Best and Cheapest Laptop/Notebook recomend for HMI/PLC software

Hi all,

I want to buy new laptop.I need some recommendation from you all guy.Which Model of HP/DELL/ACER will be best according to price and Memory,Speed and performance? Any recomendation will be apriciated.I want to run Wonderware,WinCC and STEP like software in my laptop.

Thanks & zregards

try Dell D8xx or M4300 for example
note that "cheapest" doesn't fit with your other requirements.

Ibm

I have a IBM r61i with wonderware and S7 software and AB software and everything runs great. You want a core duo processor with at least 1 GB of RAM and probably 2 GB of Ram

Dell D530 about 700$ with real port and 2 Gb Ram
The chepest I know for automation.

MAC BookPro

I didn't think it to be possible but now with the latest bootcamp version included with apple notebooks/desktops, I have sampled the setup and it is great. The bootcamp software runs windows Xp flawlessly and even faster that a PC machine. The other benefit is that viruses don't affect the Mac even if the copy of XP becomes infected. (ie. dual boot with differnet brand OS) You can actually run both OS on the fly and run windows as a program within MAC.

Recently I installed a MAC mini as an HMI processor with a generic touch screen and it has worked seemlessly.

D630 does the biz

The Dell D630 works rather well. It has the RS232 port which is very handy. I have Step5,step7, GX developer, markem, E designer and a host of others which all work very well on this unit.

thankx all.I have following list of laptop..I will go to market and select best one.
1.Ascer Aspire 5920
2.Compaq nx6120
3.HP 520
4.HP Compaq 6520s
5.HPA A900
6.DELL Inspiron 1420
7.DELL Latitude 530/1
8.IBM thinkpad R61i
9.DELL 630
10......waiting for another sugesion...best still now found.

with follwoing spec----
-RAM 2GB min DDR2 SD RAM
-DH 120 GB min
-DIsplay 14" TFT LCD
-2MB cache 800 MHz FSB
-Speed Of processor 2.0GHz min
-Internal 8X DVD+/-RW Combination Drive with dual layer write capabilities
-Intel(R) Core(tm)2 Duo Processor
-ethernet port-1
-comport-1
-usb port-4 min
-PCMCIA-1
-SD slot-1
-Mic & Audio video Outlet
-Display port
-Antivirous- free
-XP Professional free
-MS Office free

I would take those HP/Compaq's off the list -- over the 20 years I've been in this business, I've had nothing but trouble with them! My top brands would be Dell, Toshiba, Sagar/Alienware

I agree with OZEE. For automation we only use the Toshiba Tecra A9.

I had a Compaq/HP that worked really well til I dropped it and the hard vdrive went AWOL. Before that I had another HP that was really good but was old and had a small hard drive.

Just bought a Dell Vostro 1710 - the 17" screen is absolutely excellent. It does not have a serial port, only USB. Bought it with Vista and downgrade rights to XP-Pro. Have done a dual boot system with XP-Pro and installed Virtual Box as well. Virtual Box works really well once installed properly.

Have not had to go back to XP-Pro at all. I generally use Omron and their software is Vista compliant.

Bought a Prolific express card serial port and have had a few problems. The express cards do no generally plug in firmly either. Finished up buying a Belkin F5Uxxx USB/serial converter without a Vista driver. I downloaded one and it worked very well for me.

Absolutely highly recommend the Dell 17" screen - it is excellent.

Somthing I have not sean anyone bring up is a COM or SERIAL port. There are very few laptops that have this feature anymore, and even though there are addaptors, they dont always work, and are a hassel. We just upgraded 5 of our laptops with the Dell D830. This one has a serial port, and has enough power to run all the applications that we need to run. We run AB, Siemens and Fanuc Robotics simulation software, plus full blown 3D Auto CAD. If you are ordering multiple computers, Dell will work with you on the price, or if you are just getting one, try the Referb sight from dell, you can get great computers for a reduced price, with a warenty.

Hope this helps.

The the Toshiba Tecra A9 I mentioned above, has a serial port and we run most of Siemens software like Microwin, Step7, WinCCFlex, WinCC, Simatic Net Omron CX etc. with no problems.

My biggest problem with the Tecra is there is no bang for your buck. They are very expensive, slow and have small screens for the price.

When I was buying my latest laptop for less than $2400 AU I got the Vostro with 17" WUXGA screen, 4 gig RAM, T9300 processor and plenty of bells and whistles. Even with Acer that would have cost me over $3000 AU - Tecras were much dearer.

I know I can run Omron in Vista and if all else fails there is an Omron USB/232 converter that has been tested with all Omron products.

Will have to try Siemens running inside XP-Pro/Virtual Box at the first opportunity and see how that goes. Could be interesting.

work has a dell laditude C640, i have a ibm T30 think pad. of the two i prefer the ibm. it runs a little slow at times but it runs very reliable for me. it has taken a few spills over the years and still running with no issues from the spills. i'm running AB 500, 5000, view 32, pannelview, wonderware 7.0, ultraware, mitsub. alpha and a few other programs

The siemens software will make your computer a lot slower, so your best choice would be a really fast computer with a lot of memory. I prefer to use XP in stead of Vista becouse vista is far too graphic wich will cost you a lot of memory.
I'm not a computer expert so I can't give you any better advice.

Greetz Robin