Top 5 Laptops for Developers

Laptopical.com have put together an article for the readers of Help Developer, the top 5 laptops for developers which looks at the top laptops for designers.

Admittedly, the most sensible choice for developing web content is a desktop PC with one or a pair of large, high-resolution screens. But in some situations you might need a laptop, or alternatively, you might use a laptop as your primary computer and hook up an extra screen. In that case, you would probably go with a laptop with a decent dedicated graphics card. Regardless, it’s primarily the larger type of desktop replacement laptops that attract the developer’s attention. The list below is a few examples of some laptops that stand out in this department, be it for pure performance or good value for money.

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Sony Vaio VGN-AR590E

Image Credit - Amazon

Sony has a knack for making great-looking laptops from quality materials, but the price is usually steep. This one is no exception in that area, but it undeniably looks great on your desk. It’s large and quite heavy, but that’s hardly a surprise – it’s a 17-inch laptop with a screen that looks amazing at its native 1920×1200 resolution. The 8600M GPU from Nvidia is not the latest and greatest anymore, but it does the job. Whether you need it or not, you also get an integrated Blu-Ray drive, which surely adds a little extra to the price tag.

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Asus M70SA

Image Credit - CNET

Asus is mostly known for its tiny Eee PC mini-notebooks nowadays, but the company makes laptops in all sizes and shapes. The M70SA is a 17-inch (1920×1200 screen resolution) model which is part of a series that the company labels “personal entertainment center” laptops. At any rate, it has the potential to carry out quite demanding tasks thanks to the 2.5GHz “Penryn” (45nm) Core 2 Duo CPU and a HD3650 GPU from ATI with 1GB of dedicated video memory. Another highlight is the dual 500GB hard drives that give you a full terabyte of storage space.

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Apple MacBook Pro

Image Credit - PC Pro

The MacBook Pro is pricier than almost any PC with the same or equivalent hardware. However, its design is something else, not to mention the new OS X Leopard and the Multi Touch touchpad from Apple. You can get it in several configurations based on either the 15-inch 1440×900 or the 17-inch 1920×1200 screen. All of the newer models are built around Intel’s Core 2 Duo CPUs, and as a result you can also run Windows XP or Vista on your Mac via Apple’s Boot Camp software.

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Toshiba Qosmio G45

Image Credit - Amazon

The overall design of Toshiba’s Qosmio series is probably an acquired taste. It has lots of wheels and buttons and a glossy piano-finish lid. Other than that, it’s really heavy and the weight combined with battery life makes the Qosmio a poor choice for travel. On the plus side, however, is the stuff beneath the plastic – a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo from Intel, a 17-inch 1920×1200 screen backed by the popular 8600M GPU from Nvidia, and a 3GB of RAM. The included HD-DVD burner is somewhat surprising, however, considering that Toshiba has dropped support of its own format.

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Dell Inspiron 1525

Image Credit - Notebook Review

In the Value-for-money segment, the Dell Inspiron is definitely worth a look. For just under $600, you get a Core 2 Duo laptop with a 15-inch 1680×1050 screen. The build is durable and you can even customize it with your own color or pattern, or at least the lid. The only negative aspect is the lack of a dedicated graphics card – you don’t even get the option to upgrade it with a decent GPU, which is possible with most other Dell laptops.

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