3 Best Laptops for PLC Programming in 2024
From this article, you will know what are, in our opinion, the best laptops for PLC programming you can buy and use in 2024.
Programmable logic controller (PLC) programming is programming activities done to control the automatic processes of manufacturing machines. The main objective of PLC programming is to ensure the manufacturing operations of a factory can keep running smoothly and that their intended outputs can be achieved.
To do PLC programming, you can use a laptop. As a laptop is portable and can have the capability to make PLC programming work done optimally, it is probably the most preferred device to use for many people too. However, as PLC programming can be a taxing activity for a laptop to support, the laptop should have the right specification quality.
If you want to do PLC programming by using a laptop but don’t have a capable laptop yet for that purpose, you might be interested in buying a new laptop. However, it can be confusing to pick the right laptop to support PLC programming activities from many laptop models and specification choices out there. This is why Compute Expert has tried to compile a list of the best laptops for PLC programming that you can use as your laptop-buying reference.
Want to know what laptops we recommend for PLC programming and why we recommend them? Let’s get on the list right away.
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| Image | View on Amazon | Product |
|---|---|---|
| Dell Precision 7780 | ||
| Lenovo Legion 5 Pro | ||
| HP ZBook Fury 16 |
Table of Contents:
What are the Best Laptops for PLC Programming?
Now, let’s see more about the laptops that make it to our list of excellent laptops to use for PLC programming. Using one of these laptops should give you the laptop support you need to do your work as a PLC programmer more optimally.1. Dell Precision 7780
Dell Precision 7780 is the first laptop we recommend to support your PLC programming activities. It is an excellent workstation laptop from Dell that seems popular with PLC programmers as it has high-quality specifications to do its job.To run its operations, this laptop has a 13th Gen Intel Core i7 processor and 64GB RAM capacity. These are splendid performance specifications that should run PLC programming software like TIA Portal smoothly. The RAM capacity, in particular, is huge and should provide the memory space you need for complex PLC programming and serious multitasking.
When you need to use CAD software, this laptop has an NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada GPU with 12GB VRAM for graphic processing. With the capabilities that it has for professional work, this GPU should handle its tasks well. As for your connectivity, there is a full range of ports with two Thunderbolt 4 ports and an Ethernet port ready for you to use.
This laptop has a bright display as well so you can view its display more clearly in an environment with high intensity of light. All in all, this Dell Precision 7780 can be the ideal laptop for you to use for PLC programming.
Key Features
- Screen Size, Resolution: 17.3 inches, 1920 x 1080 pixels
- Processor: 13th Gen Intel Core i7 with 20 cores and speed in the range of 2.1-5.3 GHz
- RAM Capacity: 64GB
- Graphics Card: NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada with 12GB VRAM
- Storage: 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD
- Battery Life (Estimation): up to 9 hours of usage capacity
Pros
- Excellent specifications to support PLC programming
- Sturdy build
- A full range of ports with two Thunderbolt 4 ports and an Ethernet port
- Bright display
- Comfortable keyboard to type on that has a number pad
Cons
- Bulky
2. Lenovo Legion 5 Pro
Lenovo Legion 5 Pro is the next laptop you may want to take a deeper look at during your laptop-buying process. This laptop seems to have everything it needs to ensure you can do your PLC programming activities optimally.The processor of this laptop is an AMD Ryzen 7 7745HX processor. It is an excellent processor with 8 cores and a fast base clock speed to give you a stable performance when you run the software you need for your PLC programming sessions. There is 32GB RAM capacity too that you can upgrade up to 64GB should you feel you need more later.
This laptop has a friendly-to-the-eye display so your eyes shouldn’t feel much fatigue when you need to work for long hours with this laptop. To make you view its display in the best position, you can also stretch this laptop a bit as it has a 180-degree hinge.
