Looking for lightweight laptop for webdev

[villain]

hardware carers of the forum i'd love your input - i would love a more portable setup to do webdev and some lightweight gamedev in ren'py. this would be a companion to my main setup, a 2018 mac mini. ive been a mac user forever - i grew up with macs and i find they work better than windows with my art software of choice - but would be willing to check out linux for this device as it really only needs to run firefox, vscode, and ren'py (ive used windows plenty at work but i feel like i dont want the bloat it comes with on a low-powered device...). i don't have a particularly tight budget but i imagine it'd be around a couple hundred pounds to get something worth bothering with. i'm not fussed about it being new, i was imagining something i could find secondhand on ebay.
but a side effect of being a mac user is i have fuckall idea about hardware, and i don't know what to look for specs-wise for this kind of device. obviously a ssd over a hd would be ideal, but other than that im not sure what to look out for/avoid. let me know your suggestions! 

[ThunderPerfectWitchcraft]

I've a small Acer Travelmate Spin B3 I got a few years ago for ~200 bucks. It runs well with OpenSuse, is lightweight, and the battery lasts for over 10 hours. I can confirm that it runs Firefox and my code editor/compilers without problems. Small custom scripts were needed to make the touchscreen and convertible function usable.

[Melooon]

So ThinkPads are a fan favorite for the indie-web scene and are almost never a bad recommendation, they are sturdy, upgradable, well supported in linux and usually so cheap (used) that if you don't like it you wont be at much of a loss.

However if you're coming from mac and you have mac software that you'd still like to access I'd suggest an older Macbook Pro/Air - if you get one with a 500GB+ harddrive you can partition it to run an older MacOS as well as a modern linux install like Mint. (I got a 2013 MacBook Pro on eBay for 200 euro as a backup and its totally usable for webdev and youtube despite its age!) - the key thing to look for is 16GB+ of RAM and that larger storage because Mac's post 2013 are not upgradable; however all post 2013 macs (i think) have great retina screens that are a huge advantage for doing art and web work!

Generally the biggest recommendation I would make if your shopping on a budget is buy good used hardware, not cheap new hardware. It's better for the environment and you'll get a much better laptop even if its not the latest!

[Slix]

Mac guy here too. If you're satisfied with the speed and everything of your 2018 Mac mini, basically any Apple Silicon MacBook would be good. The lightest-weight one would be the M2 or M3 MacBook Air models. But there are rumors of a new M4 MacBook Air coming very soon this spring, so keep an eye out for that if you intend to buy new! Apple has refurbished models for cheaper than new prices, and they come with the same 1 year warranty and new battery and all that good stuff. I've bought both of my MacBook Airs refurbished and finally upgraded from my 2012 in July 2023. :P If you can wait a bit, wait for the M4 Airs to come out, then get an M2 or M3 refurbished, it'll be way cheaper than new, and cheaper than it is right now.

If you want something older and cheaper, try to avoid the 2016-2019 MacBook/Air/Pro models, they had a myriad of issues including overheating and keyboards breaking. Don't buy a 2015-2017 Retina MacBook either.   Does your software require a specific version of macOS? That can play into what year of MacBook you'd be able to use too if it requires something too new.



Let me know if you've got further Mac questions!

... the key thing to look for is 16GB+ of RAM and that larger storage because Mac's post 2013 are not upgradable; however all post 2013 macs (i think) have great retina screens that are a huge advantage for doing art and web work!

The 2013 (and 2012 15" Pro) MacBook Pros and later all have Retina Displays, but the MacBook Air didn't get it until 2018. :)

[Melooon]

MacBook Air didn't get it until 2018. :)

That's good to know and a bit shocking!

