Still learning to code, am just dipping into HTML and CSS at the moment but would like to focus on the backend stuff like PHP, MySQL. Do you use laptops or desktops?

I currently have a cheap desktop which is painfully slow, having a video and a code editor up at the same time can cause lagging issues, I also have a cheapish laptop.
Once I get going I don't know if it's worth keeping the cheaper laptop and buying a better desktop or just go and buy a good decent sized laptop?

I don't know whether to go down the self employed route or employee route either at the moment (still a good 6 months away though but I like planning).

I'm self employed and 99% of the time I use a desktop; I have a laptop but that's for if I am away or at a clients, but I find it uncomfortable for longer periods. Desktops IMO are always better, it simply because you can build exactly the right specification, not what a shop wants to sell you in a bundle. You also get to choose your own mouse, keyboard, screens, graphics tablet - anything really to make it your home as at the end of the day you'll be on it more than watching your tv or playing on the PS4. Another bonus of desktop is the ease of upgrades as most things just plug in, install drivers and off you go.

If you're into building something then I shop parts at Aria. That said, my current rig was from Mesh Computers, they don't have my exact one but it's an i5-7600k, similar to this pc. Beauty of Mesh is you can change bits round (even the case!) and they build to order - worked out about £40 more than buying all the bits and making it myself.

Edit: Forgot to say invest in a decent chair! Honestly, your backside with thank you for it

Edited March 9, 20188 yr by BrowserBugs

Thanks. Yeah I'll have to look into what Spec I need as I'm not too up to date on that. Any idea on roughly what a decent set up would cost? 

Got 2x montiors, mouse and keyboard so just the tower needed. Was looking to spend about £400 to £500, is that doable?

Possible, although the bigger the budget the more you'll get, like yourself not 100% sure which programs are heavy. For coding pretty much anything will do, IDE is normally lightweight. It's down to things like PhotoShop that really eats into the RAM, I went 16GB to be safe and I've not yet found anything that slows me down but I bet 8 would have done

The main things to make sure are good is the processor, motherboard and power supply. Things like graphics cards and RAM can always easily be upgraded when there's more money about. I'd go for an SSD for programs and normal SATA for storage, big price difference but a 500GB SSD will make most programs load in a blink, slight delay on opening large files on SATA but I find it a happy trade off. 

 

Edited March 9, 20188 yr by BrowserBugs

Now I have a problem.. I went into Currys after work today and had a go on the Mac Pro 15".......... Never had a mac before and I must say it felt good using it haha.

13 hours ago, hawkeye2810 said:

Now I have a problem.. I went into Currys after work today and had a go on the Mac Pro 15".......... Never had a mac before and I must say it felt good using it haha.

 

23 hours ago, hawkeye2810 said:

Was looking to spend about £400 to £500, is that doable?

Hahaha that would just about buy you a few iKeys or an iCover

I wouldn't bother with a desktop.  My Macbook pro is more than powerful enough to do anything I'd need it to in the web dev world.  It's portable, I can plug it into my array of screens, keyboard and mouse and use it at a desk like you would a conventional desktop.

 

Portability beats any kind of customisation - and why would you need to customise.  Web development doesn't require huge power that say video editing might.  Portability wins out.

I used to build and sell PCs back in the early 2000's but there's just no point now unless you have a very specific need.

Interestingly my previous workplace- Sainsbury's and my current - Sky give all employees laptops rather than desktops.  Same at BBC.  There's a reason for this...

Edited March 10, 20188 yr by rbrtsmith

40 minutes ago, rbrtsmith said:

Portability beats any kind of customisation - and why would you need to customise.  Web development doesn't require huge power that say video editing might.  Portability wins out.

Interestingly my previous workplace- Sainsbury's and my current - Sky give all employees laptops rather than desktops.  Same at BBC.  There's a reason for this...

Companies the size of BBC and Sainsburys would go portable all the way; sheer size of facilities and the need for collaboration in various random departments plus home working it makes total sense, portability wins out.

Flip side, i'm an army of one who works from an office at home 99% of the time, likes to close the door on work at the end of a day, occasionally meets at a client who only needs to take a few notes and demo some bits on a laptop. Also I'm a bit of a gamer and use the rig when I actually get some downtime to play. The cost of a laptop anywhere near this spec is twice the price, something a company the size of Sky would laugh at, but us self employed have to pay ourselves. I replace my rig roughly every 4 years in various cycles (e.g. Mobo & CPU, HDD), so roughly works out around £200pa to keep it running. It really is down to what your role is and where you carry it out.

Edit: I'm sure @hawkeye2810 would love a free handout from Sky if there is one going @rbrtsmith

Edited March 10, 20188 yr by BrowserBugs

Well I've gone and done it. Bought the 13 inch mac pro. Haven't even got it out the box yet can't wait haha

Now I'm a contractor I am also a one man band although I contract out at large corporations I still need my own machine - and my macbook is perfect for that.

It can do everything a desktop can.  I can attach screens, keyboard, mouse etc.  Of course if you are a gamer and/or need serious image processing then a desktop is worth looking into.  Like you say it depends on your needs.

Edited March 12, 20188 yr by rbrtsmith

I am a laptop man all the way They offer a versatility you cant get from a desktop in that you can plug it into a screen if you want to work at a desk, but you can also take it outside and sit in the garden on a nice day or down to the local coffee shop.

 

It seems that I am a bit late, but for anyone if you are on a budget then the Thinkpad 13 is well worth a look at. I have mine specced with an i7, 16gb RAM and 512SSD with a HD screen and got change from £700. I use this to run Linux as well as photo processing (my partner is a photographer and a slower machine struggles to process the images from our sony) so its usually plugged into a screen on the desk and the Macbook Pro is my "carry around".

 

IMO the macbook is one of the best purchases even if it is pricey. I had one a couple of years ago, couldnt get along with it and sold it, but since I have started back with development I got a new one purely for the reason I wanted to have a play with Swift as well as Sketch it has been a god send.

Edited March 13, 20188 yr by JABedford

I have a Windows desktop and laptop. Most of my work is done on the desktop, with 2 monitors. I can't imagine working with a single monitor anymore. It seems I usually have at least 5 programs/windows open at once.