Last Updated on: 15th November 2022, 11:46 am
As a programmer, it might be quite overwhelming to select the best laptop for programming. A programmer is working simultaneously coding every day in one or two languages and needs a good workstation to work on. Writing code is a very lengthy and tiring process, so you need a machine that is fast and efficient and loads and runs your programs as fast as possible. Having your code run fast gives you your results instantly and helps you have more time to polish your program. There is an extreme saturation of good and bad laptops in the market and THEY ARE NOT CHEAP! A programmer does not start making money before selling a program and to make that program he needs to have a trusty computer to write code, so he needs to invest his money in an efficient laptop.
For all the program developers, we have compiled a list of 8 tested and trusted laptops that will be a good spend for you. Languages like CSS, C/C++, Java, and HTML run as smoothly as you can imagine. A good processor, fast reading hard drive, and sufficient RAM is the perfect recipe for a fast and productive programming computer. Fast working makes it easy for a programmer to think and instantly improve the program. The laptops we have picked can also handle system-intensive programming like graphical web development and gaming too making them the best laptop for web development and gaming too.
You have come to the right place to find the best laptop for computer programming, our choices are selected primarily due to their efficient performances and build quality that provides a comfortable experience making it easier for a programmer to develop a program.
Buying Guide
1. Processing Speed:
Processing speed depends on the efficiency of your CPU. A modern generation CPU with the most cores will execute and run your written code in no time. The best CPUs to look for are Intel’s i5 and i7 processors.
2. RAM:
RAM is responsible for loading all your tasks and keeping them working smoothly with no problem. Large amounts of RAM help programmers to write long codes with no crashes and inferences, making the process easy for them. (Recommended: 16 GBs of DDR4 RAM).
3. Hard Drive:
A hard drive stores all the data and files that are being used by the programmer to write the programs. An SSD (Solid State Drive) reads through the stored files much faster than an HDD which loads your programming tools faster, increases the coding speed, and makes the process more efficient. (Recommend: 512 GBs of SDD hard drive).
4. Keyboard and Screen:
As weird as it sounds, a keyboard and screen enhance the whole experience of programming. Programmer needs a responsive and tactile keyboard so they can type in commands fast. One should also buy a laptop that has a dedicated Numpad. A laptop’s screen also needs to be big enough so all the typed-in code is easy to read and doesn’t put a strain on your eyes. (Recommend: 13-inches+ screen with a resolution of 1920×1080 pixels or higher).
5. Battery:
You do not need to be finding an electrical socket every hour or two to juice up your laptop. Programming is system-intensive work, so the laptop must have a reliable and long-lasting battery so you can work easily. (Recommend: Battery should give 10+ hours of screen on time).
6. Graphic Processing:
If you aspire to do program coding that involves graphic intensive web development and game development then you should make sure to have a laptop with a good GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), this will make sure all those graphics load easily and do not put extra pressure on the CPU alone. (NVIDIA or AMD GPUs with at least 4GBs of graphic RAM).
Best Programming Laptops – At A Glance
- Dell Inspiron 17 – Best laptop for college engineering students
- Apple MacBook Pro – Best macbook pro for students
- ASUS VivoBook F412DA – Programmers choice
- Lenovo ThinkPad P1 – Best laptop for professionals
- Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 – Windows laptop for window’s programming
Price Comparison
Let’s dive in to check what we got for you
Top Picks
Dell XPS 15
Display: 15.6-inch
Processor: Intel Core i7
RAM: 16 GB
Storage: 1 TB SSD
Apple MacBook Pro
Display: 15-inch
Processor: MAC OS X
RAM: 16 GB
Storage: 256 GB SSD
ASUS VivoBook F412DA
Display: 14-Inch
Processor: AMD R Series
RAM: 8 GB
Storage: 256 GB SSD
Best Laptop for Programming Product Reviews & FAQs
1. Dell Inspiron 17
Dell is offering this huge 17.3-inch screen laptop, giving its users a display where they can view everything. Its resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels is perfect for day-to-day use. For programmers, it would be great to use too as the big screen will help them view their coding in the bigger text due to its big screen size. Other than the screen, the processing power of this laptop is great too. Its 10th gen i5 processor, 16 GBs of RAM, and a sufficient 512 GB of SSD storage make it the perfect laptop for any programmer. You can code in Java, HTML, C++, and Python and it would not even struggle to process the written code.
