Which Laptop for Software Development

[Greg Longshaft]

Hi Guys,

I currently use a Sony Vaio VGN-CR21S for development, its getting a bit old now and will be sad to see it go, its only got a 14" screen, but is pin sharp and a pleasure to work with all day, so I have decided to get another Vaio, the two I need help on choosing are below:-

S Series 15" Monitor - £750
S Series | VAIO S Series Notebook | Sony

• Intel®Core(TM)i5-3210M, 2.5GHz
• Windows 8
• 500 GB Serial ATA (7200 rpm)
• 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3L-SDRAM
• DVD disc drive
• 39.5cm LED, 1920x1080+webcam
• Intel® HD Graphics 4000

Faster HD, Slower Processor, only 4G ram, easy to upgrade.
This has a light magnesium or carbon fibre with aluminium case, very light

Sony E 17" Monitor - £700
VAIO E Series | Sony

This has a plastic case.

ps: I am not bothered about saving weight.

• Intel® CoreTM i7-3632QM,2.2GHz
• Windows 8
• Black
• Backlight keyboard
• 500 GB Serial ATA (5400 rpm)
• 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3-SDRAM
• DVD disc drive
• 43.8cm LED 1920x1080 + webcam
• AMD Radeon(TM) HD 7650M 1GB

The thing that really bugs me is that sony are charging £150 to upgrade to an I7 processor on the S series together with an additional £150 for a graphics card upgrade as compulsory, so an additional £300, if I want the same spec as the E17 it will cost around £1200 compared to £700.

so is it worth going for S15 with 15" screen, but with much better build quality and a faster HD?

I would like the 17" screen for web development and extra power, but the plastic case is a put off, my current laptop is well constructed.

I have been swinging between the E17 and S15 for days now, i cannot make my mind up, tried flicking a coin, but i kept doing it all day.

I am sure your comments will help me make a descision, also is there any alternatives, i need a screen as good as the sony.

VAIO Display Plus (1920x1080 pixels) IPS panel.

cheers,

Greg.

[SimonMac]

I would not got for the I7 but spend the £300 on an SSD which you will get a much better return on performance increase. Just went for a Crucial m4 and my MBP files now

[eek]

you want an ssd drive. The only two things I care about are screen resolution and hard disk speed so my next machine will be a macbook retina to be bought on Friday.

PS I would also like to thank the open university, my photography course has more than paid for itself.

[Greg Longshaft]

had a look at macbook pro, looks awesom, i see you can install dual boot with windows, i mainly develop with windows, would this be an option?

[Greg Longshaft]

I would not got for the I7 but spend the £300 on an SSD which you will get a much better return on performance increase. Just went for a Crucial m4 and my MBP files now

so would you go for the S series, but get SSD instead of better processor, whats your opinion of the E17 with larger screen and plastic build?

[VectraMan]

I would not got for the I7 but spend the £300 on an SSD which you will get a much better return on performance increase. Just went for a Crucial m4 and my MBP files now

Yes, but more importantly, get 8GB RAM (or more if you can).

[SimonMac]

had a look at macbook pro, looks awesom, i see you can install dual boot with windows, i mainly develop with windows, would this be an option?

I have a 13" MBP, 512gb SSG and 8gb RAM, I don't use boot camp however I do have a Windows 2008 R2 running in VirtualBox as VM for any Dev work which allows me to use snapshotting etc when I am compiling and deploying locally.

[eek]

I have a 13" MBP, 512gb SSG and 8gb RAM, I don't use boot camp however I do have a Windows 2008 R2 running in VirtualBox as VM for any Dev work which allows me to use snapshotting etc when I am compiling and deploying locally.

Is 8gb enough memory. I'm not sure whether to get a 13" MBr or the 15" version and the memory is 1 big reason for buying the 15" version.

[SimonMac]

Is 8gb enough memory. I'm not sure whether to get a 13" MBr or the 15" version and the memory is 1 big reason for buying the 15" version.

Depends what you are developing?!

[eek]

Depends what you are developing?!

probably web stuff so VS2012, Intellij and Sql server management Studio/

I doubt I will need to run many databases on the box if that helps.

One downside is that there is no difference in price between the 15" 8gb 256gb and the 13" 8gb 256gb so its possible to live with 128gb of disk space the 15" wins by default.