Laptop for software dev

FingerDeKat

Hi all,
looking for a laptop in the region of 1000€ or less. Just been using desktops for years so completely out of the loop.


Don't mind buying online or in BM stores.


Thanks in advance

Alanstrainor

You need to tell us more. What apps are you looking at running? Does this mean you'll need extra RAM? What about storage?

Also, you need to consider what size of laptop you want. Larger might be better for development, purely for screen real estate. But it all depends on your use to be honest. I have a Macbook Pro 13 that is perfect for dev.

rosmoke

Had 13" Macbook pro and it was perfect, changed to 15" one a few years ago, I recommend both.

FingerDeKat

Sorry should of provided more info


Developing with Node/Angular/Express.js +mongoDb
Java/Android dev


RAM/Storage size+ screen are the most important.


Windows as well(for steam )


@rosmoke...used a mac desk for a few years and fecking despise the macOS:P

Bellview

I use a Dell precision with 15 inch. Great performance but will cost more than 1000..depending on how you are set up you might be able to finance and claim vat

8gb ram is the standard these days in laptops.
you usually have to pay a farily hefty premium for 16gb as the majority of laptops (outside gaming ones) come with only 1 ram slot these days (and some are soldered and so not upgradable) and a 1x16gb ram stick is fairly expensive.

imo 13.3 or 14 is a perfectly fine screen size for working on. most 15.6 laptops are a good bit heavier (except for the lg gram 15 which will be over your budget).

I'd recommend the dell 7000 13 - the model with 16gb ram has the latest i7 4-core cpu chip
all the good stuff like full metal build
full hd good quality screen
16gb ddr4 ram
i7
256 ssd
fast charging battery tech
backlit keyboard
weighs only 1.4kg

https://www.dell.com/en-ie/shop/laptops/inspiron-13-7000-laptop/spd/inspiron-13-7370-laptop

use code happy10 in the checkout to get a further 10% discount to 899 delivered (until sep 5)
can't see you getting a better laptop in this part of the world for the price tbh

the huawei matebook x pro is probably better but don't know about availability in Europe and more expensive.

just another point about steam and games - you'd really need a laptop with dedicated graphics card to be running any recent games.

you'd be looking for a laptop with the nvidia mx 150 card which is a reasonable performer. will run a lot of games at 1080p 30 frames a second (some lighter ones like overwatch at 60) or pretty much most games at 900p or 720p resolution at 60 frames

this 14 inch laptop has it but has 8gb (soldered I think) ram

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-SF314-52G-59DZ-Ultrabook-14-Inch-Notebook/dp/B078KHQDNG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535739197&sr=8-1&keywords=acer+swift+3+mx150

can't really advise on how much ram you'd need for programming but unless you're running a lot of vm's concurrently and/or acessing large databases or graphic intensive game programming I imagine that 8gb would be fine for most things.

https://laptopunderbudget.com/best-laptops-for-programming/

FingerDeKat

Thanks Glasso...giving serious thought to that inspiron(512g SDD with 16 gig RAM)...believe it or not the last laptop I had was an inspiron as well and was impressed with that.


Regarding steam...I have a beast of a gaming pc at home so was more of a throw away thought and will probably try some of the games that are low spec....if they don't play well it's no biggy.

FingerDeKat

FingerDeKat wrote: »

Thanks Glasso...giving serious thought to that inspiron(512g SDD with 16 gig RAM)...believe it or not the last laptop I had was an inspiron as well and was impressed with that.


Regarding steam...I have a beast of a gaming pc at home so was more of a throw away thought and will probably try some of the games that are low spec....if they don't play well it's no biggy.

you can run games that are well optimized for windows e.g. gta v on a decent intel cpu with integrated gpu but most games would need a dedicated gpu.

that dell is a nice machine - a nice solid build that will last and has the slim bezels on the screen similar to the dell xps for a lot less money.
slight weak point on battery life i think but once you're not going to need over 5hrs intensive usage off power much you'll be fine (prob 6 hours on battery saver mode)

FingerDeKat

Thanks Glasso went and ordered the 512gig SSD + 16 gig RAM version.


Power wise I would hope to normally be near a powerpoint.

I'll let you know what I think when I have it in the flesh

Alanstrainor

FingerDeKat wrote: »

Thanks Glasso went and ordered the 512gig SSD + 16 gig RAM version.


Power wise I would hope to normally be near a powerpoint.

I'll let you know what I think when I have it in the flesh

Nice one. Great machine.

FingerDeKat

and to be honest for an extra 100 euro for an extra 8gig Ram and the doubling of the SSD was a no brainer.

FingerDeKat

FingerDeKat wrote: »

and to be honest for an extra 100 euro for an extra 8gig Ram and the doubling of the SSD was a no brainer.

let us know what your impressions are when you get it

FingerDeKat

glasso wrote: »

let us know what your impressions are when you get it

Could be a while..its shipping from China :pac::pac: