3 Best Laptops for CCNA in 2024
From this article, you will know what are, in our opinion, the best laptops for CCNA you can buy and use in 2024.
Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) is an associate-level certification given by Cisco to Information Technology (IT) professionals. By being given this certification, you have been acknowledged to have the fundamental knowledge and skills needed to work in networking roles in IT.
To optimally prepare for the exam that must be passed to get the CCNA certification, a laptop can be useful to have. That is because a laptop can help you learn and practice materials related to the exam anywhere and anytime you want. It will be better, however, if the laptop you use has the right model and specification quality so you can do your CCNA exam preparation much more smoothly.
If you want to prepare for the CCNA exam (or you already passed it and you want to work in a networking role with the certification) but don’t have a laptop for that purpose yet, you might be interested in buying a new laptop. Nevertheless, it can be confusing to pick the right laptop to use from many laptop models and specification choices out there. This is why Compute Expert has tried to compile a list of the best laptops for CCNA that you can make as your laptop-buying reference.
Want to know more about the laptops we recommend for CCNA aspirants and the reasons we recommend them? Let’s get on the list right away.
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| Image | View on Amazon | Product |
|---|---|---|
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14 | ||
| Dell Latitude 5440 | ||
| HP EliteBook 650 |
Table of Contents:
What are the Best Laptops for CCNA?
Now, let’s take a deeper look at the laptops we think can be excellent for people who try to prepare for the CCNA exam. Using one of these laptops should give you the laptop support you need to do the preparation process the best way.1. Lenovo ThinkPad T14
Lenovo ThinkPad T14 is the first laptop we recommend for the CCNA exam preparation process. Coming from the popular Lenovo ThinkPad series, this laptop should be able to support you capably as it has suitable specifications for your CCNA-related training.To run its operations, this laptop uses an AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 6650 U. It is a good processor for a laptop to use as it has a relatively fast base clock speed to run the software you need with high stability. The RAM capacity, 16GB, should be adequate for multitasking quite a lot when you need this laptop to do that.
There are USB-A, USB-C, HDMI, and Ethernet ports on the sides of this laptop so it should be easy for you to connect to an Ethernet cable or any external device you need for you to practice work related to the networking roles you take your CCNA exam for. When you need to stretch this laptop so you can learn and train for the exam more comfortably, it has a 180-degree hinge to let you stretch it optimally.
This laptop has a friendly-to-the-eye display as well so you shouldn’t get much eye strain when you want to learn for the exam for long hours. All in all, this Lenovo ThinkPad T14 can be just the laptop you need to prepare for the CCNA exam well.
Key Features
- Screen Size, Resolution: 14 inches, 1920 x 1200 pixels
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 6650U with 6 cores and speed in the range of 2.9-4.5 GHz
- RAM Capacity: 16GB
- Storage: 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD
- Battery Life (Estimation): up to 8 hours of usage capacity
Pros
- Excellent specifications to support the CCNA exam preparation process
- Quite sleek and lightweight
- USB-A, USB-C, HDMI, and Ethernet ports
- Friendly-to-the-eye display
- Stretchable hinge (up to 180 degrees)
- Comfortable keyboard to type on
Cons
- No SD card reader slots
2. Dell Latitude 5440
Dell Latitude 5440 is another laptop that can be suitable for your activity needs when you want to prepare for the CCNA exam. It is a nice business laptop from Dell with specification quality that seems excellent to have for CCNA aspirants.The main performance specifications of this laptop are 13th Gen Intel Core i7 processor and 16GB RAM capacity. These are quality specifications that should have no problem handling tasks related to your CCNA exam preparation process. When you need to store files internally on this laptop for your networking role training, there is 512GB SSD storage space in this laptop available for you to use.
The hinge that this laptop has is stretchable up to 180 degrees so you can do your preparation activities more comfortably with this laptop. To help you connect to external devices, there are USB-A, Thunderbolt 4 USB-C, HDMI, and Ethernet ports available for you to use.
