I'll be getting a laptop soon for web development but it doesn't come with an ssd drive... I plan on running Linux OS on it considering it's more faster and light weight than windows.. Now my question is this.

I want my laptop to be fast as possible but I can't afford an ssd(freaking expensive). will running Linux instead of windows on an HDD laptop make the laptop any faster? until I'm ready to get an ssd?

Note: my laptop's spec's not that bad
I5 3rd gen
8gb ram

i5 3rd Gen is a bit dated o. Splurge on RAM

airsaylongcome:
i5 3rd Gen is a bit dated o. Splurge on RAM

but the laptop can't take more than 8gb

Depends on what you're developing

Android developers or iOS devs sure needs a fast as possible laptop


Normal web devs average laptop will do


But sometimes VS code seems to hang even on 8GB laptop


I never really enjoyed VScode when I was using windows.


With Mac bro you'll enjoy cooking

Forget what everyone says.... if you're not really a gamer.... Apple is just the best laptop


I can conveniently run both Mac and windows like breeze with boot camp windows on Mac self is even faster than normal Windows on HP even with just 4GB I allocated to it.

TastyFriedPussy:
I'll be getting a laptop soon for web development but it doesn't come with an ssd drive... I plan on running Linux OS on it considering it's more faster and light weight than windows.. Now my question is this.

I want my laptop to be fast as possible but I can't afford an ssd(freaking expensive). will running Linux instead of windows on an HDD laptop make the laptop any faster? until I'm ready to get an ssd?

Note: my laptop's spec's not that bad
I5 3rd gen
8gb ram

Guy I'm running 16gb and i7 with Linux and I'm still suffering, SSD makes a difference but manage with a low tiling manager like awesomeWM it's low on ram

SSD are not expensive, check AliExpress. You can get the one of 128Gb

Your laptop is kinda old so if you wanna enjoy it close eyes and get SSD

TastyFriedPussy:
I'll be getting a laptop soon for web development but it doesn't come with an ssd drive... I plan on running Linux OS on it considering it's more faster and light weight than windows.. Now my question is this.

I want my laptop to be fast as possible but I can't afford an ssd(freaking expensive). will running Linux instead of windows on an HDD laptop make the laptop any faster? until I'm ready to get an ssd?

Note: my laptop's spec's not that bad
I5 3rd gen
8gb ram

With a 3rd gen CPU and probably slower DDR3 ram and also probably a slow HDD, you will definitely see some lags when you run resource intensive stuff

However for someone starting web dev, Honestly, a slow PC is the least of your concerns, you have no deadline or big projects requiring long compile times.
I doubt it will even be slow for web dev

I'd say worry less about your computer specs till you need to and Linux definitely would be better/faster on lower hardware especially the lightweight distros

qtguru:


Guy I'm running 16gb and i7 with Linux and I'm still suffering, SSD makes a difference but manage with a low tiling manager like awesomeWM it's low on ram

What Linux OS distro can you recommend for a core i5 HP laptop with 4gig

3exe3:



What Linux OS distro can you recommend for a core i5 HP laptop with 4gig

Lubuntu + awesomeWM

airsaylongcome:
i5 3rd Gen is a bit dated o. Splurge on RAM

Speed is never dated. Many of the "dated" processors will outperform the newer iterations

qtguru:


Guy I'm running 16gb and i7 with Linux and I'm still suffering, SSD makes a difference but manage with a low tiling manager like awesomeWM it's low on ram

Depends on the distro...Lubuntu, Manjaro(xfce)..etc are lite and fast

Ejebleje:


Speed is never dated. Many of the "dated" processors will outperform the newer iterations

An i5 3rd Gen will outperform an i5 10th gen?

Ejebleje:


Speed is never dated. Many of the "dated" processors will outperform the newer iterations

3rd gen is dated Bros... something that's a decade old

airsaylongcome:


An i5 3rd Gen will outperform an i5 10th gen?

I just tire for am...3rd gen is like 10 years old whereby outdated to some people means 2-3 years

airsaylongcome:


An i5 3rd Gen will outperform an i5 10th gen?

In some cases, yes.

Clock speed, cache size(L1, L2, L3), RAM HDD type and size and so on.

ojayblack:
3rd gen is dated Bros... something that's a decade old

Read and understand . We're talking about speed in relation to currency. Newer doesn't mean better.
This is my point .
For example:
An iPhone 8 is faster than a couple of 2022 phones. If you had to make a choice, for work and not leisure, which will a sane person pick?

