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Laptop for computer science/programming.

DotoreN

I'm starting my study in a couple of months, "Software Engineering".

 

For programming i'm looking for atleast 8gb ram, i5 or i7 and since i'll be traveling with it everyday maybe 13 inch.. but i'm not sure whether 13 inch works fine, as i'm used to 15.6 so i'd like some advice.

 

I'm currently looking at the lenovo Y50, Dell XPS13 2015, Asus N550jk's or thinkpads. The Dell XPS 13 caught my attention, but since it has an 11inch body with a 13inch screen, I have the feeling it's a bit too small to work on.

 

This also looks like a nice ultrabook: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/338457-laptop-for-computer-scienceprogramming/?p=4626828

 

 

I'm also not yet sure if it's better to go for a 1TB HDD + 8gb ssd cache or just a 256GB SSD for programming.

 

- Do you think I should go for 13 inch or 15 inch for programming (does 13 inch work fine or is it too small?)

 

Furthermore should I take anything else in consideration as i'll be primarily using it for programming (java, sql, python, php etcetc)

 

 

I'd like some suggestions or recommendations from you guys.

 

Thanks in advance.

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i do have the same problem: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/338392-laptop-for-university/

but since your programming i would go for a thinkpad because of the keyboard. when you go to the lenovo website you can configer them yourself which is quite awesome

Desktop Build Log http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/486571-custom-wooden-case-with-lighting/#entry6529892

thinkpad l450, i5-5200u, 8gb ram, 1080p ips, 250gb samsung ssd, fingerprint reader, 72wh battery <3, mx master, motorola lapdock as secound screen

Please quote if you want me to respond and marking as solved is always appreciated.

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Lenovo make brilliant laptops, backed by IBM also just make sure to reinstall windows so you get rid of that superphish thing, I like the look of the Flex 2 but the screen is only 14"

Dell are also rather good now XPS is brilliant but their insperon series do well also.

Depending on your scale do not look too much into specs, unless you are building massive projects specs do not matter to much.

Me personally I would get something i5 /w 8GB RAM and a 13" screen for portability just because of student life needing portability, just hook up to a monitor for your major big needs.

I use a 15" Asus X552EA (A4 5000 1.5Ghz Quad, 8GB RAM, 120GB SSD) and I do fine my desktop is used for anything big although I am not good enough with programming to build projects big enough to need my desktops processor power.

What does an Transformer get? Life insurance or car insurance? - Russell Howard - Standup (Made me giggle a bit)

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i do have the same problem: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/338392-laptop-for-university/

but since your programming i would go for a thinkpad because of the keyboard. when you go to the lenovo website you can configer them yourself which is quite awesome

 

What thinkpad do you recommend?

 

And what is the difference between a notebook, ultrabook or thinkpad?

 

I've got a budget of around 1000 euro give or take, and if I buy a thinkpad I want a lot of bang for my buck haha/

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well i am lookin on the e550 cause its got a numpad but you can only get a 128gb ssd so im going to put put it there myself.

a smaller alternative is the l450. you can get it with a huge 72wh battery ,256gb ssd, 1080p ips screen, i5-5200u and 8gb single or dual channel ram for 850€

most of the other ones start at like 1200€ if you want decent specs. if you want a gpu i think thinkpad isnt for you

Desktop Build Log http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/486571-custom-wooden-case-with-lighting/#entry6529892

thinkpad l450, i5-5200u, 8gb ram, 1080p ips, 250gb samsung ssd, fingerprint reader, 72wh battery <3, mx master, motorola lapdock as secound screen

Please quote if you want me to respond and marking as solved is always appreciated.

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well i am lookin on the e550 cause its got a numpad but you can only get a 128gb ssd so im going to put put it there myself.

a smaller alternative is the l450. you can get it with a huge 72wh battery ,256gb ssd, 1080p ips screen, i5-5200u and 8gb single or dual channel ram for 850€

most of the other ones start at like 1200€ if you want decent specs. if you want a gpu i think thinkpad isnt for you

 

What do you recommend for a laptop used for computer science / programming / coding; SSD, Hybrid or HDD?

 

256 SSD sounds nice and i've got the money for it, but doesn't it wear down after a lot of writing as i'll be using it daily?

 

I'm planning on using this laptop for atleast 4years..

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What do you recommend for a laptop used for computer science / programming / coding; SSD, Hybrid or HDD?

 

256 SSD sounds nice and i've got the money for it, but doesn't it wear down after a lot of writing as i'll be using it daily?

