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Ask HN: Which dev laptop to buy?

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Ask HN: Which dev laptop to buy?

#1

Post by hcoura »

I was planning on switching my work laptop sometime around next year, which could change a bit the landscape(macbook pro keyboard...), but I have an opportunity to get one right now from the US which makes things much cheaper for me, so I wanted some input.

Currently I own a 15" Dell (don't remember the version). I really like the 15" display, seems much better for my work (I usually don't use a external monitor) than 13", it has a decent keyboard (I love that it has a numpad) a decent trackpad and display. The display is touchscreen which makes it gather much more dust than usually and I have never used it. I have had trouble getting linux to work well with it's trackpad sometimes and shutting down, hibernation, suspension has also been troublesome. This is the only laptop I have used for heavy development duty.

I was considering getting a mac this time around for the OS, due to working well out of the box and been UNIX. I am not a guy that really likes configuring things too much, I rather have a good experience out of the box and be able to do small adjustments when needed. But recent keyboard issues + touchbar has gotten me a bit afraid of it.

Ideally I am looking for:

- Display: 15" Without touch

- Video Card: Nvidia (CUDA)

- Great Keyboard with numpad

- Webcam in the right position (Dell XPS camera on the bottom seems weird to me)

- OS X

- Good Battery

- Great trackpad (I rarely use mouse whilst working)

- Powerful enough for 5 years

- Good cooling system (My current Dell has the air intake on the bottom, needless to say it doesn't work greatly)

I hope you could share some of yours experience with the recent versions of top development laptops.

Re: Ask HN: Which dev laptop to buy?

#2

Post by natch »

One idea is an old refurbished pre-bad-keyboard MBP, direct from Apple in their refurb store. I think you have to go back to 2015 or so... you should do your own verification of this date first.

I realize this is not ideal. It’s just an idea to throw into the mix.

Personally waiting for the keyboards to be fixed. Hope Apple doesn’t keep us waiting too long for this.

Re: Ask HN: Which dev laptop to buy?

#3

Post by frnkshin »

What I have is a Lenovo T480s, running GNU/Linux.

I don't do anything fancy, some web dev, and some other dev that I do for hobby (nothing like running a game engine heavy).

It's got the following specs:

- 14 inches, 1440P with IPS panel

- Intel iGPU

- GREAT keyboard and no numpad

- webcam in the right position (which I rarely use)

- no OS X (although you /could/ probably run Hackintosh which I wouldn't recommend)

- I would like it to be powerful enough for 5 years

- Great cooling system in my opinion (If OS X is a must, you should probably get a native MBP.

Re: Ask HN: Which dev laptop to buy?

#4

Post by hcoura »

frnkshin wrote: post #3

What I have is a Lenovo T480s, running GNU/Linux. I don't do anything fancy, some web dev, and some other dev that I do for hobby (nothing like running a game engine heavy). It's got the following specs: - 14 inches, 1440P with IPS panel - Intel iGPU - GREAT keyboard and no numpad - webcam in the right position (which I rarely use) - no OS X (although you /could/ probably run Hackintosh which I wouldn't recommend) -…

OS X is def not a must, I don't think I could get everything I would ideally like but those are just the things on my mind right now.

Re: Ask HN: Which dev laptop to buy?

#5

Post by akudha »

I'm also looking for a new laptop to replace my 7 year old Air, this time I'm thinking of going for a Linux machine like system 76.

I'd also prefer something that is powerful enough for 5 years at least

Re: Ask HN: Which dev laptop to buy?

#6

Post by andrei_says_ »

frnkshin wrote: post #3

What I have is a Lenovo T480s, running GNU/Linux. I don't do anything fancy, some web dev, and some other dev that I do for hobby (nothing like running a game engine heavy). It's got the following specs: - 14 inches, 1440P with IPS panel - Intel iGPU - GREAT keyboard and no numpad - webcam in the right position (which I rarely use) - no OS X (although you /could/ probably run Hackintosh which I wouldn't recommend) -…

Do you have a need/solution for running the adobe suite on linux?

It’s the only thing that prevents me from switching away from macOS.

Mack’s is the only os with support for these and an acceptable privacy attitude.

Re: Ask HN: Which dev laptop to buy?

#8

Post by pmullins »

The late 2016 and on MacBook Pro uses AMD's Radeon chip set. If you want a Mac you'll have to go for something earlier than that. On the PC front, you might want to check out the Lenovo ThinkPad T580. It has a 15" display, full-size keyboard, and an NVIDIA chip set.

Re: Ask HN: Which dev laptop to buy?

#9

Post by curiousgal »

andrei_says_ wrote: post #6
frnkshin wrote: post #3

What I have is a Lenovo T480s, running GNU/Linux. I don't do anything fancy, some web dev, and some other dev that I do for hobby (nothing like running a game engine heavy). It's got the following specs: - 14 inches, 1440P with IPS panel - Intel iGPU - GREAT keyboard and no numpad - webcam in the right position (which I rarely use) - no OS X (although you /could/ probably run Hackintosh which I wouldn't recommend) -…

Do you have a need/solution for running the adobe suite on linux? It’s the only thing that prevents me from switching away from macOS. Mack’s is the only os with support for these and an acceptable privacy attitude.

Dual boot with Windows or a VM running Windows.
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