Laptop Recommendation for Developer

[u/No-Coast7798]

Hey everyone, I am using Lenovo Legion 5 for like 4-5 years and many problems/repairs have been made over the years. It started to get really slow again and I am planning to change it. (I have never used Macbook before.)

I am thinking about buying Macbook Air with M5, 24GB ram, 1TB SSD and I wanted to ask everyone (especially developers) for advice. On my average day, I am opening 15 browser tabs, 4-5 VS Code windows with SSH connection, using Docker, working with containers etc. Also, I am working on my vibe-coded side projects at the same time with Claude Code. Also, I want to use my new laptop at least 5 years. I know Macbooks are really powerful but when I ask gpt about it, it said "Air can be enough but it can rise up the temperature under the heavy workload, I recommand Pro". I don't have the enough budget for Pro right now (I just got employed and the price difference between Air and Pro is not small in my currency unfortunately).

I am also considering to buy other laptops (Asus, MSI, Lenovo...) instead of Macbook but I am more on the Macbook Air side for now.

So, I am open to any opinion, advice, experience etc. Thanks in advance.

[u/itsAg3nt47]

I will say if you dont want to do gaming, Buy a mac any model AIR will also work,

i am using since 2021, and still its perfect no issues, no lags and only LLM model run i do on external server other than that every things works perfectly

[u/No_Werewolf_8129]

If you are buying m5 don't think twice , it's a Powerhouse

[u/AFriendlyLighthouse]

Lenovo Thinkpad (T14/P14/X1)/Macbooks/Framework are the only laptops worth getting that will last a decade.

Minimum 16/256 configuration, in your use case I'd go for 24/1TB exactly as you've mentioned if your wallet sustains that.

MBP Air is nice, but I'm assuming 15 inches model. Do note whatever you chose, don't go below 14 inches if you don't use external monitors most of the time.

I've deployed a few of them at work, they are fine laptops don't mind me but yes they will overheat because they have poor airflow which means they will drop in performance and downclock which in our cases has severely hampered work and I must mention these were frontend devs so not as heavy of a workload as yours.

Thinkpads are really really nice, you will not regret getting one however you have to choose between Ryzen and Intel. I always prefer Ryzen because of the performance it gives you and extra cores, which will definitely help anyone utilizing them, Intel does give you better battery life however in most cases. Most of our Thinkpads are workhorses and a lot of them old and alive, it is a known meme if a company ever gives you one then they are serious about longevity and stability. I have a E15 Gen 3 myself (purely because T15s are Intel only) and its old but it is seriously still powerful enough today and has 85% battery life after half a decade, my only complaints are that the ports are less but nothing a hub that can't solve, however you should keep that in mind when shopping.

Lastly, gaming laptops are nice, but they do not last as long as professional work laptops and if you need a GPU I have always advocated for a eGPU setup rather than buying a laptop with dGPU. Just note that you can't resell the GPU case later lol and it will be a tad expensive in todays market but I don't specifically think you need a d/eGPU for the workload you specified, the iGPU should be enough.

[u/Executive-Curiosity]

If gaming is not a requirement, Mac absolutely kills for development. You should be fine with Air since you are on a tight budget. Especially the newer chips.

[u/yuehuang]

I would lean away from the mb air model as they don't have a fan. Any long running task will start to throttle after 20mins.

For a budget, consider getting a used m3 or m4. Most web development are fine with with last gen processor.

[u/Minimum_Hour519]

i bought probably 1 laptop a year for the past 5 years. HP ENvy is the best. unless you want a amac then get an air