Minimum spec laptop for Visual Studio

[escapeUK]

VS2005 or 2008, yes. VS2010 is so slow it needs all the help it can get. 4GB isn't enough.

My 6GB i7 XPS15 works well with VS2010; much better than the 4GB 2x4 core Xeon Precision desktop with SSD I have at PermieCo. Of course when I say "well", I mean the random lock ups aren't quite so bad, the GUI isn't quite so unresponsive, and intellisense sometimes responds in 10 seconds instead of 30.

Thats my experience too, slow as sludge. Id suggest beefy processor and SSD too. It doesnt seem too worried about memory, i have two beefy solutions open now and one is 95mb and the other 90mb (but memory is cheap) Go for 4gb as standard.

I did read that dedicated graphics card improved the GUI, but it hasnt in my experience. I can still wait several seconds for it to redraw a form when I swap back having changed one line of code.

[Gentile]

I just realised that I used my old Inspiron 1545 with VS 2010 and Camtasia Studio to record a Silverlight tutorial on YouTube a while back (see below). Flick around through the tutorial, and you should get a fairly good idea of how responsive VS 2010 is on that machine. It's still using its original hard drive as well, rather than the SSD I put in my new lappy; I hadn't had time to install VS and Camtasia on my new lappy yet when I made the video:

[eek]

You seem to have confused screen resolution for screen size.

For multiple windows you don't need a 17" 1600 x 900 screen but a 1920x1280 screen.

Oh and processor doesn't matter. For speed a decent SSD and a decent anti virus that doesn't incept every file request will do you the world of good.

[eek]

I did read that dedicated graphics card improved the GUI, but it hasnt in my experience. I can still wait several seconds for it to redraw a form when I swap back having changed one line of code.

I think intel's HD3000 and HD4000 cards resolve the issue with inbuilt video card.

[Spacecadet]

If you have good eyes then I can recommend a 15" precision with the top screen res 1900*1200 although i think it's dropped now to 1900*1080.

The screen feels huge, especially when I've been using the client co's crappy laptop all day

Interms of power you'll want at least
dual core @2GHz
4GB ram
SSD

If you have the cash then I recommend going for quad core and as much RAM as you can afford and then run development virtual machines.

[northernladuk]

Lugging a laptop around shouldn't be a problem if you get a decent bag for it. The difference between a cheap backpack and a properly designed one will make a world of difference. Still might be a problem for southern shandy drinking jessies though.

[eek]

Thinking about it the true minimum spec for visual studio is Configure - Apple Store (UK)

And very nice it is to

[d000hg]

VS2005 or 2008, yes. VS2010 is so slow it needs all the help it can get. 4GB isn't enough.

It was when I tried it 2-3 years ago, but that might have been Express version and perhaps your projects are bigger than mine

Have you tried 2011 or whatever the newest one is yet?

[Scrag Meister]

When I first went contracting in 2007, I bought a Dell XPS M1330 for portability and an XPS M1730 for luggable power.

The 13" was great for keeping with you, but the 17" was, as others have pointed out, a bit of a lump for regular portability, but was great if you needed a desktop replacement on an irregular basis.

[The Spartan]

I have a HP DV6 Sandybridge i5 with 4GB that runs 2010 Ultimate comfortably though I must admit I only use the test tools but the Coded UI stuff is quite heavy to run and my laptop does fine. Like NLUK said get a decent laptop bag or one that has wheels they're all the rage I see them frequently at the airports when I'm there.