Learning to code, at first is a seen as a herculean task that only geniuses could accomplish. In addition, there is the question of where does one even begin to code, microsoft excel? Paint? Also, what does one need to code. Movies often depict a coder as some type of super hacker that works out of a van with a thick laptop that has a bunch of antennas sticking out of it. However, there is no need for a randomly thick off brand laptop in order to begin coding. Most modern day computers will do just fine and be able to run the neccesary programs to handle coding projects.
When I started coding, I worked off of a Microsoft Surface Pro 4, which had a m3 processor and 4 gigabytes of RAM. To put that into perspective, that has less computing power than most 2020 phones. I did not think I would be able to code properly with this computer, but it actually worked for a majority of the program. I could run the learn IDE, read up on documentation and run a zoom meeting while working on code. To learn the fundementals, that was all I needed. However, as projects got bigger and my code became more and more demanding, my trusty Surface Pro started to fall short. Thus, it was time to start looking at what I needed.
Coding actually is not too demanding so there is no need to break the bank for a computer. I found that all a computer needs to handle coding is a good processor and decent RAM. In that, a processor that is at least a quad core and RAM of 8 gigabytes. With this minimum requirements, one could find a laptop for about $700, so if one is on a tighter budget, there are many options. In addition, most higher end laptops can handle all coding projects, so getting an expensive computer to ensure longer term relavence and fill larger duties like photo editing is justifiable.
Laptop under $1000
- Acer Aspire 5
Laptop Between $1000-$2000
- Asus Zephyrus ROG G14(16 gb ram with ryzen 9 processor)
- Macbook Air
Laptops > $2000
- Macbook Pro
- Dell xps 15 or 17
- Surface Laptop