Smart man!

TastyFriedPussy:
I'll be getting a laptop soon for web development but it doesn't come with an ssd drive... I plan on running Linux OS on it considering it's more faster and light weight than windows.. Now my question is this.

I want my laptop to be fast as possible but I can't afford an ssd(freaking expensive). will running Linux instead of windows on an HDD laptop make the laptop any faster? until I'm ready to get an ssd?

Note: my laptop's spec's not that bad
I5 3rd gen
8gb ram

Guy if you no wan cry, run from HDD

Ejebleje:



Read and understand . We're talking about speed in relation to currency. Newer doesn't mean better.
This is my point .
For example:
An iPhone 8 is faster than a couple of 2022 phones. If you had to make a choice, for work and not leisure, which will a sane person pick?

Smart man!

Now look at your analogy which is totally off point because when it comes to laptop processors, you don't have much choice apart from core i3, i5 and i7...

i5 4th is better than i5 3rd gen

Now to buttress your point make a list of 2022 Intel core/amd ryzen chips that slower than i5 3rd gen

GREATIGBOMAN:
Depends on what you're developing

Android developers or iOS devs sure needs a fast as possible laptop


Normal web devs average laptop will do


But sometimes VS code seems to hang even on 8GB laptop


I never really enjoyed VScode when I was using windows.


With Mac bro you'll enjoy cooking

Forget what everyone says.... if you're not really a gamer.... Apple is just the best laptop


I can conveniently run both Mac and windows like breeze with boot camp windows on Mac self is even faster than normal Windows on HP even with just 4GB I allocated to it.

Can a 2012 Mac still work good for development?

SqueezedPant:



Can a 2012 Mac still work good for development?

A bit old bro

It's 10 years old machine

ojayblack:


Now look at your analogy which is totally off point because when it comes to laptop processors, you don't have much choice apart from core i3, i5 and i7...

i5 4th is better than i5 3rd gen

Now to buttress your point make a list of 2022 Intel core/amd ryzen chips that slower than i5 3rd gen

Not necessarily, not all 4th gen are better than all 3rd gen Intel processors, but at a ten years gap, I think it's impossible to find a 12thgen processor that's slower than a 3rd gen

ojayblack:
Depends on the distro...Lubuntu, Mankato(xfce)..etc are lite and fast

Lubuntu

The only time ready for SSD is NOW. Zero out the HDD irrespective of Win, Mac, L*nix (same way Novell* died)

TastyFriedPussy:
I'll be getting a laptop soon for web development but it doesn't come with an ssd drive...
... until I'm ready to get an ssd?
Note: my laptop's spec's not that bad
I5 3rd gen 8gb ram

I beg what is SSD?
Just started a coding class. I have an HP Elite 840, 4gig ram. Can I manage that for now as a beginner?

imagrg:
I beg what is SSD?
Just started a coding class. I have an HP Elite 840, 4gig ram. Can I manage that for now as a beginner?

Solid State Drive (SSD) and also for the second question it depends on the field you're doing if it's web dev as a beginner it's ok for now or maybe basic python but you can't use that for mobile development

SqueezedPant:



Can a 2012 Mac still work good for development?

My main workhorse is currently a 2012 MBP, 16gb RAM with 500GB HDD, core i7 and I fly through tasks.

As a web developer, most of your work would be on the RAM and CPU. Your start up times might be slower than those with blazing SSD but you have the advantage of knowing in advance before your drive fails.

Most of your project files should be on GitHub anyway.

Irrespective of what people say, a genuine HDD is better than a chinko SSD.

I intend to upgrade to a 1tb genuine SSD but I have been slowing down because of the cost vs benefit. Why don't I just get another system, say a 2015 MBP.

a 2012 MBP is a workhorse.

Don't buy 2011. Run away from 2010. If they dash you, dash another person. It is not the same.

Don't buy a 2013 at the same price of a 2015 despite both being Retina. They are not the same.

Buy 2012 and 2013 at similar prices or just go for the 2014/2015.

Don't buy the 2016/2017 if you can avoid it. The keyboards fail.

Cheers.

GREATIGBOMAN:


A bit old bro

It's 10 years old machine

I can bet you have not used it for web dev.

