Suggestions For A Development Laptop/Notebook

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shauntir

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Hi Guys,

I would like some suggestions on some laptops/notebooks that I could use for development. It will be running Visual Studio 2012+, SQL Server and SSMS and many other IDEs and development tools. Possibly 1 VM as well.

The specifications have been narrowed down as much as possible to the following:
CPU: i5 or i7
Ram: 6GB - 8GB
HDD: 128 GB+ SSD if possible or at least a SSD used for cache
Display: any
Graphics: any, however, I am looking for something that won't cost too much - it's a dev machine, not a gaming one
OS: windows 8 pro if possible
Web cam: any good quality
Wireless, BT, USB etc
Comfy keyboard

I'm looking for a mid-upper range laptop. Nothing more than 10k. At the moment, this is what I have been looking at.

Let me know your suggestions and if you have used/use the laptop.
 
Hi there

My entire company uses Dell's and probably 90% of my friends companies also use Dell's for business purposes! So of course I'd suggest a Dell.

I also do development on a Laptop and I use the Dell Latitude E6530 with Windows 8 running on the I7 with 16Gb RAM

I also use the very good Dell docking Station which holds my external Screens, KB and mouse.

Dell also has very good warranties if anything happens to the Hardware. This is my 4th one this year... But mainly coz I play with the registry and stuff up the software very quickly... Hardware is solid!
 
I really cannot recommend that laptop, because of the small screen size (and probably resolution too), short warranty and low power CPU.

Unfortunately you'll have to settle for a mid range laptop if you only have a budget of R10k, because RAM is quite expensive, as well as long + next business day replacement warranties.

I'm doing Java software development mostly, but I also run VM's on a regular basis. My 2 year old desktop outperforms my colleagues' brand new laptop with about a factor of 3 in terms of compilation times, just because I have a SSD and they're stuck on a laptop HDD.

The next thing that makes a huge difference is having at least 2 screens with a resolution of 1920x1080 or higher each.
Lately we've been giving our developers laptop (Dell Inspiron) with docking stations and an additional 23" FHD monitor. The laptops are useful, because we often have to demo our stuff or be in meetings where we take notes, etc.

The "cheapest" Dell laptop that I'd consider is the Dell Vostro 3560 (i7 3632QM, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD + 32GB SSD, 15.6" FHD + 3yr warranty) @ ~R15k
... then you'd still want to get an additional monitor, mouse, more RAM, copy of Microsoft Office...
In my mind the extra R5k is well spent!

At the very least you should have a laptop with an i5/i7 Ivy Bridge/Haswell CPU, 8GB of RAM, a SSD and dual monitor setup.

My office PC is quite a beast (i7 860, 32GB RAM, 2TB HDD + 128GB SSD, Asus Xonar DX sound + 3 monitors), so I won't settle for a laptop that costs less than R25k if it has to replace my desktop...
 
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I have yet to purchase a dev notebook for under R10k that performs to my expectations.

Would not recommend an i5. Gen 3 i7 and 16Gb ram min.

Current dev notebook is an Alienware M17X-R4 and it rocks. Freaking good dev machine.

My environment is identical to yours.
 
Yup, like everyone else is suggesting - don't go for anything less than an i7, especially if you're planning on running all those services plus a VM. The brand doesn't particularly matter, so long as they have good support in your area - you'll most likely want a warranty with that machine :)
 
I think you'll get lots of bargains in a years time. The new Haswell laptops are coming out with much higher resolutions, much thinner and lighter and multiple times longer battery life making the older ones look outdated in comparison.

For example the new Haswell Dell XPS15 has a resolution of 3200 by 1800, up to 13 hours battery life and comes standard with SSD. Will start at $1500 USD meaning it will cost an arm and a leg in SA.
 
nfbs said:
I think you'll get lots of bargains in a years time. The new Haswell laptops are coming out with much higher resolutions, much thinner and lighter and multiple times longer battery life making the older ones look outdated in comparison.

For example the new Haswell Dell XPS15 has a resolution of 3200 by 1800, up to 13 hours battery life and comes standard with SSD. Will start at $1500 USD meaning it will cost an arm and a leg in SA.
Click to expand...

The new XPS 15 is on my list. Been dying to replace my previous one with the Haswell version.
Will be selling my Alienware to fund the purchase me thinks.
 
I do all that dev on VS2012/SQL Server 2012 on this, and i'm quite satisfied and happy with the performance:

http://www.incredible.co.za/product/85254/samsung-ativ-book-4-notebook/


Of course i only paid R8k at Makro for pretty much the same model. So shop around, there's a ton of different Samsung versions on the market with similar specs and different pricing. All i can say, those specs has been sufficient for my development purposes and the dedicated graphics opens up some gaming options.

