IIT’s Student Computer Recommendations 2008 - 2009

IIT encourages students to provide their own laptop/desktop to supplement their course work and enhance their learning experience. OTS offers the following suggestions to help you select a computer to support your academic goals.

To determine the best computer to suit your needs, first consider your primary usage. OTS highly recommends that you consult your major department to find out what types of programs you will need to use on your computer and their specific recommendations or requirements.

Consider the following questions before purchasing your computer:
- Are you primarily writing papers and accessing the Internet?
- Do you need to use your computer for programming?
- Do you need to use your computer for multimedia work?
- Will you be creating graphics, music, or video?
- Do you need to burn CDs or DVDs?

Recommended new computer specifications for the average student user using the computer for Internet access and word processing.

Example Hardware configurations:

OTS has recently purchased laptops with the following configuration:

• Intel Core 2 Duo T7700, 2.40GHz, 800Mhz 4M L2 Cache, Dual Core
• 4.0GB, DDR2-667 SDRAM, 2 DIMM
• 256MB NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M Latitude D830
• 120GB Hard Drive
• 8X DVD+/-RW Drive
• 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet
• Wireless Ethernet (802.11 b/g)

OTS has recently purchased desktops with the following configuration:

• Core 2 Duo E8400/3.0GHz
• 4GB,Non-ECC,800MHz
• 256MB ATI RADEON HD 2400 XT Graphics dual DVI or VGA
• 160GB SATA 3.0Gb/s and 8MB Data Burst Cache
• 8X DVD+/-RW,Slimline,OptiPlex 755
• 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet
• Wireless Ethernet (802.11 b/g)

Recommended Add-ons

• Anti-virus software installed and properly configured (OTS provides free McAfee Antivirus Software for PCs, which can be downloaded by clicking here)
• Three-year warranty
• Theft and damage insurance
• USB Flash drive (1-2Gb recommended)

Remote Printing

Students can use their computer lab account to send a print job from their personal computer to a printing queue accessible at five Printing Release Stations located on campus. To access the printing policy click here. Please note: At this time the Mac version of the Remote Printing package is only available to users of OS X 10.4 "Tiger".

OTS Recommended Vendors

Dell info:
Dell Computers has partnered with IIT's Office of Technology Services to offer a premier site for members of the IIT community. Click here to access the site. It allows members of the IIT community to work directly with Dell to configure and purchase home computing system at educational discounts. On the IIT Dell website you can select a preconfigured bundle, one of the bundles for Architecture Students or receive an IIT educational discount when you build your own system through the Full Catalog.

The site is for use by members of the IIT community only, and is accessible through the IIT domain. For more information please contact the Support Desk at ext. 73375 or go to http://support.iit.edu.

Apple info:
Click here for Apple Info and Price Discounts