[BarNunBoi]

I have a question for all of you out there.....I was wondering who makes the best laptops for developing purposes? From what I have heard....Lenovo is the best......please state your opinion!

This post has been edited by BarNunBoi: 17 April 2012 - 02:18 PM

[Martyr2]

The laptop that has the most ram, fastest CPU and is slick looking so people think you are not just a programmer, but the best programmer!

I hear Lenovo is a good brand and I have always been partial to Toshibas. But that can vary even between the models. Just stay away from HP or any off name brand. Each brand has their "budget" line and then their "top of the line". As long as you stay out of the budget ones and be willing to actually spend money for a good laptop you can develop on them just fine.

It is all about...

1) Performance (so your code compiles quickly and runs fast)
2) Comfort (so when you are writing code at all ours of the night you are not in discomfort)
3) Quality (you want something that is built to last)
4) Reliability (you don't want something that craps out mid way through your presentations of the next Facebook you are going to develop)

[BarNunBoi]

Right on! I just wanted to ask someone else's opinion on the issue. In the past I have leaned heavily on Dell machines, but this go around I think I am going to buy a Lenovo laptop. I've been looking at alot of Lenovo's with i7 processors...with about 6gb of ram! I think purchasing a machine along these lines would suit me just fine! With that said, I have never had a Lenovo nor played with one. What about you Martyr? Have you had any experience with a Lenovo?

[Martyr2]

I have not had one personally, but all ratings for them appear to be really strong and when I go to buy my next one I will give them a look see myself.

But I suggest you go to your trusted electronics store, look for a couple you like looks wise/comfort wise/stats wise. Then go home and see what the customer reviews are on each and compare. It really depends on the model and the brand line.

[BarNunBoi]

Will do! Im going to Bestbuy this evening and see what I can find!

[Sergio Tapia]

Go to newegg.com, order by average customer reviews and at least 6GB ram AND bam you find the best one. :3

Expect to pay at least 1000$ for something decent.

[The Architect 2.0]

Martyr2, on 17 April 2012 - 03:28 PM, said:

Just stay away from HP or any off name brand.

I guess you're talking about the HP Pavilion series from the 08 era roughly? HP laptops are top-notch nowadays; they've really learned their lesson and their chassis are near perfect.

anyhow, onto the OP's question.

the best laptop is the one with the highest DPI that you can use. it's really that simple.

with that in mind, the Sony Vaio Z2 with its 1080p screen has no competition. unfortunately, it has no competition in terms of pricing either

This post has been edited by The Architect 2.0: 17 April 2012 - 04:29 PM

[tlhIn`toq]

Not all laptops support VT (virtualization technology).
So if you plan to use VMware or VirtualPC etc. you need to make sure you get one that does support it. I had to go into BIOS and turn it on: It seems to be off by default on most laptops.
But get it maxed out on memory if you want to run VM. If you only have 8gig of ram, 2.5-3 of that is for the host OS, leaving only about 5gig to the virtual machine.

I just got a brand spanking new laptop from work.

• HP ProBook 4730s.
  
• 17.2" screen
  
• i7-2630WM CPU
  
• Bluray burner (don't discount that if you make backup discs. 50gig backup capability is nice)
  
• VGA and HDMI for additional monitors. I've run it with a 24" external monitor rotated to portrait AND my iPad as an external monitor (AirDisplay app) at the same time.
  
• It does support VT - It will run a 64bit Virtual Machine
  
• It did not have USB3.0 onboard but I got a $19 express slot card for that to run my 3.0 WD Elements drive.
  
• Full size keyboard with numeric pad if that matters to you.
  
• Decent sounding speakers with SRS
  
• Nice brushed metal skin
  
• I'm doing about 3 hours to a charge with all the settings maxed out, never sleep, never dim, don't turn off drives, WiFi power to highest, while powering the external drive via USB.

Device mangler:

Spoiler

This post has been edited by tlhIn`toq: 17 April 2012 - 07:57 PM

[e_i_pi]

Main piece of advice I would give is get one with a solid state drive. They make a tonne of difference when developing.

[modi123_1]

Quote

Main piece of advice I would give is get one with a solid state drive. They make a tonne of difference when developing.

How's that figure?

[jon.kiparsky]

This one.





(Or were you talking about the computer? No idea there, sorry.)

[e_i_pi]

modi123_1, on 19 April 2012 - 12:52 AM, said:

Quote

Main piece of advice I would give is get one with a solid state drive. They make a tonne of difference when developing.

How's that figure?

Every SSD machine I've worked with has hammered, even when it's had similar specs to non-SSD machines. Perhaps it's just dumb luck that that's happened. I'll not defend any logic behind it - it just comes from experience.

[tlhIn`toq]

e_i_pi, on 18 April 2012 - 09:37 AM, said:

Every SSD machine I've worked with has hammered [...]

Without the slang... What does that mean? You used the laptop in place of a hammer? The laptop went out and got hammered (drunk)? The SSD failed?

[DarenR]

Our ssd machines at work compile and run everything much faster than our non ssd systems.

I own a asus and a toshiba and I find the asus to run VS better.

[Sergio Tapia]

tlhIn`toq, on 18 April 2012 - 11:45 AM, said:

e_i_pi, on 18 April 2012 - 09:37 AM, said:

Every SSD machine I've worked with has hammered [...]

Without the slang... What does that mean? You used the laptop in place of a hammer? The laptop went out and got hammered (drunk)? The SSD failed?

He means that the SSD drive performed much much faster than a typical hard drive.

I wish I could buy one, but they are ridiculously expensive here in Bolivia.

A regular 7300RPM 1TB drive: 110$
A SSD

tlhIn`toq, on 18 April 2012 - 11:45 AM, said:

e_i_pi, on 18 April 2012 - 09:37 AM, said:

Every SSD machine I've worked with has hammered [...]

Without the slang... What does that mean? You used the laptop in place of a hammer? The laptop went out and got hammered (drunk)? The SSD failed?

He means that the SSD drive performed much much faster than a typical hard drive.

I wish I could buy one, but they are ridiculously expensive here in Bolivia.

A regular 7300RPM 1TB drive: 110$
A SSD 40gb: 310$