Laptops are not relics just because of age. Are you rendering in 8k?

A 2012 to 2015 MBP is one of the best practical choices for Nigerian Web Devs as at today.

I run three OS on my 2012 MBP. Mac OS Catalina, Windows and Ubuntu 22.04.

I did extensive research before buying my 2012 MBP.

It is the last fully upgradeable Apple Laptop.

truthCoder:


My main workhorse is currently a 2012 MBP, 16gb RAM with 500GB HDD, core i7 and I fly through tasks.

As a web developer, most of your work would be on the RAM and CPU. Your start up times might be slower than those with blazing SSD but you have the advantage of knowing in advance before your drive fails.

Most of your project files should be on GitHub anyway.

Irrespective of what people say, a genuine HDD is better than a chinko SSD.

I intend to upgrade to a 1tb genuine SSD but I have been slowing down because of the cost vs benefit. Why don't I just get another system, say a 2015 MBP.

a 2012 MBP is a workhorse.

Don't buy 2011. Run away from 2010. If they dash you, dash another person. It is not the same.

Don't buy a 2013 at the same price of a 2015 despite both being Retina. They are not the same.

Buy 2012 and 2013 at similar prices or just go for the 2014/2015.

Don't buy the 2016/2017 if you can avoid it. The keyboards fail.

Cheers.

but I thought macbooks aren't upgradable, how did yours get to 16gb ram? 2012 for that matter?

truthCoder:


My main workhorse is currently a 2012 MBP, 16gb RAM with 500GB HDD, core i7 and I fly through tasks.

As a web developer, most of your work would be on the RAM and CPU. Your start up times might be slower than those with blazing SSD but you have the advantage of knowing in advance before your drive fails.

Most of your project files should be on GitHub anyway.

Irrespective of what people say, a genuine HDD is better than a chinko SSD.

I intend to upgrade to a 1tb genuine SSD but I have been slowing down because of the cost vs benefit. Why don't I just get another system, say a 2015 MBP.

a 2012 MBP is a workhorse.

Don't buy 2011. Run away from 2010. If they dash you, dash another person. It is not the same.

Don't buy a 2013 at the same price of a 2015 despite both being Retina. They are not the same.

Buy 2012 and 2013 at similar prices or just go for the 2014/2015.

Don't buy the 2016/2017 if you can avoid it. The keyboards fail.

Cheers.

Thanks for taking your time to explain to me , I highly appreciate

TastyFriedPussy:
but I thought macbooks aren't upgradable, how did yours get to 16gb ram? 2012 for that matter?

Thats exactly the sweet spot I was referring to.

Unibody 2012 MPBs are upgradeable. RAM and Storage.

Retina 2012 to 2015 are upgradeable, storage only.

The MBPs after 2015 are not upgradeable.

My MBP came with 4gb RAM which I sold for Airtel Data Money. I got 16gb RAM and left the HDD in because most of the SSDs in the market are fake.

Some funny names like Kston.

If you can afford it, get a 16gb 2015 MBP core i7 then upgrade storage to whatever you want making sure you are buying only genuine. If you cannot confirm via serial number, don't buy.

truthCoder:


Thats exactly the sweet spot I was referring to.

Unibody 2012 MPBs are upgradeable. RAM and Storage.

Retina 2012 to 2015 are upgradeable, storage only.

The MBPs after 2015 are not upgradeable.

My MBP came with 4gb RAM which I sold for Airtel Data Money. I got 16gb RAM and left the HDD in because most of the SSDs in the market are fake.

Some funny names like Kston.

If you can afford it, get a 16gb 2015 MBP core i7 then upgrade storage to whatever you want making sure you are buying only genuine. If you cannot confirm via serial number, don't buy.

please what do you mean by unibody? and how much would a it cost to upgrade it to 16gb ram? And I heard the highest ram it can take is 8gb

TastyFriedPussy:
please what do you mean by unibody? and how much would a it cost to upgrade it to 16gb ram?

for 2012, there are two MacBook Pros.

There is one called Unibody and there is one called Retina.

You can read more about the differences on www dot Everymac dot com

Upgrading your RAM is dependent on your system's specs.

You would need to share details of your system to advice if it is possible.

8gb RAM cost me around 8k each but I got two at 15k when I did the upgrade.