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General Discussion

Fametta McClain
Fametta McClain
9,910 Points

A good laptop

I really need a new laptop because my current one is so old! I'm thinking about getting a Dell XPS but I'm reading reviews and it doesn't look so good. What would be good specs for a good laptop to do web design, programming, android development, etc...? I was thinking at least 16GB memory, SSD, NVIDIA video card. Any ideas? Also want about battery life? Is 4-cell acceptable or must you go with 6-cell battery(integrated)?

2 Answers

Mike Hatch
Mike Hatch
14,940 Points

You can read my answer to a recently asked question very similar to yours here.

For me, I like using a computer as the keyboard is bigger and I use two monitors, however when I go out e.g on planes I'll bring my macbook laptop as it's very light, the butterfly keyboard is excellent and it's simple to use! If your looking at doing web design and mobile development i'd consider an Apple since it's very smooth to use and has some of the best looking GUIs . However as always with Apple is the cost so it also does depend on your spending. If you're not an Apple fan i'd then recommend the "Acer Aspire V17 Nitro" The laptop is super fast, and the 2TB Hard disk drive means you can store thousands of designs without having to worry about disk space!

Hope this helps :D

Fametta McClain
Fametta McClain
9,910 Points

Thanks for the help! What do you make of Dell Inspiron or Dell XPS? The Acer looked good but I'm not into gaming. I just was unsure about the battery life because it's only a 4-cell battery.

Well the Inspiron is the wide-ranging brand for Dell's the mainstream consumers,these laptops are definitely not made for business, nor do they have the premium features of the pricier XPS line. I'd recommend the XPS as the XPS line is all about high-end looks, with specs and pricing to match. Targeting power users and creative professionals the XPS is Dell's equivalent to the Apple's MacBook Pro, by offering high-resolution displays and fast performance (and much cheaper then Apple ;) )

It's all up to you, if you still can't decide then keep looking! You need to feel comfortable on it and it has to suit your price range. What I did was, I went into an electronics shop int he UK called "currys pc world" and tested the laptops and talked to the staff until I found the one I wanted. There's such a huge variety of choices but at the end you'll have to pick one ;)

I hope you find your perfect laptop :)

Any more questions please don't hesitate to ask!