Fellow Programmers,

I'm looking to select a computer model to be bought for the programmers I'll be recruiting to work on Nairaland and related online ventures.

Which laptop or desktop model would you recommend?

I'm currently most attracted to the N150k Dell XPS 15 L502X which has a quad core i7 cpu, 8GB RAM, 15" 1080p screen, & backlit keys. The only important feature it lacks is a solid state drive, though it's pretty fast without it. It also lacks portability due to it's bulky size and short battery life, but since it won't be taken out of a computer room, that may not matter.

Other laptop models I've looked at: 15" retina MBP (too expensive at 350k+), HP Envy 14-2160SE with 80GB SSD (mediocre 14" HD screen @140k), 13" Macbook Air with a sweet 900p screen and a SSD (too expensive at 250k), HP Elitebook 8770W with SSD and 17" 1080p screen (too expensive at N250k). HP Folio or Dell XPS 13 with SSD, backlit keys, and great battery life but tiny 13 inch screens and wimpy processors. iMac 21.5 inch which is probably too expensive and may require a UPS.

What do you think about the above laptops & desktop and which models would you love to have as a programmer?

Oga I wll prefer the dell xps 15 its so good

This is a very good topic as i've been thinking of changing my 2 year old laptop. I want something badass for programming, design and gaming.

hmm oga @ the top needs a new lappy why nt go for any of the best accer products its always portable n durable i bet u would love it

I think you should consider the Lenovo ThinkPad T series. ThinkPad T530. it comes in different configurations, ranging from core i3 to i7. it should be a good choice.

or you can check the dell xps 13 developer edition laptop. it was built for developers and comes with ubuntu as the main OS.

And no one mentioned the dell alienware series

Seun: HP Envy 14-2160SE with 80GB SSD (mediocre 14" HD screen @140k),

most programmers are not really selective about screensize as long as the screen is reasonably wide..so believe me, this should be top choice.

Also look at.:
HP ENVY Dv7-7250us(i7, 1TB, 8Gb, 17" @160-180k) *muah* beautiful.

Another cute workstation is HP ENVY 4-1101ea (i5, 500Gb+32Gb SSD, 8Gb, 14" @120-135k)

for DELL, the recommended 'top choice' would be DELL XPS 13-952 (i7, 128Gb SSD, 4Gb+upgradeable @ only btw 170-180k).

other better ones might just be too expensive.

I've never bad any bad experience with a Dell so it's got my thumbs up.

I am not a programmer but I think I've an experience when it comes to Laptop that meet ones need:
HP ENVY 14 - comes with high resolution, battery life and normally works on only the latest OS (windows 8 and above) [of course you might want to use win XP for ur programming]
DELL XPS - are gamers laptop that why the batteries % but its also great, try but find an alternative to the bat3 problem

spikes C: And no one mentioned the dell alienware series

yes ooo.
So in addition, oga Seun you can buy any decent workstation of your choice and 'pimpp' it yourself into a 'kickass alienware' to suit your programmers' needs. It saves cost. This is what most freelance programmers do.

prof800:
yes ooo.
So in addition, oga Seun you can buy any decent workstation of your choice and 'pimpp' it yourself into a 'kickass alienware' to suit your programmers' needs. It saves cost. This is what most freelance programmers do.

I think he want laptops.

spikes C:

I think he want laptops.

OKAY..!

The Think pads aren't a bad choice. If price isn't an issue then Dell precision laptops will be a good choice

Seun: Fellow Programmers,

I'm looking to select a computer model to be bought for the programmers I'll be recruiting to work on Nairaland and related online ventures.

Which laptop or desktop model would you recommend?

I'm currently most attracted to the N150k Dell XPS 15 L502X which has a quad core i7 cpu, 8GB RAM, 15" 1080p screen, & backlit keys. The only important feature it lacks is a solid state drive, though it's pretty fast without it. It also lacks portability due to it's bulky size and short battery life, but since it won't be taken out of a computer room, that may not matter.

Other laptop models I've looked at: 15" retina MBP (too expensive at 350k+), HP Envy 14-2160SE with 80GB SSD (mediocre 14" HD screen @140k), 13" Macbook Air with a sweet 900p screen and a SSD (too expensive at 250k), HP Elitebook 8770W with SSD and 17" 1080p screen (too expensive at N250k). HP Folio or Dell XPS 13 with SSD, backlit keys, and great battery life but tiny 13 inch screens and wimpy processors. iMac 21.5 inch which is probably too expensive and may require a UPS.

