Are you a web developer? Server-side that needs to work on highload, or just client-side JS? Are you developing games and need to test your builds on a good enough GPU? Or may be you're working with ML? Do you need x86, or would you be comfortable with arm?
Do you work in your office, or travel to customers a lot? Do you develop iOS or MacOS apps, do you need to run Windows (or just prefer Visual Studio), or are you comfortable with one of Linux distributions? Or, may be, you could live on Android?
What's your 'budget'? Is it $200, $500 or $1500?
There's no such thing as an average "programmer".
There is nothing wrong with used 3-4 years old machines. Processor power hasn't increased much. Just check the screen resolution, and factor in the extra cost if you need to add memory and swap the ssd disk.
The 440 series from 3 years ago didn't have physically separate mouse buttons on the touchpad (you just press down or tap at the corner areas of the touchpad), which some people found annoying.
Insecure: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/security-failings-demonstrate-a...
Some fry your lap: https://www.google.com/search?q=lenovo+hot
None of the listed issues were applicable for the laptops that OP recommended
T5x0 - for a 15" Laptop
X2x0 - for 12" Laptops ( avoid the X2x0s)
W520, w530, P50, P51 - Desktop replacements 15" size
For years, the Chinese government has owned a substantial portion of Lenovo (28% as of 2006[1]). It's no secret that the Chinese government attempts to hack US firms[2].
Although I have no direct evidence that the Chinese government has installed backdoors/monitoring/etc. into Lenovo laptop hardware, I think there is much circumstantial evidence to warrant serious concerns. So much so that the U.S. government is restricting access to Lenovo computers[3].
I'm at a place with Lenovo laptops that I was with Kaspersky anti-virus[4]. Although it might arguably be easier to install nefarious stuff into software, why take chances with your hardware?
[1] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4997288.stm [2] http://www.businessinsider.com/china-hackers-us-companies-gi... [3] http://freebeacon.com/national-security/military-warns-chine... [4] https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2017-09-14/con...
I did just put a new battery in it. Other than that it has been flawless, and I bet they are cheap now.
If there were a pro with an SDXC reader, headphone jack, bar, dedicated function keys, and 32 GB memory, I'd get that.
The main problem I have with the macbook/air/pro is the edge not being rounded and digging into my wrists.
The somewhat anemic processor can be a concern as well. It in indeed capable of editing movies, but any major conversion jobs can take a lunch break to complete.
We did some research and the Lenovo with i7 proc 8GB RAM (to be upgraded later to 16GB), with SSD (256GB) was under £600 (which was his budget). It comes with Windows 10.
So, take a look at Lenovo.
--- Tangential thoughts below ---
About 6 months ago I was given a Lenovo Thinkpad Ultrabook (i7, 20GB RAM) for a contract I was working on and was blown away by the performance compared to my MacBook Pro. I have been a Mac Fanboy for more than 10 years, but I find myself having a harder time to justify the premium on them. My personal MacBook Pro is very sluggish compared to the Ultrabook.
Couple of nice things about the Ultrabook. I can run a Linux VM (actually multiple at the same time) for "real work" and dive back into Windows for things that aren't so reliable on Linux (e.g. WebEx). Also ready for the "Linux on Windows" thing Microsoft are doing - which I hate to admit actually looks quite cool.
For my next personal dev laptop (next year) I will probably go for an i7 32GB Lenovo Thinkpad Ultrabook. I will probably leave Windows 10 on there. It really surprises me to say I probably won't by another MacBook Pro unless Apple get their finger out.
My laptop is a chromebook that I bought for a bit more than $100. I upgraded the memory to 8gb. It still has 16gb SSD. Run linux on it too and use SD card and google drive for storage.
I was looking for a really well built budget notebook, with good keyboard, good screen and good battery life, low noise emission, while willing to sacrifice performance. The Swift 3 fits the bill beautifully.
I got an i3, 4GB ram, 128GB ssd with 14 inch screen (basically the SF314-51-30W6). There are different configurations available, if you are looking for more cpu, gpu, ram, screen estate. I am not sure how they affect any of the points above though
Pros:
- Light and thin, perfect for carrying everyday.