As for browsing or preparing for the CCNA exam online, this laptop has Wi-Fi 6E technology that can give you an optimum internet connection speed from your Wi-Fi network. Overall, this Dell Latitude 5440 seems to be a great laptop choice to support the learning and training process for the CCNA exam.
Key Features
- Screen Size, Resolution: 15.6 inches, 1920 x 1080 pixels
- Processor: 13th Gen Intel Core i7 with 14 cores and speed in the range of 1.9-5.2 GHz
- RAM Capacity: 16GB
- Storage: 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD
- Battery Life (Estimation): up to 9 hours of usage capacity
Pros
- Excellent specifications to support the CCNA exam preparation process
- Good build quality
- Quite portable design
- USB-A, Thunderbolt 4 USB-C, HDMI, and Ethernet ports
- Stretchable hinge (up to 180 degrees)
Cons
- No SD card reader slots
- Average display quality
3. HP EliteBook 650
HP EliteBook 650 is the last laptop we have on this list. Considering the model and specifications that it has, this laptop should bode well with the requirements needed to help you prepare for the CCNA exam optimally.In terms of performance, this laptop has a 13th Gen Intel Core i7 processor and 16GB RAM capacity. With the capabilities of these specifications, you should use your CCNA exam preparation software with this laptop excellently. When you need to use its battery, this laptop should be able to last a full day for normal usage so you can stay productive without a power outlet.
Similar to our previously discussed laptops, this laptop has USB-A, USB-C, HDMI, and Ethernet ports so connectivity shouldn’t be a problem for you. As for the design, it is quite sleek, lightweight, and professional-looking to make you able to bring and use this laptop anywhere you want easily.
Want a laptop that can accompany your CCNA exam preparation process capably? You may want to consider buying and using this HP EliteBook 650 too.
Key Features
- Screen Size, Resolution: 15.6 inches, 1920 x 1080 pixels
- Processor: 13th Gen Intel Core i7 with 10 cores and speed in the range of 1.7-5 GHz
- RAM Capacity: 16GB
- Storage: 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD
- Battery Life (Estimation): up to 13 hours of usage capacity
Pros
- Excellent specifications to support the CCNA exam preparation process
- Premium-looking design
- USB-A, Thunderbolt 4 USB-C, HDMI, and Ethernet ports
- Stretchable hinge (up to 180 degrees)
- Quiet operations
- Display and screen technologies can reduce eye strain
Cons
- No SD card reader slots
- Average display quality
What are the Things We Should Consider When We Want to Buy a Laptop to Prepare for the CCNA Exam?
Here are the things we think you should consider when you want to buy a laptop to support your CCNA exam preparation process.- Processor. You should have a good processor in the laptop you buy so it can run the software you need smoothly. We recommend a laptop with at least a late-generation i5 or Ryzen 5 processor for this
- RAM capacity. You should also have an adequate RAM capacity in the laptop you buy so there would be no problem related to memory space when you prepare for the CCNA exam with it. We recommend a laptop with at least 16GB RAM for this
- Ports. When preparing for the CCNA exam, you need to train yourself to do the work of a networking role in IT. To do that optimally, the laptop you buy should have USB-A and Ethernet ports so you can connect to the external devices you need. We recommend a laptop with built-in USB-A and Ethernet ports so it will be simple for you in terms of the connectivity
- Storage. You may need to store some files related to your CCNA exam preparation activities internally on your laptop so you can access them much more easily later. Thus, the laptop you buy should have adequate storage space to accommodate those files. We recommend a laptop with at least 512GB SSD storage space for this
Wrap Up
When you want to buy a laptop, you may want one that can help you prepare for the CCNA exam optimally. However, it can be confusing to pick the right laptop from many laptop choices out there. This is why Compute Expert has created a list of the best laptops for CCNA to help you.To summarize, here are three laptops we recommend on our list.
We hope our list can help you buy the best laptop to support your CCNA exam preparation process!
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