Best Laptop for Programming: ULTIMATE GUIDE

👉 Best Programming Laptops (incl. Deals): www.justjosh.tech/best-tech/B...
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► Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
00:50 What's Makes a GREAT Coding Laptop
07:20 Recommended Laptops
08:35 Conclusion
As an Amazon, Lenovo, Best Buy, B&H, and HP Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
#best #laptop #programming

[@JustJoshTech]

👉 Check out our Favorite Laptops for Programmers: www.justjosh.tech/best-tech/Best-Laptops-for-Coding 👇 All Our Favorite Laptops & Deals - Best for Students: www.justjosh.tech/best-tech/Best-Laptops-for-Students - Best 14inch Laptops: www.justjosh.tech/best-tech/Best-14inch-Laptop - Best Deals on MacBooks: www.justjosh.tech/best-tech/Best-Apple-MacBook-Laptops - Best for Gamers: www.justjosh.tech/best-tech/Best-Laptops-for-Gaming ► Other Recommended Products - Anker 1 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter: amzn.to/3QRsnyh - Intel Rapid Technology Storage Driver: www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/720755/intel-rapid-storage-technology-driver-installation-software-with-intel-optane-memory-11th-and-12th-gen-platforms.html ► Follow Me: - Josh's New Channel: www.youtube.com/@JustJoshBusiness - Instagram: instagram.com/justjosh.life - X: twitter.com/JustJoshLife - TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@justjoshtech - Discord: discordapp.com/invite/MHrS4wG 👉 Our KZbin Gear: www.justjosh.tech/best-tech/Our-KZbin-Gear

[@haithamkhatib]

I am a non native English speaker and must say I can understand you perfectly 👍 no need to slowdown

[@JustJoshTech]

Very helpful to get your perspective. Thank you!

[@wiljanolthof250]

I agree

[@hvasya]

+1

[@PaulValickas]

There is no such thing as great laptop for coding.

[@vali69]

The key to learning a language is input. The more you listen and the harder the material, the better. Keep at it dude.

[@keenesaulcrescini8687]

Not a coder but Josh's reviews are the most practical and his criteria are the best ones for every day use for 100%!

[@JustJoshTech]

Thanks Keene

[@truearmy1953]

@@JustJoshTech when will you speak on the benefits of the dedicated navigation keys:- Home, End, PgUp, PgDn , for students and programmers. These keys makes the laptop more productive. I have to buy the 16" inch version of the Yoga Pro 9i only because the 14inch does not have the Column of the navigation keys(Home, End, PgUp, PgDn). You can use those keys navigation keys as dedicated on the 16inch variant when the numpad is off.

[@toto3777]

Heat through the keyboard and fan noise are indeed ignored by many other "reviewers" who just read the product description on the product page. This is absolutely why I like your reviews. And your speech isn't fast, the cadence is ideal and great, because I don't want to deal with double the time to convey the right amount of information. She might be used to older gen content.

[@soulfabuk]

Great video as always Josh. As a developer who is spending more time on a laptop, I would love for you to do a video on larger screen laptops as often, I struggle with insufficient screen space even on a 15 inch laptop but don't always want to connect to an external monitor.

[@ed32568]

Future data analyst here, same thing here! I've even made my windows and font sizes smaller due to lack of screen space, so my next laptop will definitely be 16+

[@ShredzZ]

Im coding only on my laptop and using 14.2 inch M2 Pro, don't have any issues to be honest.

[@gillybibbons1337]

Maybe not a solution to your problem depending on what you are specifically referring too, but having a Mac with an iPad is absolutely amazing. The way these connect is a breeze and acts like device you can bring around anywhere to digest content and such, as well as being a perfect secondary screen. I typically put my laptop on a stand and then put my iPad on the keyboard of my laptop. With this, I use an external keyboard and mouse. 100% recommended.

[@soulfabuk]

Just to clarify, I use a 15 inch Dell Precision and tend to have many windows open for Visual Studio, SSMS, browser, etc. During the day, I'm either connected to a 49" widescreen or a pair of 24" monitors so I have no issue with screen space. However, I often want to do additional work on an evening or even just play with new tech whilst relaxing on the sofa and this is when I just find a 15" screen means I'm swapping windows too often, so a 17" would offer some more space. I have tried a wireless connection to a 14" Galaxy tab and while this works well to extend the display, it just isn't practical on the sofa. Whilst I love the performance and overall quality of the MacBook 16, I'm a Windows guy at heart and find myself gravitating to the Dell XPS 17. Unfortunately, even the lazy 2023 refresh still causes disappointment with only a 720p webcam so I would like to know about other 17" laptops or workstations. Manufacturers like Lenovo and HP may have been an option in the past but they both seem to have dropped 17" screens and limit customers to 16" (which doesn't offer much more screen space than than my work 15"). I do like the thought of the Razer 18" but price and bad support reputation put me off. The Alienware m18 also gets some good reviews but its bulk and weight would likely crush my lap ;-)

[@gillybibbons1337]

@@soulfabuk have you tried to increase the resolution? I do this on my mac and then increase font size a tad, and this gives me more space to work with (i also do this on my tablet). This allows me to have a smaller more portable device with more space to work with.

[@harrydang9]

I had gotten a Lenovo Legion Y530 when I went to college for computer science, and it worked well for all my four years. Albeit, one year was at home on my desktop due to Covid. Depending on what you're doing, I highly recommend getting 32 GB of RAM. If you're doing any Android development using an emulator or have WSL running, or both at the same time 16 GB would not be enough. Having dedicated arrow keys, Delete, Page Up/Down, Home and End keys are also really nice to have to jump around your code easily. The biggest gripe I had with my Legion gaming laptop was the weight and battery life. Having to lug that across campus and always looking for an outlet was really annoying. I chose it, because I thought I was going to be gaming quite a bit in the evening or on weekends, but I ended up just working on assignments, studying, or hanging out with friends so getting a gaming laptop was probably unnecessary

[@lobotomizedjesse]

Did you get a new one if so which one? Or which one would you recommend?

[@harrydang9]

@@lobotomizedjesse After graduating, I bought a 14" MacBook Pro (refurb M2 Pro, 12 core CPU) for work. Its been adequate, but I definitely do feel it struggling a little with the 16GB of memory

[@lobotomizedjesse]

@harrydang9 oh thanks for reaching out. I'll gladly add it to my list. I'll try and find one with 32g ram

[@xuzhuanlee4473]

Why don't use battery saving mode and switch your GPU into IGP to save more power?

[@Dylan-et2yz]

Well done video. I appreciate that as a professional tool you don't try to recommend one model for everyone. Since text clarity is so important I think it's worth talking about screen resolution, DPI, and how macOS and Windows scale differently. I'll also take the larger screen if the tradeoff is only +1 pound and needing a bigger bag.

[@veracity-]

Please do a video on larger laptops (16 inch), I've been in the market for a laptop for strictly programming for school/work. Also I like the speed that you talk at. It's not too fast and you are clear and concise--something a lot of other tech reviewers could learn from, lol.

[@JustJoshTech]

I think i will. There is tones of interest!

[@cameronbosch1213]

I would personally wait until the Framework Laptop 16 is out. The screen specs were just revealed and they look EPIC! (Unfortunately, it has been delayed to summer 2023, meaning I'll have to limp along without Nvidia, which is a problem, but the alternative is wasting more money on an imperfect laptop I'll probably use for less than a year...)

[@17arando]

​@@JustJoshTech Yeah, I think most coders have pretty set up home or office spaces they do the majority of their work in and having the main screen be large enough to be useful along side larger monitors is a huge QOL improvement. And it's still pretty portable when you are on the go. And if you're a gamer too or need a GPU, then going bigger is even more of a no brainer

[@theinktician]

@@adamrawji Probably when the Framework 16 releases👀

[@7chiaster]

Loved the video review but please also do a 16 inch review too! Some of us are willing to pay extra for the screen size while on the go too. A comparison battle between the 14 inch vs 16 inch would be a bonus!

[@sarthak-ti]

I’d love to see a 16 inch version as well, just because those tend to strike a better balance between performance and portability in my opinion. Also many amazing laptops are only available in one size But thank you for the video! And I applaud your dedication to trying out every laptop before you fully recommend it

[@narutokunn]

Yup came here to say this too.

[@daghetto101]

The weight of 16 inch and 14 inch laptops are night and day....

[@sarthak-ti]

@@daghetto101 I never claimed otherwise, but I personally prefer a 16 inch laptop even if it’s less portable

[@Jassa3]

@@daghetto101not really

[@nadavge]

I think most of your crowd tends to go for a minimum of x1.25 speed by default. I do appreciate the amount of detail. Btw, you had a very high reverb/echo in the Framework laptop overview. It feels a bit better now, but I think if you could make changes to the setup or add a bit more filtering a crisper sound will make sound nicer and easier to understand. Thanks for posting :)

[@TJ-hs1qm]

Thanks Josh. You are the only one who understands and addresses the needs of professional programmers.

[@SuperFighter94]

One thing to think about as well is there are plenty of good options for ex-lease machines, Elitebook 840 G5,6,7 and Thinkpad L14, T14 and P14 machines of different generations can be found on a budget and have great build quality and still have life in them due to being upgradable.

[@akin242002]

Thank you! People are sleeping on ThinkPad T14 laptops. The ease of compatibility with Linux and upgradable RAM & SSD makes it a must for programmers. At my job, most programmers are using these as their laptops. They are encouraged to use WSL and VS if they work in the office. My favorite is Lenovo ThinkPad T14 G3. Great build quality, great keyboards, and runs WSL flawlessly. Only issue is battery life is...meh. Only front-end developers are using MacBooks.

[@lancemarchetti8673]

I doubt whether the T14 will manage to run a 30GB LLM like Mixtral

[@mayankarora7901]

Awesome guide with practical advise. Thanks!

[@manfredriemer236]

Hi Josh, I would be very interested in a 16" programming laptop review. These days with the thin bezels, they are smaller than the 15.6" laptops of a few years ago. About the speed of your speech, it's one of the reasons I subscribed to your channel because you convey your excellent information efficiently. Keep up the great work!

[@Fanaro]

I really like how you simplify so many complex things, truly a hallmark of someone experienced. For example, the amount of code on screen being directly proportional to how much stuff you fit in your head is something I wish I had learned 10 years ago, in uni, instead of only some years ago.

[@STORMFIRE07]

Yes josh, I would love to see your recommendations for larger sized laptops aswell!

[@EmL-kg5gn]

Tysm for this!!! The first video I saw on this topic was for students and it wasn’t good. When a commenter pointed out that the recommendations weren’t budget friendly the youtuber just said that not all students are broke… which is pretty insensitive and ignorant. So it was nice to see this next and especially to hear you say that people can make a start with whatever they have! Thank you for taking the time to list what features are important and why as well as providing a list. That’s super helpful. Also it’s sweet that your mum watches your videos and I appreciate you trying to improve accessibility 💕

[@sirainsworth2360]

Thank you Josh! This is exactly the video that I needed. Appreciate all your effort! What are your thoughts on the hp dragonfly elite g3? I can get a nearly new one for 1050. It has an i7, 3:2 aspect ratio and exceptional build quality. Or would you rather recommend a x1 carbon or g14 for roughly the same $ (I have no specific need for a dedicated gpu) Thank you.

[@shantanurahut4005]

As a ML engineer and a student I would like to add that, with current developments in AI and ML related fields, your laptop GPU won't usually suffice. So if you do not game, don't buy laptop with dedicated GPU and save money. Your office and your university usually will provide you with GPU cluster or powerful CPU servers for your work / study projects. And always focus on the possibility of having as much RAM as possible just like Josh mentioned.

[@JustJoshTech]

Good comment. Thank you

[@-Blue-_]

still not going to buy apple product because I care about raw power not battery 😄😄😁😁

[@srinidhibs5460]

So what laptops are preferred for AI and ML related field.... Will Mac be fine?

[@shantanurahut4005]

@@srinidhibs5460 any laptop is fine if you don't want dGPU in your laptop. You can use colab or kaggle if your University for any reason does not provide you with GPU cluster access. Try to get one which is portable, has a good screen (and bigger screen) and a good keyboard. Try to find something cheap (probably look into used laptops) if you are a student and save money. You don't need a Mac unless you really want to have one.

[@-Blue-_]

@@srinidhibs5460 no for ML windows laptops are good ther are very powerful compare to MacBook and also you can install Linux on it only drawback is battery but you are getting raw power and ML need high end CPU and GPU mainly GPU for ML, buy a dedicated GPU laptop with 16 to 32 gig of Ram also also the the pro features of microsoft office is only for windows not macOS for good keyboard go for ThinkPad series

[@cameronbosch1213]

I would say the most important factors for a programming laptop are the screen, the battery life, and the keyboard. A dGPU is also good if you do game programming. Avoid 16 : 9 screens (go for 16 : 10 or 3 : 2 preferably), and put a high amount of focus in the keyboard. The last thing you want is hating to type on your own laptop you just paid your hard earned money. The touchpad is honestly not a big deal comparably as good mice are much better than any touchpad and aren't too expensive. And don't get a laptop that can't do light tasks for less than 5 hours of battery life! Finally, while Linux _can_ be run on Apple Silicon Macs, Asahi Linux just isn't ready yet for most users. If you even think you'll hate macOS or even need Linux, then don't even think about a Mac for the moment. If you prefer Linux, try waiting for the Framework Laptop 13 or 16, or wait for a System76 laptop to come with a 16 : 10 screen (that will happen in a few months, I'm sure of it) unless you need something immediately, then you may bs SOOL unless you can either wait or buy a Windows laptop and put Linux on it. For me, the Framework Laptop 16 (with its seemingly amazing 16 : 10 screen revealed yesterday) is perfect. In the meantime, I'm going to limp along without Nvidia...

[@tiendungpham1056]

Love the video Josh! Keep up the good work!

[@user-cx9ul5lk5g]

I thought the X1 Carbon would be good for me, I'll take your word for it Josh. Really enjoyed the video, professional and clear, subscribed

[@mrperfectcell1350]

For the past 6 months, I've been looking into buying a laptop and figuring a lot of stuff out. Josh is easily one of the better reviewers I've come across since he actually explains how things are going to affect you instead of just listing the specs or something which I could've literally found out by reading it on any website myself. I really appreciate the spreadsheet too btw. Like A LOT. And thank you sooooooo much for including the warning part, those make life a lot easier. And also, macbooks seem to have pretty decent pricing these days but they make you pay a lot more if you want higher ram and storage and they don't let you upgrade those later on, so that's something to consider as well.

[@Baka100]

Which one did you buy ?

[@-Blue-_]

@@Baka100 always apple because of logo 🤣🤣😂😂 just joking

[@Elle-nv8gg]

Which one did you buy please help I need one for Python and sql

[@alawiSahel]

Can you believe that in all of youtube there is nothing about this topic in such high quality and thoughtful content. Thank you.

[@JustJoshTech]

Thank you! Please share with friends and co-workers!

[@LeeAnnC]

I'm just starting a software dev career and I'm excited to see your upcoming review! You just got one new subscriber 😊

[@hachre]

I think your speech is at a perfect speed!!! In fact I think many others on KZbin speak too slowly or digress too much and this is something that sets you apart!

