Bioinformatics – understanding biological data by combining computer science, information engineering, mathematics and statistics by analysing biological data according to Wikipedia.
Emphasis on the computer in computer science. Desktops and laptops are important when it comes to bioinformatics.
Because you literally need the power of a processor to help you analyse and a place to store your data.
There is also a guide at the end of the article to help you narrow down your laptop if you think none of the laptops in the list suits your needs. Here are the best laptops for Bioinformatics.
You are looking at the ultimate data processing workstation.
A Unix-based OS makes the Apple MacBook Pro great for bioinformatics.
Built like a TANK. Lightweight. Great Battery Life. Great Keyboard. What more can you ask for?
You are looking at the ultimate data processing workstation.
A Unix-based OS makes the Apple MacBook Pro great for bioinformatics.
Built like a TANK. Lightweight. Great Battery Life. Great Keyboard. What more can you ask for?
Last update on 2019-11-17 at 13:05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Here’s Our List Of The Best-recommended Laptops For Bioinformatics
| Name | Processor | GPU & RAM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dell XPS 15 | Intel Core i7-8750H | NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti & 32GB | Buy On Amazon |
| Apple MacBook Pro | Intel Core i7-9750H | AMD Radeon Pro 560X & 16GB | Buy On Amazon |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E590 | Intel Core i7-8565U | Intel HD Graphics & 32GB | Buy On Amazon |
| HP ZBook 15 | Intel Core i5-8300H | NVIDIA Quadro P1000 & 32GB | Buy On Amazon |
| Dell G3 | Intel Core i5-8300H | NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti & 32GB | Buy On Amazon |
| HP High Performance | Intel Core i5-8250U | Intel HD Graphics & 12GB | Buy On Amazon |
Other Top Picks
Last update on 2019-11-17 at 13:05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Dell XPS 15
The Dell XPS 15 is a Linux compatible laptop will be able to process your datasets well, up to a certain point that is.
It has a solid build quality thanks to its aluminium design and weighs 4 pounds and less than an inch thick. One of the lightest laptops around.
It is powered by an 8th Gen Intel i7 six-core processor and 32 GB RAM. In addition, it has a massive amount of storage space – a 1TB PCIe SSD which will take a while to run out of space.
The graphics card is a dedicated NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti. Not as powerful as the GTX 1060 or the RTX cards but still decent enough to do some gaming.
The display is vivid, bright and colour accurate. It’s a 15.6 inch 4K (3840 x 2160) IPS with a brightness level of 400 nits.
On the port side, there two USB 3.1 and a Thunderbolt 3. Having the Thunderbolt 3 is great because you can connect multiple external monitors.
The Dell XPS 15 has decent battery life. On average it is able to last 7-8 hours of normal usage. But, that is because of its high-resolution display. Would have been much longer if it were Full HD (1920 x 1080).
On the flip side, the Dell XPS 15 comes pre-loaded with bloatware and the webcam is placed at an awkward position. Instead of being placed traditionally at the top it’s placed just below the Dell logo.
The position captures your face at an awkward angle. This might put some people off adjusting the display does the trick.
The Dell XPS 15 has the power, battery life and portability to handle WGS, RNA-Seq, WES, etc. even if its processing power is not enough you can use cloud computing services to process your data.
Pros
Powerful Performance
Lightweight
Great Battery Life
Cons
Bloatware
Webcam At Awkward Position
Last update on 2019-11-17 at 13:05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Apple MacBook Pro
The MacBook Pro is one of the most powerful workstations from Apple. Apple put the best hardware components into its slim build. Made from aluminium and weighing about 4 pounds makes it a portable laptop.
The 15.4 Retina Display (2880 x 1800) is also one of the best out there. With a brightness level of 500 nits, sharpness and vibrancy.
Viewing angles are great. The port selection is a blessing and a curse. Never in any laptop have there been so many Thunderbolt 3.