The i5 processor is more than capable to perform code compiling tasks due to its increased number of cores and threads that give it more processing power than its previous generations. It has Intel’s UHD Graphics card which is not as powerful as GPUs offered by NVIDIA and AMD so it might struggle to operate graphics-focused programs. Game development won’t be smooth on it either as this laptop lacks in handling graphics-intensive tasks efficiently. Overall, this laptop is a good investment if you are a programmer that does not write codes for game development.
2. Apple MacBook Pro
Apple’s MacBook Pro is made for professionals. It features Apple’s proprietary Magic Keyboards which comes with scissor mechanism technology that makes the keyboard very responsive. The more responsive the keyboard will be the more efficient it will be for a programmer. As Apple’s MacBook runs on OSX you can get access to almost any programming language you need to code into. If you find any problems with OSX you can dual-boot into Windows OS anytime on a MacBook Pro without any problem.
Apple Retina Display also makes the screen very pleasant to view, the bright colors and sharp image production make the code text appear more properly helping the programmer to understand it easily. Also, its processing power consists of a 10th gen i5 processor and 8GB of RAM which is a standard for a programmer who needs to code any software. The GPU used in this laptop is Intel Iris Plus Graphics which can handle minor graphics-intensive tasks but will suffer in performance if graphic-intensive coding is processed through it.
3. ASUS VivoBook F412DA
When it comes to buying a budget option, a 14-inch VivoBook F412DA by ASUS is the best option for you. Build for multi-role activities like programming, entertainment, photo, and video editing. Its charismatic slim-fit design gives you the ultimate portability on the go. The near-to-none slim display bezel offers you maximum screen size if you love to work on big screens. Its hinge-based design elevates the backlit Chiclet Keyboard for optimum typing capability.
Talking about the specs, it comes with a 14-inch Full HD wide-view anti-glare display that has a 1920 x 1080 pixels screen resolution that offers a decent space to write your programming codes. For maximum productivity, it holds a 2.0GHz AMD Ryzen 5-3500U processor for maximum productivity. An 8GB of DDR4 RAM allows you to better multitasking. Never worry about the space for big files to save on because it comes with 256GB of SATA SSD. To help you run seamless graphics-related tasks, the VivoBook programming laptop is loaded with an integrated AMD Radeon Vega 8 graphics card that is capable enough to make things done. For the security of your device and other data, it has a Fingerprint Reader that provides ultimate security.
4. Lenovo ThinkPad P1
Lenovo’s ThinkPad workstations are known for their lightweight and tough build quality. Also, one thing that they are most famous in the tech world for is their super responsive keyboards. As a programmer, you are going to love the tactile feedback of this laptop. It will make you want to type as your fingers are the pistons of an F17 Racer car. Moreover, this laptop comes equipped with NVIDIA Quadro T1000, the perfect GPU to handle all your graphic-intensive code compilations. When you are developing a graphics-focused website, this dedicated GPU will make the compiling easy and quick.
Equipped with an i7 (9th-gen) processor and a hefty 32GB of DDR4 RAM you are in for a smooth and flawless performance. A 1TB SSD hard drive will also make sure that the system boots up in no time and that all the programming tools are loaded in a single tap. Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 2 is a powerful workstation for an experienced programmer who knows his way around writing codes for system-intensive programs and needs to work on them as smoothly as possible. Anyone who invests in a Lenovo ThinkPad workstation would not regret their decision as with these flagship specifications one could only think of how much can they push their system’s potential. Without any doubt, it is the best Lenovo laptop for programming.
5. Microsoft Surface Laptop 3
Who can do Windows better than its creator which is MICROSOFT? With its surface series, Microsoft has claimed that it cannot only excel in the field of software but also in the field of hardware. For programmers, Microsoft Surface 3 with a 13.5-inches screen is the best budget laptop for programming. Yes, it is not very inexpensive but when compared to all other competent options this still has a lower price tag. It comes with the latest generation i7 processor, making it a laptop with very powerful processing that is capable of handling and compiling complex programming languages.
Moreover, it also includes Intel’s Iris Plus Graphics for its GPU needs. This GPU is not strong as an NVIDIA Quadro T1000 but it can still carry out some graphics-intensive tasks and web development codes with ease. Other languages like C++, Java, and HTML are very easy to compile on this i7-powered machine. Its 512GB solid-state drive also gives it that extra need for speed and helps load files quickly. Boot-up times are significantly less and all coding tools are available in an instant. Anyone who is looking for a good vanilla experience of Microsoft to use for programming will be more than satisfied with the performance provided by the Microsoft Surface 3.
