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Ask HN: What's the best laptop for developers?
- 0x420 13y agothinkpad t, x or w series; macbook pro
- runjake 13y agoThis question is posted just about weekly. The most recent was 3 days ago at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7415884 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7415884 Use the search at the bottom of this page ("ask laptop") and read all the previous submissions. You get quicker answers and HN gets fewer duplicate discussions.
- drewvolpe 13y agoFor Linux, the Lenovo X or T series are the way to go. I've had ~5 of them over the last ten years and they're great. They're built like tanks, are very well supported by Linux, and are modular and easy to upgrade.
- jamesbritt 13y agoAre Lenovos still built like tanks? Comments on their product pages are mixed. Plus they are switching towards some wonky (for me at least) keyboards. I have a W500 that I love but fear I won't be able get something as solid in the future as Lenovo becomes Dell.
- blinkingled 13y agoMy X220 is now 3+ years old and has a crack below the trackpad area which is too thin and obviously not strong enough. It still works and there isn't any other damage but I wouldn't say the newer sleeker versions are built like tanks.
- dllthomas 13y agoI've been very happy with my Lemur Ultra from System76, though needs may differ. "Can comfortably use it on public transit through my commute" was the most important consideration for me.
- scholia 13y agoWhy buy a laptop? A desktop is usually faster and/or cheaper, has a bigger screen, and has much better ergonomics.
- dllthomas 13y agoI have trouble using my desktop on BART.
- scholia 13y agoTrue, but I doubt that BART is where developers do most of their real work.
- dlwiest 13y agoI wouldn't want to do without a desktop, but I also like having the option of going to a coffee shop or park to work, especially when I'm having trouble staying on task at home.
- quaffapint 13y agoAgreed - Desktop with a nice multi-monitor setup is great, but getting out and working somewhere different really does help refresh things and gets you back in focus. The only problem with laptop is the small screen and it's harder (/more expensive) to do a multi-monitor setup. I don't know how people are listing an 11" laptop to do any dev work. I guess if its just a straight editor and not an IDE that works.
- stronglikedan 13y agoThere's people that code on their phones, so...(not me , but there is)
- dagw 13y agoI use PyCharm and WebStorm om my 11" MBA without much problem. Just hide all the panels when you're editing and open/close them with the hot keys as and when you need to use them. Sure it's not as nice as working on my nice desktop setup at home or in the office, but it's not really difficult.
- rgandhi 13y agolenovo t series, you can use it as a tray.
- dlwiest 13y agoMy approach is to buy a Lenovo with a decent processor and screen size and the lowest memory and storage I can find, then upgrade to 16GB and a SSD, since it's much cheaper to upgrade these parts than to buy pre-assembled with the specs you want.
- duncan_bayne 13y agoLenovo ThinkPad - one of the full sized models with a good keyboard and matte screen. Max out the RAM, install a large SSD, and replace Windows with Linux (in my case, Linux Mint). I'm currently running an L520 as my personal machine and an L530 at work. Oh - and buy a cheap netbook for when you're traveling somewhere you might have your main machine lost, stolen, or destroyed. And encrypt the disk on all your laptops.
- busterarm 13y agoRather than mess with disk encryption, just host your own server or get a VPS and connect to it from your laptop/netbook. This makes your laptop disposable and you can get the cheapest hardware and be fine...You'll never lose work due to your laptop failing on you and you don't have to worry about people accessing your data.
- duncan_bayne 13y agoAssuming that everywhere you work, you have a fast reliable Internet connection. That's certainly not true for me, or most people who live in Melbourne (no Wi-Fi on trains here, for starters).
- OWaz 13y agoIf you have detailed requirements the people at http://www.reddit.com/r/suggestalaptop http://www.reddit.com/r/suggestalaptop can provide you with some suitable laptops.
- speakme 13y agoI tried that and got no responses. Maybe because I specified Canada? I should have just gone with the US. It's close enough!
- busterarm 13y agoDepends on what you want from it. Personally the only thing I need out of a laptop is SSH, so my requirements are: SSD for fast bootup, small size/weight good keyboard, runs Arch Linux. I have a second-generation Lenovo X100e (so the dual-core processor) and I couldn't be happier. A $45 upgrade to an SSD and $10 for an AGN wireless card saved me from having to spend ~$2-3k on an MBP. Pretty awesome for what was basically a (high-end) netbook.
- jamesbritt 13y agoI have one of those. Finally keeled over from overheating. Do you have heat issues?
- busterarm 13y agoIt ran hot with Windows installed. Like super hot. Cool as a cucumber in the console and with Fluxbox running and browsers & Sumatra open.
- kayman 13y agomac book pro 15" screen retina display. No compromises. You want to make great stuff, but good stuff.
- payapp 13y ago2011 release mbp 13 with replaced SSD and full 8gb, I run three virtual machines (xp, win7, and win8), android os, used to run VM for Blackberry - but no more, and Snow leopard with Xcode and ios simulators running all over. not a single sec delay and works awesome! light weight, extended screen, work and personal both goes together ;)
- mintone 13y agoI'm between my current 2013 macbook pro and a ThinkPad - both are great machines. Make sure you have an SSD and decent memory (8GB+ RAM) - most developers need little more. The main advice; if you're getting a laptop to travel with, get one which is quite light and has excellent build quality, it's absolutely worth the extra money.
- jmspring 13y ago13" Retina MBP is my preferred platform, but also doing development on a Surface Pro 2. If/when a retina MacBook Air comes out, that will likely replace the 13" MBP.
- makaveli8 13y agoI just upgraded from my 2010 MBP to the most recent Macbook Air 13" and I am so happy I did. The screen isn't that bad because they stepped up the resolution to 1440x900. It gives the effect of a much larger screen.
- bpeebles 13y agoDell XPS13 "Sputnik". One of the few Linux laptops from a major maker. I have the pre Haswell (but with a 1080p screen) and it's light and fast. The only downside, for me, is the wider screen compared to the squarer screen of the Airs. But having neither Windows nor OSX come with it is important to me as a developer.
- htk 13y agoDon't forget that if you also want to do any serious work for iOS or OS/X, you need a Mac. For portability, get a MacBook Air 11", for a powerhouse get a Retina MacBook Pro 15". If you want something in between get the Retina MacBook Pro 13".
- logn 13y agoI didn't see Asus listed here. Their laptops are great. I personally like the X202 series (netbooks).