- Decent battery life.
- 1080p IPS 13.3" screen, nice keyboard+touchpad.
- No fans, no noise.
Cons (or not, highly dependends on your use case):
- Keyboard is not backlit.
- Underpowered.
Basically, if you want a powerhouse laptop, this isn't it. But it does absolutely everything else wonderfully.
Will probably get an Thinkpad X240/X250 off work next. They can often be purchased second-hand on ebay with a few years of on-site warranty left. Upgradeable, excellent keyboards, Linux friendly, and built like tanks.
The clickpad has a ton of travel, and all of that travel is mushy. It sometimes doesn't even register clicks, and right-clicking is an exercise in frustration.
It was so bad I thought there was something defective about the version I had, so I had it replaced, and it was the same horrible experience.
I returned it and got a used (like new) Thinkpad X250 for under $450 and cannot be happier. Computer feels rock solid, great components. Installed Linux, all works smooth, my best laptop so far. (It's a small-screen portable laptop, try to check it out, and if you like bigger screens, you may consider other series of Thinkpad, maybe).
(Also, for me, getting used to the mouse buttons positioned above the touchpad took about one week or so.)
I love the form factor and overall feel. I really like the keyboard, though I don’t care for the trackpad.
My real issue with this laptop is the screen. It’s hard on my eyes to the point that I don’t use it. I’ve had the laptop for around a year now and have had at least 5 different Linux distros on it, I’ve calibrated the display, and nothing has helped.
I wish I had bought a Thinkpad.
A while back one seller was selling packs for 3 or 4 without HDDs/batteries for around 50USD each.
It's got 8g RAM, an upgraded 1TB SSD and 2.9 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU. That's more than enough power for most programmers, probably for another 3 years.
Only downside is it doesn't have a retina display, but that doesn't bother me too much.
Buy a refurbished or exhibition model, those are up to half-price for state of the art devices with no or minor damage.
Also, it might be helpful to know which local market you are on. In Germany I could point you to several stores.
- Windows based as I do mostly .Net
- =< £500
https://www.nbwn.de/ (happy customer)
https://www.heinzsoft-shop.de/ (happy customer)
If you are doing something that doesn't require a fast machine (I.e. server side web development), then a late 90's/early 2000's laptop will do. I currently cart around a '95 Toshiba satellite pro 440cdt to use in low security areas, with the HDD swapped for a 2gb CF card. Linux, vim, nginx, several backend stacks. I wouldn't care if it broke or was stolen (like anyone would) - I can get another for £20.
If you need a machine for client side dev, then something from '05-'10 would probably cut the mustard.
Put briefly, I work in a terminal all day. Sometimes locally, but oftentimes I ssh to a machine in the cloud.
Virtually any machine would work well for me. I do like nice machines still, but I would give up a lot just to have a nice keyboard.
To be clear I also have an MBP, but I usually use the junker. The MBP gets used for potatoshop and client side testing.
I also drive a '95 golf. Cost next to nothing to buy, parts laughably cheap. £500 for a convertible that goes like stink? Yes please. I could buy any car I wanted - but I prefer something cheap that I don't care too much about, that I can readily service myself.
Also, it's far more environmentally friendly to use old stuff 'til it dies than to buy new stuff.
Old doesn't mean bad - just old.
Guess we're soul-mates now.
Re: theft, encrypted CF card, selinux, good passwords etc., and I rsync home dir over ssh nightly when I'm using it.
For reference, here are the specs for the one I ordered:
- i7-7700HQ
- GTX 1060 (Max-Q version with slightly lower perf)
- 16GB 2400MHz DDR4 (expandable up to 32GB)
- 4K display ($150 upgrade from base)
- 128GB SSD + 1TB HDD
- Intel 8265 802.11ac WiFi (as opposed to the Killer crap that Dell uses on their XPS line)
- Thunderbolt 3 (with x4 PCIE lanes as opposed to x2 on their XPS lines)
For a fairly reasonable price of ~$1275 after tax, plus around $170 in the form of cashback from Dell's reward program (I plan on getting a monitor from them), with financing and 12 month deferred interest that's waived if paid in full by then. I believe the deal is still available for those who might be interested: https://slickdeals.net/f/10568756-new-inspiron-7000-gaming-1...