 

I'm planning on using this laptop for atleast 4years..

well i would definitely go for a ssd. they make the whole operating system faster and especially for programming they are awesome because you perform a big number of small tasks. most ssd's are rated for hundrets of terabytes of writing, also they are more durable. so especially on a laptop i think they would even last longer.

well capacity. when you just put your work on this laptop your fine with 128gb

Desktop Build Log http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/486571-custom-wooden-case-with-lighting/#entry6529892

thinkpad l450, i5-5200u, 8gb ram, 1080p ips, 250gb samsung ssd, fingerprint reader, 72wh battery <3, mx master, motorola lapdock as secound screen

Please quote if you want me to respond and marking as solved is always appreciated.

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What do you recommend for a laptop used for computer science / programming / coding; SSD, Hybrid or HDD?

 

256 SSD sounds nice and i've got the money for it, but doesn't it wear down after a lot of writing as i'll be using it daily?

 

I'm planning on using this laptop for atleast 4years..

A 256GB SSD will be enough space for programming and SSDs are very durable nowadays so you don't need to worry about them failing for the life of the laptop.

CPU: AMD FX-6300 4GHz @ 1.3 volts | CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO | RAM: 8GB DDR3

Motherboard: Gigabyte 970A-DS3P | GPU: EVGA GTX 960 SSC | SSD: 250GB Samsung 850 EVO

HDD: 1TB WD Caviar Green | Case: Fractal Design Core 2500 | OS: Windows 10 Home

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dell xps 13 2015 would fit in your budget. and it has a damn nice screen

Desktop Build Log http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/486571-custom-wooden-case-with-lighting/#entry6529892

thinkpad l450, i5-5200u, 8gb ram, 1080p ips, 250gb samsung ssd, fingerprint reader, 72wh battery <3, mx master, motorola lapdock as secound screen

Please quote if you want me to respond and marking as solved is always appreciated.

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sager or clevo or eurocom 

would be the choice for me

If you need remote help fixing something on your computer

I can help over Teamviewer if you wish

just msg me on my profile

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dell xps 13 2015 would fit in your budget. and it has a damn nice screen

 

The body is only 11inch tho.. I have the feeling it doesn't work that great, as it's so small.

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The body is only 11inch tho.. I have the feeling it doesn't work that great, as it's so small.

thinkpad l450?

Desktop Build Log http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/486571-custom-wooden-case-with-lighting/#entry6529892

thinkpad l450, i5-5200u, 8gb ram, 1080p ips, 250gb samsung ssd, fingerprint reader, 72wh battery <3, mx master, motorola lapdock as secound screen

Please quote if you want me to respond and marking as solved is always appreciated.

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thinkpad l450?

 

Doesn't have SSD neither 8gb ram.. 

 

Asus 303LN and Dell XPS 13 are on my mind atm.. but still not sure :(

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Doesn't have SSD neither 8gb ram.. 

 

Asus 303LN and Dell XPS 13 are on my mind atm.. but still not sure :(

when you go to the lenovo website, laptops & ultrabooks, thinkpad notebooks, l series, l450 and then to the cheapest one you can configure it yourself!

Desktop Build Log http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/486571-custom-wooden-case-with-lighting/#entry6529892

thinkpad l450, i5-5200u, 8gb ram, 1080p ips, 250gb samsung ssd, fingerprint reader, 72wh battery <3, mx master, motorola lapdock as secound screen

Please quote if you want me to respond and marking as solved is always appreciated.

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when you go to the lenovo website, laptops & ultrabooks, thinkpad notebooks, l series, l450 and then to the cheapest one you can configure it yourself!

 

http://shop.lenovo.com/nl/nl/laptops/lenovo/y-series/y50/?sb=:000001D4:0004631A:

 

Not SSD tho... what's your opinion?

 

Most of the thinkpads have HD i4/5000 graphics, are they any good?

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my advice put the money down on what you KNOW will  satisfy your needs, if your able to dont go cheap, reliability also includes a computer that is not going to get damaged from accidentally dropping it.

 

for instance I am  working to get my assocites degree in network administration (probably will transfer later on) I decided to spend the money on a thinkpad yoga and other the having been really expensive I dont regret the purchase, because its a light and rugged enough to be able to tolerate being dropped, and with an ssd there is no fear of loosing a harddrive,

Desktop:ryzen 5 3600 | MSI b45m bazooka | EVGA 650w Icoolermaster masterbox nr400 |16 gb ddr4  corsiar lpx| Gigabyte Aorus GTX 1070ti |500GB SSD+2TB SSHD, 2tb seagate barracuda [OS/games/mass storage] | HpZR240w 1440p led logitech g502 proteus spectrum| Coolermaster quick fire pro cherry mx  brown |

 

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http://shop.lenovo.com/nl/nl/laptops/lenovo/y-series/y50/?sb=:000001D4:0004631A:

 

Not SSD tho... what's your opinion?

