Spec a Laptop for Software Development

Starky

Starky

Starky

Associate
Joined
18 May 2009
Posts
125
Location
Glasgow, UK
I'm currently doing a lot of development in Visual Studio on a laptop with 2GB of RAM, a C2D processor and a 5000-odd RPM Hard Drive.

Next year I'm going back to Uni so will still be working in Visual Studio but also other IDE's like NetBeans and Eclipse. I have a good spec desktop for multimedia and games but am likely to be using the laptop more because it is portable.

So I wonder what I need to improve the performance. Right now on my current laptop it maybe takes a 2 or 3 minutes to compile our entire solution and sometimes things get a bit sluggish anyway.

I'm think a laptop with an i5 processor, a decent amount of RAM (at least 4GB over 1000Mhz) and possibly a 120GB SSD drive - although this is the biggest cost point. AT least a 15" screen is important too for using IDE's. Where are the bottlenecks in compiling software though and what am I most likely to benefit from?

Using Windows Server 2003 right now but will be moving it all over to Windows 7 soon to get the most out of the machine.
 
i5-520 / i5-450, and screen resolution over screen size. i7 imo just too much heat and discomfort for only a slight improvement, also reduces battery life by 1/2 (needs dedicated GPU always on).

Unfortunately, it seems that all laptop manufacturers have a sort of unwritten agreement of supplying 720p glossy screens (even the 17'') with poor viewing angles and colours.

I would go with a Dell Studio 15'', since you can customise it to your need, their screens are decent and can be upgraded to 1080p. Check if replacing HD with a SSD will void your warrantee. Check if the SSD option form Dell is competitive.

I actually have a SSD in a UL30A (Samsung PB22J, not the best), and it does make a world of difference.
 
hmmm i7.... They are quad-core after all, so would be a large improvement over a i5 for build times. however, you then have to ask yourself if battery life is important (probably not I would imagine), and how much heat you can withstand :) This would be more as a desktop replacement than a laptop.

i5 should do well enough though.
 
Starky said:
I'm think a laptop with an i5 processor, a decent amount of RAM (at least 4GB over 1000Mhz) and possibly a 120GB SSD drive - although this is the biggest cost point. AT least a 15" screen is important too for using IDE's. Where are the bottlenecks in compiling software though and what am I most likely to benefit from?
Click to expand...

RAM is often a limiting factor, 2GB is just not enough for a fast system. I always go for 4GB if I can, I'm not sure how beneficial going above this is. I think you've pretty much identified other factors, i.e. fast processor, again the economics say there is a "sweet spot" for performance vs cost, then a fast hard drive. I don't know how much drive access is involved in compiling, so not quite sure how much it will speed this up, but it can't hurt having a fast hard drive.

Is FSB (front side bus) speed a factor too?

Rgds
 
I've specced a studio 15'' - i5.520 - 4 gig - 1080p - 320GB 7200rpm. Started cheap, but quickly got up to £914.

However, in your case, a good 1080p screen is a must imo, and there aren't that many manufacturers offering them (Sony maybe, but they are expensive as well).

Actually, looking at studio 17'', they are almost as expensive. That would be my choice if size and weight were not a factor.
 
Last edited:
I have an SSD in my desktop and yes it makes a huge amount of different to things like loading up Windows and applications but don't know if it would matter when compiling?

Not too bothered about battery life but would prefer if I could sit with it on my lap without becoming infertile lol - can Visual Studio utilise all the cores of the i7 - if so then it may be worth it?

Do you think I really need 17" or will 15" do? Saying that I am used to working on a 24" screen plugged into my laptop so both are probably going to be hell when on the move :P

Good point about the warranty - what do you think? It's not an option on all their machines anyway, maybe better to call them about it? Was thinking about the 120GB Vertex from here
 
TBH, I'm not entirely sure, since we use Incredibuild at work (which does use all thread and cores and what not). But it's 2010 right? :) That's why everyone's got quad-core.

Here's an interesting discussion (although not completely authoritative).

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1814015/was-visual-studio-2008-or-2010-written-to-use-multi-cores

If you intend to use the laptop on the move, then the 15'' would definitely be the better option. Lugging around a 17'' is not fun, even a 15'' is a bit of a chore.

Call them about possible hard drive upgrades, but expect £££ if you go SSD. in my experience, a faster hard drive and more RAM really helps for development (at least C++), hence the 7,200 rpm. It also depends on how big your projects are.

If I had to choose a 15'' laptop for development, I'd consider a i5-520, 4 gigs, and high resolution screen 900 pixels, or full 1080p (but DPI would be extreme on such a small screen), and decent batteries (56wh should give about 4+ hours away from the mains). SSD optional, I haven't try to build with mine yet. Could be an interesting test., although it would be on a SU2300 1.4 Ghz :)
 
Take a look at the Dell Vostro line. They seem to work out cheaper than their studio counterparts if you're not worried about GPU, though some do come with GT330s. For instance the base level Studio 15 costs £579, but a comparable Vostro with similar specs (only differences are 7200rpm drive and Intel GPU instead of 5400rpm drive and HD5470) costs £449.
You could even go for a Vostro with an i5 instead of the i3 and 2 more inches of screen space and it would still be a tenner cheaper than the Studio 15.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom