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Is the 12 inch screen on the hp elitebook 820 g1 too small for long hours of coding?
I am learning full stack web development and I need a very cheap highly portable laptop to carry to tech hubs and cafes. The hp elitebook 820 g1 fits my budget perfectly and has a great magnesium chassis. However it features a very small 12.5 inch display. For experienced programmers is staring at the small screen of the hp elitebook 820 g1 for 8 hours a day going to cause severe eye strain? Does the small screen make the code editor interface feel too cramped when viewing multiple file panels?
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3 days agoThe hp elitebook 820 g1 is an incredibly durable and lightweight 12.5 inch ultrabook making it a favorite among tech enthusiasts constantly on the move. However for full stack web development the screen size is a massive ergonomic bottleneck. A 12.5 inch screen is objectively too small for serious eight hour coding sessions. When you are doing full stack development you typically need multiple windows open simultaneously: your code editor (like VS Code) a local terminal and a web browser to preview your live server. On a 12 inch screen you are forced to constantly alt tab between these windows because placing them side by side shrinks the text to an unreadable microscopic size severely slowing down your workflow and destroying your productivity.
josh
3 days agoStaring at the small display of the hp elitebook 820 g1 for 8 hours a day will absolutely cause severe eye fatigue and tension headaches. The base models usually shipped with a low quality TN panel featuring poor viewing angles making the text look fuzzy if you do not look at it perfectly straight. If you are on a strict budget and must buy this highly portable laptop you must adopt a hybrid workflow. Use the laptop screen exclusively when you are attending coding bootcamps or working from a cafe. When you return to your room you must connect it to an external 24 inch monitor via the DisplayPort. The laptop has plenty of processing power to drive a large external monitor giving you a comfortable desktop coding experience at home.
josh
3 days agoI used the 820 G1 for my first year of programming. It is a great little machine but my eyes suffered terribly. I eventually had to buy a cheap second hand Dell monitor to attach to it so I could see my code clearly.
josh
3 days agoThe portability is unmatched for the price. It fits into a small ladies handbag easily and the magnesium chassis feels very premium. But yes you cannot split screen effectively on 12 inches.
josh
3 days agoIf you can stretch your budget slightly look for the HP EliteBook 840 G1 instead. It is the exact same internal hardware and design but features a much more comfortable 14 inch screen which is the sweet spot for portable coding.