Ask HN: Is this Dell laptop good for beginner programming? If no, what else? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Is this Dell laptop good for beginner programming? If no, what else?

1 pointamts9 comments

I would like to indulge into programming, and want a laptop with at least 8 Gb RAM and backlit keyboard. Plus preferentially 4 processor cores and hard enough (and easy to dismantle) casing.

I already have a cheap HP 250 G6, which computationally works decently, but has a cooler fan replaced (with 3 mo of warranty) and some plastic fixing the display bezel screws broken. I don't know if I won't break it even more upon repair/attaching glue (the probability of which is ~20-10%).

There's some review of a similar Dell laptop here [1]. I want to run at least Python, C/C++, machine learning, Blender and other CADs, data analysis on this laptop. The Dell Vostro 3510 (Core i5-1135G7/8GB/256GB SSD/15.6" FHD/Intel UHD/Cam & Mic/WLAN + BT/ US Backlit Kb/3 Cell/Ubuntu) with 4cores/8 threads, 2.40GHz, 4.20 GHz max seems decent. It has Ubuntu preinstalled and I do not want to pay for Windows, which I will eventually erase for Linux. But it seems to have a feeble casing, though on the Dell website for this laptop Dell writes that it has a hard plastic.

My budget is around 500 euros, 400 would be ideal. But for 400 there is a similar Lenovo laptop with DOS and some metal casing at the local store (eastern EU), which has only a 1 year warranty vs 3 years for Dell. On laptop media there's also information that Asus Expertbook series has a fortified casing, but all ASUS'es here come with Windows.

Is this Dell laptop decent for beginners to start long programming sessions? Or what else can you recommend?

[1] https://laptopmedia.com/review/dell-vostro-15-3510/

Is this Lenovo thnkpad E15 gen2 (AMD) [1] decent for programming and business? The only hindrance is that it is unclear whether it has a backlit keyboard, but I googled and it seems that it can be at least possible to replace a keyboard to the backlit [2]

I used to think that the more warranty time is provided by the manufacturer, the better, as 3y for Dell. The local seller just told that the less is the warranty time, the more high quality is the product, as they're sort of so sure of it's quality. And this Thinkpad E15 has 1y of warranty. It is not T or X series, but it has 15.6" display etc, is this series ok?

[1] [link redacted]

[2] https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkPad-11e-Windows-13-E-and-E...

If you don’t care about bulk or age of the device, look at used older Thinkpads. There’s a reason why they are popular with hackers of all stripes. Good durability, good Linux support.

If you want something more recent, I advise looking into ex-corporate laptops. Those are usually built to last.

T and X series Thinkpads have served me really well.

Good quality build, replaceable parts and cheap as chips when buying used corporate machines.

The cheapest local supplier offers used Lenovo Thinkpads X series with 2y warranty, but they have 12 inch display. It seems too small. And other Lenovo thinkpads with 15.6" display are L570 or Yoga series. And they all come with i5 2 processor cores only (and windows preinstalled). There's an option [1] Lenovo thinkpad E15 gen2 with AMD 4 cores, and the supplier told it is a better option than Dell in terms of durability.

[1] https://psref.lenovo.com/syspool/Sys/PDF/ThinkPad/ThinkPad_E...

The Dell Latitude is a competitor to the Thinkpad T, X series corporate grade laptops. Vostro is a small, medium business grade laptop according to Wikipedia. I recommend getting a Thinkpad with Open and Free bios applied already from the ex-corpo market. Ebay used to list them as cheap as two digit dollars followed by the decimal point.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dell_Latitude

So that review specifically says that it is a dud. It looks like it overheats and has poor quality components such as a 720p screen which flickers under stress.

As selfhoster11 says, you should probably look at used Thinkpads. 10th Gen i5 with 8 GB is £300, that should give you change to upgrade the memory if you want more.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/385232912177

For flicker etc they offer some "Health Guard", but with totally zero description and features. I use Iris (iristech.co) free version with redshift for this.

This review seems solid, but the whole site seems to specialize on gaming laptops.

Maybe so, but I can't imagine trying to code on a 720p screen. There are just too many compromises when you don't need to take them.

A T14 or T15 with 1080p display would be my minimum. T14 being my personal favourite size, so I will be biased.

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