Programming laptop advice

Question

Hi everyone!
Can you give me few recommendations for best laptops for app/software development, since I don’t plan on buying a new 1-2 every years
Thanks 🙏

Answer 1

So it seems like the Dell XPS is about as good as the Mac(M1) depending on what year, the Dell has better ports it's performance with heavy loads and animations seems to be slightly better.
However, Mac has a better display. The Mac seems to also be more portable.
M2 is slightly better than m1 but it's not worth it. Only thing with macs is that they aren't good for hooking it up to projectors, monitors, etc. Navigating the software is a bit hard but Apple is improving it.
With the Dell, you can upgrade the RAM, it has higher FPS, SSD, more ports,(The Mac only has two) better CPU(considering your price and the cost of macs). The Dell's screen can also be brighter.
Last thing is battery. There seems to be some mixed reviews but the Dell has a bigger battery, but the mac has a larger potential output.
The Dell can heat up because the cooling system and fans get clogged up very fast so you will have to change or clean them frequently. Macs simply can become hot to the touch and the fans become more audible. However, the battery does not break down very quickly and the performance still remains consistent, if that's what you mean by overheat. The CPU can dial back a lot on the Mac so you may have to get that checked out yearly or semi yearly depending on your usage and the strain.
After that, you just need to take care of it!
The new m1 and m2 pro are coming out but they can cost like 3,000 with the newest updates and cores.
Hope that helped! Good luck!

Answer 2

Dell is pretty reliable. I bought an Inspiron in 2014 and it's still working - slow, due to having a HDD and not much RAM. I only had to replace the battery once.

Answer 3

Prefer SDD over HDD, to save quite a good time in loading and compiling stuff.
Also, fill up the RAM buses. Absolutely worth the money.

Answer 4

Mac is easy got to for your need, they are preety reliable.

(new M1 are fast)

Answer 5

I mean i've had my mac for 4 years now through coding and stuff and it hasnt broken, though be careful cuz Apple likes to make you buy new things instead of updating old things

Answer 6

Mostly Visual Studio, but also IntelliJ Idea, Android Studio, PyCharm, XCode…
So is there any specific you could recommend me with great keyboard, no or almost no overheat issues, enough ports, portable?

Answer 7

Thanks AquaNova! I was planning to buy something up to around $2000
And I have an old macbook pro 2014 but only 4GB of Ram and 128GB SSD
The thing is there might be a new mac comming out in 4-5 months
But I already go stuck into an unending loop since last year so I was looking for advices/help I waited for CPU Ryzen 7 5800H laptops to get cheaper and then they got even more expensive, and now I was thinking about i7-12700H but it consumes a lot of energy so batter doesn’t last long
I heard MacBook M2 isn’t better than M1 so perhaps I should try and get me MacBook M1 on Black Friday, although M2 Pro will be out soon but it doesn’t mind.
Plus Dell XPS 15 is a really good laptop but same price as Mac, tough decision to make

Answer 8

well im not sure of your budget but from my experience the macbook air does considerably well even with animation and stuff but the keyboard is just okay. Its pretty portable but depending the tho model of the macbook there might not be enough ports and plus itsexpesive so maybe not...
the microsoft surface is pretty portable and the keyboard is quite alright and you can use touch screen too so maybe but it can become hot to the touch when you do to much animation. it has some important ports but probably not the best if you are hooking it up to a bunch of stuff. Oh and it is cheap(er) than most other good laptops.
Dell laptops are (contrary to belief) pretty good if you get the more recent models and they last long and 7/10 keyboard, have most ports needed(maybe a few more than mac and others). Some models can be a bit bulky, but they do have some smaller models. graphics is good but not the best of the best unless you are paying good money but again, im not sure of your budget.