Which laptop for programming

[kooixiuhong]

I am leaving for university in September to study computer science. I am hoping to buy a laptop for school. I have 2 choices, the XPS 13 or the Macbook pro 13". 

 

I often hear how Mac is better for programming compared to windows. Also, I can use bootcamp whenever I want to program C#. So I am currently leaning towards mac.

 

Any opinion?

[Drunkaroos]

I am leaving for university in September to study computer science. I am hoping to buy a laptop for school. I have 2 choices, the XPS 13 or the Macbook pro 13". 

 

I often hear how Mac is better for programming compared to windows. Also, I can use bootcamp whenever I want to program C#. So I am currently leaning towards mac.

 

Any opinion?

Just buy a damn Thinkpad. A lot better value for the money and more powerful.

[N64CUBE]

Does it have a keyboard? Congrats you can program on it.

[Boink]

I don't know where the misconception that macs are better for coding came from but it's false. Both windows and OSX have great coding programs available to them, many of which are free. Not to mention the hardware is not really a factor. 

[Feetzor]

From the POV of someone who started computer games programming at uni this september I wouldn't worry about your OS too much right now. For the most part i've used windows with a touch of ubuntu for some java stuff. Find something with a decent amount of RAM and processing power as you won't really rely on the graphics processing too much in your first year i'd imagine. 

[Philosobyte]

I've heard that if you want to code for iOS or OS X, you absolutely must use Xcode, which is available only on OS X. 

Here's a quote from a friend of mine on another forum:

 

I absolutely love mac as a development platform. For Windows has always seemed clunky when it comes to the cmd and all of the IDEs (except eclipse) are bloated and over complicated. This means that the only thing I'll develop on Windows is Java. C/C++ I do in Ubuntu, and python/everything else I'll do on mac. For mac has the middle ground of basically having bash like on linux, while also having robust applications like Photoshop, Skype or Spotify without having to worry about adding repositories or compiling things myself like on linux.

[Dackzy]

The older Thinkpads has the best keyboard ever for programming trust me, if you try them you will fall in love.

[Philosobyte]

The older Thinkpads has the best keyboard ever for programming trust me, if you try them you will fall in love.

Imo hardware is just too old to be viable. 

 

Also, you can always get an external Thinkpad keyboard or mechanical keyboard for use at home. 

 

And you can use tools to reroute keys you don't need into keys that are missing. For instance, the delete key on my Macbook I rerouted to End. 

[Philosobyte]

Since this is an laptop intended for college use it should have a good inbuild keyboard since the tables and workspaces in college are generally not very spacious. Having a good external keyboard for use at home would be a good option for improvement but a device should be comfortable to work with out of the box.

The Macbook Pro 13" keyboard is rated very highly by Notebookcheck (the percentage ranking is on the same level or slightly better than a Thinkpad, in fact) and the same typing speeds were achieved as on a mechanical keyboard. Obviously this is subjective, but I can't imagine that keyboard being a hindrance unless you really need a bunch of other keys like Home or Page Down. Which I've never used.

[Dackzy]

Imo hardware is just too old to be viable. 

 

Also, you can always get an external Thinkpad keyboard or mechanical keyboard for use at home. 

 

And you can use tools to reroute keys you don't need into keys that are missing. For instance, the delete key on my Macbook I rerouted to End. 

Too old? for coding are you kidding me. I can code on my T420s no problems, my t420s with NVIDIA NVS 4200M can beat 4th gen laptops in picture rendering so yeah wayyy to old.

If he don't want to get a used one, get a new one they still have a better keyboard than most laptops on the market.

The carbon x1 is really good or T450s

[EpicAdom]

I am leaving for university in September to study computer science. I am hoping to buy a laptop for school. I have 2 choices, the XPS 13 or the Macbook pro 13". 

 

I often hear how Mac is better for programming compared to windows. Also, I can use bootcamp whenever I want to program C#. So I am currently leaning towards mac.

 

Any opinion?

If you don't have a preference towards Windows or OS X, I would go with whichever one you would prefer typing on as both are overall very nice laptops with similar price tags. Go to an Apple store and try typing on a Macbook Pro. If you know someone who owns an XPS 13 you can try it out, or if you have a Microsoft store nearby they may have an XPS 13, but I'd call and check first.

[PaulKolby]

If you don't have a preference towards Windows or OS X, I would go with whichever one you would prefer typing on as both are overall very nice laptops with similar price tags. Go to an Apple store and try typing on a Macbook Pro. If you know someone who owns an XPS 13 you can try it out, or if you have a Microsoft store nearby they may have an XPS 13, but I'd call and check first.

the xps 13 starts at $800 while the macbook pro 13 starts at $1300 so there is a decent price gap

[EpicAdom]

the xps 13 starts at $800 while the macbook pro 13 starts at $1300 so there is a decent price gap

The Macbook doesn't have a Core i3 model or a lower resolution screen option

[Philosobyte]

Too old? for coding are you kidding me. I can code on my T420s no problems, my t420s with NVIDIA NVS 4200M can beat 4th gen laptops in picture rendering so yeah wayyy to old.

