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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?

#761

Post by supreme_berry »

monkmartinez wrote: post #571
gzer0 wrote: post #499

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Doubting your expensive purchase Except, there is not a single Windows/Intel based laptop that can offer the same performance as say, for example, an M1 Macbook air ($750). There really is no comparison and there is nothing that comes close on the Windows side at that price point. If there is, please link me because I would love to know. M1 has made Macbooks not only superior in performance, but also more economica…

Fair point. You would need to spend quite a bit more on a comparable PC if buying new. However, the breath of applications and interchangeability of the PC may render the price point moot. For example, I just changed the notebook graphics card on a refurbished HP ZBook... I paid $275 for a Gen 3 and upgraded the Graphics card for another $350. It was a lot easier than I thought and this computer is a beast.

Looks ugly, heavy weight, low quality display and resolution, noisy fans, low battery and high electricity usage.

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

#762

Post by unit0x03 »

I think you're missing an obvious option: Lenovo supports Linux on all Thinkpads, and the AMD models like the T14 are a great bang for your buck, much less than $2000 even with 3y next business day warranty service.

I've been doing dev on recent Thinkpads for the past couple years, and honestly they're the least hassle of any laptop I've used in the past decade. I've run Arch, Ubuntu, whatever. work great, reasonably priced, excellent support.

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

#763

Post by kurupt213 »

rmbyrro wrote: post #326
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…

Why Mac seems to attract so fanatic behavior? They seem to want to push everyone to use Mac, like religious fanatics try to push everyone to their "truth". I think this is a result of some marketing tactics Apple employed for decades, and it only pushes me away from this brand.

Apple hardware is nice. My last two systems have been Macintosh’s running bootcamp windows 100% of the time. I have a $5K MacBook Pro that’s probably one of the last I9 systems they’re gonna sell.

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

#765

Post by kaladin-jasnah »

krapp wrote: post #746
rmbyrro wrote: post #745

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm developing a Godot game and it's really ridiculous I need a Mac to compile it for the MacOS and iOS. I can compile for EVERY PLATFORM from my Arch Linux, just not for Apple stuff. It's ridículous... This kind of behavior reminds me of Ballmer's Microshit.

So just don't offer a version for Mac, and if anyone asks why, tell them you're not going to buy a 400 dollar Macbook just to use as a compiler.

Why do Apple products require special treatment when everything else works?

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

#766

Post by swaranga »

Have you considered an HP Elitebook? I am using an Elitebook 850 G7 given by my company. I have been daily driving it for a year now with Ubuntu 20.04 (previously an 840 G3 I think) and have no complaints.

I use it with triple monitor setup, all 32 inch 2K (I find 2K better for programming) and use it with the Hp 120W dock.

I even upgraded its memory to 64GB myself from Amazon for much improved quality of life (I give Intellij 24G alone; have at it!)

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

#767

Post by ChuckNorris89 »

supreme_berry wrote: post #760
ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #626

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To provide a counter argument, the base spec M1 MacBook Air is 1130 Euros on Apple EU website, not $750, and that's with a pitiful 8Gigs of RAM and 256Gig SSD which, IMHO that SSD space is what phones come equipped with these days, and too low for a dev machine/daily driver computer, without needing to ductape a slower external USB SSD to your laptop, and 8Gigs of RAM is too low for the year 2022 + futureproofing a c…

You need to refresh your knowledge because macbooks have fastest ssd on the market so the ram and ssd memory is shared. You can run apps that require 64gb of ram with same performance as with native 64gb ram

>You can run apps that require 64gb of ram with same performance as with native 64gb ram

You should inform yourself about how RAM and SSDs work and read actual benchmark instead of parroting some wild claims that even Apple's marketing does not mention since having NAND storage at DRAM speed is just absurd.

Plus, using your SSD as RAM not only takes a performance hit but induces premature NAND wear turning your unrepairable M1 MacBook into e-waste sooner.

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

#768

Post by tginart »

This guy gets it.

Also, recent ThinkPads do not come with good Linux support unless they are explicitly sold with Linux OS. Lenovo has different firmware for Windows vs Linux now. I recently got a Lenovo P15v Gen 2i that does not work with Linux (I ended up returning after a failed installation).

Lenovo has a >4 month backlog on Linux laptops at the moment. So we will have to make do with something else.

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

#770

Post by tome »

Avalaxy wrote: post #34
daenney wrote: post #18

The problem I run into with a lot of these is that their screens aren’t great. 1080p@60Hz and usually pretty terrible brightness makes them a bad fit for me as a travel companion, or even just working from my garden. It’s also annoying that some keep insisting on a barrel connector for charging instead of leveraging the USB-C port. As much as I appreciate the privacy and freedom enhancing aspects of some of these dev…

> Dell XPSes are good too Be very careful. They are very good laptops, and Dell's customer support for businesses is stellar, but the XPS machines play VERY bad with Linux. There are some XPS machines that are shipped with linux, so they should be fine. But most of them have wifi/bluetooth chips that have no support at all, or very bad support.

In case anyone is interested, I have had good results with Linux on a specific Dell XPS machine:

http://h2.jaguarpaw.co.uk/posts/how-i-use-debian-dell-xps-13...

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