Desktop/Laptop for programming and Best Desktop hardware

LukMas

Hi,

I'm going to renew my working laptop and I've thought to take a desktop this time. I've a couple of questions before pushing the button to purchase it.

Who does use a desktop and who does use a laptop and why?
Regarding the desktop, which are your suggestions about the hardware? I say, I would like to go all AMD, if I can, but is it a good idea?
3.
Thank!

JoshStrobl

LukMas Who does use a desktop and who does use a laptop and why?

I use both. My desktop is my workhorse and my laptop is for work on the go, intentionally underpowered with more of a focus on battery life (not that I get much to begin with).

Regarding the desktop, which are your suggestions about the hardware? I say, I would like to go all AMD, if I can, but is it a good idea?

This entirely depends on your needs. Are you compiling software? What sort of programming do you do, tooling you need and in what field? (for example, making a web app takes substantially less resources than what you'd need for something like machine learning). Are you needing to do multi-threaded transcoding on a regular basis? Does this need to be a small form factor machine, low TDP, etc.? Do you game and if so, what games?

All of those questions and more inform on what hardware you should get.

Brucehankins

LukMas Who does use a desktop and who does use a laptop and why?

I currently use both, but my needs are very different. Honestly, I don't think I'd want to limit myself to one or the other. I love the portability of a laptop, but also want the power a desktop can provide if needed. Also it's a lot easier to swap out components on a desktop like a motherboard, cpu, and video card and refresh your machine with the latest hardware. It can feel like a whole new higher end machine for a fraction of the cost years after you purchased it. Laptops are much more limited in their upgrades.
I use my laptop for general use and packaging, no really heavy tasks or coding. I'm one of the people that like to work or browse from the couch or the bed, or sometimes just at the kitchen table. It's an all AMD Ryzen 3 machine, it does what I need but it's by no means a great laptop, just fits my use case. I also have a Ryzen 7 T14 for work, if I could afford it for myself, I'd opt for that or something like the Zypherus G14.
I have a mini pc that is terribly under powered that I use for web browsing, distro testing, and really just to keep around in case one of the kids needs a pc sometime in the near future.
We also have another desktop that is Intel/Nvidia. It has modest specs, a 7th gen i7-7700k, GTX 1060, and 16gb of ram. This machine is mostly used for gaming and by my wife. She does a lot with photo editing and design software that require more horsepower.
All that said, if I could only choose one and budget wasn't a real concern, I'd go for a high end Lenovo or ASUS laptop. With budget and a longer lifespan in mind, I'd pick a mid to upper mid-range desktop if I know I can't spend too much and it needs to be around for many many years.

LukMas

JoshStrobl

I can say that I'm a bit annoyed with the continuous throttling of the notebook. And, given that it stays almost always with the lid closed on the desk, I think that a desktop over a notebook is the best choice.

I develop several of projects (but all web apps) with Java.
The biggest one is huge monolith, on the notebook it takes up to 4 minutes to compile.
We are slowly moving to a configuration with several self contained systems that work all together.
Multi threading is used for events handling, indexing and other heavy tasks.
To develop I use IDEA (and a lot of RAM for the monolith!), SQL Developer and a lot of browser windows.
Nothing is really graphics intensive, any small GPU is ok.

About the CPU, I've thought to use AMD because normally it keeps the same motherboard for more time than the Intel one. And, to be really honest, I prefer AMD over Intel (but this is just my personal taste).
About the graphics, I would use AMD due to the better support in the linux area compared to the NVidia (my personal notebook can't use the discrete NVidia card anymore!).

kaktuspalme

I use a Laptop (Thinkpad T14s, still loving it). It's fast enough. But these days I do a lot of coding via VSCode Remote Development anyway so often the power from my notebook is irrelevant.

My main reason for a laptop is to work wherever I want. I'm often at different places and customers so a desktop just doesn't work for my use case.

LukMas

kaktuspalme
In this case a laptop is definitely better. I, on the other side, work almost always at my desk. I barely move from here, and when I do most of the times I don't need the notebook. Even during the home office emergency I just took all my stuff and moved at home. So a desktop should be a better choice.

EDIT:
My biggest concern is about the hardware support: are AMD CPU and GPU good supported within Linux? Or Intel is still a better choice?

ReillyBrogan

LukMas My biggest concern is about the hardware support: are AMD CPU and GPU good supported within Linux? Or Intel is still a better choice?

AMD CPUs are perfectly supported in Linux and have full feature parity with Intel. You will not encounter any compatibility problems with them.

AMD GPUs are also very well supported under Linux owing to the fact that the driver is open-source and integrated into the kernel (so updates to it come along with updates to the kernel and you don't need to worry about any additional driver installs). I would actually describe them as better supported under Linux than Nvidia and the better choice if you don't need Nvidia-specific features like CUDA.

