Łukasz Dudziński • Out of hours • 26 October 2020 •
The material was created in collaboration with Allegro.
Laptops are very popular equipment, mainly due to the ability to take with you anywhere and take up a small amount of space. However, when choosing a device intended for many purposes – work, study and, of course, programming – it is worth considering carefully. How should it be? What should we remember? What aspects should you pay more attention to? Which brands and types of devices will meet our needs? Is it even possible to put it all together?
First of all, it is worth defining your needs right at the beginning. If you want to create mobile applications for iOS and Android, the choice is greatly reduced: there are still computers with the logo of a bitten apple. IDE that allows you to compile projects for iOS, works only on the equipment of the Cupertino company. We have no field to show here.
At this stage, also take into account the minimum hardware requirements that will guarantee you adequate working comfort. In the case of development devices, a fast processor, lots of RAM and obviously the right amount of mass storage will work. In my humble opinion, it should be no less than 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD drive (not to be confused with HDD). If you are more interested in entertainment, the look will be found elsewhere. Remember that there are no universal computers. What is good for everything is usually good for nothing. Don’t fool yourself that this particular model is an exception to the rule – it likely isn’t.
Second, don’t be swayed by the price. This is the worst that can be done. It is always better to pay a little more than regret the purchase for several years. Too bad for my nerves and my sleepless nights. I have been buying consumer electronics for a long time, I have stopped paying attention to the price and have never been disappointed. It is better to pay extra – if, of course, the equipment is worth it – than to choose something cheaper, but worse. But let’s not go to extremes and buy a computer for 20k or whatever. You have to be cool and smart, remembering the point above which is the minimum hardware requirements. The rush and the seller of the electricity market are the two worst things.
Finally, it is also worth paying attention to the possibility of further expansion of such a computer and its service in the event of a breakdown. Apple hardware is known to have pretty good warranty service, but the question of its subsequent improvement is completely out of the question. What else is it when we take IBM, Lenovo laptop and other similar big brands. There, however, there will be no problems with adding a RAM chip, replacing the hard drive or another element. The companies mentioned here are large companies that also carry out warranty processes relatively efficiently. In this regard, it can be said that everything is fine.
As you can see, buying a computer is not that easy. It is not difficult to buy something that is then useless, but it was at a bargain price or recommended by the seller. I hope these some of my tips allow you to approach the subject a little coldly and avoid mistakes you may have made. I have not intentionally provided specific recommended device models in this article, because as you probably know, the world, and especially IT, is changing very rapidly – secondly, it’s hard for me to recommend computers that I don’t use on a daily basis. If anyone asks me, I’m working on a MacBook PRO and I won’t give up. But I am me. What it does for me may not be the best solution for some people. I know many programmers who, despite many attempts, have not been able to switch to macOS. Either way, Xcode with its bugs is really bad. Whoever programmed into this IDE knows what I’m writing about …