Which laptop is best for pen testing and such

[Skyler Malone]

I’m in the market for a new laptop but i dont know which one would be best for pen testing and ethical hacking. I have a big laptop that does the job but its just way to big and not portable at all. How much ram and SSD would i need in it. 

[NoExecute]

Hmm, good question. I really depends on what you can afford, and how you'll be using it I think.

For longer sessions (8+ hours), I run a Thinkpad T, 14 inch, 12 GB ram, 200 GB Sata, and it's enough. Pop Linux on it, and keep a spare disk with Win 10 for windows related stuff, and you're good to go.
For shorter sessions / everyday stuff, I run a Thinkpad X240, 13 inch, 110 GB disk, 8 GB RAM. It's good enough, but for 8+ hours, it get a bit small, so eyestrain may be an issue on longer sessions, but it might not be a problem for you.

I would say, go for good hardware, with a good build quality. it really pays in the long run, so don't cheap out here. You can go for something refurbished, if it's good build quality, there's nothing wrong with that. and there's money to be saved. And, for how much cpu / ram you'll need. Depends on what you want to do on the box. Debian / Kali doesn't require much, so for work in the field / on the go, 8+ GB RAM, 200 GB Hardddrive should be okay.

/NX