Need recommendations, what's the laptop with the fastest CPU for around 400-500€?

[Skyyblaze]

So a friend of mine got into programming and would like a machine he can use to code and compile away from home which his budget being 500€ at most buying one in Germany. What's the best CPU you could get for that kind of money in a laptop, a Zen+ Ryzen quad-core or would these older Intel dual-cores still win here? I'm not sure how multi-threaded compiling can be.

 

Thanks in advance for any recommendations!

[genexis_x]

By fastest does it include sustained performance? Or short burst?

[Eigenvektor]

What kind of software development are we talking about? Web, mobile, desktop, server? Compilers can certainly make use of multi-cores to some extend, but faster clocks are nice too. Unless you're talking about big projects, I wouldn't be too concerned about CPU performance however, if you get something fairly recent. Battery life might be more of a concern, if he spends a lot of time away from a power outlet.

 

Depending on how often your friend is on the move, I'd probably look at spending a little more and get a laptop with a good screen and keyboard. Because as a developer, you'll be typing a lot and I often need to see not only my code but e.g. a website or debug output at once.

[Streetguru]

23 minutes ago, Skyyblaze said:

So a friend of mine got into programming and would like a machine he can use to code and compile away from home which his budget being 500€ at most buying one in Germany. What's the best CPU you could get for that kind of money in a laptop, a Zen+ Ryzen quad-core or would these older Intel dual-cores still win here? I'm not sure how multi-threaded compiling can be.

 

Thanks in advance for any recommendations!

Either going to be an i5 8300h with maybe an MX150 if used, just make sure it's the faster MX150

 

Otherwise go for an R5 2500U machine if it's cheaper, the CPU is a bit weaker, but you can do some gaming in the iGPU, as long as it has dual channel memory at least.

 

The Matebook D is alright if it's available.

[mariushm]

The Acer Aspire 5 is 310$ : https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Display-Graphics-Keyboard-A515-43-R19L/dp/B07RF1XD36

 

It's a quad core ryzen, vega integrated graphics, up to 7.5h of battery, 15.6" 1080p IPS panel

 

Replace the 4GB of DDR4 with 2 8 GB sticks and add a SATA SSD or replace the m.2 nvme drive with a bigger one and you have a very good programming machine which can also play lots of games at 720p.

 

AMD Ryzen 3 3200U Dual Core Processor (Up to 3.5GHz);

4GB DDR4 Memory;

128GB PCIe NVMe SSD

15.6 inches Full HD (1920 x 1080) Widescreen LED backlit IPS Display;

AMD Radeon Vega 3 Mobile Graphics

1 USB 3.1 Gen 1 Port, 2 USB 2.0 Ports & 1 HDMI Port with HDCP support

802.11ac Wi-Fi; Backlit Keyboard; Up to 7.5 Hours Battery Life

[Skyyblaze]

38 minutes ago, genexis_x said:

By fastest does it include sustained performance? Or short burst?

 

Well I'm honestly not sure, I never compiled anything but I think depending on the project size it would lean towards sustained no?

 

37 minutes ago, Eigenvektor said:

What kind of software development are we talking about? Web, mobile, desktop, server? Compilers can certainly make use of multi-cores to some extend, but faster clocks are nice too. Unless you're talking about big projects, I wouldn't be too concerned about CPU performance however, if you get something fairly recent. Battery life might be more of a concern, if he spends a lot of time away from a power outlet.

 

Depending on how often your friend is on the move, I'd probably look at spending a little more and get a laptop with a good screen and keyboard. Because as a developer, you'll be typing a lot and I often need to see not only my code but e.g. a website or debug output at once.

 

I just asked him and he said he would mainly program mobile-apps and I don't think battery would be much of a concern since from what I got he wouldn't do much truly mobile but rather just away from home but with outlets available. I'll pass him this though thanks!

 

37 minutes ago, Streetguru said:

Either going to be an i5 8300h with maybe an MX150 if used, just make sure it's the faster MX150

 

Otherwise go for an R5 2500U machine if it's cheaper, the CPU is a bit weaker, but you can do some gaming in the iGPU, as long as it has dual channel memory at least.

 

The Matebook D is alright if it's available.

 

Thanks for this, noted we will look around

[Skyyblaze]

1 minute ago, mariushm said:

The Acer Aspire 5 is 310$ : https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Display-Graphics-Keyboard-A515-43-R19L/dp/B07RF1XD36

 

Replace the 4GB of DDR4 with 2 8 GB sticks and add a SATA SSD or replace the m.2 nvme drive with a bigger one and you have a very good programming machine which can also play lots of games at 720p.

 

It's a quad core ryzen, vega integrated graphics, up to 7.5h of battery, 15.6" 1080p IPS panel

 

Alright we'll keep that in mind too, thanks!

[Eigenvektor]

7 minutes ago, Skyyblaze said:

Well I'm honestly not sure, I never compiled anything but I think depending on the project size it would lean towards sustained no?

Not really. Compiling a mobile app should usually take from a few seconds to maybe a minute or two. Outside of that, the CPU shouldn't be that busy while typing. Something like a blender-render that takes an hour to complete would be sustained.

[genexis_x]

51 minutes ago, Skyyblaze said:

Well I'm honestly not sure, I never compiled anything but I think depending on the project size it would lean towards sustained no?

Which country you're from?

 

BTW Aspire 5 A515-43 has mediocre build quality

[Skyyblaze]

1 hour ago, Eigenvektor said:

Not really. Compiling a mobile app should usually take from a few seconds to maybe a minute or two. Outside of that, the CPU shouldn't be that busy while typing. Something like a blender-render that takes an hour to complete would be sustained.

 

Hmm good to know, like said I never compiled anything outside some things for macOS with a script like a homebrew media-player.

 

1 hour ago, genexis_x said:

Which country you're from?

 

BTW Aspire 5 A515-43 has mediocre build quality

 

Germany and alright, noted.

[genexis_x]

Thinkpad E495 20NEA001GE (student only, slightly over budget)

 

Ideapad S340-15API 81NC00A8GE (would highly suggest the Thinkpad instead of this TBH)

[Skyyblaze]

1 hour ago, genexis_x said:

Thinkpad E495 20NEA001GE (student only, slightly over budget)

 

Ideapad S340-15API 81NC00A8GE (would highly suggest the Thinkpad instead of this TBH)

Alright I'll pass him this!