HN Explorer

Ask HN: Tell me about your dev machine

6 points by brtkdotse ↗ HN
For the last 12 years I've been running Thinkpads as my main machine. Lately I've been doing some heavy Photoshop lifting and my poor x280 i7 is spinning it's fans out trying to cope with it. I started looking at building a desktop machine only to realize I have no clue about what's what anymore.

HN, tell me about your dev machine and help me decide on my next build.

Bonus content: here's what I'm looking at right now https://www.inet.se/datorbygge/bild/b1164307/datorbygge

20 comments

[ 3.3 ms ] story [ 59.7 ms ] thread
gshdg
Using a MacBook Air for web dev, and it’s plenty. For photoshop I’d probably want something with a faster CPU and better GPU, tho.
brtkdotse
That’s my thinking. However, a 100 kLOC project in Visual Studio is pretty heavy handed as well
gshdg
Can’t comment on that as I don’t generally use IDEs.
throw_this_one
Which one and what’s the proc/mem? What kind of web dev?
gshdg
Python, JavaScript mostly. Not sure the processor (it’s a 2019 model year, tho). 16GB memory.

Snappier/more responsive UI-wise than the 16” MB Pro I got from work, fwiw.

HelloFellowDevs
Running a 2020 MBP 512gb/16gb, small jump from a 2012 with 512gb/8gb
kingkongjaffa
I'm looking at exactly this, as far as I can tell the cpu should be at least 10x but idk what that means for real world.

A nicer screen and nicer graphics card is going to be a boost for the odd game and just generally easier on the eyes.

I suspect better support for the latest macOS.

What else have you noticed?

HelloFellowDevs
So I've only had it for a few days now. First reactions are:

> Super small compared to my tank of a 13in 2012, but when compared to my work laptop (17in 2020), it is also smaller in the direct comparison.

> Screen to Bezel ratio has consistently thrown me for a loop because I accidentally touch the screen when trying to open and close it.

> True tone has definitely helped with having it be easier on the eyes. I used to use Flux for that.

> Compile times for large projects have sped up visibly in my eyes.

> So I haven't been able to truly benchmark graphics wise but in comparison to running Civ 5 on either computer, the 2020 edition blows it out of the water. Along with it not having a terrible lag when switching from game to browser.

> Even with the ARM conversion, I suspect that I'll have at least 3-4 good years out of this as a side project / light AR development mobile computer so I'm happy that it'll handle an OS update gracefully.

> I've been able to use the Macbook/Macbook Air/Macbook Pro (2016-2019) keyboards, and I'm glad that that did not carry over to MBP 2020. It's the closest to having my 2012 keyboard with responsiveness (jury is still out on reliability)

> TouchID is a bonus but I haven't used it past auth'ing into my laptop or sudo sessions.

> Still acclimating touchbar, multiple taps to access items has taken some getting used to mentally.

Previously I was using a Refurbished 2012 MBP for 6 years (with HDD/RAM upgrades, battery replacement), throughout college and my first job. So this jump to a retina display, faster processor, lighter form factor is a whole new world for me.

kingkongjaffa
Thanks for taking the time to write this up!

I might get one instead of waiting for the ARM update. My user requirements are not that much!

uvw
1. Pick a processor you like in your budget

2. Pick a form factor. Regular size/smaller?

3. Now you have specs for motherboard.

4. Rest of the stuff is what you need/want. Stuff like memory sticks, onboard or separate gpu, onboard or separate WiFi card.

brtkdotse
The jump from i9 to something like ThreadRipper is like 5x. Will I even notice it?
tom_b
Thelios Major from System76.

  64GB memory
  8 GB GeForce RTX 2070 Super with 2560 CUDA Cores
  A couple of NVME SSDs.
I install Centos as the OS. Setup, including Nvidia drivers was very easy.

Probably could be built from components cheaper, but I appreciated just making an order and having a box show up later.

My past machines have been Thinkpads, then six years with a Macbook Pro that I wiped and installed Debian on. I made the move back to desktops for a variety of work-related reasons.

brudgers
My generic recommendation are Dell Precision workstations. Powerful, well supported, and rather unexciting. Which is what I really want when I'm honest with myself.
sneeuwpopsneeuw
Every 4 to 5 years I buy a new laptop for 1000 euro that looks nice and put xUbuntu on it, that's all.
kingkongjaffa
2012 macbook pro with 16gb ram and SSD, I purposely got the last one without the ram soldered to the motherboard to allow me to upgrade it. It's about at the end of usable battery health and the screen is only 720p so I am thinking of upgrading soon.
gtsteve
I have a custom built PC with 2 monitors. It runs Windows because I do lots of Windows development - despite getting to .NET Core we still have some older components that need visual studio. The gaming spec works quite nicely, the main thing I need is 32gb of RAM for running numerous VMs.

It also doubles as my gaming rig but I'm going to be moving us to a more strict device management strategy soon so I will have a dedicated work PC, and this will likely be a top-end Dell Precision. I recently bought a couple for some new developers (latest core i9, 32GB of RAM, NVME SSD) and they're very happy with them.

I also have a very light macbook air for travelling and taking notes in meetings etc. I couldn't actually develop software on it though, it's far too tiny.

I couldn't go back to developing on a laptop and definitely couldn't go back to 16gb of RAM. It does seem that with many laptops you must choose between >16gb or it being portable.

brtkdotse
Those Precision’s looked very nice. How much are you paying per station?
gtsteve
About £1,400. The main saving comes from not going for any graphics card over an Intel Iris given that's not a requirement, but we can add an aftermarket card later if needed.

Doesn't include monitors though (£600ish for 2 27" monitors). It's a pretty beastly workstation, great for development.

slipwalker
second-hand MacBookPro 2015 retina 13" with measly 8Gb of RAM, but i replaced the SSD for a Samsung EVO 840pro ( 500Gb with an adapter ).

I use it daily for Java/C#/Golang ( with jetbrains IDEs ) and reactNative ( with vscode ). Sometimes it lags a bit, but i still like it for its lightweight feel in general.

( oh, on my desk i also have a 4k phillips 27" external monitor for those times a 13" retina would not be enough )