When you are programming for a living, it pays to have a decent laptop or desktop for coding. Whether it is PHP, Java, C++, or any other computer language, the right device can make all the difference to getting work done.
When it comes to the best computers for coding, a good processor is a must. A decent amount of memory and a solid-state drive (SSD) for storage is essential to ensure your machine doesn’t slow you down when you need to be productive.
Here is a list of the best computers for programming.
Apple MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
MacBook Air laptops have been great in terms of lightness, making them easy to carry around all day. However, they have never been as fast as their MacBook or MacBook Pro siblings. That has all changed with the M1 chip’s arrival.
The M1 chip has eight cores for processing and another seven cores dedicated to graphics. Higher-spec models have up to eight cores dedicated to graphics. All the cores are integrated onto the same chip, and the memory is shared between the CPU and GPU cores. Battery life is around 11 hours, giving you plenty of life to finish a project without access to a power source. The Retina screen is crisp and clear, making long hours staring at a screen a lot more tolerable.
HP Spectre x360 (2021)
The HP Spectre x360 is a two-in-one laptop that can double as a tablet. This year, the laptop sports an 11th-generation Intel Core processor and Intel Iris Xe graphics. It is also made to the Intel Evo certification, meaning it reaches a certain level of responsiveness, performance, and battery life.
The laptop is slim, powerful, and will boot up quickly. With a battery life of around 13 hours, you don’t have to keep this plugged in when you are on the go, so you can code anywhere.
Dell XPS 13 (OLED, 2021)
The Dell XPS has undergone a bit of a transformation with its latest iteration. This device now boasts a high-resolution 13.4-inch, 3456-by-2160-pixel touchscreen OLED display.
However, what you gain with a great-looking screen, you lose in battery life, as it now lasts only about eight hours on a charge when most rivals last about 10 hours. Dell has also eliminated almost all of the bezel in this version, including the bezel below the screen
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 3 laptop
The entry-level device includes a 10th Generation Intel Core i7-10750H Processor (2.60 GHz, up to 5.00 GHz with Turbo Boost, 6 Cores, 12 Threads, 12 MB Cache).
These ThinkPads come with either a 15.6″ FHD (1920-by-1080-pixel) IPS display on the entry-level laptop, or a 15.6″ UHD (3840-by-2160-pixel) OLED, anti-reflective, anti-smudge, touchscreen with Dolby Vision and HDR. These are powered by an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti Max-Q 4GB graphics card.