What do you think about the above laptops & desktop and which models would you love to have as a programmer?

Maybe you can contact one of the foreign importers on this site. You could get a much better deal with good specs at the right price by importing.

Samsung Series 9

My own lappy na pentium 0.
Runs 1ghz 768mb ram.celeron m
Wanna install windows 8 on it.
So I will probably be killing the lappy

Dell Inspiron 15Z SE

aminho: Oga I wll prefer the dell xps 15 its so good

I'm with you bro. My Dell XPS 15 L502X is the best programming laptop I've ever used. All the new laptops I've studied are inferior to it in one way or the other, including the more modern versions of the Dell XPS. All that's required to make it absolutely perfect is to replace the hard disk drive with a 128GB solid state drive. It's also easy to repair and maintain. However, I'm worried about the age of that model. Newer Windows laptops have touchscreens, Windows 8, super-fast Haswell processor. I also think the 15 inch display is suboptimal since programmers love big displays and the 1080p resolution feels a bit cramped on the 15 inch display - it would probably be perfect on a 17 inch display!

mancheeutd: hmm oga @ the top needs a new lappy why nt go for any of the best accer products its always portable n durable i bet u would love it

I sort-of own an Acer Timeline with 5 - 7 hours of battery life. I loved that pretty laptop, but it was very unreliable and fragile. Every time I stopped using it for a few weeks, it would stop working and I would have have it repaired the next time I wanted to use it. As a result of this experience, I think it will be difficult for me to consider another Acer Laptop.

lordZOUGA: I think you should consider the Lenovo ThinkPad T series. ThinkPad T530. it comes in different configurations, ranging from core i3 to i7. it should be a good choice.

Two negatives: (1) Unlike the Dell XPS, it lacks the home, end, pgup, & pgdown keys, which are very helpful for navigating code. (2) It has a matte display. I hate matte displays. I know this because I upgraded my Dell XPS's 768p glossy display to a 1080p matte display and I could not stand it. I eventually had to import a glossy 1080p display which I love. The problem with matte displays is that they are manufactured by smearing a layer of distracting grainy muck on lovely glossy displays. Many people say matte displays are better, but I think they are wrong. Reflections on a glossy can be distracting, but you can avoid them by simply turning your laptop screen away from bright lights. The grain and murkiness of matte displays, on the other hand, cannot be avoided no matter where you are or what you do. Matte screens are not so great outdoors either; they tend to look washed out.

you can check the dell xps 13 developer edition laptop. it was built for developers and comes with ubuntu as the main OS.

Thanks, but many developers swear by their giant monitors. This makes me feel that a 13-inch laptop would not be desirable.

Seun:
I'm with you bro. My Dell XPS 15 L502X is the best programming laptop I've ever used. All the new laptops I've studied are inferior to it in one way or the other, including the more modern versions of the Dell XPS. All that's required to make it absolutely perfect is to replace the hard disk drive with a 128GB solid state drive. It's also easy to repair and maintain. However, I'm worried about the age of that model. Newer Windows laptops have touchscreens, Windows 8, super-fast Haswell processor. I also think the 15 inch display is suboptimal since programmers love big displays and the 1080p resolution feels a bit cramped on the 15 inch display - it would probably be perfect on a 17 inch display!

Thanks, but many developers swear by their giant monitors. This makes me feel that a 13-inch laptop would not be desirable.

Simply get a dual screen and plug into the lapi.

Shack_Attack: Simply get a dual screen and plug into the lapi.

I considered that, but I think there is much value in using laptops with big screens exclusively. Workstation portability within the office will probably enable effortless collaboration.

spikes C: And no one mentioned the dell alienware series

The Alienware m18x and 17 are great, but far too expensive.

@ sir seun. I think you should go with the one you have in mind.

maybe you shouldnt be thinking of laptops only but a combination of laptops and desktops.
since you'r cost conscious, the desktops may serve you farther as you wont need to replace so soon compared to lappys.
A desktop just needs upgrading , fit a large lcd monitor and u've got all the coolness u need
besides they're more resilient to power surges than lappy's.
(but they take up more space and are fixed devices. this is the downside, i'm assuming the
work place would require not moving devices around).

