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Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?

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Re: Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?

#291

Post by chisquared »

Flankk wrote: post #191
ezfe wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I would not be motivated by using some closed source, walled garden product from a company with business practices I don't like. Most of the Development flow (and even most of the non-dev flow) happens in Open Source areas: - Safari - Apps you download, like VSCode - Command line tools The areas that aren't open source (The Calendar app, file browser) can be replaced as you choose. I won't tell you to use a Mac, I j…

That's a bit of a ridiculous argument. Xcode is not only closed source, it is required for publishing to the App Store. You can't modify the hardware or the software. It's a virtual prison.

Note that the argument you've called ridiculous is a response to someone who does not want a

> closed source, walled garden product from a company with business practices I don't like

Such a person probably won't be using Xcode, nor has any plans of publishing to the App Store, so Xcode being closed-source isn't a factor at all here.

Re: Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?

#292

Post by akho »

chrisseaton wrote: post #220
Flankk wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a bit of a ridiculous argument. Xcode is not only closed source, it is required for publishing to the App Store. You can't modify the hardware or the software. It's a virtual prison.

> You can't modify the hardware or the software. It’s a tool to get a job done - I don’t need to modify it.

I don’t know what kind of tool users you hang around, but there isn’t a profession that doesn’t modify or customize their tools (through making jigs, combining pieces from different toolkits, outright rebuilding, making your own tools, …).

Re: Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?

#293

Post by CoolGuySteve »

jwalton wrote: post #223

Lenovo has some pretty good sales on thinkpad X1s (at least they do in Canada - didn't check the US site). But, if you're in Canada, I just bought this: https://www.newegg.ca/p/N82E16834233446?Description=gigabyte... It's got a gorgeous 4K OLED screen, a quite decent CPU and GPU, and it's currently $350 off + a $300 mail in rebate (there was an additional $350 off over the easter weekend, too). The track pad is not m…

I have a Lenovo X13 Gen 2 with a 16 thread Ryzen 5850U and 32GB of RAM. It’s about the most powerful you can get while still having a power efficient CPU under load. I spend all day compiling with all cores and battery is still around 8-9 hours with a 90% charging cap set in the bios to preserve battery longevity.

Linux works great on the AMD chipset but I had to replace the Wi-Fi card with an Intel AX220.

After buying the aftermarket Wi-Fi card and 2TB SSD, I spent about $1200. Build quality and dimensions are comparable but a little worse than the Carbon imo.

Re: Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?

#294

Post by trenchgun »

jnwatson wrote: post #209
noduerme wrote: post #192

This 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.

Agreed with M1 MacBook Air.

Re: Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?

#295

Post by seanppaul »

I've been a dev for almost 20 years. Though a bulky laptop with finest specs would be great, I need mobility so I had luck with these three. Super portable, yet powerful.

1. Dell XPS 13

2. Lenovo X1 Carbon

3. HP Dragonfly Elite (current)

Regardless of the brand I always stuc with i7/16Gb and at least 512Gb NVMe storage.

One downside with my current machine (HP Dragonfly) is it comes with 8th Gen intel processor not really a big problem for me, but fan it a bit louder to my liking.

Coming to Linux compatibility I've used Dell XPS 13 and Lenovo X1 with no issues. Haven't tried Linux on the current machine yet.

Re: Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?

#296

Post by mdp2021 »

horsawlarway wrote: post #230
icharters wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a professional software engineer I choose to use the best tools for the job. In my case that tool happens to be a a Mac.

Yup - the tool that will randomly prevent you from opening any 3rd party app if Apple's signature checking service goes down. The tool that defaults to a case insensitive but confusingly case preserving fs. The tool that has been issued in variations that literally can't be used while closed, or if you plug the charging cable into the wrong "all the same" usb-c port. The tool that licenses away virtualization, making…

> the tool that will randomly prevent you from opening any 3rd party app if Apple's signature checking service goes down

You mean the Mac needs an internet connection to "work" - there is no "airgapped Mac"?

And that they have an execution blocker you cannot disable? How could you code - make your software run on it?

Re: Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?

#297

Post by neogodless »

jotm wrote: post #257
JabavuAdams wrote: post #200

** "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…

I mean, if the hardware runs Linux well, it's not that ridiculous to recommend it. Forget the Apple software part.

Can everyone that has spent at least one month using Linux on an M1 as a daily driver please respond with their experiences, so we know that this "Linux on an M1" recommendation is valid?

Re: Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?

#298

Post by loganmarchione »

francis-io wrote: post #4

The professional (T series) line of the Thinkpads are my go to. I've been running ubuntu 20.04 for the past few years. You can have hot swap batteries and an inbuilt SIM slot if you choose. Not sure if the fingerprint is working (I didn't select that option) but everything else works flawlessly. Side note: I have been maintaining an Ansible playbook for years now that sets up my developer workstation. I do know Ansib…

Is that playbook open source? I would love to see it.

Re: Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?

#299

Post by jamal-kumar »

Freaken wrote: post #276

I can vouch for the Framework. It doesn't feel beta at all. I'm running Xubuntu 21.10 on it an it rocks. Someone created a repo with salt scripts which works all the kinks of the laptop under Ubuntu. The only thing I needed it for was to fix the touchpad issue after resume from sleep (it would be at max acceleration) and to enable hibernate (just note that you must disable secure boot first). https://github.com/light…

I can't vouch from personal experience but the framework is so good that one of my friends is just giving away his old laptop to me, which I think says a lot

Re: Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?

#300

Post by ramesh31 »

jnwatson wrote: post #209
noduerme wrote: post #192

This 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.

>For $900, you can buy an M1 MacBook Air. It is the sexiest dumb terminal I’ve ever used.

There's something ironic and wonderful about a laptop with more processing power than an i7 desktop being called a dumb terminal.

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