Apr 10, 2020 One of the few devices that scream luxury. It is a great laptop for programmers because it has probably the best keyboard on the market. It is pretty affordable as well, as it costs about $800. The laptop looks great and it will definitely get the job done. Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 Source: techradar.com. May 11, 2004 And I am talking about software development in.Net, VB, VC, ASP, XML, SQLServer, Oracle, Flash, etc. Does anyone know or may recommend the best brand of laptops for software development (model or line of product) with options? Thanks, Criveraf (This topic may benefit many buyers looking for the same.). Best Laptops For Game Development: Our Pick 1. Lenovo Legion Y720 Gaming Laptop View on Amazon. This Lenovo company product is good for anything, as far as computer software application game development and gaming activity is concerned. It comes with a rugged build that depicts its ideal use purpose- one way or the other. Sometimes new developers ask me, “So, what’s the best laptop for a programmer?” It’s an important question. As a “software crafts(wo)?man”, your computer isn’t just your tool belt - it’s your pickup truck, miter saw, lathe, awl, bulldozer - all rolled into one. You need a reliable and performant machine that empowers you while staying out of your way as much as possible.
- What Is Software Development
- Best Laptop For Software Development 2014 Teen
- Software Development Definition
I know that Scott Hanselman and Jeff Atwood have already done something similar.
Today, I’m bringing you the minimum specs that are required to do software development on a Windows Machine.
P.S.: If you are building your own desktop, I recommend PCPartPicker.
Processor
Recommendation
Intel: Intel Core i7-4790K
AMD: AMD FX-9590
Unless you use a lot of software that supports multi-threading, a simple 4 core here will work out for most needs.
Memory
Recommendation
Minimum 8GB. 16GB is better.
My minimum requirement here is 8GB. I run a database engine and Visual Studio. SQL Server can easily take 2Gb with some big queries. If you have extensions installed for Visual Studio, it will quickly raise to 1GB of usage per instance and finally… Chrome. With multiple extensions and multiple pages running… you will quickly reach 4GB.
So get 8GB as the bare minimum. If you are running Virtual Machines, get 16GB. It won’t be too much. There’s no such thing as too much RAM when doing software development.
Hard-drive
Recommendation
512 GB SSD drive
I can’t recommend enough an SSD. Most tools that you use on a development machine will require a lot of I/O. Especially random read. When a compiler starts and retrieve all your source code to compile, it will need to read from all those file. Same thing if you have tooling like ReSharper or CodeRush. I/O speed is crucial. This requirement is even more important on a laptop. Traditionally, PC maker put a 5200RPM HDD on a laptop to reduce power usage. However, 5200 RPM while doing development will be felt everywhere.
Get an SSD. Best pic editing software download.
If you need bigger storage (terabytes), you can always get a second hard-drive of the HDD type instead. Slower but capacities are also higher. On most laptop, you will need external storage for this hard drive so make sure it is USB3 compatible.
Graphic Card
Unless you do graphic rendering or are working with graphic tools that require a beast of a card… this is where you will put the less amount of money.
Make sure to get enough of them for your amount of monitors and that they can provide the right resolution/refresh rate.
Monitors
My minimum requirement nowadays is 22 inches. 4K is nice but is not part of the “minimum” requirement. I enjoy a 1920x1080 resolution. If you are buying them for someone else, make sure they can be rotated. Some developers like to have a vertical screen when reading code.
To Laptop or not to Laptop
Some company go Laptop for everyone. Personally, if the development machine never need to be taken out of the building, you can go desktop. You will save a bit on all the required accessories (docking port, wireless mouse, extra charger, etc.).
My personal scenario takes me to clients all over the city as well as doing presentations left and right. Laptop it is for me.
by Ayo Isaiah
Choosing the right laptop for programming can be a tough process.
It’s easy to get confused while researching the various options. There are many different laptop models out there, each with a different set of trade-offs.
You can write code on most laptops. Yet, your productivity will improve if you use a machine suited to the type of tasks that you perform.
There are different types of development, and various tools are required with each specialization. So, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to buying a development machine.
