The laptop is backed by 8GB of RAM and 2GB of NVIDIA GeForce MX150 dedicated graphics card, so it is good enough to handle almost all your task with ease. 256GB of SSD this laptop has got which makes it the best laptop for programming and gaming in this budget segment. Apple MacBook (2017) Less is more with this MacBook With updated components and a couple design tweaks, the 12-inch MacBook is a great choice for an everyday laptop.
Programmers are always desirous of impeccable performance, good battery life and portability in their machines. Laptops are so much more than just a means of watching videos, playing games and listening to songs for programmers. This is why we have a list of the best laptops for programming. Needless to say, our list prioritizes powerful performance ensuring that the storage capacity, battery life and portability of the device come next. Keeping in mind that we have programmers with different budgets, our list includes affordable and expensive laptops.
All laptops are not suitable for specific purposes like programming and coding. There are specific features that are necessary for IT professionals to do programming efficiently by compiling codes effectively. You will need laptops with high clocking speeds and a minimum 8 GB of RAM as well. The best laptops for coding and programming must also have ample storage space with good SSDs, as this saves time while coding.
The latest Intel processors are good enough to handle most programming tasks. A good programming laptop should also have a comfortable keyboard and a good display, with an IPS technology screen being recommended. Pick one with a lightweight design and one that has a good battery life. So, let’s check out this list of the best laptops for programming.
See also: Top best gaming PCs under $500 to buy in 2019
The Portege Z30-C1320 ultrabook comes with a display size of 13.3 inches and a HD resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels, supporting 720pixel content. The dimensions of the laptop are 12.4 x 0.7 x 8.9 inches and the weight is 2.65 pounds.
It is powered by the Intel Core i7-6600U processor clocking at a speed of 3.4 GHz, combined with the Intel HD Graphics 520 to offer a powerful performance. The memory is 8 GB DDR3L, 1600 MHz and it comes with an SSD hard drive capacity of 256 GB. The battery life lasts for about 15 hours.
As for the USB ports, it has 3 USB 3.0 ports and also supports USB sleep as well as charge. There is a HDMI port; an RGB port and a docking connector, but no display port. It runs on Windows 7 OS.
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The laptop is powered by the 8th gen Intel Core i5-8250U processor clocking at a speed of 1.6 GHz, which can be rattled up to 3.4 GHz using the turbo mode. The dimensions of the notebook are 14.2 x 9.6 x 0.8 inches and it weighs 3.7 pounds, with 80% screen body ratio. The display screen is anti-glare, Full HD 15.6 inches with a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The RAM is 8 GB DDR4 with a rotational speed of 5400 RPM combined with 128 GB SSD and 1 TB HDD storage, which is ample and the graphics processor is integrated.
The keyboard is chiclet type and has fingerprint sensor technology. As far as connectivity is concerned, there is one USB 3.1 Type C port; 2 USB 3.0; 2 USB 2.0; one HDMI port.
Visuals are optimized with the use of ASUS Splendid visual optimization for all content. The average battery life of the laptop is about 5 hours.
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The RAM is 8 GB DDR4 with a rotational speed of 2400 rpm and a 240 GB SSD. It is powered by the Intel Core i5-6200U clocking at a speed of 2.3 GHz, which can be increased to 2.8 GHz. This is combined with an Intel HD 520 graphics card. The screen is a full HD 14 inches with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. It runs on the Windows 10 Pro OS.
As for connectivity, on the left, there is the DC charging port; the RJ 45; one USB 3.0 port. On the right, there is an audio jack of 3.5 mm; SD card reader; one USB 3.0 and one USB 2.0 port. The battery is powered at 45Wh. The laptop weighs 1.87 kg or 4.12 pounds. It is 0.93 inches thick.
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This is a 15.6 inches laptop with dimensions measuring 21 x 12.2 inches and weighing 6 pounds.
Connectivity options are adequate, with 2 USB ports seen on either side of the laptop. In addition, there is one USB C port; one SD card slot; one headphone jack of 3.5 mm; one HDMI port, enough for several accessories. However, it lacks an Ethernet port.
The touchscreen display of 15.6 inches is a 4K screen with a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels. It has Infinity Edge display offering outstanding accuracy of color. There is room for two whole windows. It is powered by the Intel Core i7-7700HQ processor that clocks at a speed of 3.8 GHz. It is also equipped with a hard drive of 1 TB SSD. The RAM is 32 GB DDR4 2400 MHz. The processor is combined with the NVIDIA dedicated graphics card, GeForce GTX 1050. It is supported by the Windows 10 Home, 64 bit OS. Battery life is good and can manage about 6 hours.
