Top 20 laptops for back to school

The Lenovo ThinkPad X100e is an 11-inch notebook packed with a low-voltage AMD processor, powerful ATI integrated graphics, and one of the best keyboards we've tested on an ultraportable laptop. It may potentially be the ideal companion for students on the go. That said, if you're shopping for the X100e be sure to buy the model with the dual core processor and not the single core model.

The Alienware M11x notebook is an 11.6" portable gaming notebook with up to an Intel Core i7 processor and Nvidia dedicated graphics. The Alienware M11x is the most portable gaming laptop on the planet, or universe for that matter! Why use a gaming notebook for school? Because it is fully capable of handling any sorftware you need, it's relatively small and lightweight, and has a great LED backlit keyboard for typing in dark classrooms or dorms.

The ASUS Eee PC 1005PE isn't the newest netbook on the market but it's still one of the best. The 1005PE was the first 10.1” Intel Pine Trail netbook on the market featuring the Intel Atom 450 processor and Intel GMA 3150 integrated graphics. Claiming up to 50 percent better battery life than the previous generation, this model delivered more than 12 hours of continuous use in our lab before the battery needed to be recharged.

The HP Mini 210 HD is one of the newest netbooks on the market, offering a full 720P-compatible 1366x768 resolution on a compact 10.1-inch display. This model includes the 1.66GHz Intel Atom N455 processor standard--with the faster 1.83GHz N475 for $25 more---as well as Intel GMA 3150 integrated graphics and an optional Broadcom CrystalHD decoder card for watching HD video.

The new 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro brings a lot of new features to the table from the previous generation. Users now get a large battery that gives pretty amazing life, a better display, faster processor, FireWire, SD-card slot, and best of all a lower starting price. If your student is a "Mac" and not a "PC" then this is the notebook to consider.