Best laptops for programmer under 800 USD
Tags: codenewbie, productivity, beginners
Published: 2019-10-27 23:32:21

---
canonical_url: https://inspiredwebdev.com/best-laptops-for-programmer-under-800-in-2019
---

> Originally published on [inspiredwebdev.com](https://inspiredwebdev.com/best-laptops-for-programmer-under-800-in-2019)

> Disclaimer: I am not a reviewer nor a tester, this are my opinions based on the reviews that I've read online
> Disclaimer part 2: Amazon links are affiliate links, if you do not agree with that, you can copy the laptop name and search for it directly on Amazon or on your favorite store.

As a programmer, my need for a laptop is quite straightforward:

- good battery
- decent screen
- good keyboard + touch pad
- good amount of memory

I work with JavaScript so, as a full stack developer, I don't need strong GPU, huge storage or a touch screen.
This list takes into account the needs of similar developers, if you are a game developer I guess your needs will be a bit different than mine so you might find this list not very useful.

At the end of the article you can find a summary of all the laptops in this list.

If your budget is higher, don't worry! I'll soon release a list of laptop between 800 and 1500 dollar.

&nbsp;

<h3>
	<a target="_blank" href="http://a-fwd.to/7qBG2uo">Asus Vivobook S15</a> - 700/800 USD
</h3>

![Asus Vivobook S15](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/AlbertoMontalesi/InspiredWebDevAssets/master/images/articles/laptop-under-800/vivobook.jpg)

&nbsp;

Read a full review <a target="_blank" href="https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/asus-vivobook-s15-s530ua">here</a>

The 2019 version just came out and uses Asus new ScreenPad 2.0 which transforms your touch pad in a 5 inches touch screen that you can use. The link I've put is for the 2018 version with a normal touch pad.

What I like:

- Beautiful design that makes it look more premium than the price tag
- Good performance

What I don't like:

- Poor color coverage of the display. Not such a big deal if you use your laptop only for programming and not multimedia use.

&nbsp;

<h3>
	<a target="_blank" href="http://a-fwd.to/2odUfy2">Huawei Matebook D14</a> - 700 USD
</h3>

![Huawei Matebook D14](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/AlbertoMontalesi/InspiredWebDevAssets/master/images/articles/laptop-under-800/matebook.png)

&nbsp;

Read a full review <a target="_blank" href="https://www.notebookcheck.net/Huawei-MateBook-D-14-W00D-Ryzen-5-RX-Vega-8-Laptop-Review.421133.0.html">here</a> or <a target="_blank" href="https://www.techradar.com/reviews/huawei-matebook-d-2018">here</a>

What I like:

- Nice, simple design
- Great keyboard

What I don't like:

- Bad touch pad
- Average battery life
- Smaller display, 14 inches compared to 15.6 of other laptop in this list

&nbsp;

<h3>
	<a target="_blank" href="http://a-fwd.to/1iV29mE">Acer Swift 3</a> - 770 USD
</h3>

![Acer Swift 3](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/AlbertoMontalesi/InspiredWebDevAssets/master/images/articles/laptop-under-800/swift3.jpg)

&nbsp;

Read a full review <a target="_blank" href="https://www.techradar.com/reviews/acer-swift-3">here</a> or <a target="_blank" href="https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/acer-swift-3-2019">here</a>.

What I like:

- Intel Core i7, 16GB ram
- Great keyboard and touch pad

What I don't like:

- Good but not amazing battery life

&nbsp;

<h3>
	<a target="_blank" href="http://a-fwd.to/646QgFM">Lenovo Ideapad 530s</a> - 700 USD
</h3>

![Lenovo Ideapad 530s](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/AlbertoMontalesi/InspiredWebDevAssets/master/images/articles/laptop-under-800/ideapad.jpg)

&nbsp;

Read a full review <a target="_blank" href="https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/lenovo-ideapad-530s">here</a>.

