Laptop recommendations for robotics

Hey, I’m planning to upgrade to a new laptop since my old laptop has given up but I don’t have much knowledge about laptop specs in general.

Can someone please help me with laptop recommendations for running robotics applications such as ROS, Rviz, Gazebo and other applications that I might have to use as a robotics software engineer in the future.
Also should I stick to a windows laptop or MacBook is a good option?

I don’t have a budget in mind as such. It works as long as it’s value for money, not an overkill and a good investment keeping in mind the future needs related to the field of robotics. I would really appreciate any suggestions.

I don’t know much about MacBooks (never used one), but I hear they work pretty well. There are things you might want to consider before switching to a Mac, and I think you will get a better answer via a Google search, especially from people who have done that switch.

As for specs, I would recommend at least Core i7 latest gen, 12GB RAM and 256 SSD.

  • You can go a bit more than this on all specs if you are planning to go into things like Deep Learning.
  • Settle for one with dedicated graphics (2GB or more) if you want to deal with heavy simulations.
  • Please don’t settle for anything other than an SSD hard drive, because speed is of the essence!
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Hi, I have encountered a similar situation, and a crazy plan has been implemented.
Can you buy a supercomputer for 500 dollars?
Usually, the answer is no.
But, this is my situation, and I will not give up. Then, I had an idea one day. I buy a second-hand DELL R910 server!

It is 1.5 meters long and over 50kg. The maximum energy consumption can reach 3000W. At last, its six powerful fans can generate 50DB noise. I absolutely do not recommend you to use it on your leg. Don’t forget that it has no monitor at all.

However, if you know it has 40 2.4GHz CPUs and the number of logical CPUs is 80, you may feel not so bad. What about 64GB memory? With this guy in your home, you can learn how to manage a server.

Personally, I do not recommend R910 because it can only accept half-long graphic cards. I often feel regretful that I don’t realize the importance of GPU. The gazebo will need it a lot.

I recommend Dell R920, personally.

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