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Discussion on: Laptops... How much computing power does a dev *really* need?

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Manuele J Sarfatti

I have 16GB of RAM and a "2,6 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7" from 3 years ago. Plenty computing power for my needs (you could probably pull it off with half as much, if your workflow doesn't require a lot of compiling), but the RAM is never enough.

I'm a frontend developer, and when I have Docker spinning, plus a Windows VM to test on Edge (I'm on a Mac), plus a couple of browsers, plus webpack watchers, plus Slack, plus a vector design app... It gets tight soon!

As far as CPU goes, if you think about it, more power can have the effect of bringing a 3 minutes compile time down to 25 secs (I don't believe that's too extreme of an example).

After all this is our one and only tool, we spend 8+ hours on it every day. Say you spend 2000$ and it lasts you 4 years (a high end Mac can even last 5-8 years), that makes it 500$ per year. That's literally nothing if compared to the expenses of other professionals, such as truck drivers, or cabinet makers.

PS: I'm not at all advocating for a Mac, it's just my personal experience, to each their own! I'm just saying that spending a little bit more (for a nicer Thinkpad for example) can have nice returns.