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This is a 15.6 inches HD touchscreen with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels and WLED backlit widescreen display. The laptop is powered by the AMD A69220 dual-core processor clocking at a speed of 2.5 GHz, which can be increased to 2.9 GHz with the turbo boost. The RAM is 8 GB with a memory speed of 1866 MHz. The hard drive is 256 GB SSD. This is combined with the AMD Radeon R4 graphics card. It is supported by the Windows 7 Professional.
As for the connectivity options, there is a Bluetooth 4.2 version. There are 2 USB 3.1 gen 1 ports; 1 USB 2.0; 1 VGA; one HDMI and one combination jack for headphone/microphone.
The dimensions of the notebook are 15 x 10 x 0.9 inches (WDH) and the weight is 4.1 pounds. The keyboard is island style and is a full-sized textured type. Battery life is an average of 7 hours.
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The MacBook Air 13.3 inch comes with an LED-backlit widescreen display. It supports a resolution of 1440 x 900 pixels. It is powered by the dual-core Intel Core i5, clocking at a speed of 1.8 GHz, with a turbo boost up to a maximum of 2.9 GHz. The RAM is 8 GB 1600 MHz and the flash storage is 128 GB PCle based. This is combined with the integrated Intel HD Graphics card 6000.
The battery life is about 12 hours. For connectivity, there are 2 USB ports; one Thunderbolt port; one SD card slot and Bluetooth. The dimensions are 0.11 to 0.68 inches height x 12.8 inches width x 8.94 depth, with a weight of 2.96 pounds. It runs on the MAC OS operating system bringing the latest technologies and features to the laptop.
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It is a gaming/business laptop that has a premium feel and also offers raw power. It is powered by the 7th generation Intel Core i5 chipset the i5-7300HQ clocking at a speed of 2.5 GHz, which can be boosted to 3.5 GHz with the Turbo. This is combined with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050, 2 GB GPU offering a portable gaming option. The RAM is 8 GB DDR4 and for storage, it has 256 GB solid-state storage.
The design is deluxe and sturdy. The dimensions are 0.8 x 15 x 10 inches (HWD) and the weight is 5.1 pounds. As for connectivity, there is one USB 3.1 Type C port; one USB 3.1 Type A port; USB 2.0 port and one HDMI port.
The screen is 15.6 inches with Full HD and a display resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. It has chiclet style of keys on the keyboard and features automatic adjusting of backlighting. It is supported by the Windows 10 OS.
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It has a 360 degrees hinge, which makes it possible to use it as a laptop or as a tablet. It comes with a 12.3 inches touchscreen with a screen resolution of 2400 x 1600 pixels. It is powered by the 7th generation Intel Core i5 processor clocking at a speed of 3.3 GHz and has 8 GB of RAM with 128 GB storage. This is combined with an Integrated HD 615 graphics coprocessor. The battery lasts for about 10 hours. It also has a fast charging feature, so you can charge it for about 15 minutes to get 2 hours of battery life.
It is super thin at 10.3 mm thickness and weighs just 2.45 pounds. The dimensions are 11.4 x 8.7 x 0.4 inches.
Google Assistant is useful for opening apps and answering queries.
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It is a budget notebook with 14 inches of Full HD, with a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. It is powered by the 8th Generation Intel Core i5-8250U processor clocking at a speed of 1.6 GHz, which can be ramped up to a maximum of 3.4 GHz. This processor is combined with the NVIDIA GeForce MX150 graphics card with 2 GB dedicated GDDR5, VRAM. The RAM is 8 GB LPDDR3 and the hard drive capacity is 256 GB SSD.
It offers a battery life of up to 10 hours. The dimensions of the Acer Swift 3 are 13.3 x 9.2 x 0.7 inches (LWH) and the weight is 3.75 pounds. It runs on the Windows 10 Home OS. It has one USB 2.0 port and 3 USB 3.0 ports.
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The Surface Pro 4 created a niche for itself in the laptop world with its impressive design, sprightly performance, and exceptional battery life. It is light in weight which means portability is not a problem at all. The lowest configuration is Intel Core M with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage and it goes up to Intel Core i7 with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage. It features SSD storage which ensures that programmers can enjoy using a laptop that works quickly and makes programming more enjoyable. Its performance makes it one of the best laptops for programming. Keeping aesthetics in mind, this laptop is not just designed for power but also to be visually pleasing. It is lightweight which makes it portable too. Some programmers may take some time to get used to the touch screen, but once you begin using the laptop, chances are that you may not want to switch it anytime soon.
