|
Mac or Windows?
Laptop or Desktop?
How much memory, processor, and hard drive do I need?
Software
Mac or Windows?
This is a personal preference. It depends on what best suits you in your field of study. Both Mac and Windows computers are supported at St. Edward’s University. If you choose Windows, you should choose Windows XP Professional if possible. St. Edward’s does support Windows Vista Business edition for home computers, but Vista is not installed on any computer on campus. Be aware that the system requirements for Windows Vista are much higher than for Windows XP.
Both Apple and Dell offer discounts to St. Edward’s students, but other vendors may also offer good prices.
Laptop or Desktop?
This is a personal preference also. Most students do have laptops. They are very convenient as students can use them to access the internet in the many wireless zones on campus.
How much memory, processor, and hard drive do I need?
Technical Acquisitions recommends at least a 120 GB hard drive and 1 GB of RAM (memory). Instead of buying the fastest processor, as performance may not be noticeably different in most cases, we suggest buying more RAM.
For optimal performance Technical Acquisitions recommends the following:
PC with Windows XP:
- an Intel Core 2 Duo processor
- at least 512MB RAM (1 GB RAM preferred)
- at least 120 GB Hard drive
PC with Windows Vista:
- an Intel Core 2 Duo processor
- at least 2 GB RAM
- at least 120 GB Hard drive
Macintosh OS X:
- a 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
- at least 2 GB RAM
- at least 120 GB Hard drive
Software
- Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) is supported on campus.
- Windows XP or Vista: Office 2007 is recommended for new computers.
- Mac OS X: Office 2004 is recommended as Office 2008 still has some bugs.
- Symantec AntiVirus is the required antivirus solution on all Windows XP and Vista computers. All St. Edward’s students will receive a free copy of Symantec AntiVirus when they move to campus in the fall.
|
