Ask HN: What's your ideal development setup? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What's your ideal development setup?

2 pointsanonfunction4 comments

Hey Hackers, I'm in a position where I can get any computer/monitor/keyboard/etc... but don't know what is considered the best hardware these days.

For context I'll be writing a lot of Node.js / Golang code while going between the office and home. I'd also like to do typical stuff like browsing HN and watching netflix.

What would you prefer for your development work space? Feel free to include any extras such as desks, chairs, plants, etc...

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If you're going to switch between the office and home you'll probably benefit from a laptop instead of trying to keep 2 machines in sync. If you're a Mac person that would be a MacBook Pro; if not, equivalent hardware running Windows or Linux. Of course make sure it has lots of RAM (at least 16GB) and a large, fast SSD, and at least a 4 core i7 processor.

For your office workstation, you'll probably want:

* Dedicated keyboard: either a mechanical keyboard (http://lifehacker.com/how-to-choose-the-best-mechanical-keyb...) or a Microsoft Sculpt keyboard (https://www.microsoft.com/accessories/en-us/products/keyboar...). Mine is a CM Storm QuickFire TK (http://www.amazon.com/CM-Storm-QuickFire-TK-Mechanical/dp/B0...).

* A wireless mouse of your choice (I usually click on them and get the one with the lowest, less annoying click noise -- My current one is a Logitech M280). Or a touch mouse from Apple or Microsoft if you're into that.

* A large monitor or 3. There's a lot of options and it ultimately comes to personal taste. For working you'll want an IPS panel (not TN). You may want a large 4k monitor, or 2x27" 4k monitors, or perhaps a single 34" monitor to avoid context-switching (like a Dell U3415W that I currently use: http://accessories.ap.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=hk&l...).

* A good headphone for conferences, like the Microsoft LifeChat LX-6000 (https://www.microsoft.com/accessories/en-us/business/lifecha...).

* You need a chair that can be adjusted, and a desk that is solid enough. You don't necessarily need to spend a crazy amount of money for good results. See http://lifehacker.com/5409915/top-10-ergonomic-upgrades-for-... and http://lifehacker.com/5755870/how-to-ergonomically-optimize-...

This is exactly what I was hoping for.

I'll go with your setup because it's pretty much exactly what I had in mind and similar to my previous setup besides the mechanical keyboard and headphones.

Thanks for the very detailed help and providing links!

Somebody I work with has 2x27 inch 4k monitors and when they are in 4k mode you can't even read code because the text is so small.

I would recommend getting 2x22 inch monitors. I work better with 22 inch monitors because my eyes don't have to dart around the screen all time time to keep track of things. Different strokes, but I personally think 27 inch monitors for coding is ridiculous and anti-productive.

Of course you can always increase the font size. And OS X has better support for 4k than Windows; on Linux it's still pretty bad.

Since I run Linux, this was one of the factors for choosing a 34" display at 3440 x 1440 with a "normal" pixel density of 110 DPI.

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