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Discussion on: What PC would you buy as a new dev now?

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mccurcio profile image
Matt Curcio

Kind Sir or Madam,
Why limit yourself to Windows or Macs? Ubuntu, Mint, RedHat or CentOS, to name a few, are very good to excellent.

I know many love Macs but I can't stand their repair tactics. Windows will not even allow you to swap out a hard drive with having to buy the OS twice! Why should software negate you from changing out your own equipment? You bought it but you can't open it!

After of years playing with computers, every one should be willing and able to fix/upgrade their own. Heck, the only reason I might go to repair shops is not bc I can't do it but I don't have the time.

Now the actual hardware, Dell XPS 13 or 15, Asus or Lenovo laptops suit me.

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James Turner

Windows will not even allow you to swap out a hard drive with having to buy the OS twice!

That sucks you have had to deal with that. Windows has activated surprisingly painlessly when I have done major hardware changes and I don't recall ever having to pay again to do it.

That being said, it is always a good idea to look all the options for operating systems and when doing so, weighing all the pros and cons for your use case. For many, not only would a Linux-based system be able to do the job, it probably is the better tool for the job.

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mccurcio profile image
Matt Curcio • Edited

James,
I was in a Staple's recently and looking over the laptops when the sales person stopped by. I mentioned that I usually like swapping out HD's. When the sales person told me about this nifty "feature" requiring a second purchase of Windows, IF I were to upgrade their laptops.

I was amazed too!

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turnerj profile image
James Turner

Wow... that seems a bit like a dodgy salesman, or at least an incompetent one. 😕

I bought a laptop a few years back and swapped the mechanical drive for an SSD. I cloned the drive and besides working faster, I had no issues whatsoever.

Your underlying point from your original comment still is good though - don't limit yourself to Windows and Mac. 🙂

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Jason Espin

I'm sorry but that is not true. Windows 10 actually registers itself to the motherboard of the machine you install it on so you can easily swap out the hard drive on it. In fact, i do this often as I build PCs when I am not developing.

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sonofhammer

I second this. I've replaced a hard drive and a motherboard on my pc and did not need to repurchase a license in either case. (Ymmv)

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Scott Simontis

Generally if more than x (pretty sure x is 4 or 5) pieces of HW change all at once, it considers it a different system. You can deactivate your license and reapply to the new computer in this scenario.

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mccurcio profile image
Matt Curcio

Good to know. Maybe I have come across unscrupulous sales ppl.

I have used linux machines for quite some time and do not deal with Windows anymore.