[@unclechaelsneckvein]

My big thing is it having a centered trackpad. If it's shifted to the left you can't use it on your lap. The reason I buy laptops is to carry them around and not have to sit at a desk, and a centered keyboard is essential for that.

[@nategraham4027]

Excellent video. I've been using a ThinkPad X1 Yoga for the past 3 years and can echo the sentiments that it's an excellent choice. Perfect on Linux too; currently rocking Fedora KDE. I'd also like to warn about Dell XPS laptops in general. A number of colleagues have used them over the years and run into lots of trouble: physical breakage, not enough ports, poor performance, and weird hardware options that make no sense you have to know to avoid. I'd stay away.

[@santoshpatelpilli1190]

Hi What about , HP SPECTRE x360? does it handle all the load ?

[@nategraham4027]

@@santoshpatelpilli1190 I don't know much about newer Spectres, but I had one before the X1 Yoga. It was nice, but over the course of 3 years, its screen backlight and trackpad both broke. I think the Spectre machines focus so much on looks that they aren't physically built tough enough. Meanwhile my X1 is still going strong, nothing broken.

[@m4sterred853]

With my current experience as a CS student, I’d completely avoid the M series MacBook. Many courses make use of virtual machines that are only made for X86-64 architectures. Sure, professors may eventually commission people to make new VM configs for the new MacBooks, but some are just completely against that.

[@mucahitkral8951]

What you think about m2 air 16? Is that good for software

[@tttyyy949]

​@@mucahitkral8951since m2 air 16 doesnt exist it isnt goos foe software.

[@Elle-nv8gg]

Which one to go for then? Please help

[@m4sterred853]

@@Elle-nv8gg I’m not completely up to date with the laptop market, but I’ll tell you my criteria. Other than what Josh mentioned in the video, I’d consider a machine that has great compatibility with Linux and uses an Intel or AMD CPU. I don’t know if you’ll jump straight into Linux, but if you do, I’d look at a laptop from brands like Tuxedo, System76 or Slimbook. For the big OEMs, I’d look at Lenovo or ASUS’ latest models. The brands that offer the best compatibility on all models are Lenovo and Dell, but Dell’s latest models are a real shame. For more details on compatibility of individual laptops, you can go on the Arch Wiki and look at the articles for each laptop brand. For a specific model to look for, I’d say Lenovo Thinkpad T14.

[@lolSnowball]

Wow! Looking forward to your reviews! Epic work!

[@tc1492]

Thanks Josh great video! I have been coding for years and unfortunately farsighted so things can be blurry. 16” is what I will be buying nexts to make it easier to see.

[@feline248]

I prefer 15+ inches for programming. I just got a M2 16" for personal use, and work just gave me a M2 16" too. Love the machine for development. I think it is important to be able to dock it, also. Using it on the go is great, but when I get home or to the office, I need it to plug into bigger screens, decent keyboards, and a good mouse. M2 + 2 displays + mechanical keyboard + mx master mouse is a must for me when I need to really do some serious work.

[@Kiev-en-3-jours]

BS. You can do serious work on almost any laptop. Even 12.5 inches 10 y.o Thinkpads.

[@SqueamishKeemish]

The used market for ThinkPads is also a good place to look depending on how tight your budget is. I just got a T480 with an 8th Gen i5, 16GB of RAM , a 1080p screen and a 512GB SSD for $140. It didn’t come with a charger but that’s okay because it charges via USB C.

[@mohammadelnayef]

The screen quality on that laptop is horrible tho. Had one and sold it.

[@mikaelahyakuya3485]

@@mohammadelnayef You actually can upgrade them

[@TommyDrone]

This was awesome. Thank you very much. A+ course assignment has me recommending best options in a project assignment this helped me a lot.

[@systemnotes]

Thanks for the list. I had been looking at upgrading to something like a new HP Elitebook, but the new ones at the time did not have an “Insert” key, and the RAM was was soldered to the main board, so not upgradable. Instead of buying one, I upgraded the RAM and HD. Now it looks like they finally added the “Ins” key at least on some models, so time to take another look. You mentioned noise and heat can be uncomfortable, but also note that sharp edges can dig into the wrists. Dell and Lenovo can have that sharp front edge which you may not notice at first, until you get sore wrists after sitting in certain positions.

[@WatchBuddy-fr6ww]

Whrere is the list? I don't found it on the description.

[@sjdlove]

As software developer for 10 plus years. I decided last year to go with the the 16gb i7, Surface Pro 9.. It has enough power for what I need to get done. Also for me, it fits the sweet spot when it comes to portability for when I am on the go. Also when I am at home, I plug it into my wide screen monitor. The audio quality is pretty great as well, so its good for watching videos..

[@msx94]

In which language you are coding if I am allowed to ask because 16 GB might be very Limited

[@sjdlove]

@@msx94 Yeah no worries. Currently I am using both Java and Flutter. Also I would never tell you not to get more memory. You get what fits your needs. For me, 16gb fits my needs.