Also I realize I overlooked the budget not being an issue on this thread! I'd definitely agree an M1 or M2 would be great if you have 500-700 pounds budget and higher if you have more. If your looking at older M series models, get the ones with the screen notch, they are quite an improvement over the ones that used the old body style ^^ (Also I'd still recommend getting one with 16GB ram - also note M series macs can't really run windows and linux support is still developing)

Also I always feel a bit blahh always recommending macs; but the thing is they make so many of them and really well made, so they last a long time (minus those butterfly keyboard ones) and used models are relatively affordable. I have about four macbooks from 2001, 2007, 2013 and 2021 in my room, they are slowly surrounding me 

[crazyroostereye]

Used ThinkPads, as mentioned already, are really common and cheap. The upgradeable is also there for the Older variants. While with the relatively Newer ones It's less so.
Background is that Business like to use ThinkPads and buy them in Bulk and once they're Support Contract runs out with the Device, usually 3 to 5 years, they Resell or Throw them out

If you want to go a bit more Expansive, I can recommend MacBooks as you are an experienced Mac User. But if you want to dable into Linux it isn't the best choice as Linux Support for the M Series is a bit choppy.

The best thing is to look into eBay or any other Marketplace, and look what's around. While 16GB RAM is recommended most Laptops, except MacBooks, are semi easily Upgradeable when it comes to RAM. Good resource to find out if a Laptop is easily repairable

[splashy]

So ThinkPads are a fan favorite for the indie-web scene and are almost never a bad recommendation, they are sturdy, upgradable, well supported in linux and usually so cheap (used) that if you don't like it you wont be at much of a loss.

However if you're coming from mac and you have mac software that you'd still like to access I'd suggest an older Macbook Pro/Air - if you get one with a 500GB+ harddrive you can partition it to run an older MacOS as well as a modern linux install like Mint. (I got a 2013 MacBook Pro on eBay for 200 euro as a backup and its totally usable for webdev and youtube despite its age!) - the key thing to look for is 16GB+ of RAM and that larger storage because Mac's post 2013 are not upgradable; however all post 2013 macs (i think) have great retina screens that are a huge advantage for doing art and web work!

Generally the biggest recommendation I would make if your shopping on a budget is buy good used hardware, not cheap new hardware. It's better for the environment and you'll get a much better laptop even if its not the latest!

Used ThinkPads, as mentioned already, are really common and cheap. The upgradeable is also there for the Older variants. While with the relatively Newer ones It's less so.
Background is that Business like to use ThinkPads and buy them in Bulk and once they're Support Contract runs out with the Device, usually 3 to 5 years, they Resell or Throw them out

If you want to go a bit more Expansive, I can recommend MacBooks as you are an experienced Mac User. But if you want to dable into Linux it isn't the best choice as Linux Support for the M Series is a bit choppy.

The best thing is to look into eBay or any other Marketplace, and look what's around. While 16GB RAM is recommended most Laptops, except MacBooks, are semi easily Upgradeable when it comes to RAM. Good resource to find out if a Laptop is easily repairable

be careful if you get a ThinkPad. you may get the sudden urge to install arch linux while wearing colourful thigh highs and a black, striped skirt. there's many such examples of this occuring.
lol

anyways, older ThinkPads are great machines, but the older laptops (below t440/x240) aren't really worth getting unless you can find them way under their average cost. their meme status has resulted in skyrocketing prices. instead, look for a T460-T480. they haven't suffered as much from price gouging and still have many of the traits of the classic models people love. alternatively, look for some other business-class laptops that are being retired from businesses such as Dell Latitudes or HP Elitebooks. they don't have the same cult following as ThinkPads do, but many of these laptops are built nearly as well as ThinkPads generally avoid consumer grade laptops unless you love low build quality which results in broken hinges and such.

as for myself, i'm using a Dell Latitude 7490 i got for around 200 aussie bucks (specs in the attatchment). it's pretty good. it's got a bright 1080p touchscreen, rubber coating and a metal bottom panel. the touchpad's also great, there's also a NIPPLE!!!1111 (Dell calls it the Pointstick) which works pretty well. would recommend

[crazyroostereye]

be careful if you get a ThinkPad. you may get the sudden urge to install arch linux while wearing colourful thigh highs and a black, striped skirt. there's many such examples of this occuring.

Hey, mine arent Colorful!

Also the obligatory
I use Arch BTW™

[warlock]

+2 for looking at retired business laptops - it's definitely worth shopping around thrift stores if you have access to any nearby. I found a near-mint Dell Latitude for $10!! The only issue was a dead hard drive, which should be inexpensive and easy to replace. The benefit of business grade laptops is the (generally) easy-to-access bays for things like RAM and hard drives - thinkpads especially have individual bays that you can open with one or two screws to access each part and repair/replace them.