Best PC for Programming

I am in the process of buying a new laptop. What do you guys recommend?

I'm using a Dell Latitude E5500 - because it has a conventional serial port & 1440 x 900 screen resolution.
I tried a Toughbook for a while, but found the keyboard too small.

I love my Dell Vostro 1710 - newer one is 1720.
No serial ports though but my Omron USB/232 works on everything I have tried anyway.
Big, heavy, turn off all the power saving stuff, buy the larger battery, the 17" screen at 1920 x ? is wonderful - lots of ladder on there.

I would go for a Dell with a serial port if that is required

I would NOT buy a big laptop. It is best to be truly portable and connect your laptop to a 24 inch monitor while stationary.
I have a Dell Dimension 620. The screen is 1440x900 and 14 inches diagonal. I haven't had any problems with it. While in the field I am often holding my laptop as I am walking around tuning axes. If I were to change anything it would be to get a bigger battery. I hate it when my laptop dies on the way home on a long flight.

Dell Precision M4300 (formerly M4400 i think) also has good graphics and serial comms port.

Longhorn said:

Dell Precision M4300 (formerly M4400 i think) also has good graphics and serial comms port.

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Hmm, I have a Dell Precision M4400. But it has no Com-ports

I use a Toshiba Tecra A9 and its primarily for the large screen/resolution that comes in handy for displaying PLC logic. 1680x105 resolution and it will also support a second monitor so that the total displayed area widens to 3360. Dragging around a monitor is not convenient for field work, hence my need for a bigger display with a high resolution.

O_P said:

Hmm, I have a Dell Precision M4400. But it has no Com-ports

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The M4300 is the older model and has COM ports

The M4400 is the newer model and does not have COM ports

Before I recommend a computer, I like to know what are your requirements?

Serial and PCMCIA are both legacy ports.
If I have applications that require serial or PCMCIA, then I would start to think of the long-term solution rather than trying to keep everything legacy-compatible.
I do almost no serial at all any more. When I need to I just use a USB-to-serial adapter. Yes, I know that some applications will not accept a USB-to-serial adapter, but then there is often a dedicated USB adapter. If I did more serial, I would probably get a bluetooth adapter.
Additionally, we have a couple of older PCs with all the ports (serial, TTY, parallel, floppy, PCMCIA) for the odd occasion.

What I find is a more touchy subject is how rugged the laptop should be. Siemens "Field PGs" are tough, but expensive. The policy we have now is to just use a lowly specced standard laptop, and then accept to replace it every 2-3 years.

OZEE said:

Before I recommend a computer, I like to know what are your requirements?

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I would agree with this. I would also like to throw in the options of using a Mac laptop running VMWare Fusion or Parallels for thePLC software.

Consider this...........

What about the Panasonic CF-52.

Its 15" Semi Rugged with all of the legacy ports and up to 7 hours of battery life.

http://www.panasonic.com/business/Toughbook/semi-rugged-laptop-toughbook-52.asp

I just bought a Latitude E6500. It replaces my previous Dell. I agree with Peter about the size and portability being important... So far I can go around 4 to 5 hours on a charge... I have a Vostro at work... Company bought it when I first started with them but I did not like the fact it would not use a docking station... I like my docking atation because I use 2 monitors at my desk when I am drawing or programing... I also keep my backup hard drive plugged in here... If I am going to be traveling I ghost my hardrive just before heading out...

The processor I picked is a dual core... I did this for the VM Ware I normally run... Since I have to program in Siemens, AB, DL and a few others I like keeping each brand in its own VM image... Just makes my life easier... It also allows for a faster boot since I am only turning on things I need

For serial I use a legacy docking station... It attaches to the bottom of my laptop so I can use a serial port.... Where required so far this has not let me down... Down side is it is kind of bulky.... up side is I get more USB ports plus some other ports I have not figured out yet...

The last 3 Dells I have gotten have done well so for now I think I will stick with this brand...

If you want to be portable, stay away fron the Dell Precision M6300. It runs hot and is heavy. Other then that it is a work horse. Keeps your lap warm in the dead of winter!