 

Most of the thinkpads have HD i4/5000 graphics, are they any good?

http://shop.lenovo.com/nl/nl/laptops/thinkpad/l-series/l450/

if your going with the i5 on this one its enough to play minecraft and lol. but its not a gaming laptop

Desktop Build Log http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/486571-custom-wooden-case-with-lighting/#entry6529892

thinkpad l450, i5-5200u, 8gb ram, 1080p ips, 250gb samsung ssd, fingerprint reader, 72wh battery <3, mx master, motorola lapdock as secound screen

Please quote if you want me to respond and marking as solved is always appreciated.

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http://shop.lenovo.com/nl/nl/laptops/thinkpad/l-series/l450/

if your going with the i5 on this one its enough to play minecraft and lol. but its not a gaming laptop

 

http://www.asus.com/ca-en/Notebooks_Ultrabooks/ASUS_ZENBOOK_UX303LN/specifications/

 

What's your opinion on this one? 8gb ram, 256gb ssd, i5 or i7 and a dedicated GPU, 1920x1080, 3x USB 3.0 & is ultrabook of only ~1-2kg..  almost too good to be true right? oh yea around about 1000euro too.

 

or the Lenovo flex pro 2 or Lenovo pro 2

 

What do you recommend?

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http://www.asus.com/ca-en/Notebooks_Ultrabooks/ASUS_ZENBOOK_UX303LN/specifications/

 

What's your opinion on this one? 8gb ram, 256gb ssd, i5 or i7 and a dedicated GPU, 1920x1080, 3x USB 3.0 & is ultrabook of only ~1-2kg..  almost too good to be true right? oh yea around about 1000euro too.

 

or the Lenovo flex pro 2 or Lenovo pro 2

 

What do you recommend?

well these are 4th gen cpus. this means little less performance, higher power consumption and quite big differences in graphics performance. me personally the only dealbreaker is the power consumption cause im gonna travel with the thing.

 

i dont know if your on vessel but linus just reviewed the new thinkpad x1 carbon. there you can see the difference to other laptops

 

to the lenovo flex pro 2. it has really nice price for performance but i didnt found a way to configure it your own and didnt found a word on if your able to change the hard drive. also i really want the thinkpad keyboard :D

Desktop Build Log http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/486571-custom-wooden-case-with-lighting/#entry6529892

thinkpad l450, i5-5200u, 8gb ram, 1080p ips, 250gb samsung ssd, fingerprint reader, 72wh battery <3, mx master, motorola lapdock as secound screen

Please quote if you want me to respond and marking as solved is always appreciated.

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I'm a student in high school right now, and (for me) the 15-inch laptop I have is too large for school use. I would definitely prefer an XPS 13 over the 15-inch HP laptop I have right now due to form factor and battery life. A 13-inch laptop is fine for school, even if it is fit into the chassis of an 11-inch laptop.

CPU: AMD FX-6300 4GHz @ 1.3 volts | CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO | RAM: 8GB DDR3

Motherboard: Gigabyte 970A-DS3P | GPU: EVGA GTX 960 SSC | SSD: 250GB Samsung 850 EVO

HDD: 1TB WD Caviar Green | Case: Fractal Design Core 2500 | OS: Windows 10 Home

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well these are 4th gen cpus. this means little less performance, higher power consumption and quite big differences in graphics performance. me personally the only dealbreaker is the power consumption cause im gonna travel with the thing.

 

i dont know if your on vessel but linus just reviewed the new thinkpad x1 carbon. there you can see the difference to other laptops

 

to the lenovo flex pro 2. it has really nice price for performance but i didnt found a way to configure it your own and didnt found a word on if your able to change the hard drive. also i really want the thinkpad keyboard :D

 

I can't find the review in vessel, where did you see it?

 

I can't seem to find a thinkpad that has 256gb ssd, 8gb ram and is 13 or 14inch (1080p) either, do you?

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XPS 13 would definitely be good choice as said.

 

I'm used to a 15inch laptop, and suddenly switching over to an 13inch screen with a 11inch keyboard/body... idk.

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i dont know if your on vessel but linus just reviewed the new thinkpad x1 carbon. there you can see the difference to other laptops

 

1400euro... for the 4gb ram 128gb ssd version... that's overpriced dude.

 

I want 8gb and 256gb, but then you'll be at like 1800euro for that laptop.. I think the Asus LN is then a better option.

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