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hi everyone just want your input planing to get a cheap laptop for development

Usage:
PHP
Nodejs
Yarn
Photoshop

Option1: Lenovo IdeaPad 330
Specs: Intel Core i3-7020U / 4GB DDR4 / 1TB HDD

Option2: Lenovo IdeaPad 330
Specs: AMD Ryzen 3 2200U / 4GB DDR4 / 256 SSD

Option3: ASUS X407UA
Specs: Intel Core i3-7020U / 4GB DDR4 / 1TB

im going cheapest as possible but it you guys think going to i5 would benefit more let me know

Comments
  • 11
    I think 4 gig ram is not enough
  • 7
    I don’t think proc is that relevant on laptop, also SSD >>> HDD, and you need other than intel as VGA to work with photoshop
  • 1
    any idea on whats the minimum specs i can get that is not overkill on price? i got used to developing on my gaming rig to the point that i do not know whats the proper specs for my usage and will just use the laptop outside.
  • 9
    @monmadmatt

    Any processors
    8GB RAM
    Any dedicated VGA
    SSD

    That’s all I need if I’m buying a new laptop
  • 4
    Option 2 for sure, just make sure the RAM is user upgradeable because you will almost certainly can't to upgrade in the future
  • 1
    How about thermals? Aren't AMD CPUs a tad too hot to work efficiently in a laptop?
  • 2
    If you can remove Photoshop from your requirement, I will say any option is fine.

    If Photoshop is a must, find more options with graphics card and 8GB RAM.
  • 1
    I3 is fine for php and node but get atleast 8g ram and a SSD
  • 2
    Between those CPUs, AMD has better compute and, surprisingly, Intel has better graphics. They will both suck at photoshop, though.

    Try to find something with 8gb of RAM and at least i5 / ryzen 5.
    Dedicated gpu if you need to use photoshop a lot.
  • 1
    To be completely honest you could use the ones stated above but keep in mind that wanting to use Photoshop can be a pain in the butt since it requires a lot of processing power.
    Own experience I've got a simple work laptop that has an i5-7200u 8gb ram and 512 ssd + 1tb HDD
    But Photoshop is not nearly working properly due to relatively slow processing of images and high detailed projects.
    It does run vs2017 like a charm building applications with a large size in a "fast" pace.

    TLDR: aim for a little bit more expensive to get a better result else be patient!
  • 1
    If you can wait, then AMD just released new APU with iGPU that beats Intel on both fronts. Dunno about price.
  • 1
    @maykdev hmm so my surface pro 4 with an m3 processor handles Photoshop quite fine. I mostly use it to draw things and don't do any expensive post-processing but for light usage an i5 will be fine I guess.

    Still 4gigs is barely enough to run windows these days...
  • 1
    @fuckwit
    I'm not saying it isn't possible but if you take on higher detailed images you'll have a fun time rendering aka long time
  • 1
    I'd strongly recommend going for an i5 to have 4 physical cores because it really helps in compiling and executing during development. An i3 is only good for really basic stuff and your mentioned i3 goes only to 2.3 GHz with its 2 physical cores.
    If you only use Linux, 4 GB may be enough, but I don't think you will have much fun...
    Try to go for 8 GB, so you have some leeway.

    Important: Go for an SSD, even if it's only 128 GB!
  • 1
    Also, if you're using Photoshop professionally, the screen quality and color accuracy are also very important, so no TN for Photoshop
  • 2
    @monmadmatt also make it 240GB SSD if you’re using windows, the os and visual studio alone already takes 40 to 60ish GB
  • 3
    Thank you all for the advice well i guess the majority is about the ram and as calculated ram here in my country is like gold :D if i go for option 2 with added ram it will cost around 42,000 pesos so i guess it would be better to get a G3 then for 45,000 with i5 and 8 gigs of ram and just switch the hdd to ssd that i got sitting at home
  • 1
    @monmadmatt yep that's probably the best option you got 👍
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