Laptop needed for development

[rcplee]

Hello,
I need a laptop for development. What is the industry standard? It will need to support the following functions on a daily basis:

Wamp stack server (Windows Apache MySQP PHP)
Local install and development thereon
Adobe CS
Outlook
Multiple browsers
IM and Skype
video card

Recommendations? How much RAM? Processor speed?
Thanks!
MV

 

[Brett928S2]

Hi

WHICH Industry standard ? Computers, Tractors ,Boats ?

You see my point ?

All the best Brett

 

[jaguarskx]

From a business point of view, I prefer ThinkPads. They are semi-rugged laptops that are built to last. My ThinkPad T40 from 2003 is still full function... to bad it has a slow single core CPU by today's standard.

The only recommendation I can give based on the the limited info is that you want a screen with higher than 1366x768 resolution for productivity purposes like programming, web development, working with spreadsheets, etc. That higher resolution means you will see more information on the screen. Therefore, you should look for at least 1600x900 resolution on a 15.6". If your eyesight is extremely good, then you can get 13.3" laptop with 1920x1080 resolution.

You can stick with a dual core CPU like a Core i5 CPU which should be fine for many years for general purpose usage. Going with a quad core Core i7 CPU can be somewhat "future proof" especially later versions of whatever software you current use are designed to be capable of using 4 cores.

If my ThinkPad T40's Pentium M 1.5GHz CPU was a dual core CPU, I would likely be able to use it today to at least surf the web and work on some spreadsheets. Unfortunately, web browsers and the internet itself has become more bloated since 2003 so simply browsing the web with a single core CPU can be a bit slow.

 

[Brett928S2]

From a business point of view, I prefer ThinkPads. They are semi-rugged laptops that are built to last. My ThinkPad T40 from 2003 is still full function... to bad it has a slow single core CPU by today's standard.

The only recommendation I can give based on the the limited info is that you want a screen with higher than 1366x768 resolution for productivity purposes like programming, web development, working with spreadsheets, etc. That higher resolution means you will see more information on the screen. Therefore, you should look for at least 1600x900 resolution on a 15.6". If your eyesight is extremely good, then you can get 13.3" laptop with 1920x1080 resolution.

You can stick with a dual core CPU like a Core i5 CPU which should be fine for many years for general purpose usage. Going with a quad core Core i7 CPU can be somewhat "future proof" especially later versions of whatever software you current use are designed to be capable of using 4 cores.

If my ThinkPad T40's Pentium M 1.5GHz CPU was a dual core CPU, I would likely be able to use it today to at least surf the web and work on some spreadsheets. Unfortunately, web browsers and the internet itself has become more bloated since 2003 so simply browsing the web with a single core CPU can be a bit slow.

Hi

My shops still sell reconditioned T40s ad T41s, usually to teenagers or companies who need the serial port, we still make good money on them as well, very good solid machines, but they should be as they were proper business machines when new and NOT cheap...

All the best Brett

 

[jaguarskx]

Yeah, I recall paying around $2,200 for my ThinkPad T40 with a Radeon 7500 and 512MB of RAM and the Pentium M 1.5GHz. The only thing that "failed" is the battery back in 2005/2006 which would only hold a 50% charge.

$2,200 back in 2003 was a lot of money. Nowadays $2,200 is worth less due to inflation. At least IBM thru in the bag + free shipping.

I recall some senior managers and executives who were very jealous as to how I (a relatively junior employee) had a top of the line laptop while they were using older laptops. I just told them I paid for it out of pocket and they were like.... "Oh...".