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Ask HN: What is your ideal laptop?

12 points by ImprovedSilence ↗ HN
There has been some good discussion here on HN about laptops recently, and I'm in the market to purchase a new computer, but I have yet to find anything that satisfies all my wants. Most websites (most) are pretty much impossible to deal with all the options and model numbers and comparison is just a mess(I'm looking at you, Dell and Lenovo), there is no way to sort through the crap out there, unless you know exactly what you want, or unless you want a mac, in which case what you're getting has already been decided.

Maybe you like the Macbook Pro, maybe you're a Asus or Lenovo kinda guy? Maybe you run Linux, maybe windows? Maybe you're on a tight budget, maybe money doesn't matter? Either way, if you had your choice of ONE machine, to do whatever you do on it, which one would it be?

I just want to hear what the crowd here thinks about the current state of laptops, and which way they would go (and why) if purchasing a new one. (for the record, I like MBP's design/aesthetic, which does carry some pull with me, but I really think I want to run Linux. And I dislike the idea of dualboot/VMware, cuz that just goes back to my current problem, of having too many computers, all too slow, and not one perfect one...)

25 comments

[ 3.2 ms ] story [ 56.7 ms ] thread
arkitaip
It would be a lap top with a screen good enough for professionally working with graphics. Lap tops are currently unsuitable for this type of work.
pbreit
MacBook Air. Incredibly thin & light. SSID helps deliver surprisingly good performance considering the CPU. Terrific display. I run Ubuntu on VirtualBox effectively. But MacOS being *nix-based is pretty great.

The other thing that makes Macs easy purchases is that they retain 60-85% of their value.

ImprovedSilence
Yeah, I've been kind of teetering on the brink of MacBook Air v. Pro. I guess my big concern with the Air is with it being able to keep as time goes on, especially as I'm limited to 4GB RAM. And I'm the kinda person who usually has 20 different tabs open in chrome at any given time... while I'm multi-tasking somewhere else, while working on code.
Locke1689
I have the same concern -- I would have bought an Air as soon as it came out if it offered 8GB of RAM. That said, I think the industrial specifications are pretty far from being paralleled in any other machine, so I'll still probably buy one.
d_r
FWIW (see my post above recommending Air), I also tend to keep 20+ Chrome tabs open at a time, along with Xcode, Photoshop, and occasionally Eclipse. Always snappy. As far as I can tell, it performs better than my previous MBP. It seems like Apple made great strides since the original Air introduction in 2008, turning it from a "toy" expensive computer to a power box for mainstream users and developers alike.

This year, I was upgrading from the 2010 Air (2.13Ghz model) to the newer Air (1.8Ghz model) and was concerned that the Ghz mattered here. It appears that the new processor makes a huge difference, since the benchmarks I ran out of curiosity (GeekBench) indicate a 2x improvement, and the actual use ( say, compiling a huge project in Xcode) is significantly faster.

Some other benchmarks I read before making my purchase: http://www.anandtech.com/show/4528/the-2011-macbook-air-11-1... ("Both the 11 and 13-inch MacBook Air are fast enough to replace your 3 year old MacBook Pro and still deliver better performance. You can even move from a 2010 MacBook Pro to an upgraded MacBook Air and not notice any drop in performance. All of this is thanks to Intel's Sandy Bridge CPU.")

(I have the highest spec 13" model, with the i7 processor.)

tatsuke95
Seconded. Always loved the form factor, but the rebooted version has enough horsepower to do 90% of the computing I do daily. It's no longer a novelty.

Went from a 13" MBP to the 13" Air with the i7 and haven't looked back.

meric
>> The other thing that makes Macs easy purchases is that they retain 60-85% of their value.

Over how long? My last macbook I used until the keyboard broke, the trackpad button semi-working and the battery died. Only sold it for 10% of the price I bought it at.

xuki
It depends. My 5-year-old macbook (1st gen of plastic white macbook) is still running strong. I bought an Air last month but keep it around as a back up machine.

I replaced the battery 2 years ago though, just before the warranty expires and somehow they did it for free.

masterj
A 15" MacBook Air with the hi-res 1680 x 1050 of the current 15" MBP and 8GB of RAM would be my idea of ideal. I hope that when the MacBook Pros refresh, it will be in this general direction.
wavephorm
Definitely wait for the 15" Macbook Air. According to Techcrunch, the rumor is the entire Macbook Pro line will be replaced by something more like the Air's.
sigil
I'm probably utterly alone in this, but my ideal laptop is a 5-10 year old Thinkpad where all the hardware works under Linux and BSD. The latest PC laptops never do. There's always something new and flaky under the hood (wireless, suspend / resume, sound, etc).

So, I go out of my way to buy the old stuff (T40/T41/T42). These cost about $200 on Craigslist and typically last me 2-3 years.

