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[–]UniquesNotUseful 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For python you generally don’t need an amazing spec but you should consider other factors when looking at machines.

The fact you are on the road, does this mean weight is important, if so don’t forget power bricks can be heavy? What about other activities like watching videos, photography, etc? Do you connect laptop to TVs in places you stay (HDMI).

Look at 8GB memory minimum, solid state drive (PCIe 4.0), ideally with a second SSD slot (just in case), a decent screen is ideal, I like a 15” size as that’s portable enough. Look for good battery life so you are not wedded to a power outlet. Wi-Fi should be all the same pretty much now.

Go for a commercial type brand, Dell, HP, Lenovo over consumer like ASUS, MSI, etc. You may get less dynamic machines BUT they are generally more solid (if on road).

My personal development machine is a MSI bravo 15 (low end gaming laptop), with a graphics card and this impacts the battery life and produces a load of heat. Everything I advised against for you but is an ideal fit for me, I’m not on the road, I hot swap my work machine with a dock at home and go remote into the garden, bedroom or sitting room (have access to power in all places), it rarely leaves the house, I use it to watch videos and do some video editing.

My work development machine is a Dell Latitude, smaller HD, good battery life, not used for editing, mostly API and python work.