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Ask HN: What's best laptop for programmer in 2020?

26 points by bartq ↗ HN
I've been long time Apple user as a programmer, I used multiple MacBook Pros of 13 and 15 inch screen size. Now I have MacBook 12 (no longer produced) and iMac 27". Additionally I have iPad Pro, but it's almost useless as a device for work. I also use 2019 MacBook Pro 15 with touchbar (I'm equipped with it by my employer) which is awful and amazing at the same time. I wouldn't spend my own money on it though.

Best Apple machine ever for me is my iMac 27, because it has beautiful 27 inch 5k screen, it's almost always almost completely silent and wireless keyboard never heats.

Additional word about MacBook 12 - it's beautiful, has no fans, looks gorgeous, so lightweight, but works best for scrolling static content and typing in native apps (web apps are noticeably slower).

I'm thinking about another laptop for work, but not MacBook. What would you recommend?

45 comments

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brettkromkamp
Acer Nitro 5, Intel i7-10750H processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060, 6 GB, 16 (or, 32) GB DDR4, 1024 GB PCIe NVMe SSD.
[dead] scott31
Tim Apple, is that you?
dyingkneepad
Tiger Lake was announced by Intel just yesterday... Lots of new laptop models are going to be announced in the following days, all using the brand new processor. Tiger Lake has an improved CPU but also a much better graphics card compared to all the previous generations, and it seems it is comparable even with the nvidia/amd cards that are in many laptops. We're soon going to see some benchmarks, I hope.
wdroz
Maybe my next setup will be a Tiger Lake ultrabook with an external GPU (RTX 3090?) through Thunderbolt.

An Ultrabook with AMD (4800U?) would also be interesting, but eGPU setups are more complicated without TB.

I also hope to see some benchmarks before deciding.

dougbarrett
If I wasn't using a Macbook, I'd be running an XPS (any size) with Elementary OS. I was running that briefly between Macbooks and loved it, but unfortunately a few weeks after purchasing it the company I work for switched VPN's and the new one no longer supported Linux, so I went back to using a Macbook.

I'm sure Windows is fine as well,

vortico
Pretty much any laptop can be programmed on. None will struggle with software development. Just go shopping?
giantg2
I use a 13 year old Dell for most things. I believe it's 32 bit, 3.8GB RAM, 2.4GH dual core, and 256GB SSD (upgrade) running windows 10.
mattlondon
Any windows/linux laptop is fine. You can program on anything. It really doesn't matter - you can run VS Code on a Chromebook these days so as long as you have something to SSH into a mid-range Chromebook will be fine.

ThinkPads have traditionally had good keyboards and build quality. People say the Dell XPS range is good but I personally have been dissatisfied with them (clunky, heavy build with bad design oversights like no easy way to open the lid without slipping fingernails into the gap etc)

Like a lot of consumer hardware these days, the "gamer" stuff tends to offer a good spec at a reasonable price if you can avoid anything without too much of the lame RGB lights and dragon stickers etc.

tuatoru
Any "business grade" laptop. Ex lease.

The keyboards on Thinkpads are easily replaceable, and you can get replacement batteries (in several capacities) and trackpads much more easily for "business" laptops than consumer ones. The same probably applies to Latitudes and Probooks.

For a long time Thinkpads were one of a very few laptops with display resolutions above 1366x768, but those days are now long past.

afarrell
> ThinkPads have traditionally had good keyboards

you can buy an external USB Thinkpad keyboard with nub-mouse. I use one with my OSX machine.

kingnothing
A used MacBook Pro. I wouldn't buy anything new from Apple until we see what happens with ARM.
ArtWomb
Samsung Chromebook 3 just died. Was primarily using as devenv, using the web terminal of GCP Cloud Shell. No way to change bios boot media, drive soldered to main board ;)

Am back to Linux Ubuntu 20.04 (focused fossa). And am thinking Pinebook64 is worth a go at $99 ;)

https://store.pine64.org/?product=11-6-pinebook

brudgers
"The best laptop is the one you have with you"
cdnsteve
Desktop unless you travel or build iOS apps, especially with Covid and homes offices, way faster hardware with great upgrade options. Windows 10 Pro with docker and wsl 2 is good. I can put in a monster video card or cpu for ML or do anything I want.