See It On AmazonThis 13-inch laptop is powered by an Intel Core i5 chip and has 256GB SSD storage capacity that ensures that the device works fast and does not show any lag. Higher configurations are also available for those who want more power from their laptops. Quite typical of Apple, the machine is engineered to be light and thin making portability easy for its owners. The MacBook Pro has a beautiful screen which means working for long hours in front of this laptop will not strain your eyes. The keyboard is also great with the adequate spacing of the letters. Programmers usually look for something that has enough power and makes work comfortable enough for them. With the MacBook Pro, the comfort with which they can work makes the laptop a good developer laptop.
See It On AmazonWhile gamers find this gaming laptop to be incredible, its Intel i7-6700 Quad Core Processor makes it great for programmers too. It has 1TB HDD along with 8GB SSD ensuring that you will have adequate storage space for your programs. The laptop features an anti-glare LED-backlit display which makes it easy for programmers to work on the laptop for a long time without straining the eyes. The battery backup lasts for 10 hours and the laptop has adequate connectivity options as well. Overall it is a great device for programmers who want a robust machine that can stand long hours of programming work without giving away too easily.
See It On AmazonThis 15.6 inch Asus laptop delivers good performance at a budgeted price. The metallic design gives the laptop a visual appeal while the Intel Core i7 processor makes it one of the best laptops for developers. It has an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 graphics card which renders amazing graphics. The classy design, the powerful processor and the fact that the laptop ensures that it stays cool even after long hours of use, make it a good laptop for programming.
See It On AmazonThe LG Gram is a lightweight laptop that can be easily carried around. The base configuration has an Intel Core i5 processor while the higher model has an i7 processor. It has 8GB RAM and 256 GB SSD. The 15.6-inch screen provides enough screen real estate for different programs to work without any hindrance. The keyboard is comfortable to use and it also features a numeric keypad which is an added benefit. The display is crisp and clear and the laptop is beautifully designed as well.
See It On AmazonConclusion
If you are a professional programmer or if you’re a student who does programming or coding, you will need these kinds of laptops to perform your tasks easily. Programming is a broad category and there are several languages used for coding. Hence, the specifications of the laptop should be such that it can run several language compilers and code editors effectively. Both the MAC OS as well as Microsoft Windows have been popularly used for programming, but Microsoft Windows seems to be especially capable of supporting more programming languages and is, therefore, suitable for programmers.
In addition, MacBooks are more expensive and not everyone can afford them. For a beginner, even a laptop powered by the Intel i3 processor will be up to the task, but you can opt for the i3 processor in order to future-proof your laptop. A RAM of 8 GB is ideal, but you could opt for 12 or even 16 GB of RAM in case of developing games or graphics programming. As for the hard drive, HDDs enabled laptops are more expensive, whereas SSD equipped laptops are cheaper and better for programmers, as they also boot up more quickly. As for graphics, integrated graphics are enough for coding, but in case of game developing you should opt for dedicated graphics.
These are the top laptops for programmers. Some of the features like HD display and SSD storage were not very prominent in laptops until last year, but this year these laptops have gained more popularity and they are commonly found in most of the laptops. Since programmers like to keep up with the newest technology, we have considered these features as well while creating our list of the best laptops for programming.
About a decade ago, music was composed and produced in special studios that were equipped with the latest hardware to record at the highest quality possible. But these days, anyone can compose and produce music on laptops. All they have to do is to find the right mix of specs and find a laptop in their budget. Here, we are going to summarize the top 10 best laptops for music production and recording in 2019. You will find Windows and Mac OS laptops with the range of price you are looking for. You can choose between them by looking at their specs and prices to see if they fit your budget.
Do check our review of best laptops under 700 here. Also, if you are a Mac user, find out these best wireless printers for Mac OS X. Selecting the correct laptop is always tricky. It’s a one-time investment because you can’t upgrade or modify the hardware specs later as you like (it’s limited). Always think about using the same laptop for the next 3-5 years to meet the upcoming new Operating Systems and programs you are going to use. Therefore, allow your budget to expand while purchasing a laptop and buy the best laptop in the category you are looking for.
A latest model MacBook Pro from Apple. Expensive but high powerful for music editing and processing. Apple MacBook Pro is currently the best laptop available for music production and recording. Based on Apple’s macOS, MacBook Pro provides the highest level of performance needed to compose music without any delay in rendering or production. MacBook Pro latest version has the 6-Core i7 Processor running at 2.2 GHz (Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz), 16GB of RAM and 256GB or 512GB SSD storage. SSDs are the fastest storage units available in the markets right now. With this, you can make the whole music composing, recording and editing process a lot quicker and better.
