunlight.

A value of at least 300 cd / m² or a contrast ratio of 1000: 1 would be desirable here. The display of the IdeaPad 3 is 290 cd / m² bright in the middle. The brightness decreases towards the sides. However, these differences are not noticeable in everyday life.

Performance

The IdeaPad 3 with an Intel Core i5-1035G1 offers enough performance for all typical office applications. Even for Netflix or YouTube in 4K quality, it is sufficient without jerking. Even Chrome with a few open tabs does not bring it to its knees. This is amazing because we talk about a quad-core with a low base clock. The Ice Lake architecture, the years of optimization of Windows, and the stable Turbo of 3.6 GHz help a lot.

When it comes to gaming, however, compromises have to be made. The Core i5, together with the half-hearted graphics unit and 12 GB of RAM, is not enough to get modern games to run reasonably smoothly. The built-in Intel UHD Graphics G1 is a good UHD graphics unit (supports DirectX 12, up to 1005 MHz), but it is inferior to the upcoming Xe graphics monsters in Tiger Lake processors. AMD APUs also offer significantly more graphics performance.

But it depends on the point of view. Older titles and technically less demanding games should be playable on the laptop. So if you want to play a game of Civilization or Heroes of Might & Magic now and then, you shouldn’t have any problems. Counter-Strike, Fortnite, Starcraft 2, etc., will also run on the device, but only with restrictions (720p – low settings). The Lenovo-Vantage software pre-installed by Lenovo enables the selection of several performance profiles. I ran the test in “High Performance” mode.

Pros

  • Affordable price
  • Comfortable keyboard
  • Great performance

Cons

  • The screen could be brighter

Is a laptop or a tablet better?

A tablet is a marvel, and I used them to read my pdf books in bed 😅, but preparing presentations and reports or work is not enough. You will always need a laptop or at least a desktop computer.

The tablets mean more portability. It can also mean ease of operation and an excellent aesthetic impression.

A laptop is more professional and more valuable. It gives you space to run the tools you might need for medical students.

What is the best laptop for medical students?

This question is often asked.

There are lots of laptops available on the market. But for medical students, you need a laptop for collecting or storing lectures, making notes, research, entertainment, etc.

For this purpose, you have to choose a laptop which suits all these needs. I have the criteria above, which help select a laptop for medical students.

I recommend Microsoft Surface Pro 7, which is 2 in 1 laptop. It has 8 GB RAM and a 10th generation Intel Core i5 processor. Also, it comes in your budget.

Should you buy a MacBook Pro or Air for medical school?

Both laptops have many similarities in the display, keyboard, port, and camera. MacBook Pro has better color saturation, brightness 500 nits, more storage, better performance, graphics, and better battery life. But MacBook Air is also known for its good value, performance, exceptional battery life, sleek design. You don’t need a MacBook Pro for medical school.

Why do you need a laptop for medical school?

Nowadays, Many universities or medical schools prefer a laptop. As a medical student, you need to attend online lectures practicals, make notes, and do many things. Today, all resources and announcements are on an online learning platform, so you need a laptop.

How much RAM do I need for med school?

I would recommend a minimum of 4GB RAM. It is best to choose 8GB or 16 GB RAM.

Conclusion

As a medical student, you need a laptop instead of a tablet because a laptop gives you more space to run different software or app, which is required for medical students. But it is essential to choose a laptop which suits your requirements.

There are many laptop brands, and laptop models are available. So, before choosing a laptop, please write down your requirements and then see our criteria to choose the best laptop. But if you don’t want to, I listed the 6 best laptops for medical students.

I think you have a clear idea of ​​choosing a laptop for medical students, and I hope you like the review.

For any doubt, “reach out to us through the comment sections, and I will be happy to answer any questions.

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