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Ask HN: Please recommend a 13-15“ programmers laptop to replace 15” MacBook Pro

7 points by skynetv2 12y ago

Regular office use (email, word processing, messenger) Lots of terminals (SSH) Lots of browser windows / tabs (gmail, outlook web, YC, Stackoverflow, etc) 1 Ubuntu VM running 25% of the time (1 core, 2 GB) Needs to be <5 lbs good screen & resolution (1920 X 1080 is enough for me, higher is ok) good keyboard & trackpad 8 GB minimum RAM decent battery life OS doesnt matter discrete graphics plus need to survive 5 years of sustained use SSD not mandatory, prefer higher disk capacity 2K or less

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mattkrea 12y ago
13" MacBook Pro Retina. I just moved to one and it is perfect.
- skynetv2 12y ago
  those are only i5 and the usable resolution is really low on the 13. i can bump it up really high but that will be pretty useless. i have one on hand that i used for a couple of days and didnt find it comfortable
  - PhantomGremlin 12y ago
    The i5 shouldn't be an issue. You can always custom order. Even the entry model can be bought with an i7. You can have a custom Macbook shipped to a nearby Apple store for pickup, so ordering custom is no big deal. Of course if the resolution isn't acceptable to you, that's an entirely different issue.
    - skynetv2 12y ago
      thanks, didnt realize i7 was an option. you just complicated my life! :)
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camhenlin 12y ago
Sounds like that would get you into a new entry level 15" retina MacBook pro or a high end 13" retina MacBook pro, both fantastic machines. I'd probably do the 13" one since they just got updated, 15s probably won't be until June.
- skynetv2 12y ago
  trying to avoid the macs. dont really NEED OS X. wondering if there are viable alternatives
  - rifung 12y ago
    I think you'll find Windows based alternatives to be comparatively priced to be honest. And you really can't do better than the Macbooks trackpad. But I'll second the XPS13 dev edition, or at least waiting to see how it'll do.
    - skynetv2 12y ago
      you are right. the windows laptops are competitively priced but seem to lack a lot in terms of battery life and overall longevity, which is sad. razr blade seems good but is as expensive as mbp, if not more. guess i will have to either wait to see if xps 13 dev ed comes out or the broadwell 15" mbp refresh.
    - camhenlin 12y ago
      Seconding the trackpad part of this. If you're going to be using the computer anywhere other than a desk, Apple has by far the most usable trackpads. Not sure why no other manufacturer has figured this out yet since it's been the state of the industry for years now
      - skynetv2 12y ago
        +1 on trackpads
gesman 12y ago
Sony Z or high end Lenovo's. These will be joyful but at the higher end of price tag. Sony Z will be made in Japan (not China like the rest of the flock)
memonkey 12y ago
Why not wait for the XPS 13 Dev Edition?
- skynetv2 12y ago
  is it going to be refreshed? i see the old dev edn is no longer available. EDIT: nvm, i found the blog for the project manager
- senjindarashiva 12y ago
  I definitely agree at least with the xps13 part however Id recommend against the Dev edition, or at least depending on where you are buying it. When I bought mine (the old one) the "regular" same hardware version cost the same as the Dev edition, but you got a windows licenses as well. And even if you don't use windows regularly it's always nice to have an extra license. Hardware wise I am extremely pleased with the old version and can't really see any indication that the new one should be worse in any way.
  - skynetv2 12y ago
    license is not an issue for me. we have bulk license at work. so i would prefer not to pay for the license. but in reality, doesnt really matter. but i do get your point
japhyr 12y ago
I know Lenovo lost some respect recently, but I love my T420s. I anticipate using it another 3-5 years.
- skynetv2 12y ago
  I have a t420 from 2007 still kicking strong. but its slow, unusably slow even with a fresh win7 install. maybe disk is too full. not worried about the certs, will be installing a fresh non-lenovo copy right away I like the new t450s and w550s
jimkri 12y ago
I have the Lenovo X240 and it has been awesome. Super light weight and amazing battery life, I can use it almost 2 days at school without having to charge it.
- skynetv2 12y ago
  I had an X201 in ~2010 and I loved it. It was very portable. But the screen may be too small for me now
sbahra 12y ago
Ubuntu works just fine on the 2015 Thinkpad Carbon X1. We use them as our company laptops, and we're on Ubuntu.
- skynetv2 12y ago
  i am strongly leaning towards that system. question is will it last 5 yrs minimum? esp., the ssd. also, it tops at 8GB, which is not a deal breaker
  - auganov 12y ago
    A friend has the original x1 carbon. 2-3 years had the charging port break, a key fall off and now the fan seems to be broken. You could look into T-series for something more sturdy. Also T550 has a geforce 940M option.
geldedus 12y ago
I have a orange Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro (i7 proc, 8Gb RAM, 512G SSD). I use it with Ubunu 14 LTS
- skynetv2 12y ago
  ornage - wow! looks like they are dumping stock to make room for a refresh
kidlogic 12y ago
Acer 720p Chromebook. Install Codestarter's Ubuntu package (https://github.com/codestarterorg/ubuntu-chromebook-installer https://github.com/codestarterorg/ubuntu-chromebook-installe...) and add more SSD Space (http://www.androidcentral.com/how-upgrade-ssd-your-acer-c720-chromebook http://www.androidcentral.com/how-upgrade-ssd-your-acer-c720...) Best laptop I've ever owned.
woutervegter 12y ago
two weeks ago I received the new Lenovo x1 carbon 3rd gen, I expected a high end machine. But I got: low brightness screen, bad colour range + build flaws: the screen cover was not glued well. These flaws also appeared with other customers (search the forums). After three days I sent it back, and today got the new macbook 13", although I don't like the brand Apple, you can't deny its quality over all the other brands.