What I like:

- Good performance
- Nice Design

What I don't like:

- Average display

&nbsp;

---

If you are not really concerned about carrying around a 2+ kgs laptop and would prefer to save more money by compromising on design or you would like to have a more performant GPU, these are some of my pics.

&nbsp;

<h3>
	<a target="_blank" href="http://a-fwd.to/252PbMV">Acer Aspire E15</a> - 600 USD
</h3>

![Acer Aspire E15](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/AlbertoMontalesi/InspiredWebDevAssets/master/images/articles/laptop-under-800/aspire.jpg)

&nbsp;

Read a full review <a target="_blank" href="https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/acer-aspire-e15-e5-576-392h">here</a>

What I like:

- Insane battery life at over 10 hours
- Solid performance with i5 8th gen, 256GB SSD and 8GB ram
- Great price at only 600 USD

What I don't like:

- Design is not the best

&nbsp;

<h3>
	<a target="_blank" href="http://a-fwd.to/6ZspkGf">Dell G5</a> - 700/800 USD
</h3>

![Dell G5](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/AlbertoMontalesi/InspiredWebDevAssets/master/images/articles/laptop-under-800/dellg5.jpg)

&nbsp;

Read a full review <a target="_blank" href="https://www.techradar.com/reviews/dell-g5-15-5590">here</a>

What I like:

- It has an Intel H CPU instead of a low power U
- Dedicated GPU if you also want to game
- Good battery life

What I don't like:

- Bulky and Heavy

&nbsp;

## Summary

Note: the link to Amazon will redirect you to your local amazon store, where available. The products in your local store may not have the same specifications, I tried to find the same where possible but sometimes they were not available so read carefully the spec list in amazon!

| Model                 | Asus Vivobook S15       | Huawei Matebook D       | Acer Swift 3            | Lenovo Ideapad 530s     | Acer Aspire E15         | Dell G5                    |
| --------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- | -------------------------- |
| Screen size (in)      | 15.6                    | 14                      | 15.6                    | 15.6                    | 15.6                    | 15.6                       |
| CPU                   | Intel Core i7-8565u     | AMD R5                  | Intel Core i7-8550U     | AMD R5 2500U            | Intel Core i5-8250U     | Intel Core i5 8300H        |
| RAM (GB)              | 8                       | 8                       | 16                      | 16                      | 8                       | 8                          |
| Storage SSD (GB)      | 256 + 1TB HDD           | 256                     | 512                     | 256                     |                         | 128 + 1TB HDD              |
| GPU                   | MX150                   | AMD Radeon Vega 8       | Intel UHD Graphics 620  | AMD Radeon Vega 8       | MX150                   | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti |
| Battery life (in hrs) | ~8                      | ~4/5                    | ~8                      | ~7/8                    | ~10                     | ~8                         |
| Weight (in kgs)       | 1.5                     | 1.5                     | 1.7                     | 1.7                     | 2.5                     | 2.7                        |
| Price                 | 799                     | 699                     | 770                     | 699                     | 599                     | 790                        |
| Link to Amazon        | 	<a target="_blank" href="http://a-fwd.to/7qBG2uo">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://a-fwd.to/2odUfy2" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://a-fwd.to/1iV29mE" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://a-fwd.to/646QgFM" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://a-fwd.to/252PbMV" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://a-fwd.to/6ZspkGf" target="_blank">Amazon</a>   |

---

&nbsp;

Thank you very much for reading. Follow me on [DevTo](https://dev.to/albertomontalesi) or on my blog at [inspiredwebdev](https://inspiredwebdev.com/) for more.

<div class="promotional_banner">
<a href="http://a-fwd.to/5gUojI8" target="_blank">
<img alt="book banner" src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/AlbertoMontalesi/The-complete-guide-to-modern-JavaScript/master/assets/banner.jpg" />
</a>
<span>Get my ebook on <a href="http://a-fwd.to/5gUojI8" target="_blank">Amazon</a> and <a href="https://leanpub.com/thecompleteguidetomodernjavascript2019" target="_blank">Leanpub</a></span>
</div>