Is a cheap laptop good for development?

lxtral2014-10-20 20:52:59

Java

lxtral, 2014-10-20 20:52:59

UPD. I took Acer Extensa 2509-P3ZG.
Thanks everyone for the replies. I'll try to work on this, then we'll see.
Hello.
There was a need for a laptop. The main task is development in Java.
Now I use IDEA, then there will be Eclipse + Android emulator. Periodically need Visual Studio 2013 with C#.
The main criterion is the price. Less is better.
As far as I understand, the processor and memory are critical for development, so I looked at models with the most powerful processor for minimal money + the possibility of expanding memory.
I settled on a 15.6" Acer Extensa 2509-P3ZG for 12,990 rubles.
Pentium N3530 processor, 4 gigabytes of memory.
Instead of an HDD (or, if possible, instead of a drive), there will be an SSD.
The main question is how comfortable it will be to work on it?
There are the same configuration, but Asus. Model X551MAV. Which one is better/more reliable/etc?

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7 answer(s)

Dmitry Skrylnikov, 2014-10-20
@worlxxaker

I don’t know about the virtual machine, but I have a 12-year-old laptop with a Pentium 2GHz processor, 2 cores, 3 giga RAM, android studio works quite well on mint, the project assembles quite quickly, even the emulator was able to run though it started for about 5 minutes, so it’s better to test on real hardware.
True, if you open a muff with 10+ tabs and a studio, then switching between tabs and applications is rather slow. and you will have 4 cores 2.5 hertz 4 gigabytes of RAM, if you also install an ssd, then everything will fly

Ivan, 2014-10-21
@sputnic

I have about the same. Processor only i3. Android studio works more or less like an emulator using Genymotion, it works a hundred times better than their SDK

Andrey Akimov, 2014-10-21
@Ostan

Take it with an Intel Core i3 processor and an integrated graphics card. Pentiums are already yesterday. Pay attention to the HP ProBook series.

mIK_LH, 2014-10-21
@mIK_LH

I recommend Genymotion as an emulator, it slows down much less than Google's.

Cyril, 2014-10-22
@endemic

If you need it for work, then it's better not to save and raise the budget to 20 thousand, choose with a good screen and at least i3, because with Celeron you will shoot yourself before the program compiles. If for study, then in general it is better not to save too, but this is not so critical. And maybe you should buy a used laptop, but with i3 than new with Celeron. Plus, an increase in speed from an SSD against the backdrop of a slow processor will be money down the drain.
PS. I would also increase the memory to 8G, but this can be done later

Alexey Blyshko, 2014-10-23
@nekt

It is better not to save on a computer on the one hand. And on the other hand, in theory, development tasks are good at hitting cars. In theory, it is quite possible to keep the compiler and testing on one machine, the database on another. In this case, four gigabytes of memory will be enough on the developer's machine - two for the browser and IDE. And some modern dual-core processor, preferably with hyperthreading. If you want more, it's better to invest in a better keyboard and monitor first.

zugo, 2014-12-17
@zugo

I won’t say anything about performance, but in the IDE (both in Eclipse and in IntelliJ) it’s quite difficult to fully work on a 15 "inch display with a resolution of 1366x768. When the project manager panel and the console at the bottom are open, under the code editor there is a window literally the size of a match If
you use a text editor (like Sublime) and a terminal for compiling/assembling, then you can live, but, of course, this is only suitable for small projects.