
Ask HN: Which dev laptop to buy? - hcoura
I was planning on switching my work laptop sometime around next year, which could change a bit the landscape(macbook pro keyboard...), but I have an opportunity to get one right now from the US which makes things much cheaper for me, so I wanted some input.<p>Currently I own a 15&quot; Dell (don&#x27;t remember the version). I really like the 15&quot; display, seems much better for my work (I usually don&#x27;t use a external monitor) than 13&quot;, it has a decent keyboard (I love that it has a numpad) a decent trackpad and display. The display is touchscreen which makes it gather much more dust than usually and I have never used it. I have had trouble getting linux to work well with it&#x27;s trackpad sometimes and shutting down, hibernation, suspension has also been troublesome. This is the only laptop I have used for heavy development duty.<p>I was considering getting a mac this time around for the OS, due to working well out of the box and been UNIX. I am not a guy that really likes configuring things too much, I rather have a good experience out of the box and be able to do small adjustments when needed. But recent keyboard issues + touchbar has gotten me a bit afraid of it.<p>Ideally I am looking for:<p>- Display: 15&quot; Without touch<p>- Video Card: Nvidia (CUDA)<p>- Great Keyboard with numpad<p>- Webcam in the right position (Dell XPS camera on the bottom seems weird to me)<p>- OS X<p>- Good Battery<p>- Great trackpad (I rarely use mouse whilst working)<p>- Powerful enough for 5 years<p>- Good cooling system (My current Dell has the air intake on the bottom, needless to say it doesn&#x27;t work greatly)<p>I hope you could share some of yours experience with the recent versions of top development laptops.
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frnkshin
What I have is a Lenovo T480s, running GNU/Linux.

I don't do anything fancy, some web dev, and some other dev that I do for
hobby (nothing like running a game engine heavy).

It's got the following specs:

\- 14 inches, 1440P with IPS panel

\- Intel iGPU

\- GREAT keyboard and no numpad

\- webcam in the right position (which I rarely use)

\- no OS X (although you /could/ probably run Hackintosh which I wouldn't
recommend)

\- I would like it to be powerful enough for 5 years

\- Great cooling system in my opinion (< 60 deg C under decent load)

If OS X is a must, you should probably get a native MBP.

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andrei_says_
Do you have a need/solution for running the adobe suite on linux?

It’s the only thing that prevents me from switching away from macOS.

Mack’s is the only os with support for these and an acceptable privacy
attitude.

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curiousgal
Dual boot with Windows or a VM running Windows.

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natch
One idea is an old refurbished pre-bad-keyboard MBP, direct from Apple in
their refurb store. I think you have to go back to 2015 or so... you should do
your own verification of this date first.

I realize this is not ideal. It’s just an idea to throw into the mix.

Personally waiting for the keyboards to be fixed. Hope Apple doesn’t keep us
waiting too long for this.

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thijsvandien
The 2015 model can still be bought new as well, but not with dedicated
graphics. That would’ve been AMD/ATi anyway, though.

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itronitron
I'm a long-time Windows user, full-time Linux at work, and over the past year
have been trying, at home, to get into the swing of using a Mac. I mention
this because I am about to ditch the whole Mac OS endeavor because the key
bindings are just different enough to be a bother. Now that Windows supports
Linux dev tooling I recommend sticking with Windows, and I've been looking at
the Dell Inspiron Gaming and G series laptops for a development laptop.

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paxpelus
I bought recently a 3rd generation lenovo x1 carbon from ebay and I am really
happy with all the mobility provided. The battery lasts for more than 6-7
hours, it weighs around 1.2kg and the keyboard is perfect. The 14 inch monitor
is more than enough. I switched from a 17 inch Dell and I am not missing it at
all. I bought this for 500 euros including shipping.

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pmullins
The late 2016 and on MacBook Pro uses AMD's Radeon chip set. If you want a Mac
you'll have to go for something earlier than that. On the PC front, you might
want to check out the Lenovo ThinkPad T580. It has a 15" display, full-size
keyboard, and an NVIDIA chip set.

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akudha
I'm also looking for a new laptop to replace my 7 year old Air, this time I'm
thinking of going for a Linux machine like system 76.

I'd also prefer something that is powerful enough for 5 years at least

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kevinherron
Maybe I won the keyboard lottery (or maybe the problem is overblown), but my
2016 MBP with TB has been flawless.

At this point I'd probably wait for the 2018 refresh, though. September maybe?

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tonyedgecombe
_or maybe the problem is overblown_

I read an article recently that said the failure rate is twice as high as with
previous keyboards. It is clearly something that needs fixing but I can't help
feeling there are a handful of noisy complainers blowing it out of proportion.

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throw_this_one
Lenovo Yoga 730 15"

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nik736
Mi Book Pro