[@ProGamER__801]

Hey sir i just started programming journey i wish if you could help me with that ?🤟​@@sjdlove

[@lightningbaron13]

With the price of RAM and SSD storage being near "rock bottom"; Apple is hard to sell to me, they charge a kidney for upgrades and not really serviceable. I stick with HP, Lenovo and Dell as they usually have a hardware maintenance and service manual. Josh, great video and insightful as always.

[@akin242002]

Lenovo and Dell laptops are nice. The battery life isn't as good as Macbooks, but modern ones are still good enough to get 4 hours of intense work and video before needing to be charged. 8-12 hours of light work without videos watched.

[@kalensus]

Problem is if you want to use xCode, Apple have got you by the gonads.

[@romesh1832]

​@@akin242002what about hp battery life? I have used hp laptop recently and I was satisfied with its battery life.. but now I am thinking to switch to Dell, is it good to go with Dell or i stick to hp💀

[@akin242002]

@@romesh1832 It depends more on the CPU. Intel or Ryzen "U" series CPUs get good battery life beyond 4 hours. Battery life decreases once you start using more performance focused P/H/K series CPUs.

[@GrieferStudios]

My windows laptop got bricked by an update. I agree with you as a pc only person I love the options and deals on those but I just despise Microsoft so much at this point that I'd rather bite the bullet on the mac

[@waqqasiqbal6831]

Your videos are very informative. I was just looking for a reliable video for the best laptop for programmers!

[@panosnord9978]

Great video! Please make an additional video on 16" laptops

[@wiljanolthof250]

I would love to see a list with your reccomendations for laptops with a bigger screen! Keep up the good work.

[@MeGigantorzMon]

The ideal laptop for me as a computer engineering student would usually be a Thinkpad as I am rocking a Thinkpad right now, but if I were to buy a new one the ideal one for me would be the unreleased Framework 16. It is fully upgradeable and repairable and has chance for an external battery on the expansion bay. I am searching for a laptop that can outclass the macbook pro 16 and I think the Framework 16 with ryzen 7 and extended battery can go toe to toe with it.

[@qs_ma8017]

Is asus zenbook 14 with ryzen 7 a good choice for computer engineering?

[@MeGigantorzMon]

oh yeah more than enough. make sure have 16gb or more of ram and an ipad air or just a wacom tablet to write all the math equations and ure set.@@qs_ma8017

[@stefanbayley3113]

Hey bud, what are the specs on your ThinkPad? I want to get one too.

[@patricecomedy]

Bro THANK YOU! Great job. I'm not a developer but I do work in cyber security so pretty similar workflow and preferences.

[@LoftOfTheUniverse]

Looking forward to that next video! Thank you!

[@mrperfectcell1350]

Holy cow the follow up video is gonna go crazy though. If I was your mother, I would be very proud.

[@JimKanaris]

Thanks Josh! All your videos are very informative! Currently, I'm loving my Dell XPS 15 (9530), which didn't receive a rave review from you. In fact, I have the model that you'd rate an unfortunate mistake (i9 with FHD!). In any case, I was quite surprised by the device since I own a 16" M1 Pro, which I of course love! I've been gaming and doing some content creation on it. I'm not sure what it is but, being an unhappy XPS owner in the past, this particular model and configuration is blowing me away. It works flawlessly (for now), which is saying a lot. I know Dell isn't hugely popular with the tech community right now, but, as a tech-savvy individual, I'm not experiencing any buyer's remorse, which is all one can really ask for these days. Cheers! And keep up the great work! 🙏

[@mayureshs80]

What specs did you get?

[@megamastah]

Similar story here. Dell XPS 13 9310 working perfectly with Ubuntu, while Mac Pro 13 M1 and MacOS was a... misunderstanding.

[@JimKanaris]

@@mayureshs80 13th gen i9, RTX 4070, 512SSD, 32G DDR5, FHD.

[@mayureshs80]

@@JimKanaris No fan issues when doing normal task web browsing and spreadsheets?

[@JimKanaris]

@@mayureshs80 You can hear them when underload but nothing crazy. It's a pretty quiet machine. So far I'm really impressed. I used to own a 7590 (OLED) and 9500 (UHD). I had serious issues with those.

[@brokecsstudent]

My dad and I are looking into the Zephyrus G14 for my college. I bet this is gonna be a game changer in school. If budget is really a big matter, maybe I will shift towards the Strix G16 or the Helios Neos 16.

[@mithrillis]

I was looking for a 6800U laptop last year but local stores were slow to stock so I ended up getting a ROG Flow X13 (6800HS) without discrete graphics. Very overlooked productivity laptop from a gaming brand. The screen is a bit small, but it's very crisp (thanks for no matte!) and it's 120Hz so it will make scrolling feel better. The keyboard is no Thinkpad but does the job well. You get touchscreen, a pen, and you can fold the device to tablet mode. You can even run most games reasonably well with just onboard graphics. Also no aggressive gamer aesthetics that usually comes with ASUS ROG. Overall a very versatile device with a very capable processor. Hopefully they keep on with the quality with future refreshes.

[@danwah]

I can vouch for the 14" M1 over the Air. I have both and the 14 wins on screen size, resolution and quality, including ports and performance, can pick the M1s up for a decent price now too! Must stress just how nice the high resolution displays are!

