Programming laptop around 500 budget

[Liweinator]

I'm going to college next year so I will be getting a laptop. However, I really wanted to build a custom pc for a while. I'm thinking of going 500 for the laptop for college ONLY and 500 for the desktop at home, or 1000 for the laptop max and ditch the desktop. Should I go for the laptop only? Or should I go for laptop and desktop. I'm leaning more to the laptop for 500, so any recommendations? Also, is an expensive laptop really needed for programming?

 

[bigpinkdragon286]

While an expensive laptop isn't really a necessity for programming, two things I would take the time to look into would be the screen and the keyboard. The keyboard needs a layout you can live with, without too many missing keys, or keys that are too small or uncomfortable to type on for extended periods of time. A screen with full HD or better will give you more real estate while working in a programming IDE. This becomes more pronounced if you end up snapping code windows side by side, or work with any sort of preview windows open.

While none of these things will prevent a low end laptop from working just fine, you'll feel a lot less cramped in the long run if you opt for better specs in those two areas.