Introduction:
Hello, guys in this post we will learn about all 13 essential things you have to know. Before buying a laptop for programming.
As you know the laptop is mostly on time investment. So, you have to make in your college or school life so it’s very crucial to have a great one.
In long term for programmers having a top-performing laptop is very important. Because you have to do lots of projects on that and other important works also. Like making an introduction video for your projects or editing your photos on Photoshop, making graphics, or logo using adobe products.
The adobe products require lots of features on a laptop which you will learn in this post as you reading further.
Also when you have done your school or college you have to work with big corporates or you just want to become a freelancer. So here is your early investment is to give you the benefit of using that laptop. Which you buy when you start your college or school.
Basically, after reading this post you will confident and have a crystal clear idea of what you need and which thing you don’t on your laptop.
So, here are 13 Crucial Points You Have to Know before buying a programming Laptop:
1. Get The Ethernet Port:
Is That Important to have an Ethernet Port?
Now everything becomes wireless and no one wants to connect Ethernet Cable to their pc. But if there is no Wi-Fi facility thereof suppose there is some network issue then the Ethernet Port is Become Your Red pill.
Why I’m saying that because there are large corporates and institutes the prefer Ethernet cable to their employees and students. Because it’s a very efficient, professional, and great method to connect PC users to the local data centers established on their institute or organizations.
Using Ethernet cable is also secure and fast so I’ll suggest you go with Ethernet port if you have the option to choose. Otherwise, you need to buy a USB Ethernet connector for your Device.
So, tell me on the comment box you using an Ethernet port ever?
Let me tell you about my real-life example related to this topic.
My group of friends visited IIIT Raipur. And one of my best friends recently Buys a cool laptop when we stated the Class on java programming our instructor gives us an Ethernet cable to connect our pc with the internet but my friend’s device doesn’t have an Ethernet port.
And he tells his instructor to give him Wi-Fi access but somehow their Wi-Fi option is not available at that time.
Our instructor funnily said to him “why you buy this useless device throw it away.”
So, Guys, this is the very rear case and I think if you don’t have an Ethernet port it’s not a big issue.
2. Have SSD Minimum 256GB:
Hey, before you go for SSD Lets see why you need that and what is the benefits you’ll get.
So, SSD (Solid State Drive) is an important part of your laptop you can will never rerate if you go with SSD if you are want to become a Programmer this will give you a massive speed for doing multitasking in your laptop and you can run any Heavy Software and programmers without any hanging or lacking when you switch between multiple software’s like Chrome to VS Code and then Kindle or any other software you use for learning programming.
So, Guys if you want to go with SSD it’s very cool but if you don’t want SSD or don’t want to need that little amount of space in your PC just because it to faster than HDD. It’s okay if you want large storage. This is also a good option it’s not that matter.
Okay, guys one last benefit I think most people know that if you have an SSD in your pc so it will be booted in a fraction of a second. So it’s happening because of the reading speed of memory you have. You can Read data From SSD 6x faster than HDD (Hard Disk Drive).
3. Retina Display:
So, Let’s Talk about Retina Display you mealy heard or see in the Apple products advertisement or specifications. Let me clear this Retina display is just a metaphor for the Pixel density of the screen.
Yes, it’s just a marketing purpose and one thing is best about Retina display you can see more code on Apple Device then other devices because they have Massive pixel density screens which count almost every pixel of the screen.
The more pixel density you have in your device’s display more its gives you a clear and quality experience of anything you watching on that screen to you
I know it’s an amazing experience to have an Apple device but doesn’t worry about that if you are not like apple devices or don’t have any. Just go for the highest pixel density devices. You will get more ideas of display in the below points.
4. DDR4 Ram Minimum 8GB:
Okay guys this is the most exclusive part of the laptops where you don’t need to compromise go for the highest RAM opting you will get.
The ram is like Ink of your pen, the more you have more work you can do with that.
Let me give you some examples.
Lucky and Rahul both are best friends and they buy the same laptop but a different variant of ram.
Lucky buy the 32GB variant of Ram because he is a regular reader of our blog. And Rahul goes with 8GB Ram Pc.
Okay, they got the same college and have the same batch of computer science. One day in a college hackathon is announced they were on the same team. But when they are doing coding for the challenge.
Rahul’s Pc after performing some hours of coding continuously his pc going slower and response time is very slow. But on the other hand, Lucky is very lucky because he knows the value of Ram on his pc. His software’s running as Flash Running to save the Central City.
So, lest see some facts about Ram:
The DDR3 (Double Data Rate Version 3) and DDR4 you may be thinking what’s the matter if I go with DDR3. So let me tell you in DDR3 you got the clock speed vary between 800MHz to 2133 MHz (Megahertz). And the DDR4’s clock speed starts with 2133 MHz and goes on…
If you go with DDR4 it’s will also save your power consumption and give your pc more battery life. Don’t worry we talk more about the battery in the next points.
5. Display Size 13 to 14 Best:
My friend if you want to become a programmer and buying a laptop for just programming, not for gaming or video editing. So it’s the best choice to get the 13.3 to 14 inches laptops mostly prefer 13.3 inches. Because seriously it is very difficult to handle big-screen laptops.
As a programmer 13 to 14 inches screed is enough for us. But why I’m pushing you to buy a laptop for these screen range.
Let me tell you when you buy a laptop with that big screen like 16 inches its looks very awkward. When you hang around with these laptops. The real means of the laptop is comfortable to carry with you anywhere.
