Ask HN: What are the best laptop brands to use for Windows development with tools to include SQL Server, Visual Studio, etc.? Thinking of retiring my 3-year old Asus Core i5 laptop and replacing with higher-end Windows machine.
I replaced my Dell i5 460M with HP i7 2860QM and it works awsome until i spell water on it then replace it with my current laptop HP 3630QM, also used HP with i7 6500u and my answer will be use dell,lenovo or asus with i7 processor like i7 4770HQ or if new laptop then hit for i7 7820HK, 16/32GB RAM and SSD if possible NVMe like intel 600p or better samsung EVO or pro. Your laptop is good if you put a great components in it.
In my experience the best installation of Windows I've used is a VirtualBox VM on a MacBook Pro. So my answer would be "Apple". Windows just seems to run better in a VM on a Mac.