Is this laptop good for .NET C# coding in Visual Studio?

[fpblog]

Hey guys,

I'm planning to buy a new laptop for programming on the go.

Is this laptop good for C# .NET in Visual Studio 2017 Community?

 

Trekstor PrimeBook C13:

 

CPU: Intel Celeron N3350 (2x 1.1GHz, up to 2.4GHz, 2MB L2, HD500)

RAM: 4GB DDR3

Drive: 64GB eMMC, I will put a 240GB NVM SSD instead

 

The outside is okay for me, I just want to know about the hardware usability.

[fpblog]

I won't replace the eMMC, but it has a M.2 slot. Is the CPU a real problem or will it work smooth with basic projects?

[riklaunim]

Good IDE and various extras, not to mention 50 stackoverflow tabs in chrome will make this CPU cry. NVM isn't a priority, even SATA SSD would do - it just has to manage a repo of multiple "small" files quickly. RAM will also be used.

 

If you are on a budget try looking for used ones, or some old gen Clevo barebones. Some old i7 sell relatively cheap.

[HarryNyquist]

No way. The processor is below minimum spec for Visual Studio 2017 (Dual-core 1.8GHz), and in reality Visual Studio is a memory and CPU hog.

 

I would suggest a minimum of an i5 processor fitting the 1.8GHz+ spec, and a minimum of 8GB of memory. If you have the cash, you can look into an i7 or 16GB memory.

 

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/productinfo/vs2017-system-requirements-vs

Edited July 13, 2018 by HarryNyquist
Visual Studio System Requirements

[fpblog]

Right now, I'm using one with an i3-3110M, 6GB DDR3, which 2GB are used for the GPU (GT710M) and I'm happy with the performance. The problem: It is way too big, thick and heavy. I only need it on the go, so it just needs to work barely smooth.

 

By the way, Celeron N3350 gets up to 2.4 GHz, so it will make it for the vs req's.

 

Does DDR3 and DDR4 make a difference for programming?

[Guest]

Be careful with laptops because some aren’t supported by visual studio and the error code is something Microsoft responded to saying “we’re not going to fix this. Not enough people have this problem.” I’d go with a desktop. 

[reniat]

54 minutes ago, fpo said:

Be careful with laptops because some aren’t supported by visual studio and the error code is something Microsoft responded to saying “we’re not going to fix this. Not enough people have this problem.” I’d go with a desktop. 

Can you get a source on that? or at least a specific model of laptop? I'd wager most software companies do their development on laptops, so that's a pretty broad stroke.

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, reniat said:

Can you get a source on that? or at least a specific model of laptop? I'd wager most software companies do their development on laptops, so that's a pretty broad stroke.

I don’t know the error code but my friend had a mobile i5 laptop. I think the laptop year was 2013 & Visual Studio refused to install or start. I forget which. It was for a programming class in college & I happened to be friends with this individual that had this obscure issue. 

[reniat]

7 minutes ago, fpo said:

I don’t know the error code but my friend had a mobile i5 laptop. I think the laptop year was 2013 & Visual Studio refused to install or start. I forget which. It was for a programming class in college & I happened to be friends with this individual that had this obscure issue. 

As frustrating as that is, I wouldn't go as far to say that you shouldn't get a laptop for developing with visual studio. 

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, reniat said:

As frustrating as that is, I wouldn't go as far to say that you shouldn't get a laptop for developing with visual studio. 

I am very skeptical. Since he listed a low performance processor I’d presume a small budget & he might have a more obscure processor that isn’t supported. If he listed like an i7 HQ I’d be more confident. 

[fpblog]

On 7/14/2018 at 7:05 PM, fpo said:

Be careful with laptops because some aren’t supported by visual studio and the error code is something Microsoft responded to saying “we’re not going to fix this. Not enough people have this problem.” I’d go with a desktop. 

I do have a desktop as main workstation; but I thought I'd be more efficient if I was coding on the go, too.

