Which Laptop to buy?

Buy a used a machine if possible and then go for a model with an i7 and lots of ram.

Screen is going to be a major consideration. I can't stand 13" screens since my eyesight is not good. Another thing to consider is the keyboard. I used Apple keyboards for decades and even after 6 months on a windows machine, I still can't stand that window's button.

As for the OS, some laptops can manage being used as a hackintosh. Or you could do virtual box with whatever OS.

You don't need the fastest and greatest for developing but you do need is a solid CPU and ram.

The last thing to consider is resale value. Anything not Apple just don't keep their value.

The OS should be what works for you. I like OSX and I get things done. Linux for me is ok but it does help with learning how to deal with servers. Windows is good if you need to learn IIS.

Actually right now I am using windows and thinking that it might be good to switch between Linux or OSX tbh.

And am planning to use my monitor with that laptop.

And as said by you it could be like I'll buy a Laptop with solid CPU and atleast or 16GB RAM.

And with virtual machine in Linux I could get a taste of OSX and I might get better CPU and RAM at the amount of MacBook Air, i guess...?

Unless you plan on running virtual machines, any Apple computer you can get your hands will be great. I've developed on a Macbook with Laravel Valet and had no problems, the only difference is your tests won't run as fast with a slower processor. 8GB of ram is fine.

Buy whatever you can afford and that you prefer. You can start off using either Cloud9 IDE or CodeAnywhere IDE. Cloud9 can be tuned any way you want and you can even use a Chromebook if necessary. I have used Cloud9 (specs won't matter for the device) on a few large projects with teams ranging from 12 to 16 and it was actually not bad. However, my personal preference is to develop locally on my Macbook Pro 15.

I would go with Mac-OSX or LInux. Any serious dev deserves to be on a Unix-compliant machine.

Since you're early in your career, I'd also consider switching to Javascript instead of PHP. The reason being you'll end up have much more reusable code as the years go by. In 2 years, I have more reusable code with Javascript than I have in PHP with 20+ years. JS works for the frontend, backend, for mobile devices (ReactJS) for desktop (electron), and other places as well. With node.js you write small reusable modules. So, if you write a module to, let's say - do some fancy things with arrays because you need it in your frontend - well, a year later that same piece of code might be useful for your backend code. Or, in that iphone app your are building with React. Something to seriously think about.

@endian thanks for the great advice, I'll surely think about it. But the thing is TBH I don't know why but JavaScript is kind scary to me. I tried learning it many times but most of the time I found tuts to be really boring.

And I switch back to PHP, I tried that many times, I know basic of it, but just the very basic.

And the way Jeff teaches, its just kind of a tut am looking for.

Coming to the laptop, I am thinking to buy a MacBook Air since Pro is way to costlier for me right now, or may I can think of a iMac. But on other hand, am thinking I might get a Linux machine with pretty good CPU and RAM.

But, I want to taste how Apple tastes like, or may be for now I'll go for Linux one and later on get a MacBook Pro may be.

Thing is, you have to learn Javascript anyways since it's the master of the front end. No choice. And, with ECMAScript 6 (ES6), you get a lot of goodies like async/await. Node.js is really sweet and uses the unix philosophy of software building.

If you do want to try JS at one point, and easy way to switch might be to use AdonisJS which is a Node.js framework built very much like Laravel. So, every concept you use from Laravel (which mostly comes from Rails), you can apply in AdonisJs. It's basically laravel for JS. https://adonisjs.com

BTW - I'm not associate with AdonisJS in anyway. I was a long time PHP dev. Since 1995. I did no framework spaghetti code, then KohanaPHP, then Laravel. I got tired of PHP and wanted to have one language only, which is why I switched to JS.

I think you are making the right choice for you machine. Being Unix-compliant has many advantages.

Personally I'd stay away from the new macbook pros anyway. They absolutely suck. We've had to return 6 of 10 of them in just the last 6 months due to keyboard problems, and they have to send them off for repair (can't repair in-store). There's actually a class action lawsuit about the matter. On the other hand, I still use and love my 2013 mbp. Rock solid, and the keyboard works even if it gets a bit of dust inside from just normal use. lol. Apple sure ain't what it used to be. And don't get me started on the dongle hell just to use basic external devices.