The problem however is that desktops are going into extinction- for the lay masses.
if going for lappies , its most advisable to go for the most durable and powerful types you can get - theyre residual value in the long run should be higher. and their throughput
is really what matters.

elvis10ten: @ sir seun. I think you should go with the one you have in mind.

I'm not satisfied with the Dell XPS L502x either, because it's an old and discontinued model. Procuring it will be harder in the future. I wish for a future-proof 15/17 inch Laptop model with backlit keys, a non-matte 1080p screen (or 15 inch 900p), SSD, windows 8 and a touch screen or a large multitouch keypad, a core i7 processor, and home/end/pgup/pgdown/del keys.

Seun:
I'm not satisfied with the Dell XPS L502x either, because it's an old and discontinued model. Procuring it will be harder in the future. I wish for a future-proof 15/17 inch Laptop model with backlit keys, a non-matte 1080p screen, SSD, windows 8 and a touch screen or a large multitouch keypad, a core i7 processor, and home/end/pgup/pgdown keys.

thats nice sir. Here are my two little opinion:
1)Ask the programmers that want to work for NL what pc they love or are used to or need and tell them your budget for each pc.
2)you have to keep searching. Maybe go to stackoverflow and ask this in another way. #h

@ sir seun, from what you said it looks like you rarely use the acer laptop. Do you mind selling it to me ?

I checked out the 15" Lenovo Ideapad Y500 (too small!) and 17" Samsung Series 7 Gamer (too expensive!)

Currently thinking of choosing the Sony VAIO E Series SVE1713CCXB, a 17.3-Inch Laptop with a 1080p glossy screen, no external graphics (which web programmers don't need anyway), and a white-backlit full keyboard. It costs just $739.99 on Amazon.com. Upgrading to 16gb of RAM and a 250GB SSD raises the total cost to $1035, which seems rather reasonable.

i do not know about other developers but I do not swear by my big screen laptop. 15inch is okay. 17inch just pushes the limit of the definition of portability. lugging around a 17inch screen will not feel portable at all. I am more interested in the display quality.

@lordZOUGA: I agree with you; 17 inch laptops are not as portable as a regular laptops. They are basically desktop replacement machines.

Even so, they share certain advantages with regular laptops:
- You can use them safely without noisy UPS systems or active power stabilizers.
- You can move them around from desk to desk quite easily if you need to.
- They use up very little space.
- Every laptop requires only one power cable. Most desktop systems require at least two power cables, a keyboard cable, mouse cable, etc.

However, studies seem to show that people are more productive when using big high resolution monitors, so we have chosen 17 inch laptops because they are the biggest size available. Also, due to my personal experience, I feel that the 1080p resolution on a 15-inch windows laptop makes screen elements just a little bit too small. I expect a 1080p display to be just perfect on a 17-inch laptop. We'll see!

kodewrita: Samsung Series 9

matte screen

moonraker: Maybe you can contact one of the foreign importers on this site. You could get a much better deal with good specs at the right price by importing.

I will. Thanks for the suggestion.

you do realize that one of the reasons why PC screens are not as huge as televisions is because users are mostly close to the screen and need to be able to track whatever is going on on the screen with his or her eyes.
Imagine the pain a huge screen can cause a developer. desktop PCs can get away with this because they have keyboards which can be stretched to a convenient distance. but for laptops, you have to stay close to the screen and move your head to track objects across the screen. That in my opinion is not alright.
I believe developer laptops should be small enough to let developers track or capture everything on the display with just eye movement alone.

A laptop 4 serious software development. 4 a solo coder ok, but under serious work they cave in some- keypads becomes wobbly , hinges weaken from opening and closing, varnish wears of the actve areas from too much finger frction. Psychologically, with the sheen gone, they cud b discouragg to wrk with. But if u want lappies thats ur cuppa mocha.
If i were to setup a wrk place. It would b sth like 2 large screen (min 3 preferred) monitors , 1 for side view , powerful cpus, rugged keyboards ,ergonomic mouse and chairs . This wud b d den 4 gettng into d zen (serious wrk). Cud add u sound proof to keep out distraction. Then a sprinklig of laptops ,for auxilliary support wrk. Besides those monitors wud b really handy 4 graphics work.
But u want lappies ,fine with u.
Cud b as gud also.