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Ask HN: Which is the best laptop for programmers under budget?
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Re: Ask HN: Which is the best laptop for programmers under budget?
#2I got the Asus UX305CA with Ubuntu LTS a couple of years ago and I love it. But without any more information I cannot recommend it, as it is perfect for me but it might not be for others.
Pros:
- Light and thin, perfect for carrying everyday.
- Decent battery life.
- 1080p IPS 13.3" screen, nice keyboard+touchpad.
- No fans, no noise.
Cons (or not, highly dependends on your use case):
- Keyboard is not backlit.
- Underpowered.
Re: Ask HN: Which is the best laptop for programmers under budget?
#3It's hard to answer, unless you define the budget, but I'd say refurbished ThinkPad T420 (Last model to has decent keyboard).
Put some RAM & SSD inside and you have nicely built and powerful machine.
Re: Ask HN: Which is the best laptop for programmers under budget?
#4Used Thinkpad (T series or X series are probably the best bet) where you can upgrade the RAM and put in a new SSD. The whole thing should only cost you $400-500 at most depending on what SSD drive you buy.
Re: Ask HN: Which is the best laptop for programmers under budget?
#5Budget needs quantifying and location ... or rather, access to / cost of decent network. And the constraints of your chosen stack.
Depending on how you're actually developing, it may be reasonable and workable to have a fairly basic laptop - large screen, pleasant-enough keyboard, minimal CPU, memory, and battery - and throw your money at a decent headless server sitting somewhere.
Re: Ask HN: Which is the best laptop for programmers under budget?
#6I bought used MacBook Pro 13 2012 (~$600) + new SSD some time ago. Happy with my choice so far, this machine can handle pretty much everything I need.
Re: Ask HN: Which is the best laptop for programmers under budget?
#7I was considering $100 pinebook (https://www.pine64.org/?page_id=3707) but I haven't made my decision yet because what If I found out later that it cannot do certain things (e.g. certain software only works on x86 or something similar) then I would have to pay for real laptop e.g $200 while paying for both ($100+$200).
Re: Ask HN: Which is the best laptop for programmers under budget?
#8It's hard to answer, unless you define the budget, but I'd say refurbished ThinkPad T420 (Last model to has decent keyboard). Put some RAM & SSD inside and you have nicely built and powerful machine.
Agreed, it is hard to answer, as it would depend mainly on your development env. and day to day workflow. In my opinion any 'T', 'W' or 'P' series Thinkpad that has >= 8GB DDR3 RAM, an SSD and a processor >= Intel i5 3rd Gen would make a decent programming machine. If you get your hands on the older Thinkpads, they have better keyboards.
Re: Ask HN: Which is the best laptop for programmers under budget?
#9I got the Asus UX305CA with Ubuntu LTS a couple of years ago and I love it. But without any more information I cannot recommend it, as it is perfect for me but it might not be for others. Pros: - Light and thin, perfect for carrying everyday. - Decent battery life. - 1080p IPS 13.3" screen, nice keyboard+touchpad. - No fans, no noise. Cons (or not, highly dependends on your use case): - Keyboard is not backlit. - Und…
Seconded. I have the Asus UX305C, with Debian Stable, and I love it. It's the one with the 3200x1800 display. Yes, the CPU is a little underpowered, but you trade that off against the fan noise. It also has 8GB RAM, so it's not really lacking in that department.
Basically, if you want a powerhouse laptop, this isn't it. But it does absolutely everything else wonderfully.
Re: Ask HN: Which is the best laptop for programmers under budget?
#10I bought an used Thinkpad T460 for 485€. Very happy with it. I was lucky to find a cheap one that was also in a very good state.