Also as someone mentioned, don't go for a 13-14" ultrabook if you're gonna dev, unless you plan to plug it into bigger monitors all the time. A 15.6" is imho the minimum, working with VS/SQL Server and all the dev tools on a tiny screen is a PITA.

Samsung ATIV Book 4 Notebook R9 999.99

Operating System
Windows 8 Single Language 64-bit

CPU
Intel Core i5 3320M @ 2.60GHz
Ivy Bridge 22nm Technology

RAM
8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 798MHz (11-11-11-28)

Motherboard
SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. NP470R5E-X01ZA (SOCKET 0)

Graphics
Generic PnP Monitor (1366x768@60Hz)
Intel HD Graphics 4000 (Samsung)
2048MB ATI AMD Radeon HD 8750M (Samsung)

Hard Drives
932GB Seagate ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB (SATA)
Click to expand...
 
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Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

My home dev machine has a dual monitor setup and was also looking to go dual screen with the laptop. The home machine also has a 128GB SSD. The CPU (dual core) + RAM (4 GB) is low but works for now.

I'm definitely going to shop around and also see if I can up my budget (read save) for a bit and then have a re-look. I'd rather fork up at least 15k for a decent laptop that would at least keep me going for a few years.

After having used an SSD, I don't think I can go back to the usual...
 
There is a second hand quad core i7 e6530 for sale on newshost for R8k. Its the top of the range 1080p one that goes for like R20k. Still has 2 years Dell warranty as well.
 
Hi again,

I've been "saving" but not nearly enough for what I am looking at.

The Asus G75VX seems like a good value for money: http://www.wootware.co.za/asus-g75vx-gaming-series-intel-core-i7-3630qm-2-4ghz-16gb-ddr3-750gb-ssh-750gb-hdd-17-3-fhd-1920x1080-nvidia-geforcegtx670mx-3gb-ddr5-windows-8-pro-64-bit-notebook.html

Though, for about 3k more, the Gigabyte P25K seems like a beast (for me): http://www.laptopdirect.co.za/Gigabyte-P25W-i7-4700QM-128-lp-82486.php

The difference between the 2 (asus and gigabyte respectively) is the processor (3rd gen? vs 4th) and hybrid ssd vs a "real" ssd.

Ram settings are also different. So the question is, are the extras on the P25K worth it? I just want to ensure that the hybrid ssd isn't going to slow me down. R 3k is a lot of money, for me at least.
 
The 4th gen Intel CPU's (Haswell) are more efficient, meaning for the same performance the battery should last longer.

SSH (Solid State Hybrid) are only slightly better than HDD's.
Just get one with a 256GB SSD or larger. The other alternative is to get a 128GB mSATA SSD so that you still have a HDD for extra data - which is what they did with that Gigabyte P25K.

Ideally you'd want to go with like Dell, due to their excellent 3yr next business day warranty!
For development you don't need such beefy graphics cards.
 
I'd love to get the full and accurate specs of that Toshiba L50 i7 laptop! I also wonder if you can extend the warranty, because I really hate 1yr warranties, especially on laptops costing more than R5k.
 
Mike Smit said:
I have yet to purchase a dev notebook for under R10k that performs to my expectations.

Would not recommend an i5. Gen 3 i7 and 16Gb ram min.

Current dev notebook is an Alienware M17X-R4 and it rocks. Freaking good dev machine.

My environment is identical to yours.
Click to expand...

At your own expense? O_o
 
nfbs said:
I think you'll get lots of bargains in a years time. The new Haswell laptops are coming out with much higher resolutions, much thinner and lighter and multiple times longer battery life making the older ones look outdated in comparison.

For example the new Haswell Dell XPS15 has a resolution of 3200 by 1800, up to 13 hours battery life and comes standard with SSD. Will start at $1500 USD meaning it will cost an arm and a leg in SA.
Click to expand...

Yeah that XPS runs between R21500 to R28500

shauntir said:
Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

My home dev machine has a dual monitor setup and was also looking to go dual screen with the laptop. The home machine also has a 128GB SSD. The CPU (dual core) + RAM (4 GB) is low but works for now.

I'm definitely going to shop around and also see if I can up my budget (read save) for a bit and then have a re-look. I'd rather fork up at least 15k for a decent laptop that would at least keep me going for a few years.

After having used an SSD, I don't think I can go back to the usual...
Click to expand...

Why dont you have a look at the Dell INSPIRON 7537 TOUCH, its a small power house and runs around R14K.
 
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