Laptop Configuration For Software Development

When it comes to laptop configurations for software development, the sky’s the limit. You can configure your laptop however you want to best suit your needs. However, there are some essential components that all software developers should have.

In this article, I’ll discuss the most important components of a laptop for software development, as well as some tips on how to choose the best configuration for your needs. I’ll also include some examples of laptops that would be perfect for software development.

1. Introduction

When we speak about configuring a laptop for software development, we are talking about the main components that you will need to have built into it.

There are several elements to consider, but a minimum set includes the following:

• Monitor. When choosing a laptop, try and stay clear of laptops that have a resolution that is too high for your monitor. Software, such as Photoshop and Illustrator, might not display elements accurately when this is the case. In addition, when you have lots of windows open at the same time, you don’t want the number of pixels to increase significantly.

• RAM. Software development is a very data-intensive type of job, and a lot of data is stored in RAM. RAM is essentially random access memory.

• Storage. Keep 10GB of storage as recommended, remembering that some applications will use that for storing data, and you can’t go beyond the amount for your operating system. Choose storage that can handle gigs of data easily.

• Processor. When you’re working with a laptop during the day, you will be processing data and performing calculations frequently.

How do you pick the one that’s best for you?

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2. Installing and Configuring a Laptop for Software Development

If you are a software developer who already owns a computer, it is invariably the case that questions come up about how to install and configure a laptop for software development.

Windows isn’t the only operating system software developers will use on a laptop, as Linux distributions (and euphemistically referred to as “special distros”) should be considered too.

Before we start here, we should make a few important points.

Software development is not one-size-fits-all, so it’s not necessary to try to emulate all software development environments on the same laptop you use for other tasks. As such, you are also not limited to just one configuration.

Secondly, the hardware you need for a given project will vary from project to project, and the environments Active State Architect and Total Information Security have both published intrinsic software development laptops you can use to get started with. These are meant for the Windows desktop and do probably less justice to Linux.

Now let’s take a look at some very basic rules of thumb for choosing your configuration.

You can user complaints, feedback, and Google to address suit your needs and have recommended configurations from manufacturers and third-party software vendors.

3. Setting Up and Configuring a Laptop for Computer Programming

There are many things you can do to set up and configure a laptop for computer programming.

For example, you could change the keyboard layout to Dvorak or you could mount your SSD directly with a PCI-E card.

Of course, you could choose whichever features you want, as long as your laptop offers them.

Read silicone for more on what a laptop is specifically designed for and how well it will suit your needs.

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4. System Requirements

OS: 

When it comes to choosing a laptop configuration, most software developers have different needs.

The minimum laptop configuration we’ll focus on is MacBook (13″), MacBook Air (13″), Lenovo Thinkpad (13″), and Dell Studio (13″). More information on these laptops can be found in our article on 808tech.

Before you make a final decision, also consider upgrading your CPU, RAM, power adapter, keyboard, and display.

Your recommended configuration will depend on your final needs and cost.

OS:

LAPTOP: choose one of these OSs: Windows, Xubuntu

Min required: 10 H/W

Max recommended: 30 64-bit recognized H/W

CPU: Choose one of these processor types: Intel Core M

CPU speed: 3 GHz

RAM: Choose one of these RAM modules: 7-64 GB

Regional settings: Choose one of these CPU settings: 1 GHz

This means you will primarily use the processor for your work.

Tip: If you want to install more applications, RAM is the number one limiting factor.

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5. Development Tools and Requirements

Laptops are very important when it comes to software development tools.

In essence, software developers spend more time with their computers than with anything else (according to developers I’ve interviewed).

Furthermore, none of us wants to lug around a heavy laptop around all day.

A large screen and light will be useful in working on the computer all day.

No matter what kind of development you do, some software development tools are ideal for your needs. For example:

Most web designers use web development tools. A web dev needs a large talent for text editing as well as a tool that’s good at performing web tasks like creating websites.

Video editors should consider investing in Adobe CS or Photoshop. They typically run large price tags, but they’re useful for the software development market.

Audio engineers need to purchase a good quality sound card. It’s about wave editing and manipulating.

This is just an example of some of the things a software developer would need to consider when it comes to development tools.

Extra peripherals are useful. A webcam is pretty essential for software developers as they use them for screen capture.

Businesses often brainstorm space on their laptops so you should make sure you can add some extra space.

6. Conclusion

The key components required to be successful in software development are always changing. 

Since there’s no one-size-fits-all definition of laptop configuration, you will usually have plenty of extra options to choose from.

If you want to learn more, you can head over to our NATA / Associated Press laptop optimization training.

If you need help choosing the best laptop or connection for your needs, the best laptop to learn code on, or the best laptop in general, let’s be sure to get in touch with the staff at Associated Press. They have extensive expertise with this.

Remember: in a tech environment, you should never have to configure anything yourself.

Doing that on your own is operating in a primitive mindset. 

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