7 points by skynetv2 12y ago

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mattkrea 12y ago

13" MacBook Pro Retina. I just moved to one and it is perfect.

skynetv2 12y ago
those are only i5 and the usable resolution is really low on the 13. i can bump it up really high but that will be pretty useless. i have one on hand that i used for a couple of days and didnt find it comfortable
- PhantomGremlin 12y ago
  The i5 shouldn't be an issue. You can always custom order. Even the entry model can be bought with an i7. You can have a custom Macbook shipped to a nearby Apple store for pickup, so ordering custom is no big deal. Of course if the resolution isn't acceptable to you, that's an entirely different issue.
  - skynetv2 12y ago
    thanks, didnt realize i7 was an option. you just complicated my life! :)

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camhenlin 12y ago

Sounds like that would get you into a new entry level 15" retina MacBook pro or a high end 13" retina MacBook pro, both fantastic machines. I'd probably do the 13" one since they just got updated, 15s probably won't be until June.

skynetv2 12y ago
trying to avoid the macs. dont really NEED OS X. wondering if there are viable alternatives
- rifung 12y ago
  I think you'll find Windows based alternatives to be comparatively priced to be honest. And you really can't do better than the Macbooks trackpad. But I'll second the XPS13 dev edition, or at least waiting to see how it'll do.
  - skynetv2 12y ago
    you are right. the windows laptops are competitively priced but seem to lack a lot in terms of battery life and overall longevity, which is sad. razr blade seems good but is as expensive as mbp, if not more. guess i will have to either wait to see if xps 13 dev ed comes out or the broadwell 15" mbp refresh.
  - camhenlin 12y ago
    Seconding the trackpad part of this. If you're going to be using the computer anywhere other than a desk, Apple has by far the most usable trackpads. Not sure why no other manufacturer has figured this out yet since it's been the state of the industry for years now
    - skynetv2 12y ago
      +1 on trackpads

gesman 12y ago

Sony Z or high end Lenovo's. These will be joyful but at the higher end of price tag. Sony Z will be made in Japan (not China like the rest of the flock)

memonkey 12y ago

Why not wait for the XPS 13 Dev Edition?

skynetv2 12y ago
is it going to be refreshed? i see the old dev edn is no longer available. EDIT: nvm, i found the blog for the project manager
senjindarashiva 12y ago
I definitely agree at least with the xps13 part however Id recommend against the Dev edition, or at least depending on where you are buying it. When I bought mine (the old one) the "regular" same hardware version cost the same as the Dev edition, but you got a windows licenses as well. And even if you don't use windows regularly it's always nice to have an extra license. Hardware wise I am extremely pleased with the old version and can't really see any indication that the new one should be worse in any way.
- skynetv2 12y ago
  license is not an issue for me. we have bulk license at work. so i would prefer not to pay for the license. but in reality, doesnt really matter. but i do get your point

japhyr 12y ago

I know Lenovo lost some respect recently, but I love my T420s. I anticipate using it another 3-5 years.

skynetv2 12y ago
I have a t420 from 2007 still kicking strong. but its slow, unusably slow even with a fresh win7 install. maybe disk is too full. not worried about the certs, will be installing a fresh non-lenovo copy right away I like the new t450s and w550s

jimkri 12y ago

I have the Lenovo X240 and it has been awesome. Super light weight and amazing battery life, I can use it almost 2 days at school without having to charge it.

skynetv2 12y ago
I had an X201 in ~2010 and I loved it. It was very portable. But the screen may be too small for me now

sbahra 12y ago

Ubuntu works just fine on the 2015 Thinkpad Carbon X1. We use them as our company laptops, and we're on Ubuntu.

skynetv2 12y ago
i am strongly leaning towards that system. question is will it last 5 yrs minimum? esp., the ssd. also, it tops at 8GB, which is not a deal breaker
- auganov 12y ago
  A friend has the original x1 carbon. 2-3 years had the charging port break, a key fall off and now the fan seems to be broken. You could look into T-series for something more sturdy. Also T550 has a geforce 940M option.

geldedus 12y ago

I have a orange Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro (i7 proc, 8Gb RAM, 512G SSD). I use it with Ubunu 14 LTS

skynetv2 12y ago
ornage - wow! looks like they are dumping stock to make room for a refresh

kidlogic 12y ago

Acer 720p Chromebook. Install Codestarter's Ubuntu package (https://github.com/codestarterorg/ubuntu-chromebook-installer https://github.com/codestarterorg/ubuntu-chromebook-installe...) and add more SSD Space (http://www.androidcentral.com/how-upgrade-ssd-your-acer-c720-chromebook http://www.androidcentral.com/how-upgrade-ssd-your-acer-c720...) Best laptop I've ever owned.

woutervegter 12y ago

two weeks ago I received the new Lenovo x1 carbon 3rd gen, I expected a high end machine. But I got: low brightness screen, bad colour range + build flaws: the screen cover was not glued well. These flaws also appeared with other customers (search the forums). After three days I sent it back, and today got the new macbook 13", although I don't like the brand Apple, you can't deny its quality over all the other brands.