If you're not an apple fan just go with a windows laptop. Of course macbook owners will tell you the quality is good, the keyboard is awesome etc... Just think practical and bare in mind that most of the high-end windows laptops have a very good build quality and they're less expensive than macbooks these days, compared to 5 yrs ago when apple was more than just a brand. Since you're programming, you don`t need a 4k monitor, you don't need an awesome graphic card, some could argue that you're not even gonna use the laptop's keyboard either because you're gonna have a second monitor and a separate keyboard if you have a nice office setup. So these being said the offer is sooo much wider when it comes to windows devices...you have lenovo,asus,dell,hp. You can find an aluminium laptop with SSD+HDD, i7-8550u, 16GB of ram under $1200. The resell value probably would not be the same as for an apple but you could use a device like this for 3 yrs without feeling the need to change it. So assuming you're wasting 300$ in resell value compared to a macbook, how much money do you actually lose overall considering the macbook prices start at over $2.3k ?

Honestly I have an MBP and I rarely use it for development anymore. There are tons of Windows laptops with the quality of a Mac now and far superior hardware, granted the prices for those machines are similar to the MBP but you're getting more bang for your buck by far.

Some examples are the Lenovo Carbon X1, the Lenovo Yoga 920, Microsoft SurfaceBook (not the Surface laptop, that's a touch underpowered), the Dell XPS

Note, you're going to want Windows 10 Pro, not Home especially if you intend to use Docker.

Windows 10 has the Linux subsytem in it now, so there's really no benefit to a Mac even for that, and then you have Homestead which makes life so much easier when developing on Windows.

Anyone extolling the virtues of Mac these days either doesn't know about these things or is holding onto old biases. My MBP is only 1.5 years old and honestly it's an utter dog compared to my main Windows machine.

Specs:

MBP core i5 (5th gen), 8gb of ram, 128gb SSD, crap on-board video Cost: $1,815 Canadian

Windows: core i7 (7th gen) 16gb of ram, 960GTX video card, 256gb SSD, 2TB storage drive, Cost: $1,750 Canadian

Granted the Windows machine is a desktop, but that is a massive difference in performance for a lower price.

@calder12 thanks for the great tip. One more question I want to ask should I go for Linux Ubuntu for development or Windows 10 pro will be great too.

Am planning to build custom PC with SSD+HDD

But getting confused in between i3 8100 and RYZEN R3 2200. Or you'll suggest i7.

One more thing should I buy two 8GB RAM or 4 4GB RAM. coz I heard that having min of 2 8GB RAM will increase power somewhat as compared to 1 16GB of RAM

You guys don't care about Unix compliance? It sucks when you open a terminal and the commands aren't unix compliant.

@endian Sure, but I just use a vm like homestead for dev, which is Ubuntu. So the host os really doesn't matter. I like my dev environment to match my production boxes. No gotchas down the road...

I use linux mint on my home PC and works like a charm for Dev Env.

If you're really serious about working as a developer, especially Laravel. Then I'd focus on a unix based OS. So Apple's OS X or Linux.

Other than that, as high spec as your budget can afford without bankrupting you I guess.

I used Asus ZenBook laptop in my computer science major, and back then writing code was fun as it is today.

And why do I recommend this? Because it features an 8GB DDR3 RAM, a 256 GB Solid Storage - enough for anything you need (including programming).

Apparently, I am not a Unix, Mac OSX, or Linux fan, so I can only recommend what I have used - rather than making things up.

I would suggest avoiding all Mac books and looking for cheaper yet better options. Try Acer for example, far better in specs a Mac book could be yet you can get a decent one for half the price. Clevo (Sager) is another great band, and most of the top brands you see around actually source their systems from them and put their branding on top of them. I personally tend to like staying away from anything Mac/Dell/HP or any of the common brands. But in the end, it's always best to do a bit of research and look around those laptop comparison sites for example until you narrow down your options. Reviews from actual users also work well like on Amazon for example.

Get a Linux or MacOSX based laptop. Mac's are expensive, and if you are not already in the Apple ecosystem, not sure it is worth it. And with the recalls going on, along with other people's experiences, maybe stay away from new product for a while.

I personally got an early 2017 MBP that does not have the butterfly button keyboard and I love it. Works great with Valet, and much more comfortable to use the terminal than Microsoft WSL.

But honestly, if you are budget minded, get a refurbished laptop, load it up with memory, and install your favorite flavor of Linux on it.

As a PHP developer, I would suggest MacBook Air/ Pro if you have handsome budget. As the configuration it has is amazing and it runs super fast than other laptop. Moreover the lifetime of this laptops is good. However if you don't have much budget then you can check out this few suggestions for the best laptop for programmers https://www.thecrazybuyers.com/best-laptop-for-programming-and-developers/

First of all go for Mac/Linux and stay away from Windows as possible as you can for development, Consider memory not be less than 8GB and processor not less than i5 core.

If your budget lets you get a Macbook pro so go ahead confidently.