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Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

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Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#71

Post by mingusrude »

jraph wrote: post #61
kodah wrote: post #54

I run a Lenovo X1 Carbon that I've yet to send to the grave. It also works exceedingly well if you run Linux that also happens to supports firmware updates.

I have both a Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen 9 and an HP EliteBook 840 G6 running Linux, I'm very happy with both machines. The HP has a better management of fn keys, seems to lack support for > 4K 30 Hz on its HDMI port with my screen (both that might be fixed on newest generations), the X1 has a better trackpoint handling. Both have fantastic battery life (around 10h) and are quiet. The X1 tends to spin the fan earlier than…

We bought a number of Carbons (Gen 9) to the office and all of them (5) have had some kind of technical problems. It's been malfunctioning fans, a motherboard that stopped working, a screen where colors were awful etc. We might have gotten a bad batch but it was not at all what I expected from Thinkpads. Lenovo's support has been great though.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#72

Post by jraph »

tuatoru wrote: post #55
lostdog wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any idea if Lenovo has fixed the coil whine issues on X1 Carbon's? The constant noise makes it really difficult to use these machines for any kind of focused work.

Thinkpad X is for marketing types. Programmers want Thinkpad T or P.

I don't understand this comment. I'm a programmer and my X1 Carbon is the finest computer I've ever used. I don't have any noise issue with it. I can hear the CPU in a very quiet room but I've never used a computer that didn't have it, and I'm quite sensitive to noises too. Many people in my company have Lenovo X machines.

And why marketing types should not care about comfort / noise? Is this a "Real men [...]" thing?

Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#73

Post by BuckRogers »

I've loved my Thinkpad X1 Xtreme for years now. I was given the choice of what I wanted to be issued for my job and it has served me well. Would I buy it for my personal use? No. I am not a fan of Lenovo being a Chinese company now, and it's very boring. I still haven't had any problems with it.

Before this machine I was issued a Dell XPS and the battery life was amazing for a Wintel laptop, great speakers and a unique power button + fingerprint reader button in one, but it had a ton of BIOS based issues and quirks. It always seems to me it takes years for them to work all the bugs out vs other companies. Dell is like a lot of companies where I prefer their designs over everyone elses, but I just can never bring myself to love them.

For personal use for fun or as a consultant, I'd reach for a Samsung laptop. They lag behind on CPUs and such but they're my pick. For a fleet, I'd probably have to go Lenovo out of necessity for the support.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#74

Post by enlyth »

2muchcoffeeman wrote: post #66

What country is this? People are suggesting Frame Work laptops but if you don’t have official Apple support, it’s even less likely Frame Work ships to this country and if you managed to get one you’d have no support. I imagine you need to go the Dell XPS or Lenovo route.

The XPS are pretty decent machines, I just wish they didn't get so damn hot. This is probably Intel's fault? Can't have the laptop on your lap because it will burn through your legs and it's loud af since the fans spin at a million RPM trying to cool it down.

Aiming to sell my 13" XPS and replace it with an M2 Macbook Air, after work gave me an M1 16" Pro and it's just so unbelievably efficient and never gets hot, plus the battery last all day under heavy load.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#75

Post by colordrops »

Switch to Linux. Using MacOS locks you into proprietary hardware. By focusing on the software rather than the hardware, you can switch hardware manufactures as they oscillate in quality.

Going with something like NixOS would make this even easier as your operating system setup could easily be migrated to another machine when the time comes.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#76

Post by suprfnk »

colordrops wrote: post #75

Switch to Linux. Using MacOS locks you into proprietary hardware. By focusing on the software rather than the hardware, you can switch hardware manufactures as they oscillate in quality. Going with something like NixOS would make this even easier as your operating system setup could easily be migrated to another machine when the time comes.

While NixOS in principle would make switching between hardware manufacturers easier, working with NixOS is anything but easy.

Don't expect to run anything that isn't packaged. Don't expect packaging some binary blob for NixOS is easy.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#77

Post by a-dub »

lenovo p1 is basically an intel mbp 15. camera and audio aren't as good as the mac, although i hear the camera has improved in later generations.

bigger issue is that the nvidia graphics are wired to the thunderbolt ports, so if you want to drive external displays you have to run with discrete graphics enabled which means battery life suffers or complications involving frequent bios config changes. this too may have been addressed in later generations though.

the p1 and x1c are probably best in class, with the t as a close second if you can tolerate more heft in exchange for more tradeoffs from size to performance and expandability.

traditionally the thinkpads have had some of the best linux support thanks to their popularity amongst linux developers. this may be changing though as linux gains popularity and developer oriented alternatives like system76, framework and lambda gain steam.

thinkpads are also known for build quality, but that gap may be narrowing as well.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#78

Post by yread »

I would recommend HP's 840 or 845 series. Easy to upgrade RAM and SSD, solid hardware, lots of ports, light but sturdy, very quiet, next business day on site guarantee available, relatively little bloatware, the older G8 even has buttons on touchpad which is handy for dragging but it's 16:9, G9 is 16:10!

Re: Ask HN: Is there a developer laptop that does not suck and is not a Mac in 2022?

#80

Post by djmips »

samuell wrote: post #49
mtmail wrote: post #3

Related from 4 months ago "Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31094361 First comment-thread is about Apple but once collapsed the next 10 are non-Apple recommendations.

TIL one can collapse HN threads. With all the clear labels on HN, perhaps a [collapse] link would have been clearer.

Were you never curious about what the little [-] did? Where's your sense of adventure! I rib you, but at the same time I understand and your idea has merit.
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