I've owned macs since late 90s and am done with them. No more dongle madness. Touchbar was horrid. Ive had multiple $5k macbooks pros fail, literally video and drive failures and the new gen weld hardware in so you cant do anything, even minor upgrades.

My current MBP is now randomly freezing for no reason. Ive had folks on my team had batteries die. Going back to PC!

muzani
I'm happy with my HP Pavilion. There are some glitches - the touchpad is inaccurate, and battery change feels like defusing a bomb.

But otherwise it's relatively cheap, light enough to hold on one hand, hardcore enough for work (Android Studio) and gaming, and comes with touchscreen and backlight. As someone who has used a MBP, I prefer a touchscreen over a touchbar any day.

spicyusername
Get a used Latitude or Thinkpad, add some RAM, and put Linux on it.

Good to go.

karmakaze
> 2019 MacBook Pro 15 with touchbar [...] which is awful and amazing at the same time. I wouldn't spend my own money on it though.

What's the awful part, and is price the main objection?

bartq
Price is not objection, but could be always cheaper, right? ;). Awful parts are: - fans are very loud under CPU load, - keyboard heats up very fast, - touchbar freezes sometimes, because it's controlled by main CPU I guess, that's not acceptable as an input device, - no esc key (I know it is solved in lastes MacBook 16), - key travel is too small (again, solved in MacBook 16).
karmakaze
I sometimes forget how much of a pain these things are as I've gotten so used to how bad they are. The two that stick out every time it happens which is too often for me:

- fans are very loud under CPU load (or any GPU usage)

- touchbar freezes sometimes--more specifically for me using an external display disconnect/suspend/wake makes the screen black and dimmer buttons useless

nanagojo
Wanted to use the iPad pro + magic keyboard with online vscode, but an existing webkit bug is not allowing me to scroll :(
tomcam
Aargh! What about using keyboard shortcuts?
foopod
Depending on preference, either a Thinkpad T4XX or X1 laptop.

- T4XX for modularity, performance, price

- X1 if size is important and you have cash to burn

tomcam
I spent over $4,000 each on the last 2 MacBook Pro models. Good screen, bad keyboard, heavy. This year I spent $15,000 on a Mac Pro and love it. I also bought the 2019 Dell XPS 13, which is ok.

But my favorite computer purchase this year is a refurbed 2015 MacBook Air with an i7 and 1 TB SSD for $800. I tried to move away from MB Airs starting in 2017 but they remain my favorite coding environment. Screen not as good as a Retina but it works at 2560x1440 on an external monitor when I care. Slips easily into a backpack, great fit and finish, obviously plenty fast for full stack web dev.

nickthemagicman
What about the newer macbook airs? 2020 models? Any experience with those? I was looking at those because they don't have the bar at the top.
tomcam
Bought a 2020 Air and it had a stuck key! Should have mentioned that.
nickthemagicman
What about performance for web development in the 2020 Mac airs?
dvxvd
Maybe someone expirienced with Asus ZenBook Pro Duo? .. Two screens looks very promising, however im not sure how comfortable is inovative num pad with touchpad. Also the second screen, having in mind that second screen is almost horizontal. Also i noticed that there are no official linux support. Maybe someone tested? Thanks.
kalyantm
Thinkpad T14S - Good ryzen performance, nice keyboard (it's a thinkpad) and lightweight. Best decision i made this year for a portable machine. (pair it with Fedora + bspwm like I did and it's blazingly fast and good!)
resdev
Just stick to MacBooks, you’ll regret on anything else that runs on Windows especially for programming. Current Linux laptop hardware is not even comparable to quality of Apple.