When it dies -- or more commonly, when I kill it by doing something stupid -- I just pull the hard drive and move on to the next one. It's almost like nothing ever happened.

Macs are pretty nice of course. Carrying around an Air instead of a 6 lb Thinkpad sure sounds like a dream. But from observing folks around me, most of whom use Macs, they also seem to buy a new model every 2-3 years (spending about 10x what I do). And when something fails, or when they need to do a big upgrade, they are often really screwed. (Ie hard drive fails -> send it in -> wait a week -> get it back with everything wiped.)

pasbesoin
Where do you get your batteries?
sigil
Amazon marketplace. The 9 cell lithium ions give 5-6 hours. The one I'm using currently is from Energy+.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dap...

pasbesoin
Thanks! Though, it looks like I am indeed stuck with a battery that's a significant fraction of the machine's (used) price. At least the one you point to (top result, from Energy+) has a majority of good reviews and might actually live up to its specs.
ImprovedSilence
I actually really like this idea too. However I'm inclined to install a 64-bit distro on a HD, use it on a newer laptop, but also install a 32-bit OS just in-case I want to throw it in and older computer... Or just stick with the 64-bit, and soon enough, all the older ones (today's) computers will be on that architecture too...
anthony_barker
thinkpad x200 Linux vmware ssd drive..... very pleasurable and u won't miss the t42p

Also interested in the llano and chipset as the apu concept is very cool. Unfortunately the global foundries yields are poor and amd builds aren't great

pkamb
Same. Love me some old 4:3 Thinkpads. Indestructible, throw them in your bag without a case. Awesome docks for easy transition between your desk and the coffee shop. Great screens, higher resolution than you can get today. Trackpoints, great keyboards. And cheap.
srgseg
If you're looking for a PC and have Macbook Air envy, Intel Ultrabooks are just days away....

Lenovo, Asustek and Acer are all preparing the lightweight laptops for the autumn, after Intel announced its answer to the MacBook Air back in May.

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/369247/intel-ultrabooks-to-arriv...

Intel plans to release two ranges of super-slim 18mm notebooks (with 11-inch and 13-inch screens) and 21mm-thick notebooks (with 14-inch and 17-inch screen) and, just like the MacBook Air, no optical drive

http://www.techradar.com/news/computing/pc/new-intel-ultrabo...

avdempsey
What's the problem with dual-booting Linux? Heck, Linux in Parallels/Fusion runs great for anything other than cutting edge 3d-gaming (probably not your focus if you want a Linux box). If you want a box to dev on, you have a choice of if you want it to be a Mac or not, then grab the laptop with a good screen, keyboard and SSD. For me, it was a MacBook Pro with aftermarket SSD. I dual boot MacOS and Windows and have Linux in Parallels.
tomcam
My current-model MacBook Air would be perfect with 1TB SSD and 16GB RAM,and removable battery. Yes, I would accept the portability hit. It's fast enough, and I'm deeply relieved that the backlit keyboard returned.
d_r
I've been using a Macbook Air since last winter, and this year upgraded to the 2011 model (13", highest specs.) I can't stress highly enough how happy it made me as a developer. The Air is light, and so it's easy to bring with me just about anywhere I go. Since the battery lasts for hours, I'm not tied to the wall/AC during coffee shop hacking. And the overall build is solid and makes hacking just that much more pleasant.

My previous laptop was a 15" MBP -- I liked it, but it was a bit too heavy to "take with me every time." As a result, it mostly sat on my desk.

glimcat
Slate tablets are getting small enough that they're eroding the laptop range for me. That and a small Bluetooth keyboard will cover most anything between needing it to fit in my pocket and needing a desktop for prolonged intensive use.
sktrdie
I've been thinking about this for a while as well. It came down to two laptops: MacBook Air 13" and Lenovo ThinkPad X1. The X1 has a wonderful keyboard. As a developer I like this. However I'm really a unix sort of person and installing Linux on a laptop never went positively for me. On a Mac however you get unix by default and all the hardware is fully supported. So I'm going with the Air... however if you're a Windows user I would highly consider the new X1.
joe202
Just ordered a Lenovo G570 for my daughter to go to uni (core i3 2130, 4Gb, 500Gb, 15in) - good price, good reputation. I'll set it up to dual boot Win 7 & Ubuntu. It's what I'd buy for myself if I was buying now, though serious number crunching would be done on a desktop.
sorbus
I'm generally an Asus person, but the Sony Z series is just amazing. 16 hours of battery life with an additional sheet battery, 2.5lbs, a nice processor and an option for a 1920x1080 display. Looks pretty good too, but it's the portability and battery life that really gets me. Sadly, the basic model with a sheet battery is about $2060, and configuring it to be really shiny would bring the price up to a bit under $3000, which, being a college student, is rather out of my budget.