FAQs
1. What laptop do programmers use?
Most programmers who are starting do not usually have top-of-the-line flagship laptops to work on. As students, one usually does not have an excellent budget to afford an excellent budget so they usually go for a mid-ranged laptop or a refurbished one with some outdated specs, unless you have rich parents who can get you your dream laptop workstation.
Programming can be done on a laptop with an Intel Core duo 2 processor, 4 GBs of RAM, and a 64 or 128 GB HDD hard drive but the processing speed will be slow and the code might take some hours to process and run. The screen might be smaller than 13-inches showing the code in small letters and the keyboard might not give satisfying tactile feedback making it uncomfortable for the programmer to use the laptop, but when you are on a budget you have to work with what you have.
When a programmer gets going and starts earning a good amount, they should manage to build a budget that can get them access to a good-quality laptop. An investment in a good laptop might feel uncomfortable at first but in the long run, the fast processing speeds, a good screen to look at, and a good battery will enhance the programmer’s work skills and make one more productive than they ever were.
2. Do you need a good laptop for coding?
Coding will be efficiently done on a computer that has fast processing speed, a tactile and comfortable keyboard, and a good quality screen to look at. Your laptop is your primary machine on which you can develop your programs if you do not own a PC. A good laptop means that your coding will be done more efficiently. An efficient work system helps you to work faster, make changes to your program easily, and complete developing more and more programs rapidly.
A programmer wants to write code and process it as fast as possible because it takes time to think and write the correct code. It can also be a long process and a programmer might have to look at the screen for longer periods, so if they have a big enough screen to look at comfortably this will enhance their work experience.
However, it is possible to do coding on a less powerful processor but large storage is required to store large numbers of corresponding data to the program that is being written. So, a good laptop is needed for efficient coding, but if you are on a budget you might have to keep on coding on a low-spec computer.
3. What specs do I need for programming?
If you have asked this question to yourself and want an answer, you have come to the right place. Most programming can be done by having a powerful processor, a good amount of RAM and a fast reading hard drive like an SSD. But if you focus on graphic intensive programming like web development and gaming then you also have to look for a dedicated graphic processor too. Everything is keenly discussed in the above buying guide.
4. Which processor is best for programming?
Whether you are finding the best laptop for programming or the best laptop for gaming, you should know that the CPU is the most important part to run a computer smoothly. To have an efficient work system that runs your programming tools with no hassle you should always opt for the latest generation processor because they have the most cores and threads that can handle the task with much ease.
Processors built by Intel and AMD are widely trusted due to their excellent build quality and their universal compatibility with major operating systems like Windows and Apple’s OSX.
If you are interested in buying a laptop with Intel’s processor you should go for i5 or i7 processors which are of 8th and above generations. Previous generation processors will work fine too but their performance might be not as good as the newer generations.
Looking for an AMD processor? Go for Ryzen 5 5600X or Ryzen 9 5950X. There are also some other variants available in these series and they are good too for programming and also for gaming. At the end of the day, you have to choose which package fits right with your need and framework.
5. Which laptop is best for Python programming?
Python is a general-purpose programming language that can understand the English language which makes it easier for programmers to give commands and write code much faster. Python is used for web development, developing video games, mobile programming, operating software, and much more. Python can be used to write programs ranging from the very simplest of levels to the most complex codes ever written, making it extremely versatile. Hence, if you want to buy a laptop that can handle Python extremely well, we will advise you to get a laptop that has excellent processing performance, a good amount of SSD hard drive, sufficient Ram, and impressive build quality.
For Python programming, we would recommend you buy Dell XPS 15 9500. It is the best laptop for web development, and computer programming, and has the power to run any powerful game that you love to play. It is most certainly not the best budget laptop for programming but considering that it houses an impressive 10th-gen i7 processor, a UHD+ 4K 15.6-inch screen, and an in-built NVIDIA GTX 1650 Ti with 4GBs of graphic RAM, the money spent on it will give you complete satisfaction.
The Final Verdict
Why and which is the best laptop you should buy for Programming?
Choosing and buying a laptop is a stressful decision on its own. Anyone who has ever delved into the market knows how saturated it has become. There are new offerings every year with more and more enhanced specifications. If you have read this review we hope that we have helped you understand what laptops are good for programmers and if you do not like any laptops shown here you must have developed the knowledge about what specifications should you be looking for in a future laptop, just make sure to decide what are your needs and what are your preferences when buying a laptop and you will be good to go.
GOOD LUCK FOR LAPTOP HUNTING!
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