

Ask HN: Developer laptop under $2000? - ashishb

Ask HN: Developer laptop under $2000?<p>Hardware Requirements: Intel 4th Gen core i7, 128&#x2F;256 SSD, at least 8 gb of ram with an option to upgrade to 16, Min Resolution 1920 x 1080, Screen size 14-16 inch, Touchscreen preferably no, OS Linux(Ubuntu), laptop should be almost as sleek as Mac Book Pro.<p>The latest Ask HN post on developer laptops is dated now[0]. As of now the haswell processor coupled with Intel HD 5000+ looks like the way to go.<p>Options I have looked at<p>1. Samsung 9 series 15&quot; (some model) - price is too high (and some models have &lt;2 Ghz processor)<p>2. ASUS 15&quot; Zenbook UX51z - everything awesome except looks shit expensive and ASUS is not that big a brand, so, I am uncertain about this [4]<p>3. Razor Blade - expensive and 14&quot; [3]<p>4. System76 Gazelle Pro: Tried it but did not like the build quality and battery life (everything else including customer care was superb)[1]<p>5. Lenovo S531: Release date unknown (for months now)<p>[0] https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=6090406<p>[1] https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.system76.com&#x2F;laptops&#x2F;model&#x2F;gazp9<p>[2] http:&#x2F;&#x2F;shop.lenovo.com&#x2F;gb&#x2F;en&#x2F;laptops&#x2F;thinkpad&#x2F;s-series&#x2F;s531&#x2F;#techspecs<p>[3] http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.razerzone.com&#x2F;store&#x2F;razer-blade-pro<p>[4] http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.bestbuy.com&#x2F;site&#x2F;asus-zenbook-15-6-laptop-8gb-memory-256gb-solid-state-drive-256gb-solid-state-drive-aluminum-silver-gray&#x2F;9559966.p
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bigiain
Aren't you basically describing a current 15" MacBookPro? You can't do a post-
purchase ram upgrade on it - but it hits both your price-point and your list
of hardware requirements otherwise, including the ability to run Ubuntu either
dual boot or in a VM (and you _can_ up spec to 16G ram at purchase, for
+$200).

(Which doesn't help if you're avoiding Apple products for moral, ideological,
or fashion reasons…)

~~~
ashishb
I tried dual boot and that was not the best experience also, with 16G RAM, Mac
book ends ups with way more than $2000.

~~~
bigiain
Fair enough.

I'm pretty happy with Ubuntu and ARCH VMs running in Vagrant/VirtualBox under
MacOS X - but I'm mostly doing webdev, embedded Linux
(ARM/RaspberryPi/Olimex), and Arduino/ATMEL microcontroller stuff – so I'm not
exactly taxing my older Apple hardware...

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elclanrs
I would definitely go with ASUS Zenbook. I have the 13.3 Zenbook (i5, 4gb,
1080p) and I can code very comfortably on it. The IPS screen is great and even
better once calibrated. It's very sleek too, solid aluminum build. ASUS is a
big brand, Zenbooks are popular for their nice quality/price ratio.

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macco
Did you think about the XPS 13. It comes with Ubuntu preinstalled. It ist only
13 inch, but has a 14 inch display

[http://rockiger.com/en/default/index](http://rockiger.com/en/default/index)

