Best STEM Students Laptops Under C$800, with Touchscreen in Canada

What a STEM Student laptop means: a laptop that holds up to engineering coursework,fast CPU for compilation, enough RAM to run simulations or a VM, GPU headroom for the occasional ML or CUDA assignment, while still portable enough for daily campus life. Typical use: MATLAB, SolidWorks, AutoCAD, Python and Jupyter notebooks, compiling C++ or Rust, occasional CUDA work, recorded lectures. Fits engineering, computer science, physics, math, and data-science majors,undergrads through PhD.

Also relevant for: STEM laptops · engineering laptops · CS student laptops · MATLAB & simulation

Updated: July 2026
Products evaluated: 2281
How we work: Editorial principles →

Showing: Under C$800 · Touchscreen

Showing 1–10 of 62 STEM Students laptops
  1. #1
    Champion
    Objective profile
    Acer Aspire 14 AI
    (Core Ultra 5 226V, 16GB, 1TB)
    Acer · 14" · 2025
    C$703 – C$859
    STEM Student SelvaScore
    64 / 100
    Weight1.41 kg
    Battery14.0 hr
    Display14.0" 1920x1200
    RAM16 GB
    Storage1 TB
    SelvaScore breakdown
    • 49
      Multi-Core Performance Multi-Thread Scalability
    • 42
      System Memory RAM Capacity
    • 46
      Single-Core Speed Single-Thread Velocity
    • 58
      Storage Speed Storage Throughput
    • 78
      Battery Life Autonomous Runtime
    • 64
      AI Acceleration NPU Inference Capacity
    • 70
      Weight Gravitational Load
    • 58
      Thermal Stability Thermal Throttling Resistance
    Canadian retailer links coming soon, check back shortly.
    View full review →
  2. #2
    Runner-Up
    Objective profile
    Dell Inspiron 15
    (i5-1334U, 16GB, 1TB)
    4 configs
    Dell · 15.6" · 2023
    C$694 – C$848
    STEM Student SelvaScore
    61 / 100
    Weight–
    Battery9.0 hr
    Display15.6" 1920x1080
    RAM16 GB
    Storage1 TB
    SelvaScore breakdown
    • 45
      Multi-Core Performance Multi-Thread Scalability
    • 42
      System Memory RAM Capacity
    • 75
      Single-Core Speed Single-Thread Velocity
    • 58
      Storage Speed Storage Throughput
    • 61
      Battery Life Autonomous Runtime
    • 43
      AI Acceleration NPU Inference Capacity
    • 60
      Weight Gravitational Load
    • 58
      Thermal Stability Thermal Throttling Resistance
    Canadian retailer links coming soon, check back shortly.
    View full review →
  3. #3
    Top Pick
    Objective profile
    Lenovo IdeaPad
    (i5-1335U, 16GB, 512GB)
    Lenovo · 15.6" · 2023
    C$702 – C$857
    STEM Student SelvaScore
    61 / 100
    Weight1.61 kg
    Battery9.0 hr
    Display15.6" 1920x1080
    RAM16 GB
    Storage512 GB
    SelvaScore breakdown
    • 47
      Multi-Core Performance Multi-Thread Scalability
    • 42
      System Memory RAM Capacity
    • 70
      Single-Core Speed Single-Thread Velocity
    • 58
      Storage Speed Storage Throughput
    • 61
      Battery Life Autonomous Runtime
    • 43
      AI Acceleration NPU Inference Capacity
    • 62
      Weight Gravitational Load
    • 49
      Thermal Stability Thermal Throttling Resistance
    Canadian retailer links coming soon, check back shortly.
    View full review →
  4. #4
    Objective profile
    Dell 16
    (Core 5 120U, 16GB, 512GB)
    Dell · 16" · 2024
    C$638 – C$779
    STEM Student SelvaScore
    60 / 100
    Weight1.98 kg
    Battery9.0 hr
    Display16.0" 1920x1200
    RAM16 GB
    Storage512 GB
    SelvaScore breakdown
    • 42
      Multi-Core Performance Multi-Thread Scalability
    • 42
      System Memory RAM Capacity
    • 52
      Single-Core Speed Single-Thread Velocity
    • 58
      Storage Speed Storage Throughput
    • 61
      Battery Life Autonomous Runtime
    • 58
      AI Acceleration NPU Inference Capacity
    • 49
      Weight Gravitational Load
    • 58
      Thermal Stability Thermal Throttling Resistance
    Canadian retailer links coming soon, check back shortly.
    View full review →
  5. #5
    Objective profile
    Dell Inspiron 15
    (Ryzen 7 7730U, 16GB, 1TB)
    2 configs
    Dell · 15.6" · 2023
    C$705 – C$862
    STEM Student SelvaScore
    60 / 100
    Weight–
    Battery9.0 hr
    Display15.6" 1920x1080
    RAM16 GB
    Storage1 TB
    SelvaScore breakdown
    • 52
      Multi-Core Performance Multi-Thread Scalability
