Ask HN: What laptop should I buy?

Hi. I just moved to Canada for my postgrad and I am looking to buy a new laptop.

- I am a Windows guy, but I run Linux in a VM.

- I will be using it for development.

- It will also be my general purpose / college laptop.

- I want to be able to carry it around for meetups, hackathons, college, or if I feel like working at a coffee place.

What would you suggest based on the above given points? What screen size should I be looking at? I am currently looking into ThinkPads and Dells. Also, will it be worth trying to get one from USA instead, or is the price difference not that huge?

Thanks.

5 comments

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zzleeper 14y ago ↗

+1 on thinkpads, I've heard good things about them

( I currently have a Dell that has worked ok, but they feel kinda "cheap", so I'll probably move to either a Thinkpad or a MB(A|P) )

msluyter 14y ago ↗

I wouldn't recommend HP. I got one and had hardware problems within the first week (wouldn't boot). They fixed it via mail without much fuss, but it was annoying. The mouse keys were also highly un-ergonomic.

chillax 14y ago ↗

Unless they've improved a lot in the last year or so I'd stay away from both Acer and HP at least. Lenovo Thinkpads or Macbook Pro/Air is probably your best bet (running Windows through bootcamp)

serichsen 14y ago ↗

Whatever you buy, get a matte display.

shinji97 14y ago ↗

+1 for "staying away from HP", seems like everyone around me with a HP runs into hardware problems (maybe that's the reason why they are slightly cheaper?)

My favourite would be Dell, they just released 15z a while ago, seems pretty nice.

I would also recommand Lenovo, Asus and Toshiba. I'm using a Toshiba Satellite A660 at work, pretty quiet and stays cool.