[@tarkgundogdu8940]

it has glossy screen. I think it is better to have a matte screen.

[@narutokunn]

​@@tarkgundogdu8940 Hey! Thanks for recommendation. May I ask if you have programming in your daily use case? I am not able to convince myself that 14in will be good enough for vscode, but I have never tried anything below 15.6in. A monitor is not always on option since I am away from my setup for 1-2 weeks in a month.

[@wlcrutch]

Josh, something that would be helpful with this specific topic: linux compatibility. The program I am studying requires Unix, so that that’s either Macos or linux. Given the high prices for macbooks, it would be nice to know how well these pcs you recommend function under a linux. 😊

[@MelroyvandenBerg]

Yea very important! Try to avoid dual gpus like Intel gpu + Nvidia. Avoid that, just buy a amd processor with integrated gpu (ryzen). Without a dedicated gpu. Linux will thank you!

[@deloller2452]

@@MelroyvandenBerg you can disable nvidia gpu and use the integrated one

[@kuntrasha]

been using linux mint for 2 or 3 years now and love it. It's a shame it doesn't even get mentioned in a lot of videos like this

[@hailstorm7868]

Late comment, but wsl exists

[@rishabh4082]

Thank you for a clear , concise and precise video!❤

[@cbbcbb6803]

Great video. Running virtual machine is a good way to get practice with several different operating systems. I use VirtualBox, but there are other ones that work very well.

[@doufmech4323]

I would really avoid apple's M1 and M2 for coding. There are so many issues when coding, especially with multithreading. A lot of my fellow students have been unable to get some of their to work on a M1/M2 done. One course in particular, assigned us (for the exam) to make a matrix library for C, and importantly benchmark and evaluate multithreaded vs singlethreaded code. Unfortunately for the Macbook users, no one was able to parallelize their code. This obviously affected their grade.

[@m4sterred853]

I think it’s also a correction method issue. For these kinds of things, all my professors told their students to do the benchmarks on their own, but also that results are validated at correction in a controlled environment (a Linux virtual machine). That would be very easy to get a grade revision for this.

[@petkogeorgiev2103]

Any explanation on why they couldn't parallelize their code? I haven't used an M1/M2 Macbook, but I don't see any reasons why you'd have any issues writing multithreaded software on them. I've written multithreaded programs for university using C and OpenMP and was able to build and run them with no issues on a desktop, ARM phone and RPI

[@giovannifm]

Work gave us Macbooks, first time I've ever used a Mac, and I've been using it for multithreading and have not encountered any issues whatsoever with coding. In fact, this little machine has pretty much blown my mind as far as filling all the boxes for me. I'm a newer mac user but pleasantly been a fan of these new silicon chips.

[@clementadebiyi]

Which Apple MacBook would you recommend then?

[@SamuelMukoti]

Any of the MacBook Pro would be a great development machine with 32 GB RAM and 512 SSD minimum

[@PD3666]

I was really looking forward to buying a Dell XPS 17. I would really like to know which criteria it did not meet to make it to your list. It has a 17inch 16:10 4K display, upgradable, vapor chamber cooling, great keyboard and trackpad and a decent battery.

[@chengxiaoshi3461]

Love your the speed of ur speech. Quick efficient and quality information interluded with a bit of your personality for the very best experience

[@sjewkes1]

Great video coverage as usual, and nice to see I'm not the only power-user making spreadsheets for literally everything. I did programming for my degree on a 15" MSI gaming laptop that lasted me nearly 6 years of constant abuse, including using a WD external drive to game from (which still works after 8 years) and a foldable bed table since I didn't have a desk for most of that time. I'd also love to see a second video/spreadsheet on 15-16" machines, for those that want better screen real estate and better hardware (that the chassis can actually keep cool) without the bulk of 17-18". It's a shame we don't have AMD in more machines still, since they are kicking the crap out of Intel even on the mobile processors, but maybe one day.

[@YunaniXVI]

should i choose Ryzen 5 7640HS or i5 13420H?

[@sjewkes1]

@@YunaniXVI It really depends on your use case. If you're doing something that will take advantage of the extra cores and threads, the i5 is the clear choice. However, the Ryzen is going to have a higher base clock, with better power and thermal efficiency for longer battery life, and arguably better integrated graphics, all of which are beneficial for laptops.

[@YunaniXVI]

@@sjewkes1 thank you

[@nz2005]

I just went on your channel to search for laptop and you uploaded at that very moment 🤣 what a coincidence. Thanks for your videos man

[@nz2005]

Funny thing is I'm also a student of Data science and Ai so this video is basicly made for me 🫡

[@MyronZhao]

Hey Josh, great video! By the way, while I think battery capacity is a good spec to list, another thing to point out is the efficiency and how long it would roughly last during certain tasks. Since Apple's silicons run laps around anything else. But since you mentioned you will test all the laptops, this would be a great stat for viewers to know about :)

[@JustJoshTech]

I agree. This one I need to do in a dedicated video or individual reviews

[@rcn7194]

Thanks for this video. I would appreciate a video about the comparison of 16'' Laptops.

