Best Laptop for Programming
Programming is obviously at the core of almost all of today’s technology, and if you want to code efficiently and with as little hassle as possible, you are going to have to search for the right computer. Unlike other uses for laptops, finding the best laptop for programming and coding doesn’t actually mean searching huge amounts of raw processing power.
And while you also don’t want to go out and buy something that is so slow it just can’t keep up with you, your main focus is going to be on finding a laptop that has a modern processor and plenty of RAM, along with a large enough display that you can see and read all of your coding without having to constantly scroll. It is also good to keep in mind what you are going to be coding, because if you are creating games then it could also be beneficial to look at laptops which have good graphics cards so that you can easily try out and test the game.
The Best All-Around Programming Laptops
By combining screen size and resolution, price, processor output, memory, and graphics all into one in order to find some kind of middle ground, we can find the best all-around programming laptops that will get the job done without costing to much money or sacrificing processing capabilities.
These laptops are essentially the middle of the range and are perfect for amateur programmers who want to go to the next level as well as professionals who want a device that can satisfy all their needs without costing an insane amount of money.
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 is the first that we are recommending for a mid-range coding laptop. This laptop is equipped with up to 11th Gen Intel Core i7 processors maximum of 4.20GHz which is more than enough for coding.
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon also has a 14” FHD touchscreen just in case working with a stylus helps to speed up your programming process, while up to 16GB of memory, or RAM, along with a up to 1 TB hard drive, is more than enough for all of your coding needs. The battery on this laptop can also last over 18 hours, so you can take it with you anywhere and work on your programming outside of the home and office all day long without issue.
Another great mid-range laptop for programming that balances cost with size and performance is the IdeaPad Slim 9i. The 11th Gen Intel Core i5 processors in these laptops were not released until May 2021, making these some of the most up-to-date processors around which is perfect for all of your programming needs.
The Intel Core i5 processor in this laptop has a maximum of 4.20GHz with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of hard drive storage capacity, which is all more than enough for coding and programming. And like the ThinkPad X1 mentioned above, the IdeaPad Slim 9i has a 14” FHD touchscreen that is the perfect size.
This laptop also comes with an Integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics card which is capable of processing a lot of basic game commands, although it has a maximum core clock of 1650MHz core clock which you will have to consider for more complex games.
The Best Programming Laptops for Traveling
If you are in a position where you travel frequently enough that you spend a lot of time sitting on airplanes, then choosing a programming laptop based on its usefulness when traveling either by looking at how compact its design is or by considering the length of the battery’s charge, is a good idea.
There is nothing worse than having to waste time waiting in airports or on airplanes when this time could be working and being productive, minimizing the amount of disruption that travel causes. And while you still want to prioritize larger screens for programming so that you have more screen real estate for coding and multitasking, when we consider traveling and how a slightly smaller screen can be more practical, we can generally go down to a 13” or 14” screen size.
Starting off the options for travel laptops is the Lenovo ThinkBook 13S Gen 2 laptop. This is another laptop with the newest 11th generation of Intel Core processors with a 4.20GHz processing speed, although the higher models of this laptop reach 4.70GHz.
With 8GB-16GB of RAM and 256GB-512GB depending on the particular model that you choose for your preferences, this laptop has a battery charge of over 12 hours, making it perfect for most flights and the majority of international flights, even if there is no opportunity to charge the device on a plane.
Its 13.3” WQXGA display is enhanced with Dolby Vision to ensure that you get vibrant, detailed, and crisp visuals whether you are coding or taking a break watching something, and its slim, light design is easy to transport weighing just 1.26kg/2.78lbs.
The next recommended option for programmers searching for a travel-friendly laptop is the ThinkPad T14s slim laptop. Like with the ThinkBook 13S, the ThinkPad T14s gives customers the opportunity to select between different models with a RAM of either 8GB or 16GB and a hard drive capacity of up to 1TB.
Each T14s slim model has a 14” FHD screen with a resolution of 1920x1080 and a battery charge that can last up to 21 hours, making this one of the longest lasting charges that any Lenovo laptop has to offer. With this, you won’t have to worry about finding anywhere to charge your laptop during layovers or on flights, even if you go on some of the longest continuous flights anywhere in the world.
And since this device only weighs around 2.8 lbs./1.27 kg, it is extremely easy to transport when traveling anywhere.
The Best Programming Laptops Under £1,000
We know that sometimes money can be tight, and it can be difficult to justify spending thousands of pounds on a laptop when you are an amateur programmer or working for small enterprises where the demands do not require something so expensive.
Luckily, there are lots of Lenovo products that sit well below the £1,000 mark and still possess all of the required specs for effective and efficient coding and programming.
One of these cheaper options is the ThinkBook 14 Gen 2 laptop which gives customers an AMD Ryzen™ 5 4500U processor with a max processing speed of 4.0GHz. You can choose between 8GB and 16GB of memory, along with 256GB and 512GB of hard drive storage, all of which comes with a 14” FHD anti-glare display. It is useful to note that one of the ThinkBook 14 models comes with a touchscreen if that is essential as part of your programming routine.
As we said earlier, for programming the most important aspects are screen size, RAM, and having a relatively new processor meaning that the ThinkBook ticks all of those boxes since the AMD Ryzen™ 5 processor was released in 2020.
Another affordable programming laptop that will be within most people’s budgets is the Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 laptop. The Yoga 7i comes in 3 different models, however we will just focus on the specs for the cheapest one so that customers know what they can get for little cost.
The Yoga 7i comes with a new 11th Generation Intel Core i5 processor that can reach processing speeds of up to 4.20GHz. The display features a 15.6” FHD touchscreen that has an optional Active Pen along with a brightness rating of 250 nits, while it sports a RAM of 8GB and a hard drive storage capacity of 512GB, making this perfect for when you need extra storage.
Since the charge of this laptop lasts for up to 15 hours, it is also another great (and affordable) option as a programming laptop for traveling.
Choosing the best laptop for programming and coding doesn’t have to be difficult when you understand what the demands of programming and coding have on a laptop and what you need to prioritize. If you forget about having the most powerful laptop in the world and instead focus on a larger screen size, an up to date processor, more RAM, and the right graphics card if you are developing games that need to be tested, then you will have everything that you need to continue effortlessly programming without interruptions from your equipment.
