I saved this HN comment in my favorites a week ago, has some good options that should be available soon:
Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?
231–240 of 813 posts
Re: Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?
#232lenovo. slap linux on it
Re: Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?
#233** "I don't want to use a Mac" ** "I've had these problems with Mac" Reasonable response: Cool, use what works for you. EDIT> Here are some suggestions that match your constraints. Annoying response 1: You should reconsider because Mac works great for me. Annoying response 2: Your problems aren't real problems. Annoying response 3: Let's live debug your problems in this thread to see if they're real problems. Guys. I…
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Re: Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?
#234** "I don't want to use a Mac" ** "I've had these problems with Mac" Reasonable response: Cool, use what works for you. EDIT> Here are some suggestions that match your constraints. Annoying response 1: You should reconsider because Mac works great for me. Annoying response 2: Your problems aren't real problems. Annoying response 3: Let's live debug your problems in this thread to see if they're real problems. Guys. I…
One thing that deters me a bit from using macOS is the slower docker performance compared to linux. Anyone here have workarounds for this?
Re: Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?
#235This is probably an unpopular view, but I kind of use laptops as if they were terminals. If you want to spend $2k, I'd invest $1600 of that in a great desktop machine, and spend the other $400 on a cheap chromebook and tablets / keyboards / gizmos to log into it remotely.
I agree, except I haven’t found a ChromeBook I’ve liked. For $900, you can buy an M1 MacBook Air. It is the sexiest dumb terminal I’ve ever used. I had used Linux on a laptop for about 15 years prior. It is a fine 90% solution. The Air is barely the same class of device: no noise, almost instant-on, battery lasts forever.
I was indifferent to chromebooks, until the Lenovo Ideapad Duet 5 (13.3"). Very cool machine.
Re: Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?
#236System76. They have great customer service and contribute to open source community. Support them.
This shop is very US-centric and it also appears that you cannot figure out what shipping will cost unless you create an account. This is not a good first impression.
Re: Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?
#237I love my Lenovo Thinkpad (X1 Carbon). From the little things like hardware switches for the webcam and microphone to the big things like the excellent keyboard feel and Linux support (I use Manjaro). HOWEVER, get the premium screen, because WOW the 1080p screen isn’t great.
This.
I love my current one to bits (X1c 7th gen) - almost weightless, sturdy, excellent battery life, excellent connectivity, wonderful keyboard.
Oh, and the 1080 screen, which isn't great, but did help improve battery life significantly over the other offerings. I get a full work day out of mine without a charge, which is most useful whenever I'm in the field.
Re: Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?
#238Have you considered System76? https://system76.com/laptops Another one i found interesting is the framework laptop. Its completely modular. https://frame.work/ And apparently their firmware is opensource. https://frame.work/blog/open-sourcing-our-firmware That said if you are looking to play games or have a dedicated graphics card your options will be severely limited.
Depends on the games I suppose. The games I like (CS, sleeping dogs, cities skylines) all run spectacularly on a Ryzen 3 desktop (not System76)
Well, I haven't actually tried the last one since I added more RAM, but I imagine it would work well too.
Re: Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?
#239Quoted post unavailable.
How easy is it to install Linux on a new Mac?
Very difficult. Has been since mid 2010s.
There is progress - but I would not assume support for at least another generation or two of machines, and you will be fighting uphill, or running the old hardware to get it.
Re: Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?
#240** "I don't want to use a Mac" ** "I've had these problems with Mac" Reasonable response: Cool, use what works for you. EDIT> Here are some suggestions that match your constraints. Annoying response 1: You should reconsider because Mac works great for me. Annoying response 2: Your problems aren't real problems. Annoying response 3: Let's live debug your problems in this thread to see if they're real problems. Guys. I…
One thing that deters me a bit from using macOS is the slower docker performance compared to linux. Anyone here have workarounds for this?
What’s your use-case? I have no issue with Docker perf on macOS …because I don’t have anything Docker-based that’s perf-intensive.