This laptop’s keyboard is great to use and it has a number pad as well so you can give inputs to your PLC programming software more comfortably. Overall, this Lenovo Legion 5 Pro seems to be a splendid laptop choice to help you get optimum results from your PLC programming work.
Key Features
- Screen Size, Resolution: 16 inches, 2560 x 1600 pixels
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 7745HX with 8 cores and speed in the range of 3.6-5.1 GHz
- RAM Capacity: 32GB
- Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 with 8GB VRAM
- Storage: 2TB PCIe NVMe SSD
- Battery Life (Estimation): up to 4.5 hours of usage capacity
Pros
- Excellent specifications to support PLC programming
- Solid build
- HDMI, Ethernet, and lots of USB ports
- Excellent thermal management
- Good friendly-to-the-eye display
- Stretchable hinge (up to 180 degrees)
- Comfortable keyboard to type on that has a number pad
Cons
- No SD card reader slots
3. HP ZBook Fury 16
HP ZBook Fury 16 is the last laptop we have on this list. Considering the specification quality that it has, this laptop should bode well with the requirements needed by a laptop to support PLC programming excellently.This laptop has a 13th Gen Intel Core i9 processor and 64GB RAM capacity to back up its performance. With these specifications in place, handling tasks related to your PLC programming activities should be nicely done by this laptop. When you need to store files related to your work internally on this laptop, there is 2TB SSD storage space available for you to use.
There are USB-A, Thunderbolt 4 USB-C, HDMI, and Ethernet ports on the sides of this laptop so you can connect to external devices easily. To help you with graphic processing, there is an NVIDIA RTX 5000 Ada GPU that can help greatly with that.
Looking for a capable laptop to help you with your PLC programming work? You may want to consider buying and using this HP ZBook Fury 16 laptop.
Key Features
- Screen Size, Resolution: 16 inches, 1920 x 1200 pixels
- Processor: 13th Gen Intel Core i9 with 24 cores and speed in the range of 2.2-5.5 GHz
- RAM Capacity: 64GB
- Graphics Card: NVIDIA RTX 5000 Ada with 16GB VRAM
- Storage: 2TB PCIe NVMe SSD
- Battery Life (Estimation): up to 7 hours of usage capacity
Pros
- Excellent specifications to support PLC programming
- Sturdy build
- A full range of ports with two Thunderbolt 4 ports and an Ethernet port
- Quiet operations
- Comfortable keyboard to type on that has a number pad
Cons
- Bulky and heavy
What are the Things We Should Consider When We Want to Buy a Laptop to Do PLC Programming with?
Here are the things we think you should consider when you want to buy a laptop to support your PLC programming work.- Processor. The laptop you buy for PLC programming should have an excellent processor so it can run the software you need for your work processes smoothly. We recommend a laptop with at least a late-generation i7 or Ryzen 7 processor for this
- RAM capacity. PLC programming activities can take up a lot of memory space on your laptop when you do them. Thus, the laptop you buy should have a large RAM capacity. We recommend a laptop with at least 32GB RAM for this
- Storage. You may need to store some large-sized files related to your PLC programming work internally on your laptop so you can access them much easier later. Thus, the laptop you buy should have adequate storage space to accommodate those files. We recommend a laptop with at least 1TB SSD storage space for this
- Ports. To make it much easier for you to connect with the external devices you need for your PLC programming, the laptop you buy should have the right ports available to use. We recommend a laptop with USB and Ethernet ports for this
- Number pad. As PLC programming often involves number input processes, it can be much better for you if the laptop you buy has a number pad on its keyboard. This should ensure you can input those numbers much more easily and faster
Wrap Up
When you want to buy a laptop, you may want one that can help you do PLC programming smoothly. However, it can be confusing to pick the right laptop from many laptop choices out there. This is why Compute Expert has created a list of the best laptops for PLC programming to help you.To summarize, here are three laptops we recommend for PLC programming.
We hope our list can help you buy the best laptop to support your PLC programming work!
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