Best Laptops for ASU Students by Major (2026)

One Size Does Not Fit All

Walk into any ASU lecture hall and you'll see everything from MacBook Pros to bargain-bin Chromebooks. Some of those choices are smart. A lot of them aren't. The difference between a $400 laptop and a $900 laptop doesn't matter much if you're a business major writing Word docs — but it matters enormously if you're a CS student compiling code for three hours a day.

Here's a major-by-major breakdown of what actually makes sense, including realistic price ranges for new and used.

Engineering (Fulton Schools)

Minimum specs: 16GB RAM, dedicated GPU (at least 4GB VRAM), SSD with 512GB+, Intel Core i7 or AMD Ryzen 7 equivalent.

Engineering students run MATLAB, SolidWorks (Windows only), Ansys, AutoCAD, and Multisim. Most of these are Windows-only or run poorly on Mac. This is one major where the MacBook fanboy argument falls apart.

Best new option: Dell XPS 15 or ASUS ProArt Studiobook. Budget $1,100–$1,500 new.

Best used option: A 2023–2024 Dell XPS 15 or Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme. Look for used units at $700–$950. These show up on ASU List and Facebook Marketplace fairly often near graduation season.

Avoid: Any laptop with integrated graphics only. SolidWorks will make you miserable.

Computer Science (SCAI)

Minimum specs: 16GB RAM, fast SSD, decent CPU. GPU matters if you're doing ML/AI work.

CS students spend most of their time in terminals, IDEs (VS Code, IntelliJ), and running local servers. The MacBook M-series chips are genuinely excellent for this — the terminal performance is fast, battery life is real, and Unix-based macOS plays nicely with dev tools.

Best new option: MacBook Air M4 (starts around $1,099) or MacBook Pro 14" M4 Pro.

Best used option: A 2023 MacBook Air M2 in the $700–$850 range is a fantastic deal and will handle everything except heavy ML training without issue.

If your budget is tight: A refurbished ThinkPad T490s or T14 with 16GB RAM runs well with Linux and costs $350–$500 used.

Business (W.P. Carey)

Minimum specs: 8GB RAM, SSD, 12+ hour battery, under 4 lbs.

Carey students live in Excel, PowerPoint, and Zoom. You don't need a powerhouse — you need something reliable and light enough to carry between Farmer Education and the business buildings all day.

Best new option: MacBook Air M4 or Dell XPS 13. Budget $900–$1,100.

Best used option: A 2022–2023 MacBook Air M1 or M2 is exceptional value in the $550–$750 range used. These still run every business app flawlessly.

Budget pick: A used Surface Pro or Lenovo IdeaPad 5 in the $350–$500 range works fine for strictly Office Suite workflows.

Journalism & Mass Comm (Cronkite)

Minimum specs: Good display color accuracy, 16GB RAM if doing video editing, SSD.

Cronkite students increasingly do video production, podcast editing, and photo work. For video editing in Premiere Pro, you want either a Mac (for efficiency) or a Windows machine with a dedicated GPU.

Best option: MacBook Pro 14" M4 Pro — handles Final Cut Pro and Premiere beautifully. New around $1,999, used 2023 models around $1,300–$1,500.

Budget option: If you're mostly writing and doing light photo work, a used MacBook Air M2 ($700–$850) is enough.

Fine Arts & Design (Herberger)

Similar to Cronkite — display quality matters. You want accurate color reproduction.

Best option: MacBook Pro 14" or a Dell XPS 15 OLED variant. Both have excellent displays.

Key tip: Check the display spec before buying used. "Full HD" IPS is fine. OLED or Liquid Retina is better. Avoid TN panels for design work — colors look different at every angle.

Pre-Med / Life Sciences

Minimum specs: Honestly, 8GB RAM and an SSD. You're mostly writing papers and using web-based tools.

Best value: Used MacBook Air M1 or M2 ($550–$750), or a refurbished Lenovo IdeaPad or Dell Inspiron ($300–$450). Don't overspend here. Save that money for MCAT prep courses.

General Tips for Buying Used

Whether you're buying on ASU List, Facebook Marketplace, or from a friend in your dorm:

1. Always check battery health — On Mac: System Information > Power > Cycle Count. Under 500 cycles is good. On Windows: run `powercfg /batteryreport` in Command Prompt.
2. Test every port — Plug something into each USB port. Dead ports are a dealbreaker.
3. Check for dead pixels — Open a solid white image and look carefully at the full screen.
4. Ask about the original purchase date — A 2022 laptop in 2026 is getting old. Price accordingly.
5. Don't pay more than 60% of current new price for anything over 18 months old.

The Short Version

• Engineering: Windows laptop, dedicated GPU, 16GB RAM minimum
• CS: MacBook M-series or a beefy ThinkPad on Linux
• Business: Any reliable Mac or mid-range Windows — battery matters
• Cronkite/Arts: Mac for video/photo work
• Pre-Med: Don't overspend. Basic specs are fine.