HN Explorer

Ask HN: What is the best Laptop you have ever used for development?

5 points by agscala ↗ HN
Regardless of price, what is the best portable machine that you have ever done programming/development on?

I'm going to be looking into purchasing a new machine for development soon and I'm curious what other HNewsers think is best. I've been looking at the Lenovo T4xx series and they seem promising so far.

24 comments

[ 2.8 ms ] story [ 46.5 ms ] thread
rule30
I'm on a Lenovo T420s, it's a pretty solid machine. This is my first ThinkPad and I really love the screen resolution and the feeling with the keyboard, the keys are just amazing and if you are a developer I think this is one of the most important features. I oned a MacBook (the white and cheap one) and an iBook, but the "physicity" of this laptop is really good. Moreover you have 2 USB 2.0 and 1 USB 3.0 that you cannot find on an Apple product.

I'm using it with Fedora 17, everything works pretty well but you need some tweaking to optimize the power consumption while on battery.

freehunter
Thinkpads in general are pretty great for "get down to business" use. They're nothing flashy, they don't have to build to a consumer market that demands "thin, light, strong, cheap, beautiful". Lenovo/IBM seems to understand that when someone is using a Thinkpad, they're doing so because there's real, hard work going on. They might be boring to look at with a thickness and weight straight out of 2001, but they get the job done. Standardized hardware without the rush to adopt the latest and greatest flash really helps with the Linux compatibility. Dell Latitude is a close second in that market.

Best thing about every Thinkpad I've used at work is, the Insert/Home/PgUp

Delete/End/PgDn

Always in that order, always in that configuration. I don't want to have to use Fn keys to access things that a consumer might not use, but a power user needs constantly. Only complaint on my current T500 is the lack of a number pad.

pkamb
They actually moved to double-sized Delete (and Escape) key on their more recent models. I love it, much easier to hit.

http://www.zdnet.co.uk/i/z5/rv/2011/04/thinkpad_x220_2.jpg

rule30
it's a pleasure to hit them! but they are moving to island-style keyboards: http://www.wired.com/reviews/2012/06/lenovo-thinkpad-x230/

(btw i binded caps lock to ESC with `xmodmap -e 'clear Lock' -e 'keycode 0x42 = Escape'`, much better for VIM)

pkamb
I guess I can go either way on the chiclet keyboard. But why would they go back to the tiny delete key?
ixacto
Switch to chicklet keys and I might as well get a MBP. The whole point of Thinkpads is that IBM/Lenovo & CO leave the design alone.
[dead] b0o
I've used dells (3 years), lenovos (3 years), acers(2 years), HP(2 years), msi(couple of months) and alienware(1 year)

Rating on price, durability, performance, size, quality I also recommend lenovos. I used The T61 for a couple years before until it died, and now I'm on the R400. Bought them used for cheap (~$300). Great laptop.

The others are either too expensive, not durable at all and performance issues. Lenovos have always stood out above the rest.

garand
I'm absolutely in love with my 2011 11" MBA. 1.8Ghz i7, 4 GB RAM, 256 SSD. The screen size is very conducive to focusing on one task at a time, periodically I will connect to a Thunderbolt display for added screen real estate.
kevinherron
My 4 year old 15" MacBook Pro is still working great; though I can't deny I'm yearning for something with more power at this point. If the rumors are true then next week I'll be able to lust after a new model.
kls
Yeah I am on the 17" MBP, the generation before the current one. I have 8GB of ram in it, and in the last year I have started to feel that it needs a little more. The virtuals I run are what is killing it. I am going to refresh with this update. It's been a good machine and I like it for development.
infinitone
Same, but i can't seem to wait any longer! When is it coming out!?
jdc0589
I'm on a ~5 year old macbook(black) running ubuntu 11.10/gnome3. With the exception of mine being one of the last 32-bit models they sold, I couldn't be much happier. Only other complaint is that it get SUPER hot, and the fan can be pretty loud.
bitwize
My current one -- a 2010 Lenovo ThinkPad T510. A high-end, rock-solid machine with an insanely durable battery (they claim up to 8 hours on a charge, realistically I can pull about 5 or 6). Compared to a MacBook, it looks like the Tumbler Batmobile from Batman Begins, but it was about $1000 cheaper than a similarly specced Mac at the time of purchase; the keyboard is much better (not full travel, but good tactile action and nice concavities on the top that make them feel like real keys); and it runs Linux absolutely beautifully.
agscala
Extremely tempted to pick up a T520 off of lenovo's outlet store. They're only $1100 for 1080p, 8gb ram, SSD, and a dedicated video card. Whoahhhh
jetti
You should do it! That is what I was given at work and will say it is better than any other laptop that I have ever used.
uptown
2011 MacBook Pro 15" w/ Vertex3 SSD.

Runs Mac software

Runs Windows software

Only downside is the heat, which they may address with the update coming next week. Aside from that, it's a phenomenal machine.

jasomill
Another vote for the 17" MacBook Pro (for mostly Windows development, no less), in particular, Sandy Bridge 17" with SSD (of course) and BTO matte display. For the home office, Apple's Thunderbolt "docking station"[1] is a convenient accessory.

[1] http://www.apple.com/displays/specs.html

tarekayna
Lenovo x220 is the best laptop I've developed on. My requirements were that it has to be very light yet solid.
bobwaycott
I am quite partial to my current 2012 15" MacBook Pro. Only Apple-supplied upgrades are the 2.5GHz i7 and the high-res screen.

Replaced default hard drive with Corsair Force3 SSD, purchased from Amazon (iirc).

Removed optical drive & placed default hard drive in its place with aftermarket drive bay kit.

Ignored Apple's RAM upgrade & bought 16GB RAM from third party (Apple only sells 8GB, even though 16GB is supported). Love the RAM.

It is a dream. Development has never felt better.

whichdan
I'm using the 2011 one, matte screen, Apple-installed 128gb SSD, and 8gb of RAM. It's the best laptop I've ever owned. I only wish I went for the 256gb SSD, despite the price.
fredsanford
2009 17" Macbook Pro would be the winner for me if not for the keyboard.

Second favorite is a 17" Dell XPS M1730. Great screen, decent keyboard but... Heavy as hell.

davesmylie
I'm currently using a 13" MBA. It's a little bit tight on ram (only 4gig) but it runs plenty fast for rails development.

The real joy for me is that the size and sturdiness of it means I dont think twice about throwing it into my bag before I bike off . . . anywhere. It's always with me so it gets a lot more use than older chunkier laptops that I've owned in the past.

VikingCoder
The best Laptop I ever used for development was one with a keyboard, monitor, trackpad, and internet connection.

I would VNC into my work machine (using a two-factor authentication), and do development on my work machine.

It had all of my work already saved on it, it could compile faster than any laptop of similar price, and if my laptop was stolen from me, I would not lose any of my work - and none of my intellectual property (trade secret, or otherwise) was compromised.

Every now and then, internet connectivity was an issue, and that sucked.

I can't imagine losing full control over my intellectual property, though, so that's a trade I was totally comfortable with.

It had a small SSD so it would boot quickly, because that's all it really needed to do.

brandoncordell
I have a 13" 2.4ghz c2d MacBook Pro with 8GB of ram and a 256gb solid state and a 15" 2.2ghz quad core i7 with 16gb of ram, soon to have 256gb SSD and 500gb 7200rpm storage drive.

Best laptops I've ever owned and developed on.