    • 42
      System Memory RAM Capacity
    • 58
      Single-Core Speed Single-Thread Velocity
    • 34
      Storage Speed Storage Throughput
    • 61
      Battery Life Autonomous Runtime
    • 43
      AI Acceleration NPU Inference Capacity
    • 52
      Weight Gravitational Load
    • 49
      Thermal Stability Thermal Throttling Resistance
    Canadian retailer links coming soon, check back shortly.
    View full review →
  6. #6
    Objective profile
    Dell Inspiron 15
    (i5-1334U, 20GB, 512GB)
    Dell · 15.6" · 2023
    C$601 – C$735
    STEM Student SelvaScore
    60 / 100
    Weight1.66 kg
    Battery8.0 hr
    Display15.6" 1920x1080
    RAM20 GB
    Storage512 GB
    SelvaScore breakdown
    • 45
      Multi-Core Performance Multi-Thread Scalability
    • 49
      System Memory RAM Capacity
    • 75
      Single-Core Speed Single-Thread Velocity
    • 58
      Storage Speed Storage Throughput
    • 55
      Battery Life Autonomous Runtime
    • 43
      AI Acceleration NPU Inference Capacity
    • 59
      Weight Gravitational Load
    • 39
      Thermal Stability Thermal Throttling Resistance
    Canadian retailer links coming soon, check back shortly.
    View full review →
  7. #7
    Objective profile
    Dell 15
    (Ryzen 7 7730U, 20GB, 512GB)
    Dell · 15.6" · 2023
    C$643 – C$786
    STEM Student SelvaScore
    59 / 100
    Weight1.63 kg
    Battery6.0 hr
    Display15.6" 1920x1080
    RAM20 GB
    Storage512 GB
    SelvaScore breakdown
    • 52
      Multi-Core Performance Multi-Thread Scalability
    • 49
      System Memory RAM Capacity
    • 58
      Single-Core Speed Single-Thread Velocity
    • 34
      Storage Speed Storage Throughput
    • 42
      Battery Life Autonomous Runtime
    • 43
      AI Acceleration NPU Inference Capacity
    • 61
      Weight Gravitational Load
    • 58
      Thermal Stability Thermal Throttling Resistance
    Canadian retailer links coming soon, check back shortly.
    View full review →
  8. #8
    Objective profile
    HP Laptop
    (Ryzen 7 7730U, 16GB, 512GB)
    HP · 15.6" · 2023
    C$690 – C$843
    STEM Student SelvaScore
    59 / 100
    Weight1.60 kg
    Battery8.0 hr
    Display15.6" 1920x1080
    RAM16 GB
    Storage512 GB
    SelvaScore breakdown
    • 52
      Multi-Core Performance Multi-Thread Scalability
    • 42
      System Memory RAM Capacity
    • 58
      Single-Core Speed Single-Thread Velocity
    • 34
      Storage Speed Storage Throughput
    • 55
      Battery Life Autonomous Runtime
    • 43
      AI Acceleration NPU Inference Capacity
    • 63
      Weight Gravitational Load
    • 66
      Thermal Stability Thermal Throttling Resistance
    Canadian retailer links coming soon, check back shortly.
    View full review →
  9. #9
    Objective profile
    Dell Inspiron 15 3520
    (i5-1135G7, 32GB, 1TB)
    Dell · 15.6" · 2021
    C$674 – C$824
    STEM Student SelvaScore
    58 / 100
    Weight1.73 kg
    Battery6.0 hr
    Display15.6" 1920x1080
    RAM32 GB
    Storage1 TB
    SelvaScore breakdown
    • 55
      Multi-Core Performance Multi-Thread Scalability
    • 56
      System Memory RAM Capacity
    • 34
      Single-Core Speed Single-Thread Velocity
    • 34
      Storage Speed Storage Throughput
    • 42
      Battery Life Autonomous Runtime
    • 43
      AI Acceleration NPU Inference Capacity
    • 55
      Weight Gravitational Load
    • 39
      Thermal Stability Thermal Throttling Resistance
    Canadian retailer links coming soon, check back shortly.
    View full review →
  10. #10
    Objective profile
    Dell Inspiron 15 3530
    (i5-1334U, 20GB, 512GB)
    Dell · 15.6" · 2023
    C$695 – C$849
    STEM Student SelvaScore
    58 / 100
    Weight1.66 kg
    Battery8.5 hr
    Display15.6" 1920x1080
    RAM20 GB
    Storage512 GB
    SelvaScore breakdown
    • 45
      Multi-Core Performance Multi-Thread Scalability
    • 49
      System Memory RAM Capacity
    • 75
      Single-Core Speed Single-Thread Velocity
    • 58
      Storage Speed Storage Throughput
    • 58
      Battery Life Autonomous Runtime
    • 43
      AI Acceleration NPU Inference Capacity
    • 59
      Weight Gravitational Load
    • 39
      Thermal Stability Thermal Throttling Resistance
    Canadian retailer links coming soon, check back shortly.
    View full review →

