Skip to main content.
Student Computing Home > Bringing a Computer > Specific Recommendation Details

Recommendations for Computer Configuration

We hope you find the following information helpful as you consider your purchase. These are minimum recommendations and are given with a price-performance ratio in mind and are, to the best of our ability and knowledge, reasonably robust configurations. We've also included some standards that will assure connection to our campus network. We cannot guarantee that computers not meeting these minimum standards will be able to connect.

Specific Recommendations:

 

Operating System

PC

  • Windows XP Professional or Windows Home Premium: We strongly recommend Windows XP Professional or Windows Vista Home Premium for Windows machines connecting to our campus network.
  • Why not the XP Home edition? Microsoft does not recommend Home editions for business or school networks. Moreover, the Home edition lacks some of the user security features that Pro includes. While you may be able to connect to our network with Home Edition of either product, you are more likely to have smooth, trouble-free computing in our networked environment with Windows XP Professional or Windows Vista Home Premium.
  • Your computer should be Vista ready: the new platform from Microsoft. Read more About Vista

Mac

  • OS X: If you're bringing a Macintosh, we recommend OS X (10.4 or higher).

Processor Speed

  • PC
    • Laptop: Pentium-M, Intel Core 2 Duo Chip, T7500 2.2 GHz
    • Desktop:Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0 GHz
  • Mac
    • Laptop: 2.4 GHz Intel Core Duo
    • Desktop: 2.0 GHz

Hard Drive

  • PC Laptop and iBook: at least 120GB of storage space.
  • PC Desktop and iMac: at least 160GB of storage space.
  • You may have noticed that our recommendations in hard drive size differs greatly between desktop and laptop computers. To get a high-capacity laptop drive you would pay considerably more money than you would for a desktop with a comparable drive. We suggest that laptop users augment their storage with external USB 2.0 drives.
  • Although our hard drive recommendations may seem like an exorbitant amount of storage space, keep in mind that space is eaten up very quickly by multimedia files, graphics, and office applications. Smooth computing depends on ample hard drive storage space. So either buy the largest drive that is in your budget, or augment it with external storage media.

Monitor

  • For desktop computers, we strongly recommend that you purchase an LCD (flat panel monitor) instead of a traditional CRT monitor.
  • This will save valuable desktop space and reduce the heat and power load in your room.

Removable Media

  • All computers should have some type of removable media drive for data backup and storage.

For Large Storage Needs:

  • DVD Writer (internal or external): we suggest purchasing a computer with a DVD writer/burner. A DVD drive can write to and read from DVDs and CDs. Also DVDs hold nearly 5 gigabytes of storage and make multimedia authoring and data backup easy.
  • Note: Some machines come with DVD-R/RW drives, some with DVD+R/RW drives. The DVD+R/RW format is slightly more prevalent, but since the most recent model DVD drives will read either format, this should not be a critical factor in your choice.
  • Dual-layer DVD drive: Dual-layer DVDs hold nearly 9 gigabytes of data and are desirable for that reason, though these drives and dual-layer media are more expensive.

For Small Storage Needs:

  • USB 2.0 drives: We strongly recommend using USB drives (1GB min) that go by several different names: flash, pen, mobile, memory, thumb, or jump drives.
  • Floppy or Zip drives: We don't recommend them, as they are obsolete technologies and we are moving away from using them in our environment.

Mouse

  • An optical mouse is recommended.

Printer

  • Although fee-based printing is available through campus labs, we recommend purchasing a personal printer that attaches directly to the computer, not to the network.
  • Bringing an inkjet printer is a better choice than a laser printer. They are less expensive, less costly to use, take up less space, and use less electricity.
  • You may want to check the brands of ink cartridges that are generally available in the bookstore before deciding which printer to buy.
  • Also be sure to have a USB cable for your printer.