[fpblog]

On 7/14/2018 at 8:20 PM, fpo said:

I am very skeptical. Since he listed a low performance processor I’d presume a small budget & he might have a more obscure processor that isn’t supported. If he listed like an i7 HQ I’d be more confident. 

http://tomsguide.com/answers/id-2750756/processors-supported-visual-studio-sql-server-software-installation.html

 

Look at the first answer

[fpblog]

Tho, can you guys recommend a laptop? It needs to have:

 

13" - 14" FullHD display 

touchscreen

thin body

no fan

usb type c (at least 3.0)

[riklaunim]

No fan = no higher performance. You need a bit of fans to not get throttled when doing some more serious work like programming

Dell XPS 13 or even XPS 15 that due to thin case is comparable in side to smaller ones. There are some Clevo portable 13,1" N131WU or 14" N141WU (find local Clevo reseller/rebrander). All of those are ultra portable, with fans but quite quiet and don't spin that often. If you put a load on all 4 cores then you may hear some fan noise.

 

Clevo also has thicker 14" one with 1050 Ti. MSI has GTX 1060 14" GS43VR - but the more power the more fan noise... and that MSI under full gaming load will be loud as hell... but at least it can handle it.

[fpblog]

5 hours ago, riklaunim said:

No fan = no higher performance. You need a bit of fans to not get throttled when doing some more serious work like programming

Dell XPS 13 or even XPS 15 that due to thin case is comparable in side to smaller ones. There are some Clevo portable 13,1" N131WU or 14" N141WU (find local Clevo reseller/rebrander). All of those are ultra portable, with fans but quite quiet and don't spin that often. If you put a load on all 4 cores then you may hear some fan noise.

 

Clevo also has thicker 14" one with 1050 Ti. MSI has GTX 1060 14" GS43VR - but the more power the more fan noise... and that MSI under full gaming load will be loud as hell... but at least it can handle it.

Thanks for your advice, but I dont want to spend more than 400$ on it. Dedicated GPU is not needed hence I will only use it for programming. It does not need to be very fast, should be just able to compile the code and view it smoothly.

 

btw: It HAS to have a 2.5" or M.2 slot (doesn't need to be empty) cause I don't want an emmc drive

[riklaunim]

Those laptops don't have eMMC. 400 USD, now that's a challenge. I would look on ebay maybe. There are some Dell, HP and alike convertibles and their non-convertible counterparts. They started with quad core Bay Trail CPUs (Atom, but no as horrid), and some later on got some pre-Zen AMD APUs or mobile Intel i3/i5. Vendors are trying to clear stock of that so you may look for bargains - check notebookcheck which amd and intel lowbie perform better from the options you will find. Used if in fully working condition - with better hardware at the same price could be an option too.

 

And there is still aliexpress and other Chinese shops, like https://www.gearbest.com/laptops-c_11964/?page=1&attr=1859-1684__1858-1178__1484-1279&odr=low2high

Low power CPUs, 1080p screen, check for Win 10 (not Win 10 S) and M2 or SATA storage and it should work.

[Lent]

Best buy has some great options right now. You might have the axe the touchscreen, though. Honestly if you're getting a laptop for under $400 I'd say go with a better processor than a touchscreen. They have a few options with core i3s and i5s with 8gbs of ram which would probably be your best bet if you're just starting out. However, most of the ones under $400 are i3s, the ones with i5s are more around $500 but I think it's well worth it. I wouldn't get anything with less than 8gbs of ram as you won't be able to run Visual Studio and your browser of choice at the same time. If you can find used, try getting something with 16gbs of ram, or find a laptop with expandable memory. Visual Studio loves to eat up memory. Honestly the CPU and memory choices are going to be much better bang for your money than screen choice. I'd get something like this now and buy a 1080p display like this later on with a keyboard and mouse to dock to in the future.

[fpblog]

10 hours ago, Lent said:

Best buy has some great options right now. You might have the axe the touchscreen, though. Honestly if you're getting a laptop for under $400 I'd say go with a better processor than a touchscreen. They have a few options with core i3s and i5s with 8gbs of ram which would probably be your best bet if you're just starting out. However, most of the ones under $400 are i3s, the ones with i5s are more around $500 but I think it's well worth it. I wouldn't get anything with less than 8gbs of ram as you won't be able to run Visual Studio and your browser of choice at the same time. If you can find used, try getting something with 16gbs of ram, or find a laptop with expandable memory. Visual Studio loves to eat up memory. Honestly the CPU and memory choices are going to be much better bang for your money than screen choice. I'd get something like this now and buy a 1080p display like this later on with a keyboard and mouse to dock to in the future.

Touchscreen is a must-have. Can you make any specific recommendations?