Not using this to look for recommendations, but more of a survey of what HN users like to use.<p>I made an ask post like this in 2019 and I'm sort of curious to how things have changed over the years: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20857818<p>Maybe follow a template like this?<p>Laptop model:<p>CPU:<p>RAM:<p>Screen:<p>Personal comments:
Laptop model: MacBook Air (M1, 2020)<p>CPU: Apple M1<p>RAM: 8192MiB<p>Screen: 13,3-inch (2560×1600, virtual 1440×900)<p>Personal comments: bought just to try out how well Arm can perform in a laptop. Love the hardware, not so much macOS. I try out Asahi from time to time and it's getting better each time – hopefully next time I can finally make a switch completely.<p>I also miss my ThinkPad's keyboard :-(
M2 Pro / 32GB. Had been using the last Intel Air which I bought in early 2020 and was absolutely gutted when they dropped the M1 a few months later. I've generally made my Macs last 4 or 5 years, so probably would still be using the M1 had I got it.<p>But that Intel Air was the worst Mac I've ever owned. It was truly a piece of shit that I hated every second with. I7 with 16GB of RAM and the fan was on constantly. Was like working with a hairdryer going (and I wasn't pushing it any harder than the Air I had before, which was mostly silent).<p>The M2 Pro is an absolute breath of fresh air. Silent, everything just works and works quickly. It's feels like when I first moved from PCs to Macs.
Macbook Pro 16" w/ i9 and 64gb of ram... it's good that I can run windows in parallel and play some games. But the i9 heats a lot, like a lot and then macos throttles CPU performance.<p>I read somewhere that intel could not built chips with smaller nm process and to meet their performance requirements w/ apple they just shoveled more cores or boosted clock.<p>I had an air w/ m2 before I managed to drown it. That was an insanely fantastic machine. For it's money, for a full-stack web dev it was right in the spot. Even running linux x64_86 VM's was quite good.<p>I only wish macs were waterproof :-D
Asus Vivoboook F510UA, 2018
I5-8250
24GB RAM
15.6"<p>Running Ubuntu. They start as 8GB but there's an extra ram slot and I put a 16GB stick in, which helps a little but not as much as upgrading to an SSD did. It's got a 2.5 bay and also an m.2 slot, really cool upgradability.<p>Currently using a Logitech M650U Bluetooth mouse with it.<p>Sadly the back is textured, which seems crazy to not be compatible with stickers.
Caved and spent the dollars for an M2 air 24G after being disappointed by frame.work hardware. Wish I did this originally...<p>Apple silicon is really good, like really good. I don't think you can find a better laptop cpu right now. They are very polished machines and will be good for many years<p>I've been using the Immersed App with the Quest 3 until my Visor arrives. The M2 doesn't even flinch
a 2009er thinkpad model x200s<p>cpu<p>* SL9400 1,86 Ghz, 6MB L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB, 17W TDP<p>ram<p>* 8 GB<p>display<p>* 12" 1440x900 with LED-backlight<p>storage<p>* 1 TB crucial mx500 sata ssd<p>source<p>* <a href="https://thinkwiki.de/X200#X200s" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://thinkwiki.de/X200#X200s</a><p>ps. i'm using a PC for "serious" work ...