I made the following assumptions in this article:
- You are a web developer
- Your laptop is your primary development machine
Here are some considerations before purchasing your next laptop.
Mobility
Laptops come in all shapes and sizes. You need to figure out how portable you want your laptop to be.
If you do not need to carry your laptop around often, you might want to consider a 15-inch laptop. These will usually have better specs and more screen estate for multitasking.
If you work in different locations or travel a lot, a 13 or 14-inch laptop may be best for you. They are lighter and provide longer battery life.
Unless you’re buying a 2-in-1 laptop, a touchscreen does not provide enough benefits to justify the extra cost. I’d suggest you avoid the touchscreen.
Display
A laptop’s screen one of its most important features, especially for programmers. Developing applications involves staring at the screen for long periods. You need to pay close attention to the details.
Most budget laptops ship with a 1366 x 768 display, which I consider to be mediocre at best. The display doesn’t have enough screen estate for multitasking. Also, the text isn’t sharp enough for you to have a comfortable reading experience.
What Is Software Development
A 4k display is overkill for a laptop, especially when you consider the added costs and the battery drain that you will encounter.
Whatever you do, don’t buy a laptop with less than a Full HD 1920 x 1080 (1080p) display. If you have to pay a little extra to get 1080p, do it.
Also make sure the display has good viewing angles; your laptop’s screen should not double as a mirror!
Processing Power (CPU)
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Your laptop’s CPU has a huge influence on performance so you can’t afford to skimp on this one. There are many different types of processors with different specifications. Make sure to consider these specs. Some of the most important are cache size, number of cores, frequency, and thermal design power.
In general, a nice Intel core i5 or i7 processor with a frequency of 3GHz or more should suffice for most people.
Best Laptop For Software Development 2014 Teen
Memory (RAM)
I don’t think any serious programming can be done on a laptop with less than 4GB of RAM. My smallest RAM recommendation is 8GB. Even that is becoming barely enough with the advent of Electron apps, which love to consume large amounts of RAM. If you have extra cash lying around, invest in 16GB of RAM.
Storage type and capacity
Getting an SSD (Solid State Drive) should be near the top of your priorities. This will give you significant performance improvements over a standard hard drive. Every operation will be a lot faster with an SSD: including booting up the OS, compiling code, launching apps, and loading projects.
A 256GB SSD should be the baseline. If you have more money, a 512GB or 1TB SSD is better. If cost is a factor, opt for a smaller SSD, where your Operating System will live alongside your apps and frequently accessed documents (such as project files). Your remaining stuff, such as music or videos, can rest in a larger external hard drive.
Keyboard
You can’t afford to compromise on your laptop’s keyboard quality since it is what you’ll use to bang out code all day. I tend to go for laptops with a more compact keyboard layout.
The most important thing is to try out a laptop’s keyboard thoroughly before you buy. Make sure the keys are comfortable and easy to reach with good travel. A back-lit keyboard is useful if you intend to work in low-light conditions often.
Juice
Software Development Definition
Good battery life may not be all that important to you if you spend most of your time near a power outlet. Nonetheless, shoot for at least 6 hours of battery life.
Don’t rely on the expected battery life as stated by the manufacturer. Read third-party appraisals from reliable websites, and see what real users are saying about the product in forums and reviews.
Operating System
Your choice of operating system will determine which laptop to buy to a large extent. Windows users have lots of options but if you prefer macOS, you’re limited to one of the Macbook offerings.
Linux will run on most hardware but it is better to buy laptops which have official Linux support. Some vendors, such as Dell and System 76, provide top quality machines with Linux pre-installed. You might want to look into those first.
Otherwise, do your research to make sure the laptop you intend to buy plays well with your preferred Linux distributions.
Dedicated or Integrated Graphics?
A dedicated (also known as discrete) graphics card isn’t very important for coding purposes. Save money by going with an integrated graphics card. Invest the money you save in an SSD or a better processor which will provide more value for the money.
I’d love to know what factors you consider to be most important for a development machine and how it affects your work on a day to day basis.
If you enjoyed this article, please share with your developer friends and click the green “❤” heart below and so others can find it too. Thanks for reading