Forget pen and paper. The modern tertiary education scene is a digital one, with many courses demanding that the students come to class equipped with a laptop.

However, despite notebook prices dropping year on year, it is still an unaffordable luxury for some. As such, the various tertiary institutions have implemented student loans as well as worked with various vendors to offer significant discounts on the latest models.

This year's selection for freshmen entering universities differ from previous offerings in a few areas. For one, NUS and NTU no longer offer the same bundles like before, with the former having a wider selection compared with the other universities. Another key difference is that these laptops are being sold during a transition phase between Centrino and Centrino 2 technologies. As such, both platforms are being offered at the same time.

But before licking your lips and thinking this is a great time to get a previous-generation machine cheap, consider this: The price difference between the two platforms is no more than a couple of hundred dollars apart. While you might not really notice that much of a performance boost between a Centrino and Centrino 2 machine, you'll certainly be aware of the longer battery life in the latter. Moreover, the integrated Intel GMA X4500HD graphics chipset can decode HD videos natively and is DirectX 10 compatible, a claim that the previous-generation GMA X3100 video card cannot make.

So if you are a tertiary student in Singapore looking to buy a laptop under the campus purchase scheme, check out our coverage and see how much you save compared to buying at retail stores.

Centrino 2 hits Asia
Notebook price watch
Latest reviews

Nanyang Technological University	National University of Singapore
Singapore Management University	Polytechnic deals