Programming is always better on a desktop than a laptop as it requires intense processing. You can customize the desktop from time to time as per your requirements, and the cooling system is very powerful to avoid hangs. If you have a desktop and a laptop of the same configuration, programming execution on a desktop will be better than in a laptop. However, the use of the laptop is becoming popular among programmers due to various high-processing laptops hitting the market. If you are considering a laptop for programming in 2019, the following is a coming buying guide to purchase the best one from the market.

Parameters For The Ideal Laptop For Programming –

RAM – The first consideration for buying a laptop for programming is RAM. Most of the laptops get stuck due to lack of memory space. An 8GB laptop is a must for programming. You will face a lot of issue with a 4GB laptop. However, if you have the budget, the ideal RAM for programming on a laptop is 16GB. It is absolutely frustrating on work on a laptop that is slow due to the memory management issue. Besides, there are different categories of Ram like DDR1 to DDR4. It is needless to say that you should always buy the latest model which is DDR4 at present.

Processor – Apart from the Ram, the processor is the difference maker for programming on a laptop. Ideally speaking, a MacBook Pro is the best for programming with 16GB of RAM. However, you may not have the budget of buying an Apple laptop with such premium specifications. Therefore, you can buy a programming laptop of any brand of your choice with the latest Intel processor. It is ideal to go for an i7 latest generation processor for smooth programming. However, if you have a limited budget, you should at least opt for i3 latest generation processor.

Storage – If you have a quality processor and high RAM, you can still struggle on your laptop while coding due to your storage space and type. If you have low space, the performance will suffer. Now just that, if you have a regular HDD, it may not be ideal for programming. You need to have an SSD as it is faster in performance. Even if your laptop does not have HDD, you can buy an external SSD later on.

Graphics Card –

The user interface is an integral part of any programming, and if you are an Android developer or a game developer, you are going to need a quality graphics card. Without it, there are going to be hangs and slowing down. For regular programming, having a quality integrated graphics card will do. However, for game developers or UI developers, an external graphics card of 2GB to 4GB is required. It is always better to have a dedicated graphics card for watching videos in free time for relaxation.

Battery Life –

Even though it is expected for a programmer to keep his laptop wired in all the time. However, there is a reason for buying a laptop for programming, and it is the flexibility of working. You might be coding on the go, and heavy-duty work like programming drains battery power more. Therefore, always opt for a laptop with better battery life. You can also buy a laptop power bank if the battery backup is not enough. Moreover, quick charging facility is always welcome.

Cooling Pad –

This is the most neglected parameters while considering a laptop for programming. No matter what a cooling pad is a must even for a regular laptop. The fans are oddly placed in a laptop which makes it hot in a very short time. The hotter it gets, the lower its performance becomes. Therefore, immediately buy a proper cooling pad when you buy a laptop.

Other Considerations –

For programming on a laptop, you need to buy an external keyword and a mouse. You cannot rely on the in-built keypad and touchpad especially when you are going to use them for a long time. They are likely to be damaged very soon due to heavy-duty work. It is better to have the genuine operating system on your laptop that is recommended by the manufacturer. Otherwise, the performance gets hampered significantly. Considering all these points, here are some recommendations for buying a laptop for programming. If you have the budget, Apple MacBook Pro 2018 higher variant is a great choice. However, apart from Apple, HP has HP Spectre x360, and Spectre 13 are great replacements. Dell XPS 15 latest model, Asus Zenbook UX-430, Google Pixelbook latest model, Lenovo ThinkPad P1 and E470 and Toshiba Portege Z30-C-138 deserve special mention. If you are a fan of Microsoft and you are going to work on Microsoft-based programming languages, Microsoft Surface Pro 6 is absolutely great

Kitty Gupta
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