# Laptop for programming **URL:** \ **Category:** General\ **Created:** [October 26, 2023, 7:45pm UTC](https://forum.freecodecamp.org/t/laptop-for-programming/646965 "2023-10-26T19:45:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 3
**Author:** ![DanCouper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/freecodecamp/user_avatar/forum.freecodecamp.org/dancouper/32/158608_2.png) [@DanCouper](https://forum.freecodecamp.org/u/DanCouper)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 9:19am UTC](https://forum.freecodecamp.org/t/laptop-for-programming/646965/3 "2023-10-27T09:19:54Z")
This specific question has been asked and answered many time on the forum, so please do search. I’m assuming Windows Vs Mac: you can install Linux on most laptops instead, but unless a new hobby updating your system is attractive, often a lot easier to stick with an OS where everything tends to Just Work (YMMV!). Chrome- or iOS- based platforms I’d ignore. Anyway: - doesn’t matter a lot unless you are doing something that is computationally taxing. Most programming work isn’t, with certain outliers (machine learning, 3d games). - having more CPU cores don’t magically make things faster. Most applications are not built to take advantage of multiple cores, so having some 16-core threadripper doodad is 🤷🏼‍♂️ in most cases (YMMV). - tooling is often very taxing on resources. RAM is normally what helps there. IDEs can chew through memory, for example. - any reasonably good laptop built in the last 4-5 years will do fine. - this makes refurbished laptops attractive as there are normally very good deals on high-end laptops (eg a very good computer from a few years ago for price of a budget one, a top-of the range one for the price of a mid-range one). As an example, at top of the range, can normally find refurb Dell XPS’ massively reduced from the Dell site. - any new reasonably good laptop should be a workhorse for 4-5 years no problem. - anything budget is budget because the manufacturer has skimped on something. Low-end are often garbage. Mid-range will probably have some parts that are garbage. Higher-end (eg Mac level) should generally be very good regardless. However: - you will be using it all the time so make sure it feels good (keyboard, touchpad, screen, weight, feel etc). _This is possibly most important thing._ You can live with some downsides if the machine feels really good to use. - built-in graphics are now pretty excellent if that’s at all important (won’t play top of the range games well, but most everything else is generally fine). - having a reasonably-sized SSD drive is very useful. Macs are annoying in this regard because the lowest priced ones have small, non-upgradeable storage. - WSL2 on Windows is excellent and tends to Just Work. So in terms of developing, where there are certain advantages to using a Unix-based system, Windows is at least as good as using a Mac. - Macs work very well, are very well built, the M1/2 chips are good, and the software is tuned to the hardware. - Mac screens are brilliant, as are the touchpads (IMO). - Macs are very expensive, so you pay a huge premium for the above. - sales are coming and Macs don’t tend to be reduced as much as equivalent laptops from other manufacturers. - Equivalent laptops are always being reduced much more than Macs because there are a lot more of them, and manufacturers do things like get rid of all stock with {insert previous-gen screens}. - Mac M1/M2 chips work very well, and advantage with Macs is that the whole operating system is tuned to the hardware; they tend to be a bit smoother running IME (YMMV). Again, just to reiterate, you don’t need an all-singing, all-dancing top of the range thing, you aren’t likely doing anything particularly computationally taxing. Bear in mind that when someone gets a job, the employer will ask what computer they want, and then the employer will provide that computer. The employer is providing professional equipment. When an employer asks me what I want then sure, an M2 MacBook Pro with a terabyte of storage and 32gb RAM please. And it will be great. Personally though, I don’t need a £3000 top-of-the-range machine that will burn through anything with ease. It may be very nice to have, but it’s also massive overkill. And again, just to reiterate, _find something that feels good to use_. As an example: I have a laptop that’s about 6 years old that I bought for programming and I’ve barely used it. It’s absolutely fine, but the touchpad isn’t great and it’s 15". It’s a bit heavy, and doesn’t fit in my bag very well. Also it has slightly sharp edges, and the screen doesn’t click shut so I have to be careful to make sure it’s closed properly when I put it in my bag. So instead, I have always just used my current work laptop (which has been a Mac for past decade). Which always works fantastically, feels great to use. But that means I’m doing personal stuff on a work computer. So I bought a new laptop three months ago because it had 45% off (getting rid of stock). It cost ¼ of what an equivalent Mac would have cost, its 13", has a great touchpad and screen, weighs nothing, and I basically haven’t touched my work laptop at all since I bought it. It comes down to stuff like that. --- _[View the full topic](https://forum.freecodecamp.org/t/laptop-for-programming/646965)._