To be perfectly honest, the flashy gamer design and bulkiness were major turnoffs for me, especially compared to their much more compact and professional looking XPS line, but the much better specs/$ in the Inspiron and several crippling deficiencies in the XPS 15 (namely the Killer Wireless card and x2 lane Thunderbolt 3) made this win out in the end.
I'd have loved to get a more portable convertible tablet like the Surface Pro or Surface Book with comparable specs, but even if we don't consider the difference in dedicated graphics power, their lack of x4 lane Thunderbolt 3 removes the possibility of using desktop graphics, which was a deal breaker for me. Similar models from other manufacturers felt really lackluster compared to the Surface line, each for various different reasons.
So I ended up deciding to just get the most performant and cost-effective laptop I could find to last me a few more years until hopefully the convertibles market matures enough to remove all the compromises I've found unacceptable so far.
Build quality is the keyword, after a few years the plastics starts falling apart. Keyboard as well.
Cloud-only, low-end, severely limited dev (if on extreme budget): $179 currently: https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/samsung-chromebook...
non-Microsoft dev who doesn't like tinkering: $999+ https://www.apple.com/macbook-air/
Microsoft dev or tinkering Linux dev: $800+ XPS 13 still a good choice http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/cty/pdp/spd/xps-13-9360-lapto...
Security-focused dev: $1199+ Librem 13/15 https://puri.sm/
Or: buy refurbished, but don't skimp on specs.
That said, I'd get what you need and start there. Do you need macOS? That narrows your choices by a magnitude or so. I'd get a refurbished MacBook or MacBook Pro from the Apple Store Online. If you want a PC every suggestion has been made. It's only a matter of where you end up sourcing it from.
I wish there was no black boundary around the screen.
Chromebook https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Chromebook-Wi-Fi-11-6-Inch-Mo...
Secure Shell https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/secure-shell/pnhec...
DigitalOcean $5 droplet https://www.digitalocean.com/pricing/
Free GitHub account (swapped back and forth between bitbucket)
For editing, I just became really good at vim. Then, if I was feeling froggy:
https://c9.io/, the free tier if needed.
So in the end, there was the initial cost $212 for the lappy (it's really small and lightweight too, great lappy), then a $5 recurring charge for the droplet that I would tunnel and own projects from there.
If you do think this path will be advantages, just be careful, get a simple DNS (hover.com) record too, things change you might want to move to a different provider.
Total Upfront cost: $222 + $5 + $20 doe DNS. Then recurring monthly is $5. The recurring yearly $20 for DNS. The first Year you are looking at $55, not including the upfront cost. Then the second year and going forward you are $60/yr and $20/y
The super nice part of all of this. you can destroy your environment with a vengeance, then start up a new droplet and things will be back to normal
This lappy did its job and is retirement with the significant other doing bills and looking at Facebook. Somedays I still wonder if that lappy misses the days of writing code till late in the morning on the back and only having to run the charger cable once. I would like to think it does.
My personal note, stay out of the cool guy editors at first. Use a minimal setup until you know exactly what you will be working on.
Depending on how you're actually developing, it may be reasonable and workable to have a fairly basic laptop - large screen, pleasant-enough keyboard, minimal CPU, memory, and battery - and throw your money at a decent headless server sitting somewhere.
I haven't bought anything myself yet, but quality and price seem very interesting to me.
- Budget 1000 euros
- Work: Mostly front-end but also some Node/PHP/Java and IDEs
- Location : France
I had a T420s before. It sadly died falling from a window. They are quite sturdy laptops of professional grade.
EDIT: I'm talking about the Thinkpad brand
If you're into game dev, you'll need a Windows laptop. Macs are fine for web/app dev.
I got mine i5-7200/256G NVMe/16G DDR4/noOS for about 800€ nad i'm quite happy with it. It's light, uses modern components, has decent keyboard and it's not very expensive.