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Recommendations for a software development laptop?

M

matrisking

n00b
Joined
May 6, 2005
Messages
44
Hey everyone,

I'm looking to buy a laptop so I can do some application development on the go. Most of the programming will be C++ using VS 2012. Here are things I'm looking for:

- 15" display, at least 1440 x 900 resolution
- i5
- Good keyboard. I realize this is highly subjective, so to give you a frame of reference... At work I use a 2012 Macbook Pro and I'm not wild about the shallow-keyed chiclet keyboard. Now matter how softly I type I feel like I'm ramming my fingers into a brick wall all day.
- Decent battery life

Nice to have (but by no means required):
- 6GB+ ram
- At some point I'll want to replace the hard drive with an SSD, so the easier it is to access the hard drive, the better
- Windows 8

Budget: I'd like to keep the price around $600-$700.

Fire away!
 
ThinkPad T510 with upgraded screen 1600x900 or 1920x1080

Add 8GB of RAM and SSD

Dell Latitude E6510 would be the rough equivalant.
 
Or the more recent T-series, though they have chiclet as well. However I find the Thinkpad chiclets fine to type on whereas I did not like the MBP one at all.

Thinkpad W-series is an option also. Otherwise Dell Latitude/Precision.
 
Good call on the ThinkPad keyboards. I went into a store and tried one out, it definitely feels a LOT better than the MBP's.

That being said, the trackpad is textured and I'm not sure I like it at all. Does anyone else have one of those textured trackpads? Do you get used to it after a while? I feel like my pointer finger would feel raw after using one of those trackpads for any amount of time...
 
matrisking said:
Good call on the ThinkPad keyboards. I went into a store and tried one out, it definitely feels a LOT better than the MBP's.

That being said, the trackpad is textured and I'm not sure I like it at all. Does anyone else have one of those textured trackpads? Do you get used to it after a while? I feel like my pointer finger would feel raw after using one of those trackpads for any amount of time...
Click to expand...

How hard are you pressing? Most touchpads these days are capacitive, not resistive, so you don't need to push on the touchpad hardly at all.

It's textured plastic, not sandpaper. Most keyboards come with textured key caps (until you wear them down), do your fingers become raw from typing on a new keyboard?

I find my finger tends to glide more uniformly on a textured touchpad than on a smooth touchpad, where just a bit of moisture can cause widely varying friction coefficients.
 
robvas said:
What stores have T-series thinkpads?
Click to expand...

University bookstores selling Lenovo products will have them. Two universities in my local area sell Thinkpads. A third university sells Dell Latitudes.

If all else fails, go to a Starbucks in a business area and you'll be able to see every type of laptop :)

I have a W530. The trackpad is not great. You do get used to the textured surface, but I recommend an external mouse.
 
obug said:
University bookstores selling Lenovo products will have them. Two universities in my local area sell Thinkpads. A third university sells Dell Latitudes.

If all else fails, go to a Starbucks in a business area and you'll be able to see every type of laptop :)

I have a W530. The trackpad is not great. You do get used to the textured surface, but I recommend an external mouse.
Click to expand...

Haha yup, that's exactly where I tried one out. I actually ended up rolling the dice a little bit and going with a Y500. From what I read, the battery life is pretty abysmal and the trackpad has issues. Like you suggested, I'll just get a mouse and deal with the crappy trackpad whenever I'm in transit. In case anyone is curious, this is the deal I landed:

http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/949...d-15.6-1920x1080-led-2gb-geforce-gt750m-win-8

i7, 1920x1080, lenovo keyboard, $800. We'll see how it goes, thanks for the help!
 
robvas said:
The trackpoint is awesome.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I have the x230t. Exclusively use the trackpoint or touch screen. Disabled the touchpad. Trackpoint takes a little getting used to, but it you'll never go back once you get the hang of it :)
 
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