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Ask HN: Best Laptop for Developer?

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Re: Ask HN: Best Laptop for Developer?

#11

Post by ConceitedCode »

I use a Thinkpad t480s (last years model). This laptop has done a great job "getting out my way". It has one of the best keyboards on any laptop I have used. It runs ubuntu great out of the box. 14in screen happens to be be a very nice size for me. I have the touchscreen model which has been nice for testing mobile sites. The screen could be a little brighter / more vibrant, but I do prefer the matte display for when I setup outside when the weather is nice. A brighter glossy version is available if you prefer that.

It has great port selection:

- 2 usb-c ports (1 thunderbolt)

- 2 usb-b

- 1 hdmi port

- 1 ethernet port

- 1 sd card reader

Overall I'd say it's a very good well rounded laptop that I don't have any major complaints about.

Re: Ask HN: Best Laptop for Developer?

#13

Post by 1337shadow »

System76 looks great, but I've been using Thinkpad X series for quite a while now. I get a configuration that's linux compatible, but my favorite feature is to have one double battery on the back + another battery inside, for a total of 10-14h lifetime, basically I only charge at night. If you travel a lot, and code while traveling it's pretty useful. Have been using XPS in the past, not a bad experience, but still prefer thinkpad X for the battery life.

For my teams I buy refurbished Thinkpad X250, past models (X220, X230, X240 IIRC) don't have normal mice buttons, those don't work well for me.

I miss the old keyboards though.

Re: Ask HN: Best Laptop for Developer?

#16

Post by znpy »

I've been given a Dell Latitude 7390 at work and I think it's awesome.

Basically, it has a full array of ports (Thunderbolt/USB-C, USB-A, microphone jack, an eff-ing ethernet port, hdmi, smartcard, sim and micro-sd), thin bezels (it looks like a 12" but it has a 13" display), a good display, 60WHr battery, a good enough keyboard and it's well supported by GNU/Linux (basically, only the fingerprint reader and nfc don't work).

Mine is configured with a quad-core 8th gen Core i7 and 16GB ram. The fun thing is, my colleague sitting at my left has a 13" macbook, and I often hear his laptop fans spin up (from the distance!). OTOH, my laptop fans have basically never spun up.

If only it had the trackpoint it could easily get me to abandon the ThinkPad altogether.

Re: Ask HN: Best Laptop for Developer?

#19

Post by ryanlol »

bemeurer wrote: post #15

I wrote about my experience with a Thinkpad here[1]. It was the P1, a great laptop on paper. [1]: https://lovesegfault.com/post/2019-01-24-thinkpad-nightmare/

I’ve mostly had great experiences with lenovo tech support, certainly never had to talk to a robot.

When things go wrong I make a ticket and usually receive a call (and email if I don’t pick up) in intelligible english within an hour, the technician usually shows up at my door within a day (unless waiting for an exotic localized keyboard or something).

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