Recommendations as too which laptop i should get as a replacement for my current desktop

June 10, 2006 4:09 AM

I need recommendations as too which laptop i should get as a replacement for my current desktop. For a web developer, mostly coding and doing a little graphic work.

I’m looking at ditching my desktop pc and getting a laptop so I can work at home at weekends. My office isn’t very far away from my house ( 1 mile ) and the laptop will only be with me at work or at home so weight / size isn’t an issue.

My work is predominantly web development ( .net / asp and some php on win xp ) and a little web graphic work using fireworks. I wont be doing any 3d work and im not too bothered about being able to run games.

So my question is for about $3000 ( £1600 ) or less what would be a good replacement for my desktop so im not compromising my work speed ?

My requirements / concerns are :

- Would a 15.4” widescreen be too small height wise to scroll through code or should I get a 17”
- Speed wise it would be need to be equivalent of my current desktop ( a entry level P4 with 1 gig of ram )
- I want the cpu to be a core duo

Having researched for the past few days the choice is staggering but I consistently see good reviews for acer, asus, sony and apple ( although im not sure with bootcamp / winxp that .net framework would function fully )

Any suggestions recommendation or points you feel I may have missed would be much appreciated.

posted by toocan to computers & internet (15 comments total)

That's an awfully big budget for a non-gaming laptop.

Seriously, just wait until a week where Dell has a free upgrade that you like, find the most ridiculous coupon you can (right now I'm spotting $750 off on $1999 or more on Inspirons), and pimp it the fuck out. Make sure you get the ultra-high-res screen with the True Life option - the True Life displays are staggeringly good. Puts my $600 20" LCD to shame.

I managed to get $850 off a base-price $1900 Inspiron E1505 (the 15.4" one) that can play most modern games (FarCry but not Doom). That's with the 256MB ATI videocard, Core Duo, 1GB DDR, 7200RPM HDD, and dual-layer burner. It is fucking gorgeous.

The only real reason not to buy Dells is durability, which is a non-factor if you're just doing a one-mile home/work commute. For $8 you can get the actual Windows CD for the system and use that to wipe it clean, which I find to be a better option than uninstalling all of Dell's crap.

Alternatives: grab something from IBM/Lenovo's thinkpad line - the T43 my wife has is pretty good. Or you could gussy up a MacBook Pro 17" and actually blow that entire budget.
posted by Ryvar at 4:45 AM on June 10, 2006

One other thing: if you do go for the Dell and want to do some gaming, bear in mind that ATI doesn't due much in the way of supporting their mobile chipsets, and Dell's drivers lag behind as far as any gamer is concerned, so get thee hence to the Omega drivers.
posted by Ryvar at 4:48 AM on June 10, 2006

Would a 15.4” widescreen be too small height wise to scroll through code or should I get a 17”

I've coded with the 15.4" widescreen (light Win32 stuff) but I wouldn't want to do so fulltime.
posted by Ryvar at 4:53 AM on June 10, 2006

Get a Macbook or a Macbook pro. Widescreen, amazing performance for the price. The Macbook (not the pro) is really the best value for a Core Duo. (The better gfx on the pro isn't worth the extra price, I think.) Go and play with one at an Apple store or (maybe) your local Best Buy: they're very sleek. I have two core duo machines, one with 2 gb RAM and the other with 1 gb, and they're both crazy fast. And unlike with Macs in the past I don't feel slightly abused by the pricing.

Here's a take on the issue with the snarky comments providing an alternate view.

Macs that run Windows /run Windows/. I got a MB because I need to run Windows for exams in law school. There is nothing a Mac running Windows can't do that another PC running Windows can't do (provided you run Input Remapper, which just makes all the keys work the way you'd expect). I mean, the hardware is the same. You will have to bring your own Windows, though.
posted by yesno at 5:04 AM on June 10, 2006

I'd second the MBP suggestion (even though I don't have one myself). The ability to triple boot Linux/Windows/MacOSX is a luxury that most web-developers would crave. Your budget is perfect for some of the higher end models, you'll just have to worry about OS licensing with Windows.
posted by purephase at 7:58 AM on June 10, 2006

Merely summarizing what came before, but:

If you're looking to replace your desktop with a Win XP laptop with adequate performance for web & simple graphics design work, you're budgeting *way* more money than you need to.

If ensuring cross-platform compatibility of your web design is important to you, however, a multi-OS capable MacBook Pro *may* be your best choice, though such a machine will be much more expensive than a Dell with equivalent capabilities.
posted by The Confessor at 8:17 AM on June 10, 2006

The .NET framework will definitely run under BootCamp. I've asked around regarding running IIS/.NET under Parallels and haven't gotten an answer, but I have no reason to think it wouldn't work. I develop in C# currently, and my next laptop is going to be a MBP.

The Macbook (not the pro) is really the best value for a Core Duo.

Yeah, but the screen tops out at 13". Get the low-end MBP and juice it up with more RAM and a bigger HD.
posted by mkultra at 8:34 AM on June 10, 2006

I'll toss my opinion in the MB/MBP ring. I've owned two Dells and one Mac (Powerbook) and don't forsee ever going back. FWIW, I do web application development in Rails.
posted by BioCSnerd at 9:09 AM on June 10, 2006

How about a MB, and spend the extra money of your $3000 budget on a nice big monitor for home?
posted by gramcracker at 9:22 AM on June 10, 2006

Yes, tiny laptop with 20+ inch screen via DVI is the only way to go. With your budget, you can afford a screen both for home and for work.
posted by Ptrin at 9:55 AM on June 10, 2006

I bought a "laptop" with a 17" screen a year ago for software development work. Not only was the machine far too heavy to transport anywhere, but the screen's native resolution (1920x1200) is eye-bleedingly tiny. Adding a 24" panel made it into a decent tiny desktop. I later bought a 13" widescreen notebook for travel coding.

Previously, I had a 15" powerbook. That was great for coding, with or without the external 22" flat panel I later bought.

For a web developer, I'd suggest either a S-series sony, a 20" external monitor, and a MacMini, or a MacBook, a 20" monitor and a SFF PC. You really need to have access to both platforms, and should be able to for $3k. You might be able to get two notebooks, but it seems like you need to spend $1500 - $2000 to get a PC of similar quality to a $1k mac.
posted by b1tr0t at 10:55 AM on June 10, 2006

I do web, video, everything on a 15" mac laptop. Sometimes I wish for more screen. If I didn't haul it around I'd go for the", but iy's just tooooo big to take everywhere.
posted by cccorlew at 1:16 PM on June 10, 2006

I'll also endorse the tiny laptop with big screen. My blackintosh cost me $1500 even, after tax, with educational discount. 2gb of ram is $230. The MB will drive an external monitor up to 1920x1200 pixels, which is the resolution of the 24" Dell panel that everyone seems to like. Those can be had for about $800. So 1500 + 230 + 800 = $2530. You'll have $500 left over to get one of those slick armatures ($200-300 for a model '7500' radial arm) for the panel so you can swing it out of the way when you take the laptop with. You'll still have room in the budget for miscellaneous crap or perhaps even a 7200rpm hard drive upgrade. You'll save a bundle on the MB over the MBP and get most of the power along with a nicer, more portable form factor. You'll have the best of both worlds. A big-screen dual monitor setup at home and a highly portable little machine to take on the road.
posted by iloveit at 1:24 PM on June 10, 2006

thanks for all the feedback i think i will go to the apple store and check out a mbp, its between a mbp and a dell i think. one thing im not sure about is the WUXGA, WUXGA etc. terminology could anyone explain the differences
posted by toocan at 3:47 AM on June 11, 2006

I have to add the following:

* Dell is not known for durability. I've been fragile with mine, with good computing results. However, it's been scratched enough just from being inside a shoulder bag such that its resale value has been considerably reduced. Stupid cheap plastic. (D'oh!)

* You do not want a laptop with a large screen. And you do not want to do coding with a tiny screen. I went with a 15.4" inch widescreen display on my Inspiron 8600, which means it's a beast to carry but it gives me a better screen experience than my 17" ViewSonic monitor on my home computer. If it were smaller, I'd be lacking screen space, but if it were larger I'd be struggling to read, and I'd never want to carry it anywhere.

* $3000 is a nice amount to spend on a laptop. Maybe too much. If you're getting a Dell, you should be able get everything you need for $2k and under (sans docking station). I like the suggestions for getting a small but fast laptop + DVI connection + big LCD for use at home, if you're looking to junk any prior equipment. $3k should cover that. I went a different route because I have a home computer that I want to keep using for a few more years: I bought a laptop nearly equal to my home computer in specs, with a large enough LCD screen that I'd want to use both equally. (They're sitting side by side right now, both powered and cooperating nicely.)

* If you don't need a laptop, $3k is enough to construct an impressive server at home.

* $3k is not nearly enough to invest in a Mac system, though. (Sure, it buys you a new Intel Powerbook if/when they're available. Oh, wait, you have to buy your software licenses again for the Mac platform too? Whoops!) I'd say $4-5k is a comfortable budget for going Mac. And I'm saying that professional-to-professional, because if I knew you were a casual user at home, I'd suggest a 12" MacBook over any other computer, and this conversation would be over.
posted by brianvan at 8:49 AM on June 11, 2006