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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?

#631

Post by smoldesu »

password4321 wrote: post #616
smoldesu wrote: post #415

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Different strokes for different folks. My Macbook collects dust whenever I'm home because I'd vastly prefer to do my work on a desktop Linux box. I don't have to spend my time updating coreutils, fighting Homebrew, fixing my screen sharing permissions for the 6th time this month, or really much of anything. My desktop and the systems we deploy to have almost complete parity.

> fighting Homebrew I switched to MacPorts when Homebrew moved on from macOS Mojave... now I wish I had done so much sooner!

MacPorts is pretty unstable (in my experience). Felt like 2011-era Arch Linux all over again...

Honestly, Nix is the only package manager I really like on Mac.

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

#632

Post by pizza234 »

plainnoodles wrote: post #348
pizza234 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dell XPS has a Linux-specific line, called "Developer edition", which is intended to be Linux-compatible (it can be indeed be configured with Ubuntu on purchase). Their compatibility is not as good as they say (it needs a couple of tweaks, one of which is crucial, otherwise the machine eats batteries while on standby), but it's still decent. Definitely not "VERY bad".

I have an XPS 13 9310. What's this crucial tweak? I've been running it on a vanilla Arch install for about a year and haven't noticed much battery drain on standby (maybe a few % per day left sleeping?)

The bug is this: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1808957. Battery draining overnight - yikes!

It's possible that Arch ships with the workaround/fix by default.

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

#633

Post by princevegeta89 »

fy20 wrote: post #51

A few years ago I would have said ThinkPads but I think there are better options available now. At the end of last year I wanted to replace my T470, and wanted to upgrade to something with a more powerful (not U-series) CPU. The ThinkPad option that fitted my requirements was on back order for months, so I looked around... The ASUS ROG line of gaming laptops had exactly what I wanted, although they look a bit garish,…

I am comparing this to my case with my own laptop Dell G15 Ryzen edition. Linux seems to play quite well with it, however I am dealing with poor driver performance and limitations with switching displays and nVidia Optimus. For that reason I tried installing Windows 10 after almost a decade lol. This amazing driver support was something I always missed and it made a lot of things simpler for me. All my hardware is now plug and play without having to restart the system. Not just that, some kernels made my system go haywire so I had to do a lot of housekeeping, which is not required with Windows 10 I believe. Looking forward to get my hands on WSL and make the final decision.

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

#634

Post by hollandia »

mekster wrote: post #474
falcolas wrote: post #434

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why Mac seems to attract so fanatic behavior? The same reason console wars exist. If there are multiple choices, and it's not practical to take/use/buy all the options, people feel the need to justify the choice that they did make. When someone's starting from a defensive position, unemotional rationality is uncommon. AKA, it's human nature.

Except Mac, macOS and its third party apps are actually better. Windows is always lagging with its legacy burden, Linux on desktop doesn't have commercial interest to begin with. Consoles are pretty much the same unless they have exclusive games. It's not really emotional matters. Used Windows 10+ years and not missing it.

As a developer/gamer I use all these systems and with every year I'm less and less motivated to use macOS. Linux is clear winner for everything I need server related and Windows is fine for everything client related. macOS is in this weird spot where it lacks most of the server side stuff (lack of hosting, poor virtualization support etc.), but it also lacks some of the client side things (poor gaming, no hardware customization etc.).

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

#635

Post by brimble »

kibwen wrote: post #450
brimble wrote: post #328

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I felt the way you do for the entire decade of the '00s. Then I started a job that issued me a MacBook Pro. And got to see, use, and develop for, a shitload of Android and iOS devices, both phones and tablets. Turns out I'd just never given them a chance. But yes, I'm sure Apple users are just dumber than you, and that's all it is.

> But yes, I'm sure Apple users are just dumber than you, and that's all it is. I too fell for the Apple marketing cult. I was excited when I got my first MacBook. To say that I was disappointed would be an understatement. The keyboard felt terrible and broke frequently, the insistence of dongles to make up for the anemic port selection was a constant annoyance, the touchbar was a myopic UX catastrophe, the touchpad…

Heh, I was kinda bummed out when I got mine. I'd been developing on Linux for years. That turned around hard in a month or two.

