Laptops, PCs and tablets to start the school year

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The Samsung Chromebook Plus v2 is on the expensive side for a Chromebook, but it's faster than ever and provides extra power for running Chrome OS and Android applications. Plus it's small, so toting it from class to class shouldn't weigh a student down.

See the rest of our back-to-school tech gift guide.

One of the best convertible laptops gets better, and it has enough juice to last a full day of classes. The Lenovo Yoga 920 isn't the smallest or lightest at 14 inches and 3 pounds, but it's still eminently portable.

If your budget is constrained, the Acer Nitro 5 gaming laptop lets you give the gift that's good for both work and play for less than $800.

The Microsoft Surface Go's $400 price tag quickly jumps to $500 when you add a keyboard -- and more with the stylus -- but it's a small, light tablet that runs full Windows.

Now that it supports the Apple Pencil and a power upgrade, the mainstream 9.7-inch model of the Apple iPad offers more flexibility than ever before for student studyin' and streamin'.

A 2-pound superslim laptop, the LG Gram has enough battery life to last an entire day of classes and carrying it around won't wear its owner out.

For a laptop that spends its time in the dorm, the durable, stylish HP Spectre x360 15 is a dynamite balance of design, performance and long battery life with a crisp 15.6-inch backflipping touchscreen.

The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1, a slimmer two-in-one version of the XPS 13 (a favorite ultraportable), is an excellent full-time laptop and part-time tablet for studying.

The Lenovo Miix 520 tablet PC will let students take take handwritten notes, stream favorite shows and explore their creative side.

Like a less expensive 11-inch MacBook Air in build quality, but with the streamlined capabilities of Google's web-based Chrome OS, the Asus Chromebook Flip C302CA is great for getting basics done, as well as kicking back and enjoying some movies or TV shows.

With its minimalist design, the iMac 27 is a go-to all-in-one computer that fits snugly into a dorm or a kid's room.

For the audiophile student, the Dell XPS 27 all-in-one has 10 speakers guaranteed to annoy the neighbors and enough power for the hardest classwork.

If your giftee is a gamer and likes a system to look like a gaming system, consider gifting this. The Asus ROG Strix GL753VE has an RGB backlit keyboard and bright lid lights, along with some pretty great specs for the money.

Microsoft's finely tuned tablet PC will let your undergrad travel light without sacrificing the full Windows 10 experience. Add a keyboard cover to turn the Surface Pro into a laptop. And now there's an option for LTE for when you're away from Wi-Fi.

The 13-inch version of the XPS 2-in-1 is great, but sometimes you just need more screen for studying. Plus, the Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 is a more powerful model thanks to an option with the new Intel/AMD combo chip, perfect for the art student running creative software. But avoid the 4K screen if battery life matters.

It's the ultimate coffee-shop laptop for Apple fans. The updated 12-inch MacBook is a can't-miss gift.

The Samsung Chromebook Pro isn't for your kindergartner but it's a great alternative to a Windows or Mac laptop for the student who doesn't need a whole lot of applications.

The Acer Aspire E15 E5 is a bit bulky, but this budget notebook has a ton of features, including discrete graphics and a DVD drive, for its can't-be-beat and eminently giftable price.

If you're going to flip for a convertible laptop, the HP Spectre x360 13 is a great choice, and 13 inches is frequently a more manageable size than 15.

With an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 GPU in the Dell G3 15, you can help your kid level up to Dell's newest G-series gaming laptops -- perfect for homework, too! -- without breaking the bank. 

The LG Gram 15 is bigger and heavier than its 13-inch brother, but it's quite light for a 15.6-inch model, which is helpful if your curriculum needs more screen room.  And it shares the same all-day battery life, a great feature when competing for outlets in the common room.

Small but powerful thanks to its discrete graphics, the travel-friendly Asus ZenBook 13 laptop will get a student through the heaviest class schedule.

For the art student, the HP ZBook x2 -- an incredibly flexible detachable workstation with pro-level, color-accurate Adobe RGB graphics and a great-feeling screen for sketching -- shows you understand that art requires power.

Take school outside with the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga, a great backflipping laptop with higher-than-usual screen brightness and a broader spectrum of colors.

The updated clamshell version of its two-in-one sibling bests even itself, and the Dell XPS 13 is a great Windows alternative to the MacBook.

Like the Chromebook Pro, the HP Chromebook x2 isn't for your elementary school student; it's a detachable model for extra flexibility, with a more premium design -- and price.

The Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 370 is a solid 360-degree backflipper at a more saving-for-college-friendly price.

If a new laptop isn't in the cards -- or the budget -- help spruce up the old one with a great new bag. 

See more from CNET's Back-to-School Gift Guide.