As for desktop/laptops I use the same combination of a powerful workstation desktop and a somewhat-underpowered battery-focused laptop setup as Josh does and like it. Not sure I'd recommend it now specifically due to the chip shortage making it difficult to source parts for desktops. You may be better off getting a laptop with a recent AMD APU or Intel Tiger Lake CPU as they actually get surprisingly close to their desktop counterparts in performance and would be sufficient for most people as a primary machine.

synth-ruiner

unless you need to use your computer outside of the house (or in the bath or something?!), I'd say a desktop is always the better option. I know some people use their laptops in bed or on the sofa but that just seems like a recipe for back pain and poor sleep hygiene to me...

LukMas

synth-ruiner
I also think this. Anyway, I need it at work, in the office. I've just asked if could get also a desktop, and the first answer was yes.
Unfortunately I've had a meeting about this with my boss and it went out that at the upper planes they prefer laptops over desktops because, if needed, switching to the home office is fast.
Thank you Covid-19. In the last years I've fought with a notebook that was getting always too hot, to the point that now half of the battery is "inflated" due to the hot. A desktop would be a better option, I suppose.

WetGeek

LukMas they prefer laptops over desktops because, if needed, switching to the home office is fast.

There is a class of machines known as "workstation laptops," of which my DELL PRECISION M4800 is one example. It's powered by an Intel i7 and has very good graphics, and an inexpensive adapter is available that will replace the optical drive with a second SSD, if a second drive is needed. Megabit Ethernet, of course, and 5MHz wireless are standard. Its keyboard is delightful, and the arrow keys are arranged correctly. Docking hardware is available.

My laptop is a few years old, but I'm sure newer models like it are available, and also that other manufacturers besides DELL probably sell laptops of this type.

LukMas

WetGeek
I've checked them now. At the end they all go with the same type of CPU as the xps (it looks). What could be different is the cooling system. In my xps, that is connected all the time to the main power (hence it runs always in the performance configuration), 2 cells of the battery are broken due to the extreme hot. That's why I was oriented towards a desktop.

LukMas

Brucehankins
I've suggested to buy a desktop and replace the battery of the notebook. So I would have the best of the two. But... I think it would not the solution that it will be chosen.

LukMas

ReillyBrogan
As I've written before, I've suggested to do the same. I think it's the best approach. But who knows if it will work.
Anyway, good to hear that AMD is well supported. I'm oriented to something with AMD.

brent

1)Desktop only. And another desktop at work. Home and work. I don't need a laptop, I do not want to work at a coffee shop or on the train or on the go.
Reason: less equipment to worry about and sync makes my life easier.

2) I think you should change your question to 'what hardware should I avoid'? And I don't have an answer for that. If I would do it all again I would cobble together an old Thinkcentre from a dusty warehouse. Those never let me down.

Avidgamefan

I think it depends on how you work. I tend to do most of my work at a fixed desk, so the desktop works well for me. Plus, I think you get more from your money with the desktop, especially for gaming. If money were no object, I'd probably get a high-end laptop, as you can plug in any accessories you need (drives, monitor, keyboard, etc.), and would work the same for most use. But since I don't need the portability, I can't justify the expense.

Having said that, I am fixing up an old laptop, so I can use that for many things (but not for gaming).

For on-the-go, I also have an old tablet, which is generally enough for web browsing. Great for browsing while on the couch too. So, I don't really need a laptop for travel or casual portable use either, most of the time, but it's nice having options; I'm using the laptop right now (with Solus, of course), and it's more convenient to type on than the tablet. Since I've already given up gaming on this laptop (on board Intel graphics), it's working great for more mundane tasks.

elfprince

Desktop guy over here. Have mobile devices and a laptop, but always using desktop for serious tasks. Laptop kept for backup, an old but trusty IBM ThinkPad T60. I installed Q4OS on it, but using a lighter JWM window manager.
Solus is my goto place.

karypid

I use both but with a twist: my laptop is just a screen and keyboard to access my desktop (thin client).

If you don't need to work on the go (which must be the case, since you are considering a desktop) then definitely go for a desktop, as you can get a much more powerful system and bigger screens. I however find that I get tired working in my home-office and sometimes like to lie in bed and do some work there.

I have settled on getting an LG Gram 17 alongside my desktop. It has a huge screen, is super light (1350 grams) and what I do is connect to my desktop with RDP and comfortably work from other rooms of the house.

In fact, I recently started using a virtual machine to do my work. I run a headless VM on my desktop with VRDE (remote desktop for virtualbox) enabled. I either attach to it locally from Virtualbox, OR when I am on the laptop I use remote desktop connection to attach remotely. It's like a private LVDI.

I intend to look into xrdp but this last approach has the advantage that if I go on vacation I can actually copy the VM onto my laptop and then copy it back when I return. This allows me to work locally on the laptop while away from home for extended periods.

EDIT: my desktop is a Ryzen 3900 with 64GB RAM. I can't imagine how much a laptop with that much RAM cost, and it would anyway not be as powerful as the desktop (CPU-wise). I don't need much GPU so I only have an RX550 but the same holds for GPUs: you can get much better bang for your buck (in a normal market, currently things are a bit crazy).