This was well before the super-shitty run they had where they went all-USB-C, Touch Bar (ugh), and ruined their keyboards, though. I'd probably have been a lot less impressed if that was my introduction to their stuff.

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

#636

Post by brimble »

thawaya3113 wrote: post #373
brimble wrote: post #328

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I felt the way you do for the entire decade of the '00s. Then I started a job that issued me a MacBook Pro. And got to see, use, and develop for, a shitload of Android and iOS devices, both phones and tablets. Turns out I'd just never given them a chance. But yes, I'm sure Apple users are just dumber than you, and that's all it is.

The thread is in the context of Apple users insisting that the OP should use a Mac, when the OP has explicitly stated that it does not fit their needs.

Sure, that's silly, agreed. BS about Apple being a "fashion company" isn't really helping, though.

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

#637

Post by [deleted] »

princevegeta89 wrote: post #625
swozey wrote: post #356

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Ultimately more powerful" As a previous BSD engineer please explain further, this entire thread is just horrendous and should be downvoted to oblivion. Nobody cares what laptop you decide to use, nor are you incapable of doing your own research. My grandmother calls me for laptop recommendations. My M1 Max 14" MBP has 64gb ram, mucho cores and is the fastest machine I've used. My gaming/dev desktop is a 12core ryzen…

How does M1 play with an external 4K monitor? I have a 2020 Mac with the highest fucking configuration (32GB RAM and i7 8-core 10th gen) and the fans on it are always going off. I figure a laptop with a discrete GPU can handle external screens and graphics much better than integrated, but was wondering what your take on the M1 mac for this would be.

[deleted]

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

#638

Post by kaladin-jasnah »

rootusrootus wrote: post #521
tsuujin wrote: post #392

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fun fact: the windows and Linux communities are both equally bad at this. It’s not that apple users are fanatics, it’s that some people define their identity by their OS and will make absolutely certain you know.

Some of the pro-Apple commentary that happens in discussions like this is just a response to the constant "you got suckered by Steve Jobs Reality Distortion Field" style of comments. Anti-Apple folks like to insinuate (if not proclaim outright) that Apple users are less technical than Linux users, they're stupid, etc. Meanwhile, some of us just wanted a decently polished desktop GUI that runs a unix command line nati…

> I stick with it because inertia, just like most everyone else.

Yep, I bet a lot of people are like that. That's why I use Linux on the desktop: I've been using it for like 6 years and I can't be bothered to try anything else since this is what I know.

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

#639

Post by anderspitman »

ho_schi wrote: post #403
CoolGuySteve wrote: post #293

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 buyi…

Using still a ThinkPad X220 with Linux and will switch likely this year to a X13 AMD Gen3. I personally prefer the X13 because it is solid, powerful and provide many connectors. I hope the next MediaTek WiFi-Chips are better this time, if not Intel-WiFi. The X1 is slimmer, lightweight but scarifies a lot and is expensive. The X13 ARM is passively cooled which a major benefit, similar to the MacBook Air but due to ARM…

I'm convinced laptops peaked with the X220. I have one sitting next to me now. It's not powerful enough for a daily driver anymore but I'm in the process of repurposing it for some self-hosting.

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

#640

Post by [deleted] »

swozey wrote: post #628
princevegeta89 wrote: post #625

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How does M1 play with an external 4K monitor? I have a 2020 Mac with the highest fucking configuration (32GB RAM and i7 8-core 10th gen) and the fans on it are always going off. I figure a laptop with a discrete GPU can handle external screens and graphics much better than integrated, but was wondering what your take on the M1 mac for this would be.

I use a 49" Samsung monitor that does 4k and like you mentioned my Intel work macbook pro is constantly spinning fans/hot. The M1 I honestly haven't noticed it making any noise while plugged into it. It also runs a lot better, less graphic glitches and weirdness. I don't like having to use my work mbp at all anymore.

[deleted]
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