Sporting a 15-inch IPS Retina display, the laptop has a 2880 x 1800 resolution which is more than enough to fit more than one music composing software on the screen. Also, the battery backup of MacBook Pro is said to be 10 hours which gives you plenty of time to create music on the go. Moreover, you will find plenty of free and paid apps from the Apple App Store for audio/music editing and recording, for example, GarageBand is one of them. This is one of the expensive laptops for music production and editing, but you can’t have any better laptop than MacBook Pro if you are looking for a professional laptop for music recording.
The display card Intel UHD Graphics 630 with 4GB display RAM adds extra value for this laptop. With music editing and production, if you have an idea for animation or graphic design, this laptop is the all-in-one best choice for you.
With the latest 8th Generation i5 processor, this is the best Windows-based laptop available for music composing and production with reasonable price from MSI. If you want a machine which can deliver you the highest level of performance under any load and which can do your tasks fast and without any problems, this is the laptop to buy. It comes with a beautiful 15.6 inches Full HD display. Though the Full HD and screen size is not going to make much difference for the music editors, these all features show the power and up-to-date hardware specs in the market.
MSI GV62 8RD-200 features an 8th Gen Corei5 Processor 2.3-4.0GHz speed, 8GB DDR4 RAM. It comes with 1TB HD and 16GB Intel Optane memory to give a boost for OS and music editing programs. This will allow you to install the Operating System and other core programs on the Optane memory and use the traditional 1 TB hard drive for other storing purpose like music and audio files. Also, the display card is the latest NVIDIA GTX 1050Ti with dedicated 4GB DDR5 display memory. The high-class configuration can match any music editing or mixing programs on Windows OS environment. This laptop is suitable for people who will use it in one place without much carrying because of slight heavy.
If you are still looking for a Mac laptop for your music work, here is another option around 1000 Dollars for music production and recording. Not as powerful as MacBook Pro but for people who are on a tight budget but still want the best laptop for music production can opt for the MacBook Air. MacBook Air is best for people who want light and often end up traveling a lot due to the nature of their job. It features a 13.3 Inch display with 2560 x 1600 display resolution. Intel 1.6 GHz Intel dual-core i5 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz), 8GB of RAM (1600MHz) and 128GB fast SSD storage.
MacBook Air’s battery lasts for up to 12 hours making it ideal for people who don’t have access to a power source all the time. As said earlier, having a Mac laptop for music production will be an added advantage of because of suitable pre-installed and app store apps. With the 2 Thunderbolt (USB-C) type ports, it should give the freedom to connect all type or audio mixers and inputs with MacBook Air.
Listed as a gaming laptop, but it will be suitable for music composing and production too. Lenovo Y520 is similar to the MSI GS70 mentioned above except for the fact that this one is more lightweight, cheaper and has a backlit keyboard. It also has the latest NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti graphics card with dedicated 4GB Display which can deliver you more performance. It has the powerful 7th generation processor i5 and 8GB RAM by default. You have the option to upgrade the RAM to 12 or 16GB while purchasing it. This is one of the cheap Windows 10 laptops in our list of best laptops for music production and recording any beginner can get in the year 2019.
Though it comes with 256 GB SSD hard drive for faster disk access. It is still a great laptop for its price considering its full HD 15.6-inch display, USB 3.0 ports and Lenovo Energy Management software which can significantly help increase the battery life of the laptop. The sound and display quality will make this laptop more suitable for music editing. As usual, the built quality of Lenovo is always best compared to other laptop brands.
Acer produces some of the best laptops for the unbelievable price, and this model falls into the same category. A Full HD IPS 15.6” screen, latest 8th generation i7 Processor and DDR4 16GB RAM make this laptop super powerful for the reasonable price. Several options are available to customize the laptop while purchasing. Specifically made for gaming, but it has all features to fulfill and manage all audio and music editing tasks.
This model comes with 256GB SSD that allows running music editing software with higher speed without any I/O issues. Also, the additional hard disk socket allows you to expand the storage whenever wanted with another SSD or normal HDD. Surprisingly this laptop comes with dedicated 6GB display RAM that would be useful when you run several music recording programs at the same time. Also, the display card becomes handy if you want to do the video editing as well as on the same laptop. The Acer TruHarmony and Dolby Audi Premium Plus Sound System are super powerful and useful for music lovers/editors like you. It has USB 3.1, Gigabit Wi-Fi and other all required ports where you can connect other music equipment and record sound.