UPS

  • We strongly suggest that you purchase a UPS (uninterruptible power supply). The power supply to residential halls is less consistent and less stable than you would find in your home. The UPS will protect against power sags, spikes, and brownouts that are sometimes responsible for loss of equipment and data.
  • Laptop computers contain fully charged batteries which take over when a building's power supply fails, so in this case a UPS is usually not necessary.

Surge Suppressor

  • A surge suppressor is the basic form of protection that can be used to protect the computer from sudden power spikes and surges.
  • At a minimum, we suggest that you protect your equipment with a high-quality surge suppressor, inserted between your computer and the electrical outlet.
  • Be sure the suppressor has a UL Rating of 1449 for 330 volts, and it should be rated to suppress at least 800 joules (units of energy).
    - Extension cord use is prohibited in the residential halls so bring a surge suppressor with a long cable (25').

Battery

  • If you are bringing a laptop, an extra battery will come in very handy.

RAM

  • A minimum of 2GB of RAM is strongly recommended.
  • If you are considering Vista as your operating system this will effect the amount of RAM that you'll need, see the About Vista page.
  • If you are considering Vista as your operating system, you should have 2GBof RAM.
  • Ideally, RAM should not be shared with an onboard video card. The video card should have 128 MB of video RAM; if you are using Vista as your operating system, your video card should have 256 MB of video RAM.
  • The 1GB of RAM should be on one DIMM if possible (2 DIMS for Vista) to allow for upgrades. Laptops typically have two DIMM slots, so upgrading a machine with both slots filled entails removing some of the RAM that's already installed. Buying one 1GB DIMM avoids this potential waste.

Security Cable

  • A security cable with a combination lock is a must for laptops and small-form-factor CPUs, and a good idea for all CPUs.
  • Don't just buy a security cable - use it!

Network Connection

  • Wired:
    • All computers should have a Network Interface Card and data port connection cable.
    • We recommend the 10/100BaseT (RJ-45) ethernet card with a CAT-5 ethernet cable — (25' for desktops, bring both a 7' and 25' for Laptops).
  • Wireless:
    • Laptops should be equipped with wireless networking capability. The wireless card is usually pre-installed, however, ensure this is the case with your computer so that you can connect to the network when you get to campus. We recommend the 802.11b or g ethernet card (802.11g is preferable, as it offers faster performance).
    • In order to manage the campus network and ensure reliability, integrity, and interoperability, students and departments at UMW are not permitted to install their own wireless infrastructure. Prohibiting installation of personal wireless infrastructure also helps ensures the integrity and appropriateness of the campus "radio space" in terms of wireless networking.

Network Setup

  • Certain local network setups that you might use at home may not work in residence halls for reasons related to network performance or security. For example, network "bridge" setups are prohibited because they are incompatible with our network technology. You should not use a wireless router for the same reason.

Internet Connectivity (off-campus)

  • Students living Off-campus will need to make arrangements with an Internet Service Provider for Internet connectivity.

Software

  • Microsoft Office - The University Bookstore sells Microsoft Office to UMW students at Academic pricing.
  • Antivirus - Virus protection is required for students who connect to the UMW network.
  • Clean Access - Cisco's Clean Access is required for student owned computers to connect to the campus network.; this software will be provided when students arrive on campus.
  • Spyware Protection - Please install some type of spyware protection, such as AdAware, on your computer before arrival on campus.

Buying

We strongly recommend that you purchase:

  • Accident Protection - Accident Protection for your computer, especially if you bring a laptop, is invaluable if your computer is ever damaged.
  • Extended Warranty - Your should purchase a warranty that covers the length of time that you plan to keep your computer. If you plan to keep your computer for 3 or 4 years, you should have coverage for that period of time.

The computers that our vendor partners are recommending (see the bookstore web site) are configured with this extra coverage.

Buying a COmputer

The University partners with several vendors who provide discounts to UMW students when they purchase computers that meet our specifications. This partnership is managed through the University bookstore. For more information, see the University Bookstore's website.

The University Bookstore also carries security cables, thumb drives, ethernet cables and academically priced software.