Quick Comparison

#LaptopScorePrice WeightBatteryDisplayRAMStorage
1 Acer Aspire 14 AI (Core Ultra 5 226V, 16GB, 1TB) 64 C$703 – C$859 1.41 kg 14.0 hr 14.0" 1920x1200 16 GB 1 TB
2 Dell Inspiron 15 (i5-1334U, 16GB, 1TB) 61 C$694 – C$848 – 9.0 hr 15.6" 1920x1080 16 GB 1 TB
3 Lenovo IdeaPad (i5-1335U, 16GB, 512GB) 61 C$702 – C$857 1.61 kg 9.0 hr 15.6" 1920x1080 16 GB 512 GB
4 Dell 16 (Core 5 120U, 16GB, 512GB) 60 C$638 – C$779 1.98 kg 9.0 hr 16.0" 1920x1200 16 GB 512 GB
5 Dell Inspiron 15 (Ryzen 7 7730U, 16GB, 1TB) 60 C$705 – C$862 – 9.0 hr 15.6" 1920x1080 16 GB 1 TB
6 Dell Inspiron 15 (i5-1334U, 20GB, 512GB) 60 C$601 – C$735 1.66 kg 8.0 hr 15.6" 1920x1080 20 GB 512 GB
7 Dell 15 (Ryzen 7 7730U, 20GB, 512GB) 59 C$643 – C$786 1.63 kg 6.0 hr 15.6" 1920x1080 20 GB 512 GB
8 HP Laptop (Ryzen 7 7730U, 16GB, 512GB) 59 C$690 – C$843 1.60 kg 8.0 hr 15.6" 1920x1080 16 GB 512 GB
9 Dell Inspiron 15 3520 (i5-1135G7, 32GB, 1TB) 58 C$674 – C$824 1.73 kg 6.0 hr 15.6" 1920x1080 32 GB 1 TB
10 Dell Inspiron 15 3530 (i5-1334U, 20GB, 512GB) 58 C$695 – C$849 1.66 kg 8.5 hr 15.6" 1920x1080 20 GB 512 GB

How we ranked these

SelvaScore is independent. Rankings reflect our editorial judgment, not vendor relationships. No laptop manufacturer pays for placement, and affiliate revenue from retailers does not affect which laptop wins this list.

Every laptop here has been evaluated through the same lens for this use case. The same machines are evaluated differently for other use cases. What works for one use case doesn't always work for another.

Read about how we work →

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