[@user-uq1kn7ol4w]

Great work! Thank you Josh!

[@chitalvision]

16inch laptop FTW! I prefer large format devices because for me the tradeoff between lugging it around and the performance gains is well worth it. Waiting for your recommendation video on 15inch or larger programming laptops!

[@tarkgundogdu8940]

new macbook airs have 15 inch screens.

[@engifaarliu9732]

I code on a few thinkpad X1 Carbons. Solid battery life, display and powerful enough for what i'm doing. It has support for Debian Linux. I would highly recommend a new programmer to pick up a refurbished model if they are on a budget. Intel 8th to 10th CPUs doesn't make much of a difference. But if some level of graphics is required, intel 11th and 12th gen would be more than enough with the Xe IGP.

[@neilduffy334]

Except for the new x1c, with OLED.... awful touchpad support, no webcam support... x13 on the other hand, great

[@akin242002]

​@@neilduffy334 The touchpad was bad for the X1C 9, and the webcam was sub par at 720p and 60hz refresh rate. However, that has changed for the X1C 10. Better touchpad, and 1080p webcam. Add on Intel's12th gen P series CPU. Only remaining issue is heat when the workload gets CPU intense. Still great for scripting languages like Python, R, Ruby, or Lua. I'd recommend the ThinkPad T series for intense programming work. C, C++, Rust, Java, C# or Go.

[@neilduffy334]

@@akin242002 I recently had the x13 gen 3 & the x1 carbon gen 10 oled. The screen on the x1c was great, but everything else was poor. The glass touchpad gained an oil stain / fingerprint mark I could not remove (x13 mylar was no issue), and the sensitivity was poor compared to x13.

[@engifaarliu9732]

@@neilduffy334 I was issued the x1c10 without OLED. No issues from me.

[@grizz588]

I have been looking at many different laptops because I'm about to graduate high school, and I love your review videos. I was just wondering if you could maybe look into the Huawei Matebooks? Other reviews all say it's amazing (except for the 16s and X Pro for their weird keyboard camera) and I'm actually planning on getting the 14s, but I would love to see a review from you about it. Thank you 🙏

[@lloydfernandes119]

Thanks Josh! This is exactly what i was looking for

[@RedBeardedRabbit]

Developer for 13 years here: I've been forced to use 14 inch or smaller laptops my entire career. How many professional programmers even get a choice? Usually there's a standard issue corporate model and that's it - I've had to put extra effort at multiple orgs just to get them to give me more than 8GB of RAM!

[@JustJoshTech]

Yeah thay sucks when it happens. Especially if it's a bad screen

[@meistrimeez]

I drive a ThinkPad z13 as a linux c++ developer. Linux support is really important to me and the z13 delivers on that front. The only thing that bothers me is the size. I really wish that Lenovo had made a 14inch version and added PgUp, PgDn, Home, End keys to the side for the extra space

[@adpartum]

The list is soo good!!! Helped me a lot! Thank u!

[@crappycoder]

List is very sound, good job josh! I'm currently rocking a G14 myself, very handy and useful, tho I only 1650 5800H one due to budget constraints. 16-32GB is a godsend.

[@bob890119]

I use an M2 Air (upgraded naturally) as a Java developer myself. I agree with you that the 14" M2 Pro is just better, but the Air gets the job done as well. I'm quite happy with the Air as a work machine. I'm curious if there is a particular factor or factors that cause you to not recommend it at all?

[@mustafauludogann]

Hi what do you think about m1 air? I am just starting learning coding I am thinking of buying one Is it cheaper do you suggest m1 air?

[@Kiev-en-3-jours]

@@mustafauludogann Second hand T480 with Linux.

[@gamerswarehousez]

This guy is saying everything as it is and it is true, most youtubest just praise MAcboks but me having used both Macbook M1 and Windows Acer, Asus, Hp, Everything even Gigabyte Aero, still windows is much more convenient to Learn Coding. But for Working Macbook is better. So while you are a student get yourself Hp Probook they have great keyboard or Acer Aspire, Acer Swift, Amd is preferable as less heat less fan noise, generally AMD always has more Ram More SSD and more battery life so go for AMD folks

[@nasirusanigaladima]

Great video,i made a comment on your suggestion channel on discord about the best laptop for web development, android and Windows and deep learning/machine learning.I will appreciate it if you can do a video on that especially on the deep learning aspect, seeing how fast models train on a particular laptop and also the general comfort of using a laptop like that.

[@billj5645]

Power, RAM, being able to upgrade, good cooling, good bright screen, faster graphics processing- all of this points to a gaming laptop. I like a 15" screen and if I can carry 14" then I can handle another pound or so for a 15". My current laptop is an HP Omen 15" but I also looked at Lenovo Legion and ASUS Zephyrus. Your talking speed is fine for me, in fact I watch your videos speeded up quite a bit and understand everything you say.

[@bjornbarthusel6433]

I think you must take 15" laptops into account if you want to be fair and avoid missing some top options. Just because apple denies to deliver 15" is not a valid reason for self-imposed restrictions. Many people recommend the Dell XPS 15.

