Ask HN: Tips for a work laptop

2 points by GmeSalazar 10 years ago | 6 comments

I'm soon going to buy a new work laptop; it'd be great to get some tips from you guys.

The main usage will be work/study; its hardware should be well supported by Linux (some BSD would be great).

Basic specs I have in mind:

* >= 8GiB RAM

* <= 250GiB SSD

* Processor?

* No dedicated video card

* WiFi and Ethernet cards

* No card reader

* No bluetooth

* Battery >= 3-4 hours

* >= 15 inches screen

This is basically it. My current machine is a 2012/2013 Dell Inspiron 15R, 8GiB RAM, 3rd gen i7.

EDIT: I should also add that I can't spend much more than ~ $1K

nherment 10 years ago |

I was in the same boat as you with some differences:

* 16GB RAM

* ~ 13 inches screen (super portable)

* no Apple (I use to be a big apple user, I wanted something different)

For a work computer, price was not a factor given what we bill daily.

2 series came up: * Thinkpad X * Dell XPS

I ended up with a HiDPI 14 inch X1 Carbon running Debian+XFCE. I can't fault the hardware.

In terms of Software though, linux's user interfaces (tried more than XFCE) are not on par with OSX but I'm still very happy.

The Thinkpad are built like tanks and look pro. That settled my choice.

The Dell XPS seem to have really great reviews from users as well.

GmeSalazar 10 years ago | |

Hey, I was looking at system76.com. They seem to have some cool machines and their price is good. I will look into thinkpads; they seem to be programmers common choice.

nherment 10 years ago | |

ah apologies, just saw your edit. Look at previous generation laptops with replaceable parts & easy maintenance ?

swah 10 years ago |

A random data point; https://twitter.com/martin_cohen/status/724925754530738177

Personally: Currently I don't own a laptop, I have a desktop instead, since I wanted to play games and, very sincerely, I don't work that well outside my controlled environment. I'd just use the laptop to surf and that I can do on a cellphone.

I'm also very fond of external monitor, mouse and keyboard. The most interesting laptop for me would be one that plugged easy in and out of a dock.

That said, 95%+ of the folks here will recommend a modern Apple notebook, due to its excellent battery life, build quality, operating system and good resale value.

cjbprime 10 years ago |

Dell XPS 15 or ThinkPad T560, perhaps refurb to save money.

GmeSalazar 10 years ago |

Does anyone have anything to say about system76.com?