Setting off for university is a good time to take stock - not only of your goals, e-relationships and achievements, but also the gadgets in your life.

The ragtag assortment of electronics you have collected over the years may have got you through school but student life has more rigorous demands and two things are likely to be in short supply: money and space. Fortunately, technology keeps getting cheaper and smaller, and the trend towards multi-tasking gadgetry means that minimalism and tech mania are no longer mutually exclusive.

An MP3 player and speaker dock can replace a stereo and boxes full of CDs and can also be used as a portable hard drive for storing documents, photographs and video.

You may be able to ditch your music player altogether if you opt for a phone with a good MP3 system and plenty of memory. The Nokia N96, due for release at the end of this month, will have enough space for about 8,000 songs.

The phone of the moment is the iPhone 3G, which can be customised easily for the demands of student life. Even if you keep the phone you have, it is worth making sure that your contract still offers good value for money. Competition is fierce, so if you have not reviewed your contract recently you can probably get more minutes or a lower monthly fee.

Telling your network that you are thinking of leaving will often elicit even better deals but be wary about signing up to long-term contracts. Websites such as e2save.co.uk offer significant savings if you are prepared to send in bills every three months to receive rebates. Some deals even include a free laptop but to qualify you usually have to commit to a two-year contract on a top-end tariff. That may not be the most economical way to get yourself a computer. Although universities provide high-tech essentials such as PCs and printers, investing in your own equipment gives you greater independence and means that you can treat your PC as a personal store of music, photos and films.

A few years ago, buying a computer involved a difficult trade-off between a desktop and a laptop, but price reductions and performance enhancements have made laptops a clear favourite for students. Slimline, lightweight portable computers are perfect for taking notes in lectures, or for working in the library or coffee shop when staring at your bedroom wall has ceased to provide inspiration.

So how do you go about choosing between the hundreds of laptops on offer? It is easy to be tempted beyond your budget, so begin by deciding how much you can spend and what you actually need from a PC. If you are going to be writing long essays and dissertations, you will need a full-sized keyboard for comfortable typing, while music and films will require a good-sized screen and a big hard drive for multimedia storage. But if all you need is an e-mail terminal, convenient web access and the chance to bash out the occasional document, you could save a lot of money with one of the ultracheap machines that are widely available.

You can now buy a laptop for less than £100 but only if you are happy with a basic performance. The £99 Elonex One, aimed mainly at schoolchildren, gets you web access and a word processor, but its memory fills up quickly. For £250, the Acer Aspire One has sleeker looks, better build quality, a bigger screen and more memory. Stretching to £400-£500 puts you in reach of a PC that will double as an entertainment centre. Models in this price range offer 17-inch screens, hard drives of 100GB or more and built-in DVD drives, but they are bulky and heavy, and will probably stay rooted to your desk.

If you need a highly portable, high-performance laptop, you will have to spend a lot more. The Apple MacBook Air, which costs £1,199, crams an 80GB hard drive and a powerful processor into a razor-thin casing. It has a full-sized keyboard, a 13in screen and a full suite of photo and video-editing software but there are drawbacks: it lacks a CD/DVD drive, so you will have to rely on downloads for music, videos and software.

Having decided what you want to buy, the next dilemma is where to buy it. Many universities offer laptop purchase schemes with discounts and extended warranties, but model choice may be limited. Laptop prices change regularly, so it is always worth shopping around and looking out for special offers. If buying online, check for customer reviews before handing over your cash. It is also worth checking high street stores, where you will be able to try out laptops.

Once you have your computer you need to protect it from viruses, spyware and other malicious software. Then there is one more dull but important piece of business to take care of: back-up. Hardly anyone backs up files but it could save a lot of pain. Buy a portable hard drive (about £40 for 100GB+) and copy across important files yourself. Just remember to do it regularly.

Beyond these essentials, an array of gadgets will compete for your cash and attention, but it may be worth holding back. Wait until you have settled in, your studies are under way and your social life is in full swing. Then decide whether you really need the TV, DVD, PVR and PS3.

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