And with toes big screens and heavyweight it’s not a good experience. Yes, it’s very comfy when it’s come to watching a movie or playing games on a big screen. But you’re buying a laptop for programming, aren’t you?
6. Metal Body:
The environment is affecting your laptop and if you have a laptop and it’s not durable as time goes on the part of laptops like hinges where the laptop has folded the area become weak and most cases if you do not operate properly your laptop may be a break in two parts.
If you go with a plastic body they are a good option but you can’t feel good if you travel a lot with your laptop. Because sometimes you got drop your bag or moving around and accidentally your laptop hit with side wall or any other thing. In this case, your laptop screen may be damaged or some part of your laptop may be broken.
So, It Better to go with a metal body instead of any other option.
8. Graphic Card at least 2GB:
You may be thinking why you suggesting me a graphic car I’m not a gamer. Brother yes you don’t want to play that high-end games on this laptop but when you design high-quality graphics for your projects and logo it’s better to have a graphic card.
Suppose you get the offer to work on Unity to develop a game where it’s very important to have a graphic card of at least 2GB.
9. Which Operating System:
The operating system takes an important role in your life let’s see how.
If you are a windows user you will never know what sudo command means and why it’s not working on you pc. Yes, I’m also a Windows user and ill don’t know about this command until I worked on Linux and git. So, the sudo command stand for superuser do. Just like in windows we do run as administrator.
Don’t worry if you choose any Operating system for programming it all depends on you what you want but if you want to become an ethical hacker or want to work on any other cybersecurity or networking company I’ll refer you to go with Kali Linux or Red Hat Linux.
10. Battery Life:
It’s better to have l long battery life’s laptops. Because you are a coder and it probably helps you a lot. If you are at the workplace and don’t want any disturbance of wires. More your laptop can serve you without charging more you can focus on your work and doing your projects.
So, when you buy a laptop with 11-12 hours of average battery life. Then there is no haven like this.
Trust me if you use the laptops which have 4-5 hours of average battery life. Then after some years like 3 to 4 years. You will be frustrated about how the laptop battery goes drain so fast.
But if you still don’t want that long battery life don’t worry. It’s okay if you are not traveling a lot then you can go with normal battery life laptops.
Let me give you some tips to make your battery life longer than usual.
- Don’t use your laptop when you charging.
- If possible shut down your laptop when you going to sleep or not going to use it for 6-7 hours.
- Please don’t go anywhere without switching off your screen, sleep, or Hibernate to your pc and laptops.
- Always use your pc in a cool environment if possible.
11. Processors:
Please don’t get confused with Dual, Quad, or Octa-Core. They are almost the same when you work with lots of applications. Then they help you to run several tasks at the same time. So you don’t get frustrated.
It does not always mean that more core you have more batter it is. Not it’s not true, it all depends on your processor’s speed. Whatever processors your laptop have please consider this following tip.
Check your processor’s clock speed. It should be greater than at least 2GHz or I’ll suggest you go between 3-4GHz.
12. Weight:
Weight is mostly ignored by programmers but it’s matters when you want to take your laptop with you. NO matter which place is that maybe it’s your workplace, your friend’s house, or college. So please check the weight when you buying a laptop.
If you go for 13.3 inches careen as I mentioned in the above point you’ll get a lighter laptop. And it feels comfy on your bag or in your hand.
13. Keyboard:
Last but not least, I mean that Laptop is the best part of the laptops. Because if you got the right one you will become fluent with that laptop.
If you want a great programmer go get some training in typing. Good knowledge of typing save your plenty of time to searching for keys.
Downloads this software on your pc or laptop and learn the typing first. It pays you off in long term.
Download from Google Drive
Download From Site
Okay, let me tell you why your laptop keyboard matters most. Eventually, you have to put on practice to lean code. And when you will master or getting some proficiency in your programming. You seek if your laptop is doesn’t work properly. Like some keys are stuck on some point when you typing it’s quite irritating.
So before you buy a laptop check the keys are easily pressed and do some typing work on that store where you buying or after when the laptop is delivered to your home.
If it’s not feel good go for another one. And one more thing I have to suggest to you. If you want to save your little bit of money, as well as your unusual battery consumption. So don’t buy that backlit keyboard laptops.
Let me clear about that statement for you. If you want to become a programmer you have to practice and master typing with your keyboard. Which is preferred as touch type.
And if some situation occurs where you have to type without an external light source or in dark. I’ll suggest you please don’t do programming with low light. It will affect your eyes very seriously.
Let’s see some tips for making your keyboard’s life longer:
- Whenever you open your laptop after long hours. Clean your keyboard and screen with soft clothes.
- Do not take tea, water, or any other liquid when using a laptop.
- Don’t push your keys like a hammer on nails.
Conclusion:
So far we learn about SSD’s and DDR4 Ram why they have an important place on your laptop. You get the idea of processors dual or quad-core doesn’t matter. But you have to see what clock speed they have.
You will get how it is important to have a 13.3 inches screen for your laptop. And why the metal body is a better option on behalf of plastic body laptops. And in last we learn about the keyboard and get some tips to care for our laptop’s keyboard.
So, If you want to buy laptops here are may suggestion for you:
Dell New XPS 13 9300 13.4-inch FHD InfinityEdge Touchscreen Laptop (Silver), Intel Core i7-1065G7 10th Gen, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Windows 10 Pro (XPS9300-7909SLV-PUS)
2020 Apple MacBook Air with Apple M1 Chip (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage) – Gold
2020 Apple MacBook Pro with Apple M1 Chip (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD Storage) – Space Gray
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