To be precise, four Thunderbolt 3 ports. This allows you to connect to 4K external monitors.
Unfortunately, there is no USB Type-A. The absence of the USB Type-A requires you to carry a dongle with you at all times which you might not like.
Talking about its flaws, the keyboard might take some getting used to along with its shallow key travel. There are also reports on how some of the keys are unresponsive or sticky.
Something Apple is working on to solve. You should definitely skip the laptop if you don’t think the keyboard is for you.
The battery life is impressive even with its powerful hardware. Able to last on average 8-9 hours of normal usage. The performance is also top-notch. An 8th Gen i7 six-core, 16 GB RAM and 256GB.
Everything needed to blaze through data sets. The MacOS is also Linux based so you won’t have any problem running bioinformatics software.
The MacBook Pro is surely an expensive machine with a not so perfect keyboard. Even so, it’s Linux based operating system is an advantage.
Because you don’t need to run a virtual machine or find out if a laptop is Linux compatible before purchasing. You just switch it on and start working.
Pros
Excellent Performance
Lightweight And Portable
Great Display
Cons
Pricey
You need a dongle
Not The Best Keyboard
Last update on 2019-11-17 at 16:15 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Lenovo ThinkPad E590
If you are all about keyboards the Lenovo ThinkPad E590 offers one of the best. ThinkPads are known for their top-notch keyboards and this one is not an exception.
Responsive keys, tactile feedback, and great travel. Characteristics that mark a great keyboard.
Performance is also great. It might not be the best and there will be cases where you will have to rely on the cloud services for computing.
It sports an 8th Gen Intel i7 quad-core and 32 GB RAM. The storage is a 512 GB SSD. Enough RAM for multitasking and enough storage for your datasets.
The display is a Full HD (1920 x 1080). An average display to be honest. Colour accuracy, reproduction and sharpness are decent.
Port selection is great, one USB 2.0, two USB 3.1 and a USB Type-C. Important ports needed for everyday tasks.
The battery life is above average lasting 8-9 hours of normal usage. Enough juice to get you throughout the day. The Lenovo ThinkPad is also on the light side weighing approximately 4.7 pounds and less than an inch thick.
The Lenovo ThinkPad E590 offers superb performance along with its keyboard. One of the best laptops you can use for bioinformatics if you don’t mind its bland display.
Pros
Great Keyboard
Superb Performance
Lightweight
Cons
Not The Best Display
Last update on 2019-11-17 at 13:05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
HP ZBook 15
The HP ZBook 15 is a workstation for professionals. One of the best affordable workstations for Bioinformatics. The laptop ticks almost all the boxes except for the weight. A quite heavy workstation. The HP ZBook 15 weighs 5.7 pounds (2.6 kg) and it’s an inch thick. It is certainly not a light or thin laptop. Though you can still move around with it.
Performance-wise. It is powered by a quad-core high-performance 8th Gen Intel Core i5, 32GB RAM and Quadro P1000. Although, you won’t make use of its Quadro card. The high-performance processor and 32GB are more than enough for multitasking. And handling large datasets.
The display is a 15.6 inch Full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS. It is a very bright display and has above-average colour accuracy. The display is bright enough you can easily see what is on it outdoors.
Battery life is impressive for a workstation laptop. You can use it consistent for 9-10 hours. Enough power to get you throughout the day.
Overall, the HP ZBook 15 is a solid laptop that offers a lot of value at an affordable price. A solid option when it comes to a Bioinformatics computer.
Pros
Great Performance and Large Storage Capacity
Long Battery Life
Thunderbolt 3
Cons
Quite Heavy and Thick
Last update on 2019-11-17 at 17:25 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Dell G3
The Dell G3 is one of the best laptops for Bioinformatics students, especially at the master’s level.
The laptop weighs almost 5.2 pounds and it’s less than an inch thick. The build quality is decent. A clean design with no fancy red accents.
