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Hi,

I know this has been asked ad nuseum, and I know you require WDSL-2 I think or Hyper-V etc etc but what I dont know is how does one tell if a specific laptop will support this?

I want to get (or looking this) this:

HP 15s 15.6" core i5 16GB Ram 512GB SSD - Windows 11

https://www.takealot.com/hp-15s-15-6-core-i5-16gb-ram-512gb-ssd-windows-11/PLID95286059

I would really like (Or need to) run Docker for Windows as I have Dockerized all our companies web services, and would ideally like to run my local dev environments all dockerized too.

But I dont know how I can be certain this specific laptop will support docker?

Thank you!

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You can find the system requirements in the documentation. Not just the required backend (WSL2 or Hyper-V), but cpu and memory

The disk size of the virtual machine can be changed so it is up to you how much space you want to add to Docker Desktop.

Although Docker Desktop runs a virtual machine, it is a small one compared to the applications you might want to run in containers, so I recommend choosing a machine that is good for the applications you want to run. And you also need enough cpu cores to give some to Docker Desktop, but if I understand the cpu specifications correctly, that machine will have 12 virtual cpus.

Note that it is not Docker, but Docker Desktop, so you will not have all of the resources of the host for Linux containers. Only the amount you assign to the virtual machine.

So in short, if the cpu is good enough for the processes you want to run, it seems to be appropriate for Docker Desktop. On the other hand, the CPU is a “ultra-low-power” cpu (The U at the end of the model number) for power efficient laptops and mobile devices, but the maximum performance of it seems to be better than on my Laptop. The base CPU frequency is lower though, so it can require less power

If you want to compare what cpu I use and what the linked machine would have, these are the links:

The base frequency can be found on Google.

Please, note that buying a new laptop requires a careful decision, so don’t make your decision based on my opinion here. I’m pretty sure Docker Desktop will run, but I can’t tell whether it is enough for your goals or not.

1 Like
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Perfect, thank you!!