[@Biliogadafr]

After coding for some time on a 14" screen I decided that I need a 17" laptop at minimum... and an external monitor :) This is my setup right now and it works perfectly for my needs. Luckily I don't have to travel with this thing often :)

[@ascar66]

I user 14 inch laptop with 27 inch external monitor it seems to me good combination.

[@vmwarereporting6278]

amazing video , I just sub for u now cuz of the quality of your videos ! awesome ! keep up the good work.

[@jimpaloander1888]

Hi Josh, basically what is needed and manufacturers do not get it, is a 16 inch in the case of a 15inch with very thin bezels, e-ink monitor color or gray-scale in the lenovo-twist paradigm, so that there is absolutely no eye-strain. Most of the time we are writing code, and once the code is written we debug small-size problems where you do not need significant computational resources. We also need a very battery-efficient CPU such as ARM-based or similar. However, I am not so sure that ARM-based Apple's CPUs are so much more battery-efficient than AMD's at the same nanometer scale. What do you think?

[@kielvostro]

I thought AI apologists said that coding is dead and ChatGPT will do everything for them? Companies will no longer have employees because the CEO can do everything because of ChatGPT 🤣

[@JustJoshTech]

Lol

[@knorkeFutzi]

Great video, many thanks! I still have one wish, maybe you can say something about it: In times of home office work, we do a lot pair programming via Microsoft Teams (using screen sharing). With my current device, this causes very high workload. Operations in VSCode then suddenly take x times as long. So from my personal point of view, this is quite an important criteria when looking for a new laptop. Unfortunately, I am not sure what I would have to look out for in order to have better performance for a new device. (you speaking speed is very good)

[@JustJoshTech]

Good point

[@mauririvera8391]

Thanks man, really waiting for the next video

[@MrSkyline11]

Before i start coding i had legion y540. It was a good laptop but i sold it and switch to thinkpad e14 gen3. It's a great laptop, decent amd processor, 16gb ram, 1.25tb storage. Physical switch for camera and track point (love this one). I recommend everyone to search for a used thinkpad e series.

[@VoicuMatei]

You are not speaking to fast. It’s just perfect like this. The videos are very specific, the info ia to the point, that is exactly what I am looking for in this segment :)

[@JustJoshTech]

Thank you

[@renanrosa5527]

Very thoroughly reviewed. Thanks !

[@mojumder_ashche]

My classes start in a few week and I was searching for a laptop. Impeccable timing.

[@AktivacnyPracovnik]

Great overview. You deserved a subscription, sir.

[@SportsIncorporated]

I like 3 monitors. The laptop and two full sized displays. One for documentation (left), one to code on (center), and one to display results (right). The laptop alone doesn't cut it.

[@jpvteixeira]

Really nice video, Josh! Thank you so much!! Wdyt about the Legion Pro 7i 16 "Gaming Laptop QHD + 240Hz i9-13900HX 16GB RAM 1TB SSD RTX 4080? I'm seeking for a laptop with all the qualities you mentioned, but also the capability of testing large deep learning models before sending them to a cloud service. (I guess some gaming in my free time wouldn't hurt as well haha). I also really like this option because and can dual boot the computer and get best of both worlds. I am also considering to buy a macbook (with minimum 32gb of RAM), since the M1/M2 processors seem to handle really well deep learning models. What macs do you recommend for my case? Do you think it's worth buying a mac instead of the legion 7i? Considering that productivity and work are my priority? Great work on your videos!

[@OleksandrGolubtsov]

Hi Josh, thanks for your work and your great reviews. Are you planning to do a review of the best laptops for GIS work, in particular the ArcGIS Pro?

[@williamdissing1041]

You're not talking too fast, perfect paste. thank you for your videos

[@madm.d.e129]

I really appreciate the amount of detailed information you provided in this video. Amazing Work.

[@ntc490]

Interested to see your reviews. Don't slow down. I always watch KZbin videos faster than normal. You seem only slightly quicker than average. I liked the energy of this video.

[@JeanRivau]

Loved the video, thank you! That said, I don't understand the comment regarding the Galaxy Book - the keyboard is pretty decent (at least for me). :)

[@RegularEverydayNormalGuy]

What amazing timing, I'm atually shopping for a new laptop this weekend haha

[@yesyas5972]

Thanks for your video. I didn't think about commodity, temperature, etc...Thnk for that

[@konigheinrichiv.9232]

Hey Josh, thank you for the great video! Somehow I can't find your Excel list in the description, would you mind posting it here?

[@nightwing369]

Fantastic video! Thanks!

[@AaronGayah]

Can you recommend external monitors for coding? Is an ultra wide better than two smaller screens? Many larger screens may require laptops with a more powerful graphics card - what are the considerations there we should specifically identify?

[@chrispotterfan]

best youtube channel for deciding what laptop you should buy! great videos, enjoy every single one if it.

[@JustJoshTech]

Thanks Chris!

[@Wonsumfun]

Hi Josh! Would you be able to give us some tips on how to learn how to code? Can I also have some tips about the Resolution>Scaling settings? Thank you!

[@aiashla53005]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

[@emmanuelharbor2350]

Josh, thanks for this tutorial on programming laptops.

[@JustJoshTech]

No probs Emmanuel