Here is the laptop from Microsoft for music production and recording. With the high-end hardware specification and reasonable price, the latest Surface Pro 6 takes place on this list. It is just under 900 Dollars but with the 8th Gen i5 Processor and 8GB RAM, you can get maximum multimedia experience out of this touchscreen convertible laptop. Another major advantage is, it comes with 128/256GB SSD storage for faster read and write on disk. This will improve the music recording or editing work on this laptop.
It doesn’t have many connectivity options. You may need a USB 3.1 hub to connect more devices. Surface Pro 6 gives the best portability and convertibility from laptop to tablet when you do editing tasks from Coffeeshop to a multimedia studio. The 12.3 inches screen may not be enough to run the editing software, but easily connecting to a monitor via Mini display port or docking station can throw the display on bigger screens. Surface Pro 6 is one of the best options as the best Windows 10 laptop with higher portability for music recording.
The latest Asus ZenBook 15 Ultra Slim laptop is another good option on our list. Its powerful 8th Generation i7 Quad-core processor and 512GB SSD disk match the hardware requirements for music editing and processing software. As usual, Asus make solid and superb build quality laptops that can be seen in this model.
It is another stylish Windows OS laptop with a great Nano-edge display technology. HArdware configuration is up to the mark with the 16GB DDR4 RAM and dedicated display card. This configuration should be enough to handle any software or tools for music recording. It is having all other features and ports to be one of the professional Windows 10 laptops for music production. Portability and style of this laptop make this laptop extraordinary in this list. USB Type C port and Bluetooth 5.0 are available to connect any music/audio devices. Gigabit Wi-Fi is another great feature when you stream or edit music on the wireless network.
Another latest and powerful laptop in this list of best laptops for music production is from HP. HP Spectre x360 is a convertible laptop with powerful hardware specification. As required by other laptops, you need to connect the MIDI controller or external sound cards for additional sound or music production quality, but this laptop has only one USB 3.0, USB Type-C and Thunderbolt ports. It comes with 7th gen the ration i7 processor and 16GB DDR 4 memory.
512GB SSD storage is part of the laptop. The touchscreen, stylus and tablet mode on this great hardware configuration laptop with a reasonable price is a good choice for music lovers and producers. It is recommended to have a USB 3.0 hub with you to connect more devices to this laptop during the music editing or mixing. Suitable for the people who travel and move frequently due to its compact size and convertibility.
We can’t have a list of laptops without including multiple Asus laptops. Their superior build quality and hardware specification make the Asus as one of the best laptop brands. ASUS ROG Strix Scar II is one of the new laptops for music recording. If you are not familiar with macOS, then you can think about this laptop as best Windows laptop for music production and editing. Its powerful latest 8th Generation Intel Core i7 Hexa-Core processor can do all music/audio mixing easily with its 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD.
If you are looking for the best laptop for music recording and gaming, this laptop is for you. Its NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 gaming graphics card with 8GB dedicated VRAM is super enough for gaming too. This laptop may look expensive compared to other models, but worth to consider as it packed with the maximum configuration you can get on a laptop. Asus has taken extra care on the cooling system that allows you to do music production/editing for a long time without any heating issues. It keeps the laptop cool and increases processing power.
Razer is one of the best gaming laptop brands you can find in the market. Its hardware specification may match the requirement for music production. You can treat this as the best Windows laptop for music production in 2019. As one of the expensive laptop on this list, but it provides an impressive hardware configuration.
The Razer Blade 15” comes with the 8th Generation 6 Core i7 processor, 16GB DDR4 RAM to handle any load of sound editing or production software and 512GB SSD for quick I/O. As it built for gaming, you get the 6GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070.
The faster sound card supports music production very well. Also, it comes with FL Studio 12 producer edition on it to cater to the music editing requirement on a Windows laptop.
So there you have it, a small review of 10 best laptops for music production and recording in 2019 ranging from Windows 7 to Mac OS X. Though you can find plenty of laptops on Amazon with high specification and the latest hardware, they are definitely going to cost more. We have combined and selected all range of models for all kind of budget you are looking for. Making this list involved reading the reviews on the internet, personalized user experiences and also some knowledge about the exclusive features available on each laptop. So, go ahead and pick one for yourself. If you are looking for gaming laptops with the latest generation 7 Intel processor, you must check this list of laptops.