If he don't want to get a used one, get a new one they still have a better keyboard than most laptops on the market.

The carbon x1 is really good or T450s

When I said too old, I was aiming more at battery life and size/weight. 

 

 

This is a subjective experience indeed. I personally use the home and insert buttons etc daily. My advice is to just try some different options and look at what you use and do not use on a regular basis.

I just realized that there are several function keys I've never used which I can reroute to missing keys like home, insert, and pagedown. Keys like f9 (fast forward), f8 (play/pause), f7 (rewind), f4, and f3. Positioning might take getting used to, but at least it's possible. 

 

     If you don't care about the software differences, I think that the XPS 13 and Macbook 13 are too close to be compared objectively via hardware quality - you need to try them out to see what you like.

     Thinkpads are also good, but over the course of a year and a half my L440's keys have had their roughened texture worn smooth and shiny. It'll gross other people out because they think it's finger oils, but it's not - my fingers aren't oily, this hasn't happened with any other laptop, and I wipe the keyboard with water and alcohol every week. This is the the single most important reason why I'm not buying a Thinkpad again. Maybe older Thinkpads or the higher-end ones would be different, but I'm not risking it since others have had the same experience as mine.

[Dackzy]

When I said too old, I was aiming more at battery life and size/weight. 

 

 

I just realized that there are several function keys I've never used which I can reroute to missing keys like home, insert, and pagedown. Keys like f9 (fast forward), f8 (play/pause), f7 (rewind), f4, and f3. Positioning might take getting used to, but at least it's possible. 

 

     If you don't care about the software differences, I think that the XPS 13 and Macbook 13 are too close to be compared objectively via hardware quality - you need to try them out to see what you like.

     Thinkpads are also good, but over the course of a year and a half my L440's keys have had their roughened texture worn smooth and shiny. It'll gross other people out because they think it's finger oils, but it's not - my fingers aren't oily, this hasn't happened with any other laptop, and I wipe the keyboard with water and alcohol every week. This is the the single most important reason why I'm not buying a Thinkpad again. Maybe older Thinkpads or the higher-end ones would be different, but I'm not risking it since others have had the same experience as I.

My laptop can run on battery for 6,5 hours when it was new I could get it up to 9.5 hours, and the T4xx series are 1.8kg or less, so if he could find one that maybe one gen old with warranty that would be amazing, because he can save money and still get a great pc. But if he wants a new one go down to a pc store and try them out and see what he thinks that is the best laptop and keyboard.

[kooixiuhong]

I have looked into thinkpads, the one that really stood out to me is the X1 Carbon? As far as I can tell, it is also a good laptop for programming. The main language I will be dealing with in schools are mainly Java, C and C++. However I use C# for most of my personal project.  So I guess running windows natively will be better right? 

[legopc]

I have looked into thinkpads, the one that really stood out to me is the X1 Carbon? As far as I can tell, it is also a good laptop for programming. The main language I will be dealing with in schools are mainly Java, C and C++. However I use C# for most of my personal project.  So I guess running windows natively will be better right? 

The x1 carbon is a great light weight laptop with awesome battery life and you will LOVE the keyboard. As for os... well I would say use what you like, its not like "oh linux is better for programming so you gotta use linux" Just use what you like.

[Philosobyte]

Thinkpads are also good, but over the course of a year and a half my L440's keys have had their roughened texture worn smooth and shiny. It'll gross other people out because they think it's finger oils, but it's not - my fingers aren't oily, this hasn't happened with any other laptop, and I wipe the keyboard with water and alcohol every week. This is the the single most important reason why I'm not buying a Thinkpad again. Maybe older Thinkpads or the higher-end ones would be different, but I'm not risking it since others have had the same experience as mine.

Change my mind about this. Higher-end thinkpads aren't immune, but I just remembered that Thinkpads are business laptops.

 

Which means you can get replacement keyboards for $50. *facepalm* 

 

$50 every two years isn't bad considering the keyboard is so good. 

 

I have looked into thinkpads, the one that really stood out to me is the X1 Carbon? As far as I can tell, it is also a good laptop for programming. The main language I will be dealing with in schools are mainly Java, C and C++. However I use C# for most of my personal project.  So I guess running windows natively will be better right? 

Yes, Windows is probably fine in this case. The X1 Carbon is a great choice.

[SilicateWielder]

I am leaving for university in September to study computer science. I am hoping to buy a laptop for school. I have 2 choices, the XPS 13 or the Macbook pro 13". 

 

I often hear how Mac is better for programming compared to windows. Also, I can use bootcamp whenever I want to program C#. So I am currently leaning towards mac.

 

Any opinion?

You don't need anything expensive to program on. Anything with a decent processor will be able to handle it. I can program in python on an old Dell Mini 1010 that has 1GB ram and a single-core 1.2Ghz Intel processor. Heck, I can program on an old 95 machine with a 600Mhz processor and 64mb ram if I really wanted to. And it would still run fine on a modern rig.

 

EDIT: You can also install Mac OS on the windows laptop. It's down to preference really. If you plan on playing games on this too then I would suggest getting whatever has better hardware if you're set on getting one of these two.