It sports a 14 inch Full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS. It is not a glossy display. Colour accuracy and reproduction is average. The only thing holding back the display is its brightness. It is not high enough and so outdoor use will be quite difficult.
Performance is great. An 8th Gen Intel i5 high-performance quad-core processor, 32GB RAM and a GTX 1050 Ti.
A great hardware configuration for fast data analysis and processing. There is also enough space to store your large datasets. The perfect hardware recipe for multitasking and handling large datasets. In case, performance isn’t enough you can rely on cloud computing services. Although it is highly unlikely.
The GTX 1050 Ti is also a capable graphics card that can handle demanding games on low to medium settings.
The battery life is long enough to get you throughout the day. It lasts about 6-7 hours on average. Its battery life is better than most gaming laptops which last 3-4 hours.
Overall, the Dell G3 has the performance and RAM you need to handle datasets without any problems.
Pros
Great Performance
Plenty Of RAM
Decent Battery Life
Cons
Not The Best Display
Last update on 2019-11-17 at 13:05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
HP High Performance
Not everyone can afford a thousand dollar laptop. Moreover, the lower your budget the more difficult it is to get a good laptop.
The HP High Performance is a budget laptop with a lot of power for its price but at the cost of certain characteristics.
First of all, it has cheap build quality. The laptop is entirely made out of plastic. Even though it is a plastic build it is rigid. The hard drive is a 2TB 5400 RPM which is very slow.
The massive storage space makes it attractive though. Most laptops don’t come with a massive amount of storage.
Finally, the display is HD (1366 x 768). Colour accuracy, viewing angles and reproduction are below average. The 15.6-inch display is not stellar something which is commonly found in more expensive models.
On to the positive features of the laptop.
It has a 12 GB RAM. Most budget laptops have 8 GB. In addition, the Intel Core i5 is a powerful quad-core processor along with its massive storage of 2 TB. Enough to not think about running out of space for a long time.
On the port side, there are two USB 3.1 and USB 2.0. Battery life also averages about 7-8 hours of normal usage. The HP High Performance is also lightweight and portable weighing 4.3 pounds and less than an inch thick.
The HP High Performance is definitely not the best and certainly has its flaws. Its only strengths are its affordability and massive storage. It also has the performance to get the job done but up to a certain point.
Pros
Cost-effective
Massive Storage
Solid Performance
Cons
Cheap Build Quality
Slow Hard Drive
HD Display
Last update on 2019-11-17 at 13:05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
What To Look For In Getting A Laptop For Bioinformatics
Here are a few things to consider when generally looking for a laptop for bioinformatics
CPU
Any CPU will work. But, to get the best performance, always go for the latest generation CPUs. Multi-core and multithreaded CPUs are recommended.
That means anything higher or equal to AMD Ryzen 5 or Intel Core i5. This makes sure performance is optimum and the laptop is able to keep up with the ever-increasing demands.
RAM
The minimum amount of RAM you should have is 16 GB. Recommended is 32 GB. Virtual machines and the analysis can quickly eat up your RAM if it’s not sufficient.
Get as much as you can afford. Having a lot of RAM will make the laptop futureproof and you won’t have to worry about running out of RAM when several programs are open.
Storage
As much as you can get. Solid state drives are recommended because they make everything run faster and smoother. You can also go with hard disk drives because they are cheaper.
The bottom line is that have a lot of storage. If not possible invest in an external HDD or SSD drive. Datasets can be very large.
Operating System
Linux is the preferred operating system. Most bioinformatics software is not compatible with Windows. One way around this is by using a Windows subsystem for Linux.
That way, you are able to get both worlds. You get to keep your Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, etc) and switch to Linux anything you want to get some work done. You get the point.
Another way is to dual-boot or set-up a virtual machine. Always check if a laptop is Linux compatible before purchasing it.
Final Thoughts
That’s it for the best laptops for bioinformatics. You can use cloud computing for your work. But, you still need decent hardware especially a good keyboard. Feel free to drop a comment if you need any help.
