Msi
Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?
131–140 of 813 posts
Re: Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?
#132I use a slimbook with Manjaro/i3, and it's fast. Far more performant than Macbook Pro 2017 13-inch 16GB with iOS I have to use at work (a bit older hardware to be fair) and 1/2 in price. No freezing, can run PyCharm, VSCode and be on a video call with screensharing + run a pacman install at the same time and I've not been able to get it to slow down even a bit. Meanwhile Mac crawls to a halt with Google Meet or Slack…
How good is the keyboard?
For me, it's good, because I like quite soft and low keys. They still do a mild click and it feels obvious if a key is pressed, but it's not pronounced like on higher-key/mechanical keyboards. What I personally like is that the keyboard is wide enough to have a dedicated num-pad and that the layout is closer to a full-size keyboard than on most other laptops I've had, Ctrl is in left-most position as with normal keyboards with Fn key to the right of it. The Delete/Ins etc are moved to the top row next to F-keys, but I've not found it difficult to adjust to.
No complaints so far about any keys stopping from working or feeling odd switching between it and my full-size more clicky keyboard.
Re: Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?
#133Quoted post unavailable.
True, but it is not a tool that works for everyone.
In my case, I consider the Mac one of the cons of working at my current place of work. My days are filled with minor hassles that I could really do without. Doing simple things takes longer, and I have to deal with random freezes, slowdowns and even crashes that I did not have to deal with when using my own laptop for similar needs over the past couple of years (mostly dev related with minor content editing).
So again, it is a tool, but it is not the best tool for the job for every person, especially developers.
Re: Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?
#134> I looked into the Framework laptops and so far it looks like they are still a bit beta. I'm not sure that's fair, (and it's pedantically wrong - they're in production - but I know what you mean) the hardware is the nicest I've seen besides Macbooks (I agree with you about macOS, but I do like the hardware, keen for Asahi one day but that is very much beta ( alpha actually I think)) and Linux is Linux? It works fine…
I cast another vote for Framework. I understand the hesitation when it comes to betting on a new company, because I was also slightly anxious when I ordered my laptop. But now that I have it in my hands, I'm really happy with it. I've also done programming with the keyboard and it feels nice.
Concerning battery life: There are various tools like TLP[1] that help you optimize your energy consumption without much configuration. I get more than 6 hours of my machine when I'm coding on the go. However, I only have a few terminals with Vim and a web browser open. Some IDEs might need more power.
Re: Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?
#135A 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,…
Another happy user of G14 here. I'm running the 2021 version with Ryzen 5900HS, 32Gb of RAM and 1440p screen. The screen is good, the laptop is quite light at ~1.6kg, the keyboard is OK too, but I tend to use an external one when at my desk.
I love the battery life, which is great when running on integrated graphics.
The CPU is great too, I'm satisfied with autocomplete speed in my IDE. I think the 5900HS is also quite power-efficient, maybe the Intel versions are more power-hungry, not sure. Another benefit is that the laptop stays completely silent, and only whirrs up when gaming or doing heavier workloads.
The GPU in my version is "just" the 3060 Mobile, but it's good enough for me, and there are costlier version with better GPUs.
The ports are good enough for me. There's one USB-C 3.2 Gen2 which I used to connect to a DisplayPort screen, and there's an HDMI port, which I use to drive a 4k@120Hz monitor. I also use one of the USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10Gbps) ports with a hub to run all peripherals (mic, webcam, keyboard, mouse).
WiFi was giving me problems on Windows (I have the MediaTek card), but that was fixed at the end of 2021. Another smallish issue is that there's no webcam, but I use a standalone cam anyway.
Re: Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?
#136Quoted post unavailable.
Motivation is important for your work. I would not be motivated by using some closed source, walled garden product from a company with business practices I don't like. Linux is absolutely good enough to get most development work done without issue. Even if Macs might be a slightly smoother experience in some areas.
I used to spend a lot of time to fiddle with Linux and my desktop in the past. You can do that if you want. But it's not necessary. Nowadays in 98% of the cases I say "good enough", in rare exceptions I might still use my freedom to fiddle and patch.
Re: Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?
#137Quoted post unavailable.
Seriously, I can't recommend anything but a Macbook Air to anyone who has $1000 to spend. Top comment is recommending a machine that gets 6 hours battery life. Wild.
Re: Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?
#138If the intensive computing is GPU use a lambda machine might be a good choice.
A quick announcement on Ars Technica -- the Lambda is nVidia CUDA, Linux beast laptop with very nice Razer design. https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/04/razer-designed-linux...
Something to be wary of: Razer has a bad reliability reputation, in conjunction with bad customer support. The glowing remarks usually come from people who Razer has a vested interest in pleasing.
Re: Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?
#139Quoted post unavailable.
Motivation is important for your work. I would not be motivated by using some closed source, walled garden product from a company with business practices I don't like. Linux is absolutely good enough to get most development work done without issue. Even if Macs might be a slightly smoother experience in some areas. I used to spend a lot of time to fiddle with Linux and my desktop in the past. You can do that if you w…
As a professional software engineer I choose to use the best tools for the job. In my case that tool happens to be a a Mac.
Re: Ask HN: What’s a good laptop for software development at around $2k?
#140serious question: what is the practical difference between MacOS and Linux? Do you have a habit of modifying your wifi drivers and recompiling the source? I am big on open source but have never felt my life was improved chasing dependencies vs just brew install ... I have never had a satisfactory battery + sleep/standby experience on a linux machine, vs a Mac I can leave unplugged for weeks and it wakes back up where…
The thing I miss most from Linux is strace. This is far outweighed by 1. The much frequency with which stuff just works on OSX. 2. The opportunities to spend $30 on an app instead of $300-$800 worth of time on software that is Free as in Puppy.
Are you serious? There is nothing comparable to strace on MacOS? strace can save you so much time if some software (your own or not) just doesn't work like you want. Of course problems 100% in user space are not covered. But I find a fair share of real world problems are.