Ask HN: Any suggestions for new laptop?

1 points by ktr 7y ago ↗ HN

I recently received a gift card over the holidays and would like to get a new laptop. I have not bought one myself in many years because I typically just use the one I received from work. All-in I'd probably be willing to spend $1500 (maybe a bit more, but not much) and was curious if you had any suggestions.

As far as use goes, I do some development/coding (mostly Python - either to create websites and/or to perform data analysis with pandas/numpy/matplotlib) as well as some design. I am not as good at design as I am at development, but I do enjoy it (e.g., I play around with Inkscape, like to try to design nice looking websites, etc.). I like Linux, but would be willing to consider macOS.

A couple of other notes:

- I recently got a Dell XPS 13 for work and am not a fan (the keyboard is awful and several windows apps that I use don't display well on the 4K screen). - I use iPhone and my wife has a mac at home, so I am not completely unfamiliar with Apple machines. - I would like a laptop (not desktop) as I travel a bit and want to be able to bring it with me.

Thanks for any suggestions!

4 comments

[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 16.7 ms ] thread

trulyrandom 7y ago ↗

I'm very happy with my ThinkPad. A T470s, to be precise. It's light but sturdy, has a great keyboard and has a decent amount of ports for such a small laptop. All of the hardware is well supported under Linux, except for the fingerprint reader. The only gripe I have with it is the fact that the screen is a little dim (only 250 nits).

ktr 7y ago ↗

Thanks very much. I used to have a ThinkPad and loved it. Will investigate!

pydeveloper22 7y ago ↗

Oh wow, and here I was thinking of getting the Dell XPS 13 developer's edition with Linux installed

Or may I suggest HP Spectre x360 check out the link below.

https://www.digitaltrends.com/dtdeals/hp-spectre-x360-13t-sa...

Thanks. I heard great things about the XPS so was excited to get it, but as noted above I haven't been thrilled. Also, the keyboard is not great in my opinion. The Linux version could be better (I am forced to use Windows at work).