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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?

#81

Post by RL_Quine »

Lutger wrote: post #70

I absolutely love my Framework laptop for dev. I feel the software support is also quite good, at least for Fedora which is explicitly supported. I got the DIY edition and put everything together, including installing Fedora, in under 1 hour. And I'm a really slow guy, haven't build a computer in 10 years - its too easy with framework. This laptop is really build to be repairable and modular and it does not suck at a…

I can see why people idealistically want the device but mine is really not up to being a usable production device. The wonky design of the “modules” means they’re practically useless, the hardware has almost endlessly has stability and issues with bricking, it has never once given me confidence in almost any respect. I want to love the thing and there’s nice features about the product, but I’d hesitate to suggest anybody seriously use the thing.

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

#82

Post by anddt »

Currently using a T490s (win-based on WSL, work machine) and a T480s (Fedora, upgraded to 24gb ram) for personal projects and they're both fine machines. The T480s runs a bit cooler after a repaste than the T490s but I'd say they can handle fine whatever I throw at them.

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

#83

Post by gorbachev »

mingusrude wrote: post #71
jraph wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I work for a big tech company with thousands of developers. We use Lenovo X1 laptops (Carbon and Extreme) and have been doing that for a few years now.

There is no systemic issue with those laptops. The failure rates are very small.

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

#85

Post by zeroth32 »

I have Dell XPS 13 2015 (9350). It gets fair abuse and fell on floor couple of times. Over years I replaced keyboard, battery, charging port, bottom plate from case (display hinge broke). All parts are on ebay for like $50 and can be replaced with a screedriver and YouTube video. I decided to keep this laptop indefinitely and just keep replacing parts. I also have spare laptop of the same type, so I can just swap SSDs or parts if it breaks. It is still decent machine, 7 hours on battery, 1.2 kg, nice touch display, excellent keyboard, 16GB RAM, USB-C charging....

From my workstation I need 64GB RAM, good cooling and many ports (4x displays etc). I do not feel any current laptop provides that. And I do not want to pay $7000 premium for decent machine. So at end I decided for mini PC (Asus PN 52). It is 1kg tiny box, can be carried daily and is very cost effective.

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

#87

Post by Hawxy »

edfletcher_t137 wrote: post #25

I will second the others who have recommended Lenovo: I have a Legion 5 I originally bought for gaming but the keyboard is so good I find myself using it for nearly all my development. Additionally, the Dell Precision line (the business workstation-replacement line) is exceptional for development, but those can be as expensive as equivalent MacBooks. Stay away from Dell's pure consumer line: the build quality is abso…

> Additionally, the Dell Precision line (the business workstation-replacement line) is exceptional for development

We got one of the first batches of 11th gen models of the Precision. The glue around the edge of my display wasn't done correctly and it was falling apart. The top layer of my keyboard has also popped off in various spots and is currently sitting warped on my desk. Can't say the QA is very good.

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

#88

Post by kkielhofner »

RL_Quine wrote: post #81
Lutger wrote: post #70

I absolutely love my Framework laptop for dev. I feel the software support is also quite good, at least for Fedora which is explicitly supported. I got the DIY edition and put everything together, including installing Fedora, in under 1 hour. And I'm a really slow guy, haven't build a computer in 10 years - its too easy with framework. This laptop is really build to be repairable and modular and it does not suck at a…

I can see why people idealistically want the device but mine is really not up to being a usable production device. The wonky design of the “modules” means they’re practically useless, the hardware has almost endlessly has stability and issues with bricking, it has never once given me confidence in almost any respect. I want to love the thing and there’s nice features about the product, but I’d hesitate to suggest any…

Same boat. I’m happy I spent thousands of dollars supporting a startup with ideals. I hate that I live with it everyday.

I’m building a startup and it turns out trying to build a startup literally on a startup maybe isn’t the best idea.

I sincerely regret the purchase.

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

#89

Post by carlsborg »

ASUS OLED Zenbook Ryzen 5900 + Manjaro. Perf benchmarks compare to an M1 at half the price. The Wifi network card driver doesn't handle hibernates too well, so you need to disable your network manually before (Or replace the network adapter card as some have done).

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

#90

Post by kzrdude »

kkielhofner wrote: post #88
RL_Quine wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can see why people idealistically want the device but mine is really not up to being a usable production device. The wonky design of the “modules” means they’re practically useless, the hardware has almost endlessly has stability and issues with bricking, it has never once given me confidence in almost any respect. I want to love the thing and there’s nice features about the product, but I’d hesitate to suggest any…

Same boat. I’m happy I spent thousands of dollars supporting a startup with ideals. I hate that I live with it everyday. I’m building a startup and it turns out trying to build a startup literally on a startup maybe isn’t the best idea. I sincerely regret the purchase.

What are the problems with it in practice? I'd have ordered one if it was shipping to my country
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