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Ask HN: Which dev laptop to buy?

16 points by hcoura ↗ HN
I was planning on switching my work laptop sometime around next year, which could change a bit the landscape(macbook pro keyboard...), but I have an opportunity to get one right now from the US which makes things much cheaper for me, so I wanted some input.

Currently I own a 15" Dell (don't remember the version). I really like the 15" display, seems much better for my work (I usually don't use a external monitor) than 13", it has a decent keyboard (I love that it has a numpad) a decent trackpad and display. The display is touchscreen which makes it gather much more dust than usually and I have never used it. I have had trouble getting linux to work well with it's trackpad sometimes and shutting down, hibernation, suspension has also been troublesome. This is the only laptop I have used for heavy development duty.

I was considering getting a mac this time around for the OS, due to working well out of the box and been UNIX. I am not a guy that really likes configuring things too much, I rather have a good experience out of the box and be able to do small adjustments when needed. But recent keyboard issues + touchbar has gotten me a bit afraid of it.

Ideally I am looking for:

- Display: 15" Without touch

- Video Card: Nvidia (CUDA)

- Great Keyboard with numpad

- Webcam in the right position (Dell XPS camera on the bottom seems weird to me)

- OS X

- Good Battery

- Great trackpad (I rarely use mouse whilst working)

- Powerful enough for 5 years

- Good cooling system (My current Dell has the air intake on the bottom, needless to say it doesn't work greatly)

I hope you could share some of yours experience with the recent versions of top development laptops.

14 comments

[ 7.3 ms ] story [ 43.7 ms ] thread
natch
One idea is an old refurbished pre-bad-keyboard MBP, direct from Apple in their refurb store. I think you have to go back to 2015 or so... you should do your own verification of this date first.

I realize this is not ideal. It’s just an idea to throw into the mix.

Personally waiting for the keyboards to be fixed. Hope Apple doesn’t keep us waiting too long for this.

thijsvandien
The 2015 model can still be bought new as well, but not with dedicated graphics. That would’ve been AMD/ATi anyway, though.
frnkshin
What I have is a Lenovo T480s, running GNU/Linux.

I don't do anything fancy, some web dev, and some other dev that I do for hobby (nothing like running a game engine heavy).

It's got the following specs:

- 14 inches, 1440P with IPS panel

- Intel iGPU

- GREAT keyboard and no numpad

- webcam in the right position (which I rarely use)

- no OS X (although you /could/ probably run Hackintosh which I wouldn't recommend)

- I would like it to be powerful enough for 5 years

- Great cooling system in my opinion (< 60 deg C under decent load)

If OS X is a must, you should probably get a native MBP.

hcoura
OS X is def not a must, I don't think I could get everything I would ideally like but those are just the things on my mind right now.
andrei_says_
Do you have a need/solution for running the adobe suite on linux?

It’s the only thing that prevents me from switching away from macOS.

Mack’s is the only os with support for these and an acceptable privacy attitude.

curiousgal
Dual boot with Windows or a VM running Windows.
akudha
I'm also looking for a new laptop to replace my 7 year old Air, this time I'm thinking of going for a Linux machine like system 76.

I'd also prefer something that is powerful enough for 5 years at least

pmullins
The late 2016 and on MacBook Pro uses AMD's Radeon chip set. If you want a Mac you'll have to go for something earlier than that. On the PC front, you might want to check out the Lenovo ThinkPad T580. It has a 15" display, full-size keyboard, and an NVIDIA chip set.
kevinherron
Maybe I won the keyboard lottery (or maybe the problem is overblown), but my 2016 MBP with TB has been flawless.

At this point I'd probably wait for the 2018 refresh, though. September maybe?

tonyedgecombe
or maybe the problem is overblown

I read an article recently that said the failure rate is twice as high as with previous keyboards. It is clearly something that needs fixing but I can't help feeling there are a handful of noisy complainers blowing it out of proportion.

itronitron
I'm a long-time Windows user, full-time Linux at work, and over the past year have been trying, at home, to get into the swing of using a Mac. I mention this because I am about to ditch the whole Mac OS endeavor because the key bindings are just different enough to be a bother. Now that Windows supports Linux dev tooling I recommend sticking with Windows, and I've been looking at the Dell Inspiron Gaming and G series laptops for a development laptop.
paxpelus
I bought recently a 3rd generation lenovo x1 carbon from ebay and I am really happy with all the mobility provided. The battery lasts for more than 6-7 hours, it weighs around 1.2kg and the keyboard is perfect. The 14 inch monitor is more than enough. I switched from a 17 inch